Re: OT Re: Beer Budget CD Release ...headache from cds

[kkissinger@kevinkissinger.com]

Quoting "L.Angulo" <labaloops@yahoo.com>:
>
> One of the rencent CDs that really caught my attention is Finks   
> record "Biscuits for Breakfast"i caught his show in Switzerland and   
> he sounds just like the record.Backstage i talked to him and he told  
>  me that the record was made basically live with very few overdubs   
> and very minimal compression in the mastering,then again they are a   
> trio and the space in their music obviously helps,Calexico is   
> another band i enjoy listening to they are 7 musicians but their   
> music breathes and has a lot of space ,love that in music!
>
> www.myspace.com/luisangulocom
>

I'm a proponent of minimal compression and I would add, minimum EQ, too.

If a mixdown requires an inordinate amount of EQ and general "fixing"  
then perhaps the original tracks could have been better recorded.

What I find interesting about the notion of  
compressed-mixes-for-car-radios is that modern car radios/cd players  
have compressers AND automatic volume adjustment (that is, the system  
detects ambient noise and adjusts the volume accordingly) built in to  
them.  There really isn't a need to compress for CD players.

Indeed, the dynamic range of radio transmission is a "given" and, as  
such, a radio station may be forced to compress the signal somewhat  
(at least, to louden the soft passages).  I don't understand the  
driving need to supply a radio station with an already-compressed mix  
when they themselves will compress it.

Also, with vinyl, the lathe engineer may have to tweak things -- the  
EQ, the phase-alignment, and the dynamic range -- in order to prevent  
a groove that is too wide, too deep, or out of phase.  Vinyl has  
physical constraints that don't exist with digital media.

My preference with compression is to use a little bit (sometimes  
called "emergency limiting") so that I don't have to hold too much  
headroom for occasional peaks.  (I actually use compression rather  
than hard-limiting to avoid "pumping".)

What continually amazes me is the selection of affordable,  
high-quality microphones these days.  They have huge dynamic ranges.   
Well, I sure don't want to compress them!  :)

-- Kevin