I was going to post this in the audio forum as a response, but, I thought fuck it.

I have both analog and digital recorders. I have a 1957 Sound of Music 4 track reel to reel recorder, and a 1961 Panasonic 2 track reel to reel. I also have a few Fostex digital recorders. Not to mention the various PC DAW's I have. From my experiences, recording to analog gives you a very warm distinct sound. Even if you're recording a softsynth to analog. You will be able to tell a distinct difference in audio quality, provided you have a good set of studio speakers. Then when you transfer it to digital, you will still be able to tell a difference. When I record straight to digital, it seems like I have to use effects to 'liven up' the sound a bit. Now, if you've never recorded to analog, then you wouldn't notice the difference. By the way, tape for reel to reels is fucking expensive, if you don't have much money, stick with digital!

I also have both analog and digital sythesizers, and many, many softsynths. The biggest difference, again, is the sound. Analogs will always have that distict warm sound, and digitals will still have their distinct digitized sound. But, neither is bad. They both compliment each other. Software synthesizers are definetly easier to program than many digital and analog synths. They're cheaper too, and there are thousands available free. The downside to softsynths are as obvious as the ones to analog and digital synths. With softsynths, you have to worry about hard drive failure, corrupted files, upgrading your hardware to meet the softwares needs(Reaktor 5 anyone?), if you play live how are you going to transport your PC/laptop safely....The only problem I have had with my digital synths is occasionally replacing a battery or dead discdrive. The analogs are a different story. Tuning them, changing fuses, making sure the pots, switches, sliders still work, and changing led lights are the least of your worries. If you have one made in a non English speaking country like me, and you have a dead key, or no power, you may be fucked. The upside to digital/analog keybords are many. You can transport them more safely, as opposed to a laptop or PC. I would much rather retune a keyboard if it gets bumped, than say replace a hard drive(been there, done that). Keyboards also last decades. Many have actually become collectors items, and their value has increased the older they get. While most softsynths become obsolete with each new version, their value doesn't increase, neither does collectability. You also don't have to worry about new operating systems, backwards compatability, etc. Just make sure you have plenty of cables:)

So I'll end it this post with this advice. If you can ever afford to record your digital music to analog, try it. At least once. You may like what you hearand you can always convert back to digital. And if you ever have the chance to get an analog synth, try playing it with your digital/soft synths. It can really add a lot of life to your music.

Sometimes I laugh to myself when I see somone post, show us a screen shot of your flp. Would anyone like to see a picture of my analog tape or the pretty .wav file it makes as it's being converted?