First Pink Floyd Album Recorded on Digital Multitrack: A Momentary Lapse of Reason’s Tech Gamble

“A Momentary Lapse of Reason” (1987) was Pink Floyd’s first album recorded using a 32-track digital multitrack recorder—specifically a Sony PCM-3324. The band had used analog for everything from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn through The Final Cut, so the switch was not just a technical upgrade but a philosophical one.

The biggest challenge was the cold, unforgiving sound of early digital recording. David Gilmour later said the digital tape made everything sound “too clean” and brittle, stripping away the warmth and tape compression that had defined Floyd’s earlier records. The band also struggled with the rigid timing of click tracks—essential for digital editing—which clashed with the fluid, spontaneous feel they were used to. On top of that, the 24-hour studio booking schedule became even more exhausting because digital’s zero noise floor meant every tiny imperfection in performance or monitoring was ruthlessly exposed.