dave weil wrote:

On Mon, 07 Mar 2005 16:52:46 -0500, Howard Ferstler
wrote:

For me, a rock concert is an end in itself, and so are rock
recordings. There is no way such recordings can be
configured to simulate a live-music experience, because the
live-music experience itself is loaded up with electronic
distortions right there in the hall or auditorium.

You are apparently laboring under the impression that recording
engineers put microphones in front of the bank of PA speakers to
record the concert.

Obviously, they do not. You need to scare up a copy of my
The Digital Audio Music List (A-R Editions, 1999), Dave.

You're wrong, you know. You MIGHT get some ancillary microphones in
the soundfield to help with the ambience that you crave for such
things as "surround sound", but the majority of the recording never
leaves the soundboard, except to be transferred to the recording
medium.

Dave, you miss the point. With most classical and acoustic
jazz music performed live, there is no electronic
amplification, and you get an acoustic soundstage up front
and hall ambiance all around you. A good two-channel
recording tries to at least mimic the sound coming from up
front, and a good surround recording also tries to duplicate
the sense of space. Good DSP can also do a good job of
simulating live-performance space with two-channel
recordings.

However, most rock music uses huge amounts of electronic
amplification and rock recordings basically can do no better
than mimic the existing distortions that one gets at a live
performance.

It is one of the ironies of recording technology that while
most classical recordings (including surround-sound
versions) cannot approach the realism we get at live
performances, rock recordings often actually sound BETTER
than live performances. Yep, this is because said recordings
are usually ends in themselves and not attempts to duplicate
live performances.

It's still important to be able to accurately record the sound of
"distortions", since guitars and amps have distinctive sound
characteristics that are important to the sound of the group. A
Marshall stack sounds different than a Vox AC-30 for instance.

Who cares? Besides, the recordings do not mimic those
artifacts you mention. The rock recordings are ends in
themselves.

Howard Ferstler