| Friends don't let friends over compress... please!! [message #337558] |
Tue, 29 April 2008 06:14  |
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 Fletcher
Messages: 2166
Registered: April 2004
Location: Foxboro, MA |
Platinum Member |
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So yesterday I was riding in the car with my oldest daughter... she usually has some really cool music and has earned the right to play "car DJ". She has a bunch of really cool "mix CD's", and some great stuff on her iPod.
On came this cover of "Starman" by "Nena". Damn fine version... really loved the vocal performance...EXCEPT that the damn 'breaths' were louder than the vocal track and everytime the kik drum hit the rest of the song disappeared.
I'm gonna blame the vocal squash on the recording/mixing... but the kik madness was most likely the mastering moron [who I'm sure exacerbated the vocal destruction].
Took a great song/performance and fucking murdered it to the point where it was absolutely unlistenable [yes, by about 2/3rds of the way through I made her skip the rest of the song as the compression overdose was more annoying than the performance was entertaining].
Now I have no idea who worked on the production of this particular presentation but I would like to bitch slap at least one of the guilty parties. We need some kind of "hippocratic oath"... like "engineer do no harm" or something like that... or maybe it's just that the tools have become so inexpensive anyone thinks they can do this shit.
BTW... it wasn't an MP-3 problem as things like N.W.A. sounded fine... and I know of few records that are more kik and bass heavy than "Straight Outta Compton".
Fletcher
Mercenary Audio
mwagener wrote on Sat, 11 September 2004 14:33
We are selling emotions, there are no emotions in a grid
"Recording engineers are an arrogant bunch.
If you've spent most of your life with a few thousand dollars worth of musicians in the studio, making a decision every second and a half... and you and they are going to have to live with it for the rest of your lives, you'll get pretty arrogant too. It takes a certain amount of balls to do that... something around three"
Malcolm Chisholm
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| Re: Friends don't let friends over compress... please!! [message #337951 is a reply to message #337558 ] |
Wed, 30 April 2008 14:19  |
spoon
Messages: 107
Registered: May 2004
Location: Chicago |
Active Member |
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| Fletcher wrote on Tue, 29 April 2008 06:14 |
... or maybe it's just that the tools have become so inexpensive anyone thinks they can do this shit.
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They can do this shit. And I really mean this. Anyone with any equipment can do this. As long as they are happy with the results (assuming they are the artist). Eye of the Beholder and all that.
Lemme esplain. Some time ago I was on J's forum (an IMP in particular) giving my $.02 on everyone's submissions.
I thought many of the submissions, including J's, was smashed to shite. To the point where the tracks were audibly pumping.
I commented so to which many replied that this effect helps create a rockin groove. That this was intentional, desirable. J does this for a living so there is some weight to his choices. As it has an impact on others (the artists).
The bands upon hearing the tracks, eagerly approved (in J's case).
Done!
If that's what the artist wants to hear.
So in that respect, anyone can do this.
I dont agree with (some) contemporary production techniques like this, but that is where we are. It is fad-like and will date the material and it will reduce the longevity of some of it, imo....blah, blah.
If that's what they want. So where does that leave us.
In some respects I like the current situation. This just automatically makes my stuff stand out...by not sounding like most contemporary stuff (which is ironically trying to stand out).
It will (hopefully) make it a bit more timeless.
It just hurts when you hear it applied to songs you might otherwise like.
Cheers,
David
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| Re: Friends don't let friends over compress... please!! [message #337977 is a reply to message #337558 ] |
Wed, 30 April 2008 15:34 |
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And here all this time I thought it was the music that gave the rockin groove...
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| Re: Friends don't let friends over compress... please!! [message #338302 is a reply to message #337558 ] |
Thu, 01 May 2008 15:28 |
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Larrchild
Messages: 3216
Registered: June 2005
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida |
Platinum Member |
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Bring back the Decca Ear, lol.
Call it "FDRR" instead of "FFRR"
Attachment: deccaear.jpg
(Size: 37.15KB, Downloaded 1311 time(s))
Larry Janus
http://tubeequipment.com
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| Re: Friends don't let friends over compress... please!! [message #339267 is a reply to message #338273 ] |
Tue, 06 May 2008 05:26 |
Bruno Putzeys
Messages: 711
Registered: November 2006
Location: Rotselaar (Belgium) |
Gold Member |
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| Tomas Danko wrote on Thu, 01 May 2008 21:12 |
Let's make a logo and smack it onto such stuff.
Call it the Anti-SLAM! campaign.
Super Limited Audio Material
"This CD has been SLAMmed to pieces"
*Don't SLAM good music*
*Don't SLAM - Dynamics are good for you*
etc
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Such a campaign is already in the wings. http://turnmeup.org/
Have more faith, Bambi. The only right way of dealing with headlights is staring them down.
Affiliations: Hypex, Grimm Audio.
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| Re: Friends don't let friends over compress... please!! [message #339312 is a reply to message #337558 ] |
Tue, 06 May 2008 10:06 |
Jim Williams
Messages: 538
Registered: May 2005
Location: beautiful carlsbad, CA |
Gold Member |
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We need a dynamic range rating system, like what's used for movies, TV. It can be put on the front of a CD as a sticker so it won't mess up the pretty picture. How about a dynamic 1~10 scale, 1 being zero compression, 10 being flattened? NARAS or RIAA can get all their pointy heads together to make this up, that would be fun. It could be used as a marketing tool to those that either like the blast or prefer relaxing music.
"All new relaxing music by Snooze Alarm", or "feel the full court press of our blasting rock music, 10 on a 10 scale", or maybe Spinal Tap's new release, "we record on 11".
Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades
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| Re: Friends don't let friends over compress... please!! [message #339340 is a reply to message #339312 ] |
Tue, 06 May 2008 11:56 |
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Jay Kadis
Messages: 1244
Registered: April 2007
Location: SF Bay Area |
Platinum Member |
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| Jim Williams wrote on Tue, 06 May 2008 08:06 |
We need a dynamic range rating system, like what's used for movies, TV. It can be put on the front of a CD as a sticker so it won't mess up the pretty picture. How about a dynamic 1~10 scale, 1 being zero compression, 10 being flattened? NARAS or RIAA can get all their pointy heads together to make this up, that would be fun. It could be used as a marketing tool to those that either like the blast or prefer relaxing music.
"All new relaxing music by Snooze Alarm", or "feel the full court press of our blasting rock music, 10 on a 10 scale", or maybe Spinal Tap's new release, "we record on 11".
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How about using crest factor or peak-to-average ratio?
-JK
http://ccrma.stanford.edu/~jay/
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