Why most recordings sound like crap....

[Da5id4Vz]

My memory of every production and mastering system that I had played with up to this time as that when I would turn it on, it would add a synthetic noise floor and a certain amount of distortion to the signal. Not too impressive for stuff with names like Neave, AMS, Lexicon and Sony. That’s what I heard.

Yikes,
I was referring to what dithering sounded like on the DAW I was using back then...

I dont actualy know John Watkinson, he just signed my book at some conference I attended. Good speakker too.

[Circlotron]

Originally posted by mrfeedback
Digital Does Not Mean Bad

And analogue doesn't mean good either. There are good and bad examples of both, as well as the people who drive them to produce the results.

[Da5id4Vz]

A good recording seeks to optimize the process of creating the art with respect to the relevant recording medium.

The engineer, producer and artist will exploit the recoding mediums unique qualities while embracing the color and texture of its technical limitations.

[mrfeedback]

Nah, a good recording is when the band are performing well, and the gear is good enough to capture it, and this includes microphone placements.

If the initial capture is no good, then no amount of effects will fix it.
If the capture is good, then it is best to do the least effects possible - some compression and peak limiting is ok, but can be (and is) easily overdone.

I have recordings of bands that I know, that are natural sounding and they are great, unlike the likes of the hugely overdone Ricky Martin pap.
Effects can be for hiding warts, but it don't always work.

Eric.

[nobody special]

I think that you have to clearly seperate multi-tracked pop/rock music from traditional music.
In classical music, the performance is what it is. The goal is to get that performance to tape (hard disc?) as accurately as possible.
In jazz, it's much the same thing.
Pop and rock, on the other hand, has always been about presenting an artificial sound. It has only gotten worse (better?) since multitracks came to be.
Compression/limiting, reverb, etc. are all a part of the sonic palette, and are as much a part of the finished product as the music itself.
Popular music and audio quality (from an audiophile point of view) are mutually exclusive. How can we even present a straight-faced argument on natural sound when the recording techniques used are not at all natural?
How many of us, when listening to a drum kit, for example, will listen from the drummers perspective? Would you go and stick your ear up to the drum, inches from where it is being hit? That's how it's being recorded! Same for a guitar amp... how many people listen to an amp cranked to the max with their ear 1" from the speaker cone? At least with classical music there is the possibility of hearing a recorded piece of music that has the potential to sound like what you would hear live.
I can guarantee that none of you would like to hear a pop or rock recording where compression and close-miking techniques are not used in the process. The vocals would be distant sounding. The mix would lack punch. Everything would sound flat and lifeless.
On the other hand, I have to agree that the mastering studio is responsible for murdering a lot of decent recordings. I think that the use of overall compression on a mix is a mistake, and is only an attempt to compensate for a bad mix. Mastering, in general, should not be necessary if the producer is doing his job. The only thing they should need to do is the edit the final track arrangement, and put the correct amount of space between tracks, etc.
Just my $.02

[tbla]

i agree on most, but even classical and jazz recordings are "artificial" in many ways too.....very few are recorded the way you think - with one stereomic...!!!!! and mastering is certanly needed - but perhaps in a more "gentle" way....please check out mr.katz about mastering, he knows some trixxx.......

http://www.digido.com/

[nobody special]

Originally posted by tbla
i agree on most, but even classical and jazz recordings are "artificial" in many ways too.....very few are recorded the way you think - with one stereomic...!!!!! and mastering is certanly needed - but perhaps in a more "gentle" way....please check out mr.katz about mastering, he knows some trixxx.......

http://www.digido.com/

Interesting... I haven't read a lot about classical production. I know that some like to close-mike as well as use the stereo approach. I like some of the purist techniques, like the "simulated head" type stereo microphones, which I've read has very accurate imaging.
Mastering engineers obviously are needed to an extent, but my point was that if the original engineer/producer got it right, there is very little left to tweak.
Someone should start a thread on good and bad recordings for rock. That would definitely be helpful (although the Tori Amos thread proves that not everyone hears things the same way).
Steve

[enkidu]

but even classical and jazz recordings are "artificial" in many ways too

Well, I suppose recording itself is artificial if you get down to it.....

I like some of the purist techniques, like the "simulated head" type stereo microphones, which I've read has very accurate imaging.

"Dummy head" microphones give great imaging if you listen with headphones, but don't translate well to speakers. They have generally fallen out of favor these days for that reason.

IMHO most of the best classical music recordings aren't done with "purist" recording techniques either.

Take any Wolf Erichson recording of Gustav Leonhardt for example.

Michael

[Da5id4Vz]

For those who havent yet had the pleasure of meeting the little head, this is the latest generation of what has been one of the most common, the Neumann KM 100 Binaural Microphone. Bruel and Kjaer also made a similar and excellent product:

[Da5id4Vz]

Schoeps Makes the KFM 6 binaural microphone that is an attempt at making an image that better translates outside the headphone environment. They also have a variation for surround recordings. I think that the KFM 6 is what Jerry Bruck w/ a Nagra-D used to record the cello recordings I mentioned in an earlier post: