The Death of High Fidelity

Rolling Stone ^ | December 26, 2007 | Robert Levine

[Mr. Blonde]

More good stuff on the RS Web site about it, including artists sounding off.

[Afronaut]

I have never heard the word "SOUNDSTAGE" used in recording these days. I have seen and heard the abuse of saturation in many modern mixes.

I have spend many long hours in recording studios and have sat next to some of the greatest producers/engineers of our day. To paint a soundscape with 48 tracks is an art that is all but dead. Modern recordings are done on laptops in the first class sections of Airplanes.

The other part is that most live shows these days are mixed with the kick drum and the bass. I don't want to pay 100.00 bucks to have my head assaulted with with a kick drum that is sequenced to a digital sound into a 5 thousand watt system.

If you have ever had the chance to hear a playback with 2" Ampex 499 tape (analogue) in a studio, you be as infected as I have been with the quest of great sound. The sound of a vinyl on a mid-priced system kills any digital playback that I have ever heard.

[Dysart]

[Mr. Blonde]

Come on now, don’t pollute a FR with Soulja Boy. I get physically ill whenever his song is played when I go out.

[Mr. Blonde]

I think the waveforms of With Or Without You on the RS site is very informative to what producers are doing to music today. How can you not feel assaulted when everything is loud.

[supercat]

Perhaps what’s needed is an audio format with some side-channel information that can be used by end-user equipment to implement whatever degree of compression the listener happens to want at that moment. I suspect even audiophiles would probably want compression when they’re listening in a noisy environment, but when listening in a quiet room it’s better to use more dynamic range. While it would be possible for a player to handle compression by itself, a player could do a better job if it had some ‘help’ from a human in the studio.

[Petronski]

Great post, and especially this, a great paragraph:

I have spend many long hours in recording studios and have sat next to some of the greatest producers/engineers of our day. To paint a soundscape with 48 tracks is an art that is all but dead. Modern recordings are done on laptops in the first class sections of Airplanes.

That says it all, I think.

[scott says]

Great article.I am totally into music and high end gear. My favorite recordings are actually “bootleg” recordings that I have taped or got from friends. A field recording that is done with high end equipment can produce unbelievable results.
My best tape ever was Roy Buchanan’s last concert on August 7 ,1988 in my hometown of Guilford,Connecticut.My buddies and I set up a 10 foot mic stand with 2 Nakamichi CM 300 mics twenty five feet from the stage and recorded on Sony portable cassette decks.The result is BETTER than practically most officially released Live albums. The proper equipment placed in the proper place can be awesome.

Todays overproduced “music” is mostly garbage. Throw into the mix the compressed signal....no thanks. When I listen to music its gonna be a Live Concert taped by someone who had the killer mics set up..too many to choose from for me.

[protest1]

Excellent article

[Mr. Blonde]

I hope we eventually get a revolt against all of this. Surely the number of pop starlets getting busted lip syncing will lead to a larger desire to have people with actual talent. There are many bands out there with it that don’t have to resort to studio trickery and hopefully people will start seeking them out.

[Gay State Conservative]

I can’t understand why so many people are so satisfied with MP3-quality music....not that there’s much that’s been released in the last 20 years that’s worth listening closely to.CD-quality....and SACD and DVD-Audio quality is what I want for my favorite music (50’s & 60’s).

[sauropod]

read

[big'ol_freeper]

read

I didn't know folks of your employment category were capable of that? *grin*

[Drango]

My stereo dial goes up to 11.

[sauropod]

Well, feeding ourselves and tying our own shoes were big achievements, I admit. ;-)

[Drango]

[big'ol_freeper]

Lil slapped me mumbling something about “blood-sucking contractor”...

[Mr. Blonde]

It is all they know for one reason. Another is you can’t beat the protability. I wish the iPod would play a lossless format like FLAC.

[sauropod]

The proper phrase is “sleazy, slimy, bottom-feeding, scum-sucking contractor.”

Or, as another FReeper told me once in reference to Beltway Banditry: “Highway Helper.”

[ovrtaxt]

Personally, I’m a headphones guy when I’m not driving.

As for recent releases, I think anything by Porcupine Tree is mixed extremely well.