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- May 24, 2016
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DR is but one aspect of several for what makes a good recording, mix and master. It certainly is not the only aspect.
Maybe some folks are not sensitive to hearing compressors "pumping and breathing" along with the music. Or sensitive to peak limiting where the transient attack is so severely limited it doesn't sound remotely like a drum kit. Maybe some folks are perfectly fine with that. I know I am not, especially when one is used to listening to recordings with reasonable dynamic range. Then along come bands like Oasis in 1994 with the Producer admitting to using dynamic range compression "more than would normally be considered professional" says it all to me. Maybe folks like that crushed wall of sound or are simply used to it as we have been mostly listening to that ever since.
I have an acoustic drum kit in my listening room along with my stereo. Aside electric bass and guitars, I like to play along with tracks from the stereo. Dynamics comes from how you play. Playing in bands, one learns where to play quieter and louder depending on the part song and what the band members agree on where to bring up or down the dynamics. My point is, all of those nuances that bands work on for hours can be lost due to excessive dynamic range compression. For me, that just ruins the tune. Maybe I am hypersensitive to it as I twisted compressor and limiter knobs in the studio control room for over a decade and know intimately the signature sounds of these devices, especially when abused. I would be the first to admit guilt of overusing these as well.
While DR is not the end all beat all, it does have a meaning for me and the enjoyment of the music. I feel there is a happy medium as discussed by mastering engineers like Bob Katz who can influence the industry. But it does not help when every DAW has mastering presets set for "crush" as default.
Maybe some folks are not sensitive to hearing compressors "pumping and breathing" along with the music. Or sensitive to peak limiting where the transient attack is so severely limited it doesn't sound remotely like a drum kit. Maybe some folks are perfectly fine with that. I know I am not, especially when one is used to listening to recordings with reasonable dynamic range. Then along come bands like Oasis in 1994 with the Producer admitting to using dynamic range compression "more than would normally be considered professional" says it all to me. Maybe folks like that crushed wall of sound or are simply used to it as we have been mostly listening to that ever since.
I have an acoustic drum kit in my listening room along with my stereo. Aside electric bass and guitars, I like to play along with tracks from the stereo. Dynamics comes from how you play. Playing in bands, one learns where to play quieter and louder depending on the part song and what the band members agree on where to bring up or down the dynamics. My point is, all of those nuances that bands work on for hours can be lost due to excessive dynamic range compression. For me, that just ruins the tune. Maybe I am hypersensitive to it as I twisted compressor and limiter knobs in the studio control room for over a decade and know intimately the signature sounds of these devices, especially when abused. I would be the first to admit guilt of overusing these as well.
While DR is not the end all beat all, it does have a meaning for me and the enjoyment of the music. I feel there is a happy medium as discussed by mastering engineers like Bob Katz who can influence the industry. But it does not help when every DAW has mastering presets set for "crush" as default.