Like most of you, I can sing a sad song these days. See, I didn't get to Nashville for Summer NAMM. Oh I know, you're thinking, "But Jim, you're an industry powerhouse! How could there be a NAMM Show without you?"

   Okay, so you weren't really thinking that, but it's nice of you to humor me. Actually, the reason I couldn't make it to NAMM was simple: I was running behind in my work. Besides my regular duties with Sweet Notes, I had several articles and reviews to complete for Electronic Musician, and I was putting

"Hey, my ADAT can beat up your ADAT!"

the finishing touches on samples for a new Sweetwater CD ROM (if you're nice, Daniel Fisher will tell you all about it soon).

   Fortunately, as you have probably already noticed, Sweetwater's own David Stewart was there in Nashville and he put together this issue's most excellent overview of all that was new at the show — and there was plenty; so much, in fact, that I've had to give up much of my page so we can fit it all in. Of course, the more amazing new gear there is, the more we find we need, right? I can hardly believe the tools we have available to us these days.

   For my (brief) article this issue, I want to discuss a topic that's on a lot of people's minds lately, which is 16-bit vs. 20- and 24-bit technology. Hardly a day goes by that I don't get asked about this: Is 16-bit finished as a format? Are we dinosaurs if we don't step up to the higher resolution formats? It's an interesting question and one that certainly will not get definitively answered for some time. But let me share some personal observations.

   About six years ago, a major consumer stereo publication conducted exhaustive blind testing to determine whether CDs were actually superior to (of all things) cassettes. We all have an opinion on this subject, right? Well, I won't keep you in suspense. With properly calibrated, high quality cassette machines running with Dolby C noise reduction, most of their panel could not — and I repeat, could not — consistently tell the difference between a cassette and a CD. No, not even those with so-called "golden ears." If they boosted the level of the cassette a bit, many people chose the cassette as the better-sounding format (thinking it was the CD). Amazing, isn't it?

   Okay, if it's so tough to hear the difference between cassettes and CDs, what's the likelihood that listeners will hear the difference between, say, 16-bit and 20-bit recordings?

   Obviously, when the 16-bit, 44.1kHz format was introduced in the late 1970s (has it really been that long?), those were the upper limits of our technology. Still, I have lots of CDs that were recorded at the dawn of digital that sound fantastic. The reason is simple: The recording engineers on these projects (and on analog recordings of the same vintage) were masters of getting the most out of their medium.

   Now I'm no different than anyone else. Give me the choice between 16-bit and 20-bit and I'll take 20-bit every time. Problem is, I still have a 16-bit wallet (ouch!). And the hard truth is that I still have not produced any recordings that have absolutely tapped the upper limits of 16-bit's potential. Another fact that should be apparent is that not all 16-bit recorders are created equal. Some sound better than others. The same, I'm sure, will be said for higher bit machines.

   So what it boils down to is this: What's your budget? Higher bit formats are the future, no one can argue with that. But neither can you argue with the fact that 16-bit will be with us for quite some time to come and sounds pretty awesome for 20-year old technology. Until my ship comes in (and damn it, I'm still waiting) I will try to make the best recordings possible using my present 16-bit machines. When the day comes that the technology cannot handle what I am capable of producing, that's the day I will bite the bullet, call the bank and switch to the highest bit-rate I can afford. For most of us — maybe not you, but the majority of us — I think that day is still a ways down the road.

   With that I'll declare the subject open for discussion and thoughtful responses (if any) will be addressed here next issue. Meanwhile, my new philosophy is simple: Life's short, make music.

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