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analag

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Did it get better. I can't really tell, since the last time I listened.
 
from a purely scientific point of view it got worse with audio compression schemes and the like. From an artistic point of view some say yes, some say no.  If you ask me it has gotten worse because people are no longer taking the time necessary to do great production. This is especially evident in the fact a lot are in spaces that are far from ideal to make a recording so not only does it sound bad, it's also rushed. This rushed listening and production although budget friendly is not ideal to making good albums.

Check out a free documentary called before the music dies.
 
Yes...its changed...the things that have suffered at the hands of recording for the masses are namely music and with it preparation...but i think it has made other types of music possible
 
Manufacturers are just as guilty of destroying sound quality as those who tweak the knobs.
 
analag said:
Manufacturers are just as guilty of destroying sound quality as those who tweak the knobs.

Agreed, dealers also. The blow-it-out-the door mentality that promises to make everyone a star if they buy the latest crap.
 
The wealth of affordable high-quality products has made high-quality production available for more people, but it won't replace talent, dedication and science.
Just like Photoshop has made incredible graphic design affordable to "ordinary" people on one hand and on the other hand allowed morons to do a job they are not good at.
 
I like a lot of stuff that is called lo-fi. There is some sonically very interesting stuff out there that doesn't necessarily sound "good". I like sound.
 
Gold said:
I like a lot of stuff that is called lo-fi. There is some sonically very interesting stuff out there that doesn't necessarily sound "good". I like sound.

YES! There is always good sounding stuff out there. Lo-Fi, Hi-Fi and Mid-Fi! Good is good and bad is still bad. But has the sound of those sounds gotten more representative of those sounds. I say not really.

I jumped right on the digital bandwagon when it happened. I remember my first CD (Eat 'em and Smile, David Lee Roth) I remember thinking wow really bright and a liitle harsh. But instant track access and no wow or flutter. Oh yes and DAT tape and Minidisc ruled!!!!! The latest DAWs sound fine.

Doing Sound Design work became a breeze with the DAW. I loved and still do own tape machines but the editing of tape cannot compare to the DAW experience.

Digital is not the problem! Though I agree it needs to get better.

What has gotten bad is the training of the ear and the engineer that it is attached to. I hear things on recordings today that are just criminal. I'm not talking content I'm talking technique. I can listen to a record with content I think is terrible and still listen for the sound capturing and recording technique. On a Record, CD, MP3, AIFF, WAVE or Tape I can still hear phasing anomalies and sound artifacts that just represent bad technique of sound recording. What is really intriguing though is the times when I have had the recordist in the room with the recording and I ask about these points they don't know what I'm talking about they don't hear it or even know what its called! That is a problem and is one of the reasons that the profession of Mastering has blossomed in this time of less recording spaces and professional recordists.

The manipulation of sound is at an all time high and climbing still higher with the new recording tools and on the descent is the operators skill set when it comes to just plain listening.

I blame education in my country. The no music programs in school. What ever happened to music appreciation classes? How many people take the time to go listen to an orchestra, string quartet or a wind ensemble if for no other reason than to increase their ear palette or heck just clean it.
 
The first studio I worked at was a very early user of Sony 3324 multi tracks. I learned on those. Everyone thinks they sound terrible now but everyone thought they sounded good then. Either way the work got done.

Technology is much more accessible now. Some very good music gets made under very bad conditions. Believe me I know. I don't really have a problem with it. If the technology gets in the way of the music then no one will hear it.
 
Gold said:
Technology is much more accessible now. Some very good music gets made under very bad conditions. Believe me I know. I don't really have a problem with it. If the technology gets in the way of the music then no one will hear it.

If anything gets in the way you won't hear it correctly. Music is first a social group experience then a marketing of that reproduction second. I love studio records that have all kinds of wonderful in the studio stuff on them. SGT Peppers comes to mind. Breaking the rules is a given. But get that rule breaking on tape for all to share.

