The Truth About Vinyl - Vinyl vs. Digital
Summary
TLDRCe script vidéo explore l'impact historique du disque vinyle, comparant son rôle à celui de l'imprimerie dans la diffusion culturelle et technologique. Il détaille la différence entre les formats analogiques et numériques, soulignant les contraintes du vinyle, comme sa capacité limitée et la nécessité d'un mixage spécifique pour minimiser les distorsions. Malgré l'avancée numérique, le vinyle connaît un retour en popularité, évoquant des débats sur la fidélité sonore. En fin de compte, la préférence pour le vinyle est plus émotionnelle que scientifique, tandis que l'évolution de la production musicale moderne est facilitée par des outils comme FL Studio et Skillshare.
Takeaways
- 📀 Les disques vinyles ont eu un impact majeur sur la culture moderne, bien au-delà de la simple consommation de musique.
- 📚 Le disque vinyle est comparable à l'imprimerie pour la diffusion de la culture et des idées, en particulier à travers l'enregistrement audio.
- 🔊 Le processus d'enregistrement analogique via les disques vinyles est une continuité de l'invention du phonographe de Thomas Edison.
- 💿 Le vinyle a vu une résurgence des ventes malgré l'essor de la musique numérique, suggérant un lien émotionnel avec le support physique.
- 🎧 La principale différence entre les formats analogiques et numériques réside dans la façon dont le son est reproduit, même si les deux sont en théorie similaires en qualité.
- 📏 Les disques vinyles ont des limitations de stockage de données, influençant la façon dont la musique est mixée, notamment pour les basses fréquences et les sons forts.
- 🎚️ L'utilisation de la courbe RIAA permet de compenser les problèmes d'enregistrement liés aux basses et hautes fréquences, évitant les distorsions.
- 🎼 Le phénomène de la 'guerre du volume' a conduit à une compression accrue de la musique dans les formats numériques, ce qui a parfois réduit la clarté des détails sonores.
- 🕰️ Le vinyle est souvent préféré pour son aspect nostalgique, et parce que la musique y est mixée différemment, avec un souci du détail qui est parfois perdu dans le numérique.
- 🚀 Un disque en vinyle a même été envoyé dans l'espace à bord de la sonde Voyager 1, démontrant la durabilité et l'importance culturelle de ce support.
Q & A
Quel est l'impact principal du disque vinyle sur la société moderne, au-delà de la simple consommation de musique ?
-Le disque vinyle a servi de vecteur d'échange culturel, similaire à la presse à imprimer pour les idées écrites. Il a facilité la reproduction à grande échelle de la musique, contribuant ainsi à la révolution technologique des systèmes de communication modernes.
En quoi le disque vinyle est-il comparable à la presse à imprimer ?
-Comme la presse à imprimer a accéléré le transfert d'idées écrites, le disque vinyle a permis une reproduction massive du son, contribuant à l'échange culturel et à l'évolution des technologies de communication.
Quelles sont les contraintes techniques majeures du vinyle par rapport à la musique numérique ?
-Le vinyle a des limitations en termes de stockage des données : des fréquences basses et des sons forts prennent plus d'espace sur le disque, limitant le temps d'enregistrement. De plus, les hautes fréquences et les basses extrêmes peuvent provoquer des distorsions et des sauts de l'aiguille.
Qu'est-ce que la courbe RIAA et pourquoi est-elle importante pour le vinyle ?
-La courbe RIAA est un schéma d'égalisation appliqué avant la gravure du disque pour réduire les basses fréquences et augmenter les aigus. Cela permet d'optimiser l'espace disponible sur le vinyle et de réduire les bruits de surface.
Pourquoi certains amateurs de vinyle préfèrent-ils ce format à la musique numérique, malgré ses limitations ?
-Les amateurs de vinyle apprécient la qualité sonore unique du mastering spécifique au vinyle, souvent perçue comme plus nuancée, et l'absence des effets de la 'guerre du volume' qui affecte la musique numérique moderne.
