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[Ron Behro]

Now that digital mixing consoles are popping up everywhere on tour with bands and artists alike, where will all the analog mixing consoles go to finish their life?

Everyday I see ads online of analog mixing consoles for sale. Sound companies, recording studios, theatres, churches, school s, etc. are all upgrading to digital mixing consoles and selling off their analog counterparts.

So many analog consoles for sale at a fraction of their original purchase price. Only problem is that everyone wants digital and nobody wants to by the old analog boards.

I do realize that there are some sound techs who prefer to work on analog consoles and have not completely converted to digital. I myself am one of those sound techs. For so many jobs an analog console still makes sense.

Soon there is going to be a big pileup of analog mixing consoles that may end up in the landfills if not sold off as used gear. That would be a sad thing to see happen.

I believe that analog mixing consoles still have life left in them and can still be used for modern day sound jobs. It is just a matter of finding ways to put these old console back to work.

Can analog mixing consoles still exist with digital ones?
Any thoughts of this?

[Mark McFarlane]

There are people who will trade convenience for cost. There are people who don't want to learn, or are afraid of ruggedness.  There are people who don't know what to do with compressors on every channel,...  There are people who curate museums.  There are people who like nostalgia.  All good analog candidates.

Analog prices will continue to drop.  Digital will continue to add new features including some automation capabilities that struggle at first, and eventually work.  Analog interconnects will disappear (Dante is already showing up in many devices). Wired interconnects will eventually disappear.

Maybe there will be an analog console renaissance in 30 years, as there was with 2" tape (until people stopped making tape).

Anyone want to buy a bunch of excellent, immaculately maintained manual focus Nikon lenses that don't meter on most modern Nikon camera bodies?  10 cents on the dollar.  Anyone know how to set an optimal f-stop or manually focus a lens?  Anyone care?

[Robert Lunceford]

Now that digital mixing consoles are popping up everywhere on tour with bands and artists alike, where will all the analog mixing consoles go to finish their life?

Everyday I see ads online of analog mixing consoles for sale. Sound companies, recording studios, theatres, churches, school s, etc. are all upgrading to digital mixing consoles and selling off their analog counterparts.

So many analog consoles for sale at a fraction of their original purchase price. Only problem is that everyone wants digital and nobody wants to by the old analog boards.

I do realize that there are some sound techs who prefer to work on analog consoles and have not completely converted to digital. I myself am one of those sound techs. For so many jobs an analog console still makes sense.

Soon there is going to be a big pileup of analog mixing consoles that may end up in the landfills if not sold off as used gear. That would be a sad thing to see happen.

I believe that analog mixing consoles still have life left in them and can still be used for modern day sound jobs. It is just a matter of finding ways to put these old console back to work.

Can analog mixing consoles still exist with digital ones?
Any thoughts of this?

There must be a market for analog mixers as all the manufacturers are still producing them.
I don't know of any major manufacturer that has eliminated their analog line and has gone digital exclusively.
It would be interesting to know the ratio of analog to digital boards currently being manufactured and sold.

[Steve M Smith]

Anyone want to buy a bunch of excellent, immaculately maintained manual focus Nikon lenses that don't meter on most modern Nikon camera bodies?  10 cents on the dollar.  Anyone know how to set an optimal f-stop or manually focus a lens?  Anyone care?

You can send them to me if you like.  I can use them on my Nikon F, or FE2.  They can join my 70+ film cameras.

EDIT:  Actually, I do sometimes use my pre AI Nikkors on a D3200.  Auto focus and metering are over rated!

The rush to digital has been great for film fans like me as we can now afford the cameras we could only dream about owning a few years ago,

I don't know if the same will be true for analogue mixers - I don't have space for 70 of them!

There are quite a few analogies between music and photography as far as digital and analogue is concerned.  In most cases it is no more than convenience winning out over quality.  After all, no one abandons one system in favour of another because it is more difficult or less convenient!


Steve.

[Bob Leonard]

I think it's just a little short sighted to ask this question. There is still a market for analog consoles and outboard gear in the > $1500 range, specialized markets, etc. Not every bar band in the world is willing to part with $3K to jump on the entry level bandwagon, and not every touring band or studio is 100% digital. The entry level crowd tends to place a huge premium on recording the gig. That no longer means a fully digital board, as even boards costing $2-300 offer USB interfaces and even some digital function. As usual, it depends.

[Jeff Bankston]

i will not use digital. i do not like the sound.

[Taylor Hall]

Little fish like me will likely be the ones who benefit from the shift. Like Bob said, price is a key point here, and while you get a lot of bang for your buck, if you simply don't have enough buck then you have to look elsewhere.

For our needs, analog boards are just fine and will serve our needs for many more years unless our business really takes off, at which point we'll pick up the gear that we need, and more importantly, afford.

[Tim Fenton]

At the University where I am employed we have upgraded our main theatre/auditorium to a GLD 80. The rest of our portable systems, classroom systems and sports team consoles are all analog. I am trying to convince them to let me purchase a few more digital systems for the portable systems, as I hate lugging that 100' snake around.

[TJ (Tom) Cornish]

There must be a market for analog mixers as all the manufacturers are still producing them.
I don't know of any major manufacturer that has eliminated their analog line and has gone digital exclusively.
It would be interesting to know the ratio of analog to digital boards currently being manufactured and sold.

Other than sub $1000 small format boards (mostly 16-channel and smaller) and APB, who still makes analog boards?

[TJ (Tom) Cornish]

Now that digital mixing consoles are popping up everywhere on tour with bands and artists alike, where will all the analog mixing consoles go to finish their life?

Everyday I see ads online of analog mixing consoles for sale. Sound companies, recording studios, theatres, churches, school s, etc. are all upgrading to digital mixing consoles and selling off their analog counterparts.

So many analog consoles for sale at a fraction of their original purchase price. Only problem is that everyone wants digital and nobody wants to by the old analog boards.

Yep

I do realize that there are some sound techs who prefer to work on analog consoles and have not completely converted to digital. I myself am one of those sound techs. For so many jobs an analog console still makes sense.

Many events can be done on analog.

Soon there is going to be a big pileup of analog mixing consoles that may end up in the landfills if not sold off as used gear. That would be a sad thing to see happen.

This is likely to happen.

I believe that analog mixing consoles still have life left in them and can still be used for modern day sound jobs. It is just a matter of finding ways to put these old console back to work.

Can analog mixing consoles still exist with digital ones?
Any thoughts of this?

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