AudioBanter.com - View Single Post - Old Recording Made with Electret Condenser Mics Sounds Nearly as Good as State of Art Current Digital Recordings?!!

On 30 Jan 2005 11:27:48 -0500, (Mike Rivers)
wrote:

In article t writes:

I'm sure there is (obviously) some truth to this, but what I find disturbing
most in this day and age is that $100K and better studio facilities are
putting out recordings with very audible hiss. Some newer CDs have one
broadband compressor and you can hear it pumping so it sounds like an FM
broadcast, not a CD.

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.

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).

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

Pearce Consulting
http://www.pearce.uk.com