One of the reasons they dropped the "DDD" "AAD" and "ADD" labels is that modern record production is rarely so simple in its use of technology. In a modern pop/rock recording the original base tracks of a song may start out as a digital recording within a computer running Cubase or some other sequencer/recording program. These tracks may later become synched to a 24 channel, 2" analog tape recorder and additional music tracks added. Everything could then be ported over to ProTools, a digital workstation, for editing and mixing. Rather than keeping it digital through the final mastering stage, alot of producers/musicians like the sound of their final mixes when they are transfered to 1/2" analog tape. Whether or not the submitted music is in a digital or analog format, most of the better mastering houses still use analog signal processors before downloading the material into a digital workstation (SADiE or Sonic Solutions) for final prep to redbook CD format. What's interesting is that great sounding records can actually result from such a serpentine recording process, but to Lugnut's earlier point, it's all about the skill of the engineers and the level of care they take.
