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Originally Posted by stereoptic
do you think that they just blocked it out, or that they really could not hear it?
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I think they just couldn't recognize or discriminate these sounds. When we turned everything off in the studio except the monitor most could still not hear it. It was only when we turned it off that all could hear the frequency ramp up and down as the unit was switched on and off. I'd imagine that since it was almost 16k, that many actually couldn't hear it. It seemed to me that with that sound present it was a distraction during mixing. I always shut that monitor off when doing critical work there.
As for the other sounds I often would hear, I'd say it was often fatigue. I was entering the room with fresh ears. Every time I'd say something like, 'what is that distortion on the guitars' and everybody would say 'what distortion'. Then we'd solo the guitar track and there it was. Most could usually hear it when the track was soloed, and often they were amazed I could spot it in the mix. I still hear all kind of things like this in finished mixes which I have to believe would not be there had other's heard them in the studio.
I have no clue why other's have trouble hearing these things, but it seems to be epidemic. It happened at just about every studio I was ever in. Hard to tell if I'm blessed or cursed, but I'll go for the former most of the time. OTOH, it often gets in the way of my listening pleasure. As an example, I hear all types of distortions on 'Layla' that nobody seems to notice or mention here. On that song, there is distortion on the main vocal and piano that I can't believe was allowed to pass. Perhaps others hear this but just consider it a part of the sound. Perhaps it was heard in the studio but kept because the performance was considered a 'keeper'. I'll never know for sure, but it diminishes my enjoyment of the song.