EDIT: To give an example of a band that kills live but their latest record (LONERISM) does not do them justice (I am not referring to the experimentalness)and the songs are there I like the tunes,  is Tame Impala. A record that is also very unique but recorded brilliantly is Raising Sand, Allison Kraus & Robert Plant, I put that record into the required listening pile immediately. IMO!
 
It's hard to compare the traditional analog/tape years to modern DAW because they sound so different, at least to my ears they do.  So from the time all the ADATS & DA-88s were retired and everybody went to DAW I would say that that sound has certainly improved itself.  People know how to work the front end better and the software programs, plug ins etc have improved.  The DAW sound also seems to be the most intentionally tailored sound of any era.  There should be some sub categories worth labeling by now - like the All Ribbon Mic & Big Tube Limiter - Latex Pillow - Dark & Dense Society.  ;D  Those places might have a plaque on the wall depicting a cheap Chinese condenser dripping blood along with a spectrum readout of jagged looking distortion specs on everything above 4K, and a large symbol of the Anti-Christ above it.


Comparing the top commercial fare from the 70s to the two previous decades . . . it's sometimes deceptive.  Changes in techniques gave each individual sound more clarity than in older days but I think close miking the drums stole a lot of dynamic range.  A relatively ragged - some would call Lo-Fi hit from say Motown - something like Frieda Payne's Band of Gold or the Chiffon's He's So Fine still seems to have more girth per unit sound than most of the better 70s cuts.  Maybe trading off one thing for the other.  Some things should always remain consistent across the era - larger track width on tape = more sound, so 2 in 16 tr always has an edge over 2 in 24 tr all other factors being equal.

And yes, agreed that over compression is producing a searing sonic soup that's hard to listen to for very long - but I think it's smart to do that from a marketing perspective given the target audience for a lot of those type cuts probably doesn't have a long attention span - meaning they are very young, edgy and active, and just looking for a quick rush for the soundtrack to their fast paced lives.  For some of them it's all about the beat - the heck with the rest!

I don't know if use of auto-tune and related editing should fit within this question but it's certainly something that is really at the tip of the iceberg stage . . . . at some point source will be meaningless . . . . as long as they can pronounce their words with good approximation - and maybe that won't even be necessary eventually.  Next!
 
pucho812 said:
from a purely scientific point of view it got worse with audio compression schemes and the like. From an artistic point of view some say yes, some say no.  If you ask me it has gotten worse because people are no longer taking the time necessary to do great production. This is especially evident in the fact a lot are in spaces that are far from ideal to make a recording so not only does it sound bad, it's also rushed. This rushed listening and production although budget friendly is not ideal to making good albums.

Basically a good point, but think of the great records made in a hurry at Motown, the LA studios, Stax, Sun, etc.. Not to mention Abbey Road in the early Beatle days; Please Please Me took 12 hours to record, total. Sometimes, the factory approach works (when you have the right musicians and engineers).
 
200px-Factory_records.jpg
 
@Kingston - hey, you've been into "healing music" lately, man! Cool ...
 
pstamler said:
pucho812 said:
from a purely scientific point of view it got worse with audio compression schemes and the like. From an artistic point of view some say yes, some say no.  If you ask me it has gotten worse because people are no longer taking the time necessary to do great production. This is especially evident in the fact a lot are in spaces that are far from ideal to make a recording so not only does it sound bad, it's also rushed. This rushed listening and production although budget friendly is not ideal to making good albums.

Basically a good point, but think of the great records made in a hurry at Motown, the LA studios, Stax, Sun, etc.. Not to mention Abbey Road in the early Beatle days; Please Please Me took 12 hours to record, total. Sometimes, the factory approach works (when you have the right musicians and engineers).

I have to agree. I don't think its time that is of issue. I have heard records that were made in less than a day, I mean soup to nuts, that kill and records that took months to painstakingly construct that are some of my favorite records. I have also heard records that used both these approaches and just plain suck!

Nothing will ever beat out a good tune played by good musicians in a good room recorded by people who know what they are doing. I
for one, as I have gotten on in years, avoid the 6 month multiple take and overdub till we get it projects. I just don't have the patience for that anymore.
 

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