On the one hand, digital technology opened the door to new sounds and new paradigms of composition. On the other, the shift from analogue to digital recording overturned every established standard, opening the field to many amateurs and self-producing artists. Mixing, in particular, became easier as graphical interfaces made sound visible, allowing genuinely surgical editing that the ear alone could not achieve. Even symphonic music was revolutionized: mono analogue recordings gave way to multitrack recording, which allowed overdubbing and erased the distinctive acoustics of legendary recording venues, since everything could now be reworked digitally.
But there was more to come. The exceptional qualities that gave artists' creations their originality and authenticity were no longer a prerequisite for making a recording! Pitch-correction software such as Auto-Tune (Antares Audio Technologies, 1997) can adjust the pitch of out-of-tune singers to a predetermined sequence, avoiding the need for multiple successive takes.
So, is digital technology the Holy Grail that every sound engineer dreamed of? At any rate, it has become a medium that makes it easy to deceive millions of fans who idolize mediocre artists.
