One violin or a hundred violins, there is only one signal (voltage variation over time) per channel. The fidelity with which this analog signal can be represented by a series of numbers (voltages at times) which is the digital method, is precisely known from the resolution (number of voltage values available, bits) and the frequency at which the value is updated. Fidelity of analog recording is much harder to quantify, because the errors are also analog and vary greatly. In addition to distortion of the signal, the analog media introduce various errors that are unrelated to the music, and overlay it. Turntable rumble, LP surface noise, tape hiss, etc. Theoretically the music exists in the analog signal down to infinitely low levels, and with infinitely fine resolution, but this cannot be heard because it is masked, at some level, by the noise. Analog technology strives to reduce the noise level so that masking of the music signal occurs at lower volume level. Digital technology is intended to provide resolution equal to or better than what can be obtained in the real world by analog equipment. 16 bit 44.1 KHz is OK for the typical mass market audio systems, but is really cutting it close, when compared against the best analog equipment. 24-bit 96KHz should leave analog in the dust, but this may not always be the case because mastering of the recording (disc or LP) plays such an important part in overall audio quality.
The idea that an analog recording includes very low level information that is masked by noise is supported by work that has been done to recover historic recordings made almost a hundred years ago. Of course, these are of terrible audio quality when listened to "straight". However, these recordings can be digitized and processed in various ways to separate the music signal from all the noise, and the results are quite astonishing. High frequency response is particularly surprising. The HF stuff actually is on those ancient recordings, but so greatly attenuated that you wouldn't think that it was there at all until the signal is reprocessed. All of this is working at a noise level that is much higher than that on the typical LP, but it does illustrate the point that music information is present in analog recordings, even if unheard, below the noise threshold.
The idea that an analog recording includes very low level information that is masked by noise is supported by work that has been done to recover historic recordings made almost a hundred years ago. Of course, these are of terrible audio quality when listened to "straight". However, these recordings can be digitized and processed in various ways to separate the music signal from all the noise, and the results are quite astonishing. High frequency response is particularly surprising. The HF stuff actually is on those ancient recordings, but so greatly attenuated that you wouldn't think that it was there at all until the signal is reprocessed. All of this is working at a noise level that is much higher than that on the typical LP, but it does illustrate the point that music information is present in analog recordings, even if unheard, below the noise threshold.