There are many ways to consider how recording studios have changed with the advent of digital audio workstations. From convenience to the basic methodology of the work, the DAW systems in place today have streamlined a process that used to be much more time consuming. At the same time, the DAW systems also create their own level of complexity where analog used to be pretty basic for engineers to master.

Analog was the standard format for those who recorded before the 1980s. Sound was captured on tapes that were edited manually by cutting and splicing together bits that later became the finished project. Other artists performed in one take for one seamless body of work. Today, the most popular DAW systems include Pro Tools, Maschine, Cubase, Logic Pro and Ableton Live for multi-tracking, editing and mixing.

For audio editing, DAW formats can be a lot easier to work in than traditional analog tape formats. In the older world of analog, tracks were recorded individually and combined onto stereo track tape. Once combined, they could not be separated for different editing. In DAW settings, you can keep each track separate for individual editing capability.

In each separate track in a DAW system, you can patch and manipulate different parts using a click of a mouse in a simple maneuver that usually does not take much time. You can manipulate time signatures and go for precise matching to tracks. Analog capabilities were limited at best, often calling for entire re-recording of sections if a track had mistakes.

DAW's can save an artist or producer a lot of money when it comes to booking time in a studio. The speed and ease of use of these newer systems can make the process go much faster than what you might experience working in an analog system. The result is a shorter and more cost-effective period spent in the studio working alongside an engineer.

DAW recorded formats can theoretically survive forever, unless the source file becomes corrupted or erased. To counter this, the files can be copied for backup in safeguarding the material. Physical tape, made up of materials and chemicals on the tape surface, risk degradation over time from exposure to the elements. Air, water damage and heat also can threaten physical tape and its survival over time. Improper storage can render tape formats useless in playback. Using digital technology to record an album makes editing the source material extremely easy compared to the way analog tape was edited. Engineers who edited tape had to actually use razor blades to cut and splice pieces of tape together when mistakes were made in the recording. This process is extremely difficult and time consuming. Using modern technology, editing multiple tracks at once is done with a few mouse clicks.

When you review how recording studios have changed with the advent of digital audio workstations, you can see the leaps and bounds by which technology has developed for artists. Taking the world of sound and using it either in a studio or at home means more options are available for many music producers. Sonic quality continues to develop to reach new heights.