Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1exp 11/4/83; site ihopa.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!security!genrad!grkermit!masscomp!clyde!ihnp4!ihopa!burris From: burris@ihopa.UUCP (David Burris) Newsgroups: net.audio Subject: Re: Spencer's comments about Digital and the Audiophile Message-ID: <115@ihopa.UUCP> Date: Tue, 29-Nov-83 13:19:14 EST Article-I.D.: ihopa.115 Posted: Tue Nov 29 13:19:14 1983 Date-Received: Thu, 1-Dec-83 02:22:29 EST References: <336@whuxk.UUCP> Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, Il Lines: 47 Well after month's of seeing statements blasting the multi-miking techniques, I can only assume that the posters are discussing classical music. I would prefer that people who take this stance qualify their position. The main reason being that it is virtually impossible to record popular rock and electric jazz and/or fusion without using multi-miking. Imagine if you will what bands used to sound like in the early sixtys before P.A. systems gained widespread use. Remember the high school sock hops where the singer was unintelligible if heard at all? It seems that even when recording classical music there is much room for interpretation of what an instrument should sound like. Even when a soloist is performing the engineer often has his own perspective of how an instrument sounds. For instance, the performer himself would constantly experience the sound of the instrument from the players standpoint, usually BEHIND the instrument. Add a few people and a conductor and you now have the conductor's interpretation of what instruments should sound like. Namely equidistant from the instruments and a very short distance IN FRONT of them. Now we get to the trickiest of all, the audience. There are basically unlimited variations of how the performance sounds to the audience. Such variables as acoustic properties of the room, location of the listener, number of people attending the performance and in large halls even temperature and humidity can affect the sound quality. What is the point? Well, the point is that everyone has their opinions of how professional recordings should be made, even those who have never and will never be in the capacity of a professional recordist. Sound recording ALWAYS involves compromises. If you do not believe that, you are inadequately informed about how sound behaves in the real world. There are no simple cookbook answers of how recordings should be done. The recording engineer must always consider as many of the variables as possible to decide on a sensible compromise. Included in this decision is the overall philosophy of the engineer as to how things should sound. If this doesn't agree with your opinion it doesn't make it wrong, only different. Please temper your judgement before you flame about these sorts of things. Many of the worst flamers' qualifications in the audio field are simply that they have ears and a stereo and read popular hi-fi mags. -- Dave Burris ..!ihnp4!ihopa!burris AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, Il.