Just Curious...

general questions, comments and ideas about recording, audio, music, etc.
Judas Jetski
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Re: Just Curious...

Post by Judas Jetski » Mon Feb 14, 2005 4:38 pm

Okay, I have a question. Was it lo-fi when they recorded Marc Bolan's feet tapping in "Jeepster?" Or was that hi-fi? Were they even his feet?

I'm starting to think that this whole thing really has more to do with approach than anything else. Wholistic thinking vs. conventional wisdom. What about "Space Cowboy" where there is so much damn hiss that it sounds like an extra instrument playing in the quiet parts? At what point does background noise become part of the process? And why would a band called Zeppelin edit in airplane noise????

I'm feeling so confused...lost...alone...awash in a sea of irony. I blame postmodernism. Damn you, postmodernism. Damn you!

TapeOpLarry
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Re: Just Curious...

Post by TapeOpLarry » Mon Feb 14, 2005 11:51 pm

"My microphones record what the band creates. If that fits they're ideals great, if not then the source of the "problem" is them not me."

Yes and no. I think if the engineer is very good and astute then they will pick the right mics to capture as well as they can the sound of the band. If they aren't trying hard enough or listening closely enough they might throw up whatever mics work most of the time and consider the job done.

Plus, I take great interest in what the band is trying to achieve, and strive to make any changes that might bring these ideas through.

I'm not saying the person above is wrong or does the wrong thing, I jsut think this thought can lead down the wrong path where the engineer blames the band for not delivering the goods...
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Rigsby
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Re: Just Curious...

Post by Rigsby » Tue Feb 15, 2005 6:16 am

The thing i always loved about what became 'lo-fi' was that it sounded more intimate, Lou Barlow whispering to me, Pavement and Sebadoh were playing in a garage nearby, it was inspiring to learn my friends and i could make these noises too. For me that was priceless, but then again, they were damn fine bands.

I still like an element of realism, i don't really like synths for this reason, they were largely killed for me during the eighties onslaught, for my taste there can definately be over-production, too many close mics, too many instruments etc etc and etc. There's something awesome about hearing an instrument being played in an appealing manner in a room that you can imagine being in, and i prefer to hear that sound over the sound of a snare drum right up to my ear/mic or something similar.

I fear this thread could go on forever, and i'll still be posting too. I'll stop there for now.
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Devlars
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Re: Just Curious...

Post by Devlars » Tue Feb 15, 2005 6:18 am

I was actually quoting a friend of mine by posting that statement, Larry. I agree with him for the most part and it should be understood that he (and myself) both take the time to listen to the band, ask questions, choose mics and placement carefully, make sure the sound is to their liking etc.

But those two senteces must be understood in context of the rest of the statement as well. Which was basically saying that no collection of mics and gear in the world will make a band as a whole sound like something they are not (for the most part, get off it if you want to reply with ragging about Autotune and whatnot) i.e. No matter if you have the same equipment as The Beatles and their engineers, if you sound like Metallica and want to sound like The Beatles it's not going to happen.
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Rigsby
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Re: Just Curious...

Post by Rigsby » Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:10 am

Devlars wrote:No matter if you have the same equipment as The Beatles and their engineers, if you sound like Metallica and want to sound like The Beatles it's not going to happen.
...as appealing as it would be to record a metallica session and play it back to them sounding a hell of a lot like 'i wanna hold your hand'. :D
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