Geoff Pesche: Plugins vs Hardware

Geoff Pesche: Plugins vs Hardware

12th May 2016
With so many advancements taking place in digital plugin technology, senior mastering engineer Geoff Pesche makes a case for the good quality ways of old, explaining why it is that – when it comes to pitching “in the box” digital versions of kit up against the real deal - hardware is still winning for top quality mastering.
 
The most important question that you need to ask yourself when you’re mastering a track is always, does this sound nice? Is what I’m doing to this unmastered track actually making it sound better? If the answer is yes, then you’re probably doing the job right.
 
With so many plugins now out there, promising to give you as near as possible to an exact replica of any compressor, amp or effect unit that you might like to get your hands on from just about any era throughout the whole of recording history – at a snippet of the price of the original, that fits neatly into your macbook or laptop setup - it’s easy to see why you might be tricked into seeing traditional hardware as the clunky, expensive and out-of-date alternative.
 
But that still just isn’t the case.
 
As someone who started mastering tracks back in the 1980s, in a time long before plugins arrived on the scene, I have been able to hear the digital revolution come along first hand. And to my ears still to this day, after trying my hand at just about every emerging digital alternative along the way, you still can’t beat the real thing when it comes to mastering a track. At least, when you have access to the sort of custom made and vintage kit that we do here at Abbey Road.
 
Due to its history as a testing ground for all of the new EMI recording equipment in the 1960s and 1970s, Abbey Road’s engineers can get their hands on a load of great custom made gear exclusive to the Studio that’s dated incredibly well. In fact, things like the TG mixing desks that are the centre piece of every mastering room at the Studios, are still widely regarded as producing the best sound in their field to this day. Because this kit was so well built at the time, as opposed to mass produced for the market, it’s aged incredibly well and still remains some of the best out there for what we need it to do!
 
A clear signal path is essential for a good mastering job, and there’s a transparency to hardware that makes it perfect for the sort of subtle tweaks and changes needed to get a good master of a track. It keeps things simple, so you can focus on the sound. And when it comes to mastering, that’s the most important bit! There’s a warmth and a width to it that you can really feel. It’s a really clean way of processing your sound.
 
Things are different with digital by its very nature. You’re dealing with loudness and brightness, trying to replicate great analogue sounds as best possible. It’s a very different and complicated process, although an increasingly more powerful one, and one that’s getting better and better at doing the job of the old guard all the time.
 
So who knows, ten years from now I might be painting a very different picture about the relative merits of hardware compared to plugins and other digital mastering technologies. But as someone in my line of work who’s had to learn to trust their ears as a matter of profession, the best in vintage hardware is still the best that’s out there when it comes to mastering your tracks.
 
At least for now!