The Loudness Wars started apparently shortly after the introduction of the CD changer but they got worse since and mobile devices certainly haven't helped.
Bass guitar and vocals pretty much always had some compression on them. Some old compressors like the Urei 1176LN from 1968 became famous for bass that clones are built into bass amps. It is very difficult to play bass evenly enough to go without and not many bass players can do it.
Similar goes for close mic'd vocals. But these days the tracks which had compression on them just to gently even things out get compressed even more and there are un-necessary levels of compression on the mixing consoles stereo output.
So compression is like drugs (medical or otherwise): The right amount will make things nicer but too much will kill.
I listened to the album, as well as you can listen using only a tablet connected to a docking station. I was really fond of several tracks. I would really need to have a proper listening session, with headphones perhaps? in order to give a detailed review of it. Incidentally I'm thinking about having a go at doing music reviews on a professional basis, but to be honest I have no idea of how to find that kind of work also this is maybe just a pipe dream!
Back to the album; It was apparent that there were some mammoth bass parts that the shitty docking station couldn't muster! My favorites were the first track ( the version of paranoimia without max headroom ) and the last track.
Have been sorting out what is left of my CD collection, again many were sold during hard times, bah. I still have several of my favourites though, pink floyd and tangerine dream, for example. 🙂 At the moment the only options I have at my disposal, are playing them on the living room DVD player via the TV, BTW the wife thinks there's nothing wrong with that type of thing! Or my daughters shitty pink "ghetto blaster, " getting a CD player is therefore a high priority, the only piece of "HiFi" equipment I have left is an old Denon cassette deck.
An excellent analogy.
Gordon.
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Compression, squashing, and dynamic range reduction has been going on since the 60's that I have known about. The music is compressed at mastering to fit the medium. It is often compressed again for broadcast purposes.
In about 1970 a large corporation (Dupont, I believe) bought out a struggling FM radio station in Miami that played mostly music catered to the retired generation. I believe they did this in several other major markets at the same time. They set out to "start a new era in radio broadcasting" The format was changed to pop music and the compressor was set on KILL. Every hour there was a loud mouthed DJ running some kind of contest....."Rip me off, be the first person to call.......within a few months, 96X, the loudest station on your radio, had moved into the number one spot amongst the 12 to 25 year old segment. Y100 and a few others followed suit. 96X died and went silent, but as of 2013 when I left Florida Y100 was still as loud as ever on the FM dial.
In the 60's and 70's there were 3 or 4 radio stations that played obscure rock music. Now there is NO rock station serving the South Florida market except Clear Channel's classic rock station, BIG 106, and they have a rather short play list. I have heard every song they play at least a zillion times, in fact I still have the records.
My 70's favorite was WEDR. This was "underground rock" for South Florida. The AM studio and both transmitters were down stairs, and the FM studio was upstairs in a tiny room. It consisted of two turntables, two cartridge machines for commercials, one microphone, a telephone, and a small console with about 6 faders on it. There was a rack of equipment that was kept locked, and another rack for the tape system. It was used for unattended operation (pre canned broadcasts). The rest of the room was records, lots of records. I knew the DJ, so I could go there when the station was live and pick out some obscure music and play it. Captain Beefheart, Blodwyn Pig, MC5, Mad River, yeah obscure......If you heard In A Gadda Da Vida, or Mechanical World on the radio, it was to allow the DJ enough time to go out on the roof and burn one! Honest, I only went there to deliver the commercial cartridges.......
In 1969 through about 1972 I did some freelance work for a group called "The Broadcast People." They called themselves a full service studio, but the reality was they made the commercial cartridges for WEDR, and rented the studio out for bands to practice before going to a real studio like Criteria to record an album. I kept their old junky equipment alive for those sessions. One of the most memorable groups to rent the place was Wishbone Ash before recording the Argus album at Criteria.
This got me a tour of Criteria in about 1971. I was surprised at what I saw in the mixdown / mastering room. There was a good sized collection of speakers in front of the console, some were studio specific, and some were typical consumer grade stuff. I remember a pair of Fisher floor standers, and a pair of AR's.
It was behind the console that surprised me, there was a piece of plywood and a piece of metal arranged in a wedge with two pairs of 6X9 car speakers on them. The engineer explained that about half of the music he recorded would be listened to in a car, on an 8 track deck, through 6X9 speakers mounted in the area behind the rear seat. He needed to hear his mix on a similar setup. I guess today the engineer needs an iPhone.
He also explained that for some clients he did more than one mix. The mix for the record, was not the same as the mix for the 8 track cartridge.
I have not been to a modern studio since then, but I would imagine that the studio's capabilities are boundless. It is up to the client to specify what they want. Back then, the individual artists had little if any control in what happened to their music. The record company IS the studio's client. The record company's contract usually dictates that artistic control (and often even copyright ownership of the music itself) belongs to the record company.
I saw these rights abused pretty heavily in favor of the record company back then, and I believe the situation has gotten worse. Many artists from the 70's are still forbidden from playing their own songs today because of these old contracts. Google the whole Creedence Clearwater Revival story for an ugly example.
The home studio, Youtube, Soundcloud, revolution is making a positive dent though. There are a few artists (mostly older) who have survived with the clout to demand decent mixes of their music be available for those who prefer them over the usual squashed crap. Steven Wilson's solo work is an example.....even the Youtube mixes sound better than some of what flows from the radio these days!
