Kraftwerk, Analogue Or Digital, Which Sounds Better?

Hello, 

I am a big fan of Kraftwerk but consider they sounded so much better when recording on analogue than digital. I wonder what others think? I would love to see them perform live on Moog synthesiser's  as they did back in the 70's. The original version of Autobahn sounds so much better than the new, digital recording. my favourite album is The Man Machine as this was released the year I was born and amazes me how modern it still sounds. Neon Lights is my favourite track.  

  • I like daft punk what does that say about me?

  • Hello Plastic,

    thank you for the interesting link to the supplier of synths. I do remember reading about the revival of the Moog sometime ago. Good to know they can be linked to modern computers.

  • Personally I don't get too hung up on the digital/analogue discussion - it's the music that matters at the end of the day.  For example with Kraftwerk, some of my favourite tracks by them are:  The Model, Radioactivity, Electric Cafe.  

    Carl Finlow does some excellent electronic music which is obviously digital, but still has that traditional electro vibe that Kraftwerk pioneered (His track 'Anomaly' still gives me frisson - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4qBigfWFuw).  Jarre is another one who I loved, and used a wide range of analogue and digital sources.

    I grew up listening to instrumental music (I really can't stand people singing), and developed an interest in synthesis from an early age.  Analogue is a great, raw sound, but digital also has strengths in sound design beyond the scope of analogue.  Granular synthesis is my current go-to right now.

  • Thank You very so awfully much for an answer, Mr. Plastic. Really. I would like to post a really good answer but all I can think of just now is acknowledgement. Technology progresses faster than I can *afford* to follow nowadays. So all I can say is Thanks again for adding that Post to My post.  Slight smile

  • Hiya

    There's a bit more to add to that - the digital recordings have hard filters to remove anything above 20k  where you hit the Nyquist frequency of the sampling which is max freq + 10% - so 22kHz x2 - which is where you see the 44.1kHz number come from.

    But this doesn't take into account about the way higher frequencies than 20k intermix with the lower frequencies so there's a really subtle change.

    MP3 is a disaster - really compressed and frequency chopped to fit into a smaller file size - exactly the same as .jpg vs .bmp.     bmp is the full data whereas jpg is hacked down - the difference is clear when you zoom in.

    The problem with looking at frequency response data is they often lie or cheat - the frequency response should be to the -3dB points at top and bottom ends - often they quote -10dB points which is useless and means nothing.

  • Greetings Anyone... (!). I kind of post this in case it is a perspective no-one considers much of late...

    FREQUENCY RESPONSE. The past 15-20 Years, most Headphones and Recordings are limited to 20-20,000 Hz. The fashionable MP3 format is said to only record within this range.

    ...Back before the Zeros (2000) it was easier to gain a pair of headphones with frequency Response *below* 20Hz; ones starting around 16 Hz used to be popular if looked for (it said so on the back of the packaging). It should go without saying that below 20Hz gives better Bass (Drums, Chello) and above 20,000Hz gives better higher-pitched 'things' (Piccolo, Percussion)... sorry if I do not know the precise terms...

    But recordings depend upon how they were recorded and transferred. "Live" performances use all frequencies so are of course the best of all. (I end this post now in case I am waffling on about something no-one else gets...!)

    ...If anyone still has the packaging of a pair of headphones which they really like, it should say this upon the back, so have a go at looking. 'Bye for now. Slight smile

  • I love all the older Gary Numan stuff - PolyMoogs galore! - before the mid-80s when he sorta ran out of ideas.

    I've got a thing for New Order's 'Plastic' - it's a brilliant pastiche of so many classic synth sounds - there's even some Pet Shop Boys in there.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THwp-hWtC5Y

  • I remember a Radio 2 interview with Gary Numan. He said that his Synth influences were Prog Albums, and that he only knew of Kraftwerk after his music was compared to them by critics.

    I'm kind of the same way about Kraftwerk, even though Joy Division are my, all time, favourite band.

  • The Moogs are the holy grail of synths - I've never owned one as they are so desirable that the prices are through the roof.     There's also the Yamaha CS80 - the God of vintage synths - most recognisable from the Bladerunner film score - they sell for many thousands.  

    The analogue synths sound so variable and 'heavy' and interesting on your ears whereas the modern digital synths use looping samples that my brain can spot and they sound ultra-clean - and repeatable and reliable and - dull.

    A company called Behringer has bought all the rights to a lot of vintage synths and are remaking them as modules that can be driven by modern computer methods and sequencers - they do a version of the Mini-Moog-  and an Octave Kat, an SH101, an EDP Wasp and an SCI Pro1 - I'd love to be let loose with a pile of those!

    https://www.gear4music.com/Synth-Brands/Behringer 

  • Thanks Plastic,

    it is great you like the old synths. How do you rate the Moog?

  • i cant tell the difference between analogue and digital Slight smile

  • How are you listening to it?    Youtube?      Unless you're into old vinyl with a pure analogue setup, it's digital somewhere in there.

    I have to agree though, all old recordings up until the mid-80s were wonderful - so 'real' gritty and astonishing the quality they managed with little tech.      I was into early Depeche Mode, Ultravox, John Foxx and BEF/Human League pre-Heaven 17.

    Directly it all went digital and the engineers were just maxing everything out and throwing loads of distortion and reverb in to make a flat, soul-less wall of noise, I lost interest.

    The old 'Paint it Black' by the Stones still makes the hair on my neck stand up.

    I buy and sell vintage synths - I love all the old tech - right up until about 1987 when everyone brought out Romplers - digital synths which just replay pre-loaded samples - like the GM/GS/XG soundset - soooooo dull!    typically, things like the Roland D-series and other equivalents like the M1

    I loved my old CZ101, my Poly 61, ARP Solina and Octave Kitten - so nice to play with.