Comment fonctionne la reproduction du son sur un disque vinyle ?
-Le sillon du disque vinyle est une représentation en 3D de l'onde sonore originale. L'aiguille suit ce sillon, générant un courant électrique qui est converti en mouvement physique dans les haut-parleurs, reproduisant ainsi le son.
Pourquoi la modulation horizontale est-elle préférable à la modulation verticale dans les enregistrements vinyles ?
-La modulation horizontale provoque moins de distorsion et permet une meilleure amplitude. La modulation verticale entraîne plus de distorsion et peut faire sauter l'aiguille à haute amplitude.
Quel est le rôle du microphone dans le processus d'enregistrement audio, selon le script ?
-Le microphone convertit les pressions de l'air (sons) en signal analogique ou numérique, ce qui permet d'enregistrer le son pour une reproduction future.
En quoi le concept de fidélité sonore du vinyle est-il remis en question par la science ?
-Bien que certains prétendent que le vinyle offre une reproduction sonore plus fidèle, la science montre que les échantillons numériques à 44 100 Hz peuvent recréer les fréquences sonores aussi efficacement que les enregistrements analogiques, rendant la différence imperceptible pour l'oreille humaine.
Quel est l'exemple donné dans le script pour illustrer la durabilité et l'importance du vinyle dans l'histoire humaine ?
-Le disque en or envoyé dans l'espace à bord de Voyager 1 en 1977 illustre la durabilité et l'importance symbolique du vinyle, contenant une archive sonore de 200 000 ans de culture humaine.
Outlines
📀 L'impact de l'enregistrement audio sur la culture moderne
Le disque vinyle, souvent perçu comme un simple produit de consommation pour la musique, a eu un impact culturel profond, comparable à celui de l'imprimerie. Il a permis la diffusion massive de l'audio, tout comme l'imprimerie a accéléré la transmission d'idées écrites. Aujourd'hui, malgré la dominance du numérique, les ventes de vinyles augmentent. Certains défendent la qualité sonore du vinyle, mais la question persiste : est-ce une simple nostalgie ou une qualité supérieure ?
🎤 La capture et reproduction du son : Du phonographe à l'enregistrement numérique
Le microphone capte les ondes sonores, les convertissant en signaux analogiques ou numériques, un processus qui remonte à l'invention du phonographe par Thomas Edison en 1877. Son appareil permettait d'enregistrer et de reproduire le son sur un cylindre rotatif. Le disque vinyle fonctionne sur un principe similaire, où un sillon analogique reproduit les ondes sonores, permettant ainsi la lecture fidèle du son à l'aide d'un stylet et de l'électricité. Cependant, les amateurs de vinyle débattent toujours de la fidélité du son par rapport aux formats numériques.
📉 Analogique vs numérique : Comprendre la différence
Bien que le son numérique soit échantillonné à un taux de 44 100 fois par seconde, créant un fichier discret, cela ne compromet pas nécessairement la qualité sonore. Grâce au théorème de Nyquist-Shannon, on sait qu'un échantillonnage adéquat peut capturer toutes les fréquences audibles. Les limites du vinyle, comme les restrictions de stockage et les problèmes de distorsion, renforcent l'idée que les enregistrements numériques sont souvent plus pratiques, même si le vinyle est parfois préféré pour des raisons esthétiques ou émotionnelles.
🎶 Limitations du vinyle : Stockage et problèmes techniques
Les vinyles sont contraints par la taille du disque et la nécessité de gérer les basses et les hautes fréquences, ce qui affecte la durée et la qualité sonore. Les basses fréquences nécessitent des sillons plus larges, tandis que les hautes fréquences peuvent causer de la distorsion si elles ne sont pas bien maîtrisées. Pour contrer ces effets, l'égalisation RIAA a été développée, réduisant les basses et augmentant les aigus avant le pressage du vinyle, nécessitant l'utilisation d'un préamplificateur spécial pour rétablir l'équilibre sonore.
