In my opinion it's not so much the case of analog sounding better, it's about the difference in tangibility when I use analog gear and the focus on sound rather than the music theory.
When writing using software I spend far more time thinking about the music theory. This usually leads to pretty sterile sounding (but musically good) pieces.
When I write using analog I focus more on the sounds and how they work together, spending hours tweaking knobs and faders. There are far more "happy little accidents" when doing this, most of which I couldn't imagine doing with software since they are not planned. I write much more interesting music using analog.
It's similar to playing a real guitar versus a software guitar synth, there are weird little quirks and surprises when playing a guitar that can't be emulated with software.
That's where recording samples of analogue gear comes into play...
You can play an organic riff, or even an entire part and then integrate it with fully digital work in most modern DAWs, and then all the effects and settings can be saved, this allows a much more consistent and clean sound.
In the digital world there are tools to completely remove artifacts like humming, clicks and pops, even undesired notes... Stuff I dreamed about years ago being able to do is now possible.
I think it's hard now to not be able to say digital is better overall. Even if you record full analogue, the process of music reaching people you don't know usually relies on some form of digital encoding or conversion to reach the public's ears, unless they spend a lot on vinyl and high end tube amp sound systems (or vintage ones).
Yes, and it's a massive difference. Using analog you can quickly manipulate all the knobs and sliders in front of you, often simultaneously. Using a mouse is always going to be less easy
That’s part of it, though it can also be about having something that’s fixed rather than infinitely configureable and the mental muscle memory that results.
When writing using software I spend far more time thinking about the music theory. This usually leads to pretty sterile sounding (but musically good) pieces.
When I write using analog I focus more on the sounds and how they work together, spending hours tweaking knobs and faders. There are far more "happy little accidents" when doing this, most of which I couldn't imagine doing with software since they are not planned. I write much more interesting music using analog.
It's similar to playing a real guitar versus a software guitar synth, there are weird little quirks and surprises when playing a guitar that can't be emulated with software.