SH Spotlight Why the new "LOUDNESS CRAZE" in digital mastering really robs music of life..

Sorry, I don't agree.

 

I select good masterings only because if I can't stand to listen to it, what's the point?

 

You'll have a hard time buying any new music if you want good mastering. The only NEW recording I have purchased that was mastered perfectly was The Decemberists' The Crane Wife. I can't let the mastering of new stuff get in the way of enjoying the music.

 

There's a few good ones out there, but very few unfortunately. I on the other hand simply can't enjoy new artists/masterings if they hurt my ears no matter how good the material is.

 

Boom box. Works wonders on bad mastering.

 

Yeah, I'll my $20000 boat anchor into storage.

 

Excellent thread here! The YouTube demo is brilliant; hits the nail right on the head!

So, here's a question for anyone more technically educated than me: If expansion is pretty much the opposite of compression, why can'tyou reverse the process? (I know it doesn't work; I've tried it).

 

Hi KN65,

It would be like knocking a photo out of focus, then attempting to sharpen it up again. Yes there are "tricks" one can use nowadays but they remain tricks and not authentic focus, which will not return.

Besides, the changes wrought by compression are not one dimensional, level only changes.

Someone once asked (perhaps in relation to digital encoding) "Once you've made hamburger out of it, can it ever be steak again?".
My thoughts? Perhaps. If you can make the pieces small enough but that technology, IF it will ever exist, belongs to the distant future.

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
...where it isn't a problem because no compression is allowed in the first place. ;-}
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

No idea what you mean Dave. My question was, when you want to buy new music, a new release, you have no choice but to take what's offered. Are you saying you rarely buy new CD's you've never heard?

 

Pretty much unless it's recommended by someone whose ears I trust.

 

Could this crappy sound be the subliminal reason why people are buying less music nowadays? I tell ya, it's no fun getting your ears run over by hot masterings.

 

I think so.. check out this article, I'll quote the relevant part

what happens next is, we buy less CDs

 

this graphic illustrates this

http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/mv/msg/4286/0/0/0/

 

The DAW is NOT the problem. The OPERATOR is. All a DAW is is a software version of studio/mastering gear. One needs not touch the NR or compressor in a DAW. It's just a tool like anything else. Again, it's the OPERATOR, NOT the DAW.

 

Well, we can disagree until we're old and gray and nothing will change so let's not in this thread ok.

 

Hi Dave,

I agree. Sometimes at least, certainly not always, but sometimes, it is the DAW. One in particular comes to mind, which is very popular. I've never liked the sound of it, even without its processing, just running audio through it. And it locks you into that manufacturer's hardware, which to my ears, is also not the best thing one can do for the sound of their projects.

While it is often the user of the tools that makes the result, sometimes a particular tool will itself put a ceiling on how good the results can be.

Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

Hi Barry,

Yes, my point exactly that the ones I've heard leave a sonic imprint in the mastering, for lack of a more comprehensive description. Once you hear and identify it you can always spot it on any mastering that uses it. I'm sure there are some where it can not be distinguished, but so far I haven't heard one.

 

Well, if you're talking about specific DAWs, yes, then I also agree. However, Dave made a blanket statement, or a statement I believe he meant to be taken that way, and in that case, I believe he is wrong.

There has been a LOT of criticism about a certain brand and their hardware from many pros.

 

so, everyone uses this blunt knife, and complains about the surgeon, the pain and jagged edges

before anyone yells at me about how much the knife costs, I know it's not as simple as buying another knife, but there HAS to be other - sharper - knives. laser cutter, maybe

 

This not about using compression to make a song, or record. This is about taking away the enjoyment of the recorded performance, the public should hear.

The record companys, rather then use the medium that give us "perfect music forever" (another lie!). Insted of giving people the add dynamics of the medium, they squeeze the life (dynamics) out of the music, then bumbarded us every single note, all the while telling us, it's better because of "the silence". The problem is the only silence, or quiet we get on most CD, is BETWEEN songs!

ALL THIS TO MAKE IPOD's SOUND BETTER!!! ........THIS IS BETTER!!!!!! ......NOT!!!!!

Maybe a little overstated, but, I think that's what this thread was (or is) about!

 

Example on youtube (haven't checked if this has been posted earlier): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gmex_4hreQ

vH pH

 

Yes, that is the first post in the thread.

 

We have better converters today. Our transfer and mastering techniques have improved. We should have better CDs. But we don't because they smash the hell out of the sound.

 

Hi Elton,

The old argument that compression makes recordings sound better on lesser systems has never been supported by the audible evidence; quite the contrary.

The thing is, good sounding recordings are identifiable as such on any system, including an iPod.

Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

Hi Grant,

There are so many variables in the types of systems that one can set up, I agree that it really is difficult to draw general conclusions. As with so many other things, DAWs run the range from sublime to ridiculous.

Yet I wonder why so many pros would then choose to use it as their "tool".
;-}

Still, to bring all this back to the topic at hand, the recording, mixing, mastering tools, regardless of where they fall in the spectrum of quality, can all easily be made moot if the result gets squeezed for the sake of loudness. Does it matter if the recording is made with vintage tube microphones and the finest analog gear or a modern DAW or a portable cassette player if the finished record will make them all sound like portable cassette players (using a worn out tape!)?

And to those who say "this is what the average consumer wants", I say I've never met anyone who bought a record because it was loud or didn't buy one because it wasn't. In my experience, people tend to buy records because they like the music. Everyone I've ever seen put on a record (any record, on any system) will adjust the volume to their taste, turning up if it is too low or down if it is too loud. Sometimes it seems that only some record industry folk are unaware their systems have volume controls and therefore want the mastering engineer to "pre-adjust" for them. ;-}

Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com