🔊 Le débat sur la qualité sonore entre vinyle et numérique
Les études montrent que l'oreille humaine ne peut pas percevoir de différence notable entre les enregistrements analogiques et numériques lorsqu'ils sont lus sur le même équipement. La préférence pour le vinyle est souvent due à des raisons nostalgiques ou à la manière dont la musique est masterisée pour ce format. En raison de la guerre du volume dans la musique numérique, où les chansons deviennent de plus en plus bruyantes et compressées, le vinyle conserve parfois des nuances sonores que certains auditeurs apprécient, même si ces informations pourraient tout aussi bien être capturées numériquement.
🚀 Le vinyle, un format durable et symbolique
Malgré ses limites techniques, le vinyle reste un format emblématique et durable, comme en témoigne l'envoi d'un disque en or avec Voyager 1 en 1977, contenant une représentation de la culture humaine. Les technologies modernes comme FL Studio et Ableton facilitent aujourd'hui la production musicale, et des plateformes comme Skillshare permettent aux individus d'apprendre ces compétences en ligne, soulignant que la technologie musicale continue d'évoluer tout en conservant une place pour les formats plus anciens comme le vinyle.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡disque vinyle
💡phonographe
💡modulation horizontale
💡échantillonnage
💡courbe RIAA
💡compression audio
💡sibilance
💡pression des ondes sonores
💡analogique vs numérique
💡résurgence du vinyle
Highlights
The disc record is compared to the printing press for its impact on the modern world, facilitating cultural exchange and the foundation of modern communication systems.
Vinyl records were first pressed in 1948 by Columbia, with Mendelssohn's Concerto in E Minor being the first 12-inch recording.
Vinyl records reproduce sound via a physical groove that represents a continuous analog waveform, which some audiophiles believe is more 'faithful' than digital formats.
Digital music is typically sampled 44,100 times per second, creating a jagged wave form, but scientific studies show the human ear cannot distinguish between well-produced digital and analog recordings.
Despite the surge of digital music, vinyl sales continue to rise annually, with many buyers streaming music before purchasing vinyl.
Thomas Edison’s 1877 invention of the phonograph marked the first example of playable recorded sound, using a cylinder with a groove created by soundwaves.
Vinyl records are subject to physical limitations like bass and amplitude constraints, which affect how much audio data can be stored on a 12-inch record.
The 'Sibilance Issue' refers to high frequencies causing hissing sounds due to tight grooves, leading to potential distortion and requiring mastering adjustments.
The RIAA curve, developed in the 1940s and 1950s, applies equalization to vinyl records to counteract bass and treble imbalances, improving playback quality.
The 'Loudness War' refers to increased compression in digital music, which sacrifices dynamic range in favor of louder songs, a trend that vinyl mastering avoids.
Some vinyl enthusiasts prefer the format because it is less impacted by the loudness war, allowing for more nuanced sound compared to heavily compressed digital tracks.
Vinyl records offer a specific 'warm' sound due to the unique mastering process and the physical limitations of the medium.
There is no scientific evidence to support the idea that analog sound is inherently better than digital, though vinyl retains a nostalgic appeal for many listeners.
A gold-plated vinyl record is currently aboard the Voyager 1 spacecraft, containing a snapshot of human culture, showcasing vinyl’s iconic status as a durable medium.
Programs like FL Studio and Ableton have made music production more accessible, allowing individuals to create music without needing physical production studios.
Transcripts
The humble disc record is not often properly recognized for the impact its development
had on the modern world.
On the face of it, these records are just consumer products that allow music to be sold
to the masses, a concept that itself only reached the mass market about 100 years ago.
The truth is the impact of this technology goes way beyond consumption of pop music.
In some way, the record’s closest comparison is the printing press.
