Hiss has never really bothered people, and it's sometimes
intentionally used as an effect. Compression makes the music
sound louder, and pumping makes it sound more exciting (those are
"normal" falues, not "recording engineer" values). Compression
accentuates hiss.

For me it doesn't make things more exciting - it makes me seasick and
I loathe it. It is also the lazy man's copout from good mixing.

Exactly! Compression is for radio broadcasting. It should not be used on
modern recordings as a whole composite. I can see a little bit of
compression to smooth out an electric bass to make bad playing more
consistent, but on percussion, it ruins the stunning and stirring dynamics
that make live music a pleasure to hear--and feel.
I have this recent recording of a band that is phenomenal, playing some
great music. I wish I could obtain the master tapes and remaster the CD for
myself though--the engineer(s) in their great wisdom, put a broadband
compressor on the output of the mix! The bass was pumping the rest of the
program and it sounded sickening!


You're not criticizing modern studios, you're criticizing modern
production techniques. There's no accounting for taste. Just stop
buying modern recordings.

You mean he has taste. Don't knock faithful recording - try it some
time. You might even learn to appreciate it. (OK, it sounds like you
won't, but it was worth a try).

I call it "natural recording" --the technique of using just two microphones
(do I hear Bob Fine of Mercury, who did this in '58?) for a modern version
of Mercury's "Living Presence" miking technique. My idea? Use a pair of
cardioid mics with the flattest response possible. Go into the quietest mic
preamp you can afford, sample at the highest bit depth and frequency
possible, and set the mics up in O.R.T.F. pattern at the front center row of
the audience, or just in front of the stage. It's a simple, old-fashioned
concept that is lost on engineers today who believe 'it's not a real
recording session unless you've got 40 mics on the stage'. Ba-loney!



Oh, and just for the record, hiss bothers me hugely. Rehearse, set
levels properly, learn to understand the signal chain and the right
way to set various stage gains and hiss will not be a problem.

d

And I simply cannot believe hiss exists today, but it's there. But oddly
enough, with my mic setup, I can't find a space quiet enough to hear the
hiss, no matter WHAT the levels. When the mic output is -37dB and the mic
pre has a -114dB minimum noise floor, one would have to work really hard to
create hiss. I suspect there is still analog tape in use in some studios
even today, or some really noisy mixing desks that have untamed digital hash
running around the busses.


--
Best Regards,

Mark A. Weiss, P.E.
www.mwcomms.com
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