I like the way deadmau5 is handling that issue now, and it'd be cool to see other artists follow suit.
It might be tough for artists just starting out, but in the end, I think it works out better. Just maintain your own website, selling your own material, or even offer subscriptions, like "$15 /yr gets you access to everything I'll produce, forever."
It might be tough for artists just starting out, but in the end, I think it works out better. Just maintain your own website, selling your own material, or even offer subscriptions, like "$15 /yr gets you access to everything I'll produce, forever."
DrDyna I liked your link to Best video in the world. I've seen the one about projecting lyrics on top of incoherent speech, yet the brain "hears" the written words before, but its still incredible. The bit about the $130 jar of stones was particularly funny. 😀
Haha, yeah, I forgot that I even had that in my signature, I stuck it in there once while there was a heated debate about audible amplifier differences.
Watch out for cats, they love the green stuff and will eat your stash if your not careful.
They are bad news for pills too.
They are bad news for pills too.
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I think it's toxic to them though. I remember reading the number of dogs dying after eating peoples weed was going up in the US.
I had a cat that loved to smoke....she would follow it from person to person around the room and up just sitting purring.
In the earliest days of getting "decent" sound my stepson was very into Art Of Noise, had a full range of their albums, on CD. Big, big, big sound - one the favourites, a test track 😉, was https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU-FFA0JmrI. The key part is the very end, at the speedway, the announcer talking, and a lone machine is having a burble around the track. At the close, the car goes straight past in front of the mic, and hits the accelerator, hard, at the optimum moment. The viscious, snarling bite from the exhaust should sound like it's ripping your speakers apart - it's like, smell the petrol fumes time 😀 ...
So did we. Fat Cat got into the closet that was full of lights and ate his fill one day. He was rather laid back for a few days after that.
We would place a paper grocery bag on the floor and the cat would run right in. Then everyone would blow their smoke into the bag. After a couple of fatties, you could pour the cat out.
He had a thing for the white powder too. He would lick the mirror with ferocity for like an hour after the coke heads were done with it. He could sniff that stuff out at a party. I remember an incident when a friend (and supplier) came over with some girl that I didn't know during a Sunday football gathering. Fat Cat went straight for her purse, and attacked it. She was not amused, and asked what was wrong with the cat. I explained that there was nothing wrong with the cat, He had been trained by the DEA, and there was only one explanation, she had blow in her purse. She turned red, and a silence fell over the room. I explained that Fat Cat wouldn't press charges if she shared her stash with him. Everyone had a good laugh, and Fat Cat got what he wanted!
Fat Cat did drugs as often as we did, and lived to the age of 13. Don't tell him that it was toxic. The female cat couldn't be bothered with that stuff. She would watch the goings on from under the console TV.
Fat cat was cool, He would let my daughter dress him up in doll clothes, and push him around in a baby buggy. He did attack my turntable once when he was a bit high. someone wound him up with a laser dot. He went after my original Dave Mason Alone Together album that was cast in multi colored swirl vinyl. Killed an Audio Technica cartridge, and messed up the record.
Oh, dear. I can't say I approve of people giving coke to their pets. No, really you shouldn't be doing that. I'm all for a little smoke at the end of a hard day but sniffing that rubbish is too far IMO.
You must have rich friends, MDMA seems much popular as a sniffing drug around where I am (Brunel University UK).
You must have rich friends, MDMA seems much popular as a sniffing drug around where I am (Brunel University UK).
Ah ah the laser dot ! I once lived in a place where the cat - she-cat or, the Shecat - went crazy with that thing. She was chasing it up to the roof 🙄
I also knew a dog ( well...the owner !) that was really mad about laser...totally loosing the head! He ( it ?! ) was also crazy with horses...cloppity cloppity clop
All these bands with 20+ albums are "scammers" I actually bought "90125"
by Yes - this was the bands last album before "death of creativity , hello
profit" series of albums.
They at least made it to album 11 (90125) , I pirated the next 20 ..
My favorite - Rush , also did this very bad thing. Same as
yes , album 11 (Rush-power windows) was the last creative work.
PS - one yes album of old ... (Yes - drama) was very good with no
Jon Anderson.
OS
Not much left on the mirror after all the coke heads are done......I don't even approve giving that stuff to humans, but other people had a different opinion. I saw that stuff F$%# up several lives, some forever.
Oh man, I Have had some good Coke man, Straight Fish Scale Rocked up stuff etc, just killer, Oh my God, yeah you have no idea how bad I want to toot some good stuff again xD
you never forget. So uplifting/enjoyable feels like you can tackle whatever the world throws at you, etc. Great with some good Bud too xD
Both Need to be just straight up/totally Legal and Regulated..if anything it's going to boil down to Responsible usage. I'm living Proof myself with all of it, you have to really understand/respect moderation/responsible usage/Harm Reduction. Give me some I'll keep Proving that/and it being the Truth.
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I got my cat Bonnie stoned, during one of the few times in the last ten years when I've had a smoke. She seemed to like the smell and looked really relaxed, she vwas normally quite an anxious cat. We had what seemed to me at least, a profound experience where for a moment I could feel what it was like to be my cat!
Bonnie is gone now, about 2 years ago now and I still miss the wee bitch!
Gordon.
BTW the cat in my avatar isn't Bonnie its our other cat Cheeky.
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