The printing press is often considered one of the most important inventions in history
due to its ability to quickly and accurately reproduce ideas in written word; which in
turn, greatly accelerated the transfer and exchange of knowledge.
The ability to press audio to record so that it can be reproduced in scale did the exact
same thing for audio.
It functioned as a vector for cultural exchange and the revolution in recording technology
ushered in by electronic and audio engineers that developed the technology is the foundation
upon which modern communication systems stand upon.
Of course, these days most of the music we consume is digital.
The internet has changed not only the way we consume music, but also the amount of music
[1] and the music itself [2].
Curiously while this is happening vinyl is seeing a year on year increase in sales [3,4].
Even more curious is the fact that half of the people who buy an album on vinyl stream
it first [4] It remains a point of contention whether analog formats, such as vinyl, are
actually superior to their modern day digital counterparts.
Is vinyl’s resurgence just consumers seeing yesteryear’s technology through rose tinted
glasses, a yearning for a physical connection to their music or does the music really sound
better on vinyl?
To understand the differences between these two we need to first understand the commonalities.
No matter which format is used, analog or digital, both require audio data to be created
by a recording device.
The simplest of these would be the microphone which turns air pressure (sound) into a either
a digital or analog signal, which can then be replayed as an electrical analog signal.
This process was first put into use in 1877 by Thomas Edison.
While working on the telephone, Edison decided that it may also be worth investigating if
sound could be recorded for later reproduction.
Edison designed a rotatable cylinder disc wrapped in thin foil which was turned by a
hand crank.
Attached to the disc was a needle, which in turn was attached to a mouthpiece which adjusted
the pressure of needle on the disc.
Edison talked into mouthpiece while turning the hand crank at a constant rate and as predicted,
the pressure of the soundwaves imprinted a proportional indentation which was analogous
to the sound his voice created.
When he finished recording, he returned the needle to the start.
The indentations which were caused by his voice could now be played back by rotating
the cylinder.
Playback of audio while showing phonograph working….
This invention, the phonograph, was the first example of playable recorded sound and for
all intents and purposes the vinyl record is essentially an iteration of this technology.
The first vinyl recorded was pressed in 1948 by Columbia - specifically, it was this recording
on 12 inch:
- Record plays - Mendelssohn's Concerto in E Minor by Nathan
Milstein on the violin with the New York Philharmonic
Vinyl records work on the same basic principle as Edison’s phonograph.
A 3d representation of a soundwave is physically pressed on to a vinyl record.
An impression is first created by a cutting head.
The cutting head creates an impression that is a direct analog of the soundwave.
This process creates a master that will go to create a stamper that moulds each record.
When a record is played the frequency of the wave that you will hear will depend on how
stretched out the wave is on the media and the volume will depend on the size or amplitude
of the wave.
This audio information will be pressed on to vinyl in one of 3 fashions:
via horizontal modulation Vertical modulation
OR via a compromise modulation of 45 degrees Horizontal modulation is always preferable
over vertical modulation.
This is because vertical modulation leads to more distortion and allows for less amplitude
due to an inability for the stylus to track the groove and also a propensity for the needle
to bound off the wave if the amplitude is too high.
But if we run with only horizontal modulation we can only play audio in mono and we don’t
have stereo separation of sound.
Accordingly, we use a compromise modulation of 45 degree in order to allow for separation
of audio from mono to stereo.
As the stylus follows the groove, it moves a magnet wrapped in a small coil of copper
wire, this causes an electric current that corresponds to the groove on the vinyl, which
in turn corresponds to the physical sound waves that were originally recorded.
The electric current can now cause a physical movement of the speakers which will reproduce
that sound pretty faithfully.
Some vinyl enthusiasts argue that this smooth continuous reproduction of sound from analog
to analog is more faithful than digital music Part of this argument stems from the difference
in how digital music is reproduced - high quality digital audio data is typically sampled
44,100 times per second and this data is recorded in binary format.
