Members Ethan Winer Posted September 30, 2008 Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 I posted this in a few other forums yesterday, but I'm posting here too because this came up here a few months ago. One goal of music recording is to capture a true sound, so when played back it sounds like the musicians are right there in the room with you. The experiment shown in my newest video proves it's not an easy task! We weren't entirely successful, but did manage to get fairly close with some of the instruments. Look for Recorded Realism near the bottom of the RealTraps Videos page. Also available for viewing and download in higher resolution on Vimeo. Enjoy! --Ethan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Super 8 Posted September 30, 2008 Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 Wow Ethan, this is great!I hope you will keep doing this stuff. Very helpful. I recall your synth programing video as well. I need to find that one again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ethan Winer Posted September 30, 2008 Author Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 Thanks. And here ya go: http://www.vimeo.com/1309545 --Ethan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bruce Swedien Posted October 1, 2008 Members Share Posted October 1, 2008 I posted this in a few other forums yesterday, but I'm posting here too because this came up here a few months ago.One goal of music recording is to capture a true sound, so when played back it sounds like the musicians are right there in the room with you. The experiment shown in my newest video proves it's not an easy task! We weren't entirely successful, but did manage to get fairly close with some of the instruments. Look for Recorded Realism near the bottom of the RealTraps Videos page. Also available for viewing and download in higher resolution on Vimeo. Enjoy!--Ethan Dear Ethan and all you forumites.... I think things became much clearer to me when I realized how important it is to conceptualize my own idea of what the Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ethan Winer Posted October 2, 2008 Author Members Share Posted October 2, 2008 Thanks very much for chiming in Bruce. As I mentioned on the phone, I agree that pop music recordings these days are more about creating an "environment" than capturing a true-to-life experience. Even orchestra recordings can (and should) sound better and larger than what you hear in a concert hall live. --Ethan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RockViolin Posted October 2, 2008 Members Share Posted October 2, 2008 Even orchestra recordings can (and should) sound better and larger than what you hear in a concert hall live. --Ethan Why? Apart from the obvious benefit of comping together best moments. (I've not heard my favorite recordings through the best gear in a perfect room, and most of my time in whatever hall has been spent on stage.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Super 8 Posted October 2, 2008 Members Share Posted October 2, 2008 I always try to make my stereo sound-field far more than merely two-channel mono. In other words, I always try to make my stereo sound-field multi-dimensional, not merely left, center and right. For me to be satisfied with a sound-field, it must have the proportions of left, center, right and depth. What would be cool Bruce, is if you could demonstrate this in a video like Ethan is doing. I'll bet we could learn a lot seeing it done with your commentary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Martin Kantola Posted October 2, 2008 Members Share Posted October 2, 2008 Even orchestra recordings can (and should) sound better and larger than what you hear in a concert hall live. What you hear in a good concert hall with a good orchestra is simply amazing. Never heard a classic recording that comes even close, to be completely honest. But I know that if anybody could pull it off, it's Bruce! Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 I've heard a bunch of recordings in my life, and a ton of live instruments, concerts, symphonies, etc. - and it's very, very rare that a recording "fools" me into thinking I'm hearing a "real" instrument, playing live. YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ernest Buckley Posted October 2, 2008 Members Share Posted October 2, 2008 Funny, I thought the acoustic guitar sounded nothing like you played it. The percussion was close. Thanks for the video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ethan Winer Posted October 3, 2008 Author Members Share Posted October 3, 2008 most of my time in whatever hall has been spent on stage.) Me too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ethan Winer Posted October 3, 2008 Author Members Share Posted October 3, 2008 Funny, I thought the acoustic guitar sounded nothing like you played it. Agreed fully. --Ethan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RockViolin Posted October 3, 2008 Members Share Posted October 3, 2008 Me too. That's all you've got. Always nice to share some common ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rasputin1963 Posted October 3, 2008 Members Share Posted October 3, 2008 Believe it or not, my own complaint with my own mixes is that they DO sound too realistic... ie., too "present" and too "natural". Nothing translates worse to an AM monophonic car radio than a "natural" recording... The greatest pop records there are post-1955, IMHO, do not sound realistic. They have been shaped sonically in very important ways, both for artistic (mixing) reasons and for logistical (mastering) reasons... It's those secrets of "heightened artifice" I most wish to learn...! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the stranger Posted October 3, 2008 Members Share Posted October 3, 2008 Believe it or not, my own complaint with my own mixes is that they DO sound too realistic... ie., too "present" and too "natural". Nothing translates worse to an AM monophonic car radio than a "natural" recording... The greatest pop records there are post-1955, IMHO, do not sound realistic. They have been shaped sonically in very important ways, both for artistic (mixing) reasons and for logistical (mastering) reasons... It's those secrets of "heightened artifice" I most wish to learn...! First, get rid of all your digital equipment. Computers, digital processors, anything that was not available at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ernest Buckley Posted October 3, 2008 Members Share Posted October 3, 2008 Believe it or not, my own complaint with my own mixes is that they DO sound too realistic... ie., too "present" and too "natural". Nothing translates worse to an AM monophonic car radio than a "natural" recording... The greatest pop records there are post-1955, IMHO, do not sound realistic. They have been shaped sonically in very important ways, both for artistic (mixing) reasons and for logistical (mastering) reasons...It's those secrets of "heightened artifice" I most wish to learn...! Funny because I too find that my tracks sound too full and therefore I end up carving out a lot of freqs with EQ just to get instruments to sit well with each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Music Calgary Posted October 3, 2008 Members Share Posted October 3, 2008 Awesome video. Thanks Ethan. I've been working on my stereo micing skills all summer and I can say for sure that *no one* seems to care or have any passion for it. I'm amazed. Everyone here is just so locked into close micing that they don't even consider stereo micing important... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author MikeRivers Posted October 4, 2008 CMS Author Share Posted October 4, 2008 I've been working on my stereo micing skills all summer and I can say for sure that *no one* seems to care or have any passion for it. I'm amazed. Everyone here is just so locked into close micing that they don't even consider stereo micing important... Perhaps because they're playing all the parts one at a time and assembling a "band" from pieces. When recording in that manner, I don't see much point to recording each instrument in its own stereo space. They don't mix together very well like that - it's not what air and some distance does when recording an ensemble. Get a band. Work out your arrangements so that the band is balanced and you can hear everything without the need for electronic assistance. Find a good room. Then you can record in stereo. But don't ask if you can fix that wrong bass note. Occasionally recording a single small instrument in stereo is an interesting effect, but mixing a band full of individual stereo sources rarely sounds natural. You will occasionally read an article where a famous engineer or producer says he always records acoustic instruments in stereo, but you don't know how he's mixing them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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