Some of the most difficult decisions faced by today's musicians, engineers and producers have to do with choosing equipment. Whether it be for a million-dollar commercial studio, a bedroom studio or the concert stage, at present there are infinitely more gear choices for each of these markets than there were even 10 or, certainly, 20 years ago. This is largely due to the exponential advances made in music production software, the plummeting cost of digital signal processing (DSP) and computer audio interfaces - to say absolutely nothing about hardware side of the equation!

In order to help you better make these decisions, we're going to take a look at some of the differences between hardware and software signal processing, and also between native and expansion card-based DSP. For the scope of this three-part series, we'll be focusing mainly on the computer-based software side of things.

If this all sounds technically complicated and maybe slightly boring to you, let me first say this: While not exactly simple, understanding the basic differences between these now commonplace technologies is not that difficult. More importantly however, it will help you better understand the tools available, regardless of your role in the music production process. As technology becomes a more integral part of the music industry, understanding the new stuff that's out there can only be to your benefit, even if it merely reinforces your decision to stick with the good old mixing console and tape machine.

Before we go any further however, let's make sure we have clear definitions for some of the potentially confusing concepts we'll be dealing with in this series. Starting from the most basic, hardware signal processing refers to altering an audio signal by sending it from a computer, tape machine, direct inject (DI) box, etc. to a dedicated external hardware unit (analog or digital). This could be a compressor, multi-effects unit, etc. Alternatively, software processing is altering a signal with computer based DSP. In this instance, the signal does not leave "the box," or computer, which is why it's often referred to as "in the box" processing.

Our final two definitions are both branches of software processing. When the term "native" is used in conjunction with DSP, it means that the software is utilizing the host computer's own processors and RAM. All computations are done on the same chips that run your DAW, web browsers and other applications. The other software-based option implements an additional DSP card that usually fits in the computer's PCIe or express card slots (and is entirely separate from the audio interface used for audio recording and playback). In this case, the related software draws most all of its processing power from said card. Not only does this take the burden of processing off the host CPU, but it also acts as a dongle, protecting the software from piracy. Examples of this include Universal Audio's UAD1/2 cards, Pro Tools HD's TDM card and TC Electronic's PowerCore, to name a few of the most popular.

With these definitions in mind, our focus in the next several issues will be on the differences between these various platforms, and more importantly, what they mean to your music. We'll be hearing from some of the industry's top software and hardware companies - including Waves, Softube and Izotope - on the important distinctions between these processes and where the future is headed. Lastly, we'll look at which option is best for your studio.