Close inspection of the wave function produced from binary code shows that rather than the
audio data being smooth and constant like real life, the audio data is jagged and technically
non-continuous.
Because there is an infinite amount of data between each second of audio, we have to sample
the audio in regular intervals to minimise the size of our digital file.
Comparing this to the smooth continuous waveform that is imprinted in vinyl you would think
this might cause some loss in information.
Whether there is loss of information or not depends on whether the 44,000 sample rate
is high enough to be functionally the same.
An answer to this was proposed in 1928 in a
pivotal paper published by Swedish American electronic engineer Harry Nyquist [5], and
was subsequently proven by Claude Shannon in 1949 [6].
They simply found that to recreate a frequency we only need to sample each individual wave
at least twice.
If not, the frequency will be digitized with a lower frequency.
The maximum perceivable frequency a human ear can detect is 20,000 Hz, and so digital
recordings with a sampling rate of 44,000 Hz can capture even the highest frequency
possible, thus the sound produced by a speaker using digital audio is effectively the same
sound as analog recordings.
In this case, the argument that analog recordings are more “faithful” does not meet the
scrutiny of science and in theory digital and analog music recordings should sound functionally
the same if played on the same equipment.
The argument does not end here though, there are some constraints to how sound can be recorded
on vinyl.
Interestingly, these constraints largely explain both vinyl enthusiasts preference for the
media and also why some might argue that digital recordings are a superior format for storing
audio.
The major constraint that impacts vinyl is simply its limit in data storage.
This is simple to understand - A 12 inch record can only hold so much information in the format
we’ve described.
Each rotation of the record takes 1.8 seconds.
The next question is how many times each 12 inch can record rotate.
Two things affect this, the frequencies found in bass notes require the groove of the record
to swing out wider, just as the speaker also thumbs out wider when it plays base.
Waves of higher amplitude that produce louder sound also require wider grooves.
This means that both low frequency sounds and loud sounds both eat up valuable vinyl
real estate.
This in turn means that if you’re record has bass or is loud, like most contemporary
music, there’s not going to be a whole lot of space on the record for your songs.
The net impact of this is that there is a volume and time constraint on vinyl record
that does not apply to digital music, which has huge ramifications for how we listen to
music, and how music is created and mastered.
Vinyl’s limitations do not end here.
If the frequency is low and the amplitude too high (loud), the stylus can become prone
to bounding off of the wave due to path the stylus has to take up the wave at speed.
This can cause the record to bounce around and skip if not accounted for.
Accordingly, bass needs to be center panned in the mix and a specific mix has to applied
to music recorded to vinyl to stop this from happening.
High frequency sounds also need to be taking into consideration while cutting a vinyl record.
The issue is commonly referred to as the “Sibilance Issue”.
Sibilance is that unpleasant hissing sound associated with s sounds and other high frequencies,
that anyone who has watched my older videos will be painfully aware of.
High frequency waves cause two fundamental problems in vinyl.
High frequency sounds mean the waves are very tight together, the stylus has to surf these
waves and turn extremely tight corners.
When the curvature of the groove becomes tighter than the tip radius of the stylus, the stylus
will begin to plow through the groove and you will end up with distortion.
On top of this, extremely high frequency waves can lead to the cutting head that cuts the
record to overheat.
This is simply a matter of the cutting head having to take a longer path and having to
do more work to cut these waves.
The overheating can lead to inaccuracy in the cutting process and in turn to noise and
distortion on the final record.
To counteract the negative effects that extreme low end and high end frequencies have on vinyl,
a group of American engineers developed what became to be known as the Recording Industry
Association of America (RIAA) curve in the 40s and 50s [7].
The RIAA is a equalization scheme that is applied to the sound before the master lacquer
is cut.
In essence, this curve reduces bass content and boosts treble in the record.
Without this curve, low frequencies take up so much space that each 12 inch LP would only
allow for 5 minutes of music.
