NPR Blogger Writes an NPR-style Blog about Perfect Recordings • 11.14.09
Douglas Wolk contributed this piece to NPR.org’s Monitor Mix blog earlier this week. It is a concise discussion about the pros and cons of polishing recordings to death.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/monitormix/2009/11/the_death_of_mistakes_means_th.html
One gem of the piece is this YouTube Video, that provides a great explanation of the “loudness wars” in mastering:
My major criticism of Wolk’s writing here is that his prime example of a sloppy recording, The Beatles “Rain,” is not really THAT sloppy. In fact it uses some well thought out reverse tape effects. The Beatles - with the help of George Martin - were very into forward thinking recording techniques.
Also, left out of the discussion is the ways in which most people listen to music versus the ways in which audiophiles listen to music, AND the ways in which record companies sell music and who is buying it.
Of course WellMixed does whatever the client wants, so we don’t have to be bothered with all of these aesthetic conundrums. But…. Sometimes it’s fun to think about!
What do you think? Please leave a comment!!