In addition, boosting the treble hugely lowers the surface noise that vinyl can produce due
to the path the stylus takes.
This is also why a turntable requires a special phono preamp – in addition to amplifying
the tiny voltage created by the turntable’s cartridge, the preamp applies the inverse
of the RIAA curve, perfectly restoring the music’s natural balance and minimizing the
size constraints that are intrinsically linked to the nature of the media.
So we’ve painted a complicated and grim picture for vinyl as a storage media.
The actual truth here is that there is no functional difference in audio quality between
digital and analog formats...and studies show that the human ear and brain is not sufficiently
equipped to distinguish the difference between sound produced from analog signals when compared
to a digital counterpart [8].
At the very least, this is enough to debunk the notion that digital music formats are
a lesser quality format than analog formats.
An important question to ask here is why are people, that understand these concepts, still
drawn to vinyl?
There’s a number of simple answers to this question:
Part of it is the nostalgia factor - people have positive personal associations with the
vinyl format from their youth and these associations invoke an emotional state that induces a sense
of comfort [9]; and although there are no discernible differences in theoretical audio
quality, vinyl does have a specific sound that is imparted due to the mastering process.
Mastering is the process by which the final song is mixed for the final device it will
be stored on.
Over the past 36 years, due to the removal of the physical limitations of vinyl media
and the spread of digitized music, songs have become increasingly louder and increasingly
more compressed [10].
In essence, this means that the sound wave becomes compressed, forcing the quieter parts
of a song to become relatively louder and the louder parts relatively quieter, the net
effect being a louder, noisier song.
As a result of this trend a vast majority of commercial music releases have been subject
to a somewhat arbitrary loudness war that has forced them to increase loudness to keep
pace.
It has also resulted in increased use of compression of the music which some would argue has result
in a loss of detail and nuance in the final sound.
This development has been criticized by a number of prominent audio engineers [11] and
is part of the attraction towards vinyl.
Some people prefer vinyl for this reason, music properly mastered for the medium is
to a certain degree immune to the effects of the music loudness wars and in some cases,
this can mean that the more nuanced parts of the song are easier to pick out for a trained
ear.
Really though, given that this same information can be recorded on a digital format and replayed
exactly the same, the answer to this question is that digital and analog formats are functionally
the same in the quality of sound produced and any preference for one media or the other,
is really just that, a preference.
The longevity and iconic status of the vinyl record as a music format cannot be ignored
though.
Despite the shortcomings we’ve described, it is an incredibly durable and elegantly
simple medium.
This is probably best exemplified in the golden plated record sent on the Voyager 1 In September
of 1977.
It’s hard to believe but 12 billion miles away from here this record is floating through
space.
It’s cover contains simple instructions for playback based on certain universal constants
and the record itself contains a high resolution snapshot of 200,000 years of human culture.
Unless the Voyager 1 suffers a direct impact or encounter heat that may melt the record,
this record in theory, should out survive even our species.
Just as the technology for storing music has advanced the technology mixing and mastering
music has, it has never been easier to get into music production, thanks to programs
like FL Studio and Ableton which give you a virtual production room with all the tools
you need to create a song of your own.
There has never been more information available to learn how to use them either.
With introductory classes like this on Skillshare for FL Studio and Ableton, and many more classes
to teach you the nitty gritty of music production like this one from Grammy nominated DJ Young
Guru.
These days you can teach yourself pretty much any skill online and Skillshare is a fantastic
place to do it.
With professional and understandable classes, that follow a clear learning curve, you can
dive in and start learning how to do the work you love.
A Premium Membership begins around $10 a month for unlimited access to all courses, but the
first 1000 people to sign up with this link will get their first 2 months for free.
As usual thanks for watching and thank you to all my Patreon supporters.
If you would like to see more from me, the links to my twitter, facebook, discord server,
subreddit and instagram pages are below.
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