Productions that are Puzzling to You

[PortaStudio]

Hello everybody,

from the production to the mixing and mastering phase there are alot of technical as well as creative decisions that can make or break a record. When they are of a subjective nature they might just not appeal to your tastes, but they can also be just puzzling on a technical level. What decisions have left you puzzled? Feel free to share perspectives that might not be consensus or even poralizing.

I often find myself adjusting EQ on a variety of devices when it comes to certain productions. I don't know why, but to me some productions the frequencies are not quite right, giving the sound a cloudy untransparent quality.

 

[RayDunzl]

Al Di Meola acoustic guitar slammed to the loudness limits on CD

 

[anmpr1]

...What decisions have left you puzzled?

Brian Wilson. From about 1965 through 1968, he mixed everything down to mono. I have nothing against monophonic, in fact, in many respects it makes more sense than stereo (which always seemed and sounded like a 'kludge' to me). But by doing so, you really missed the intricacy of Wilson's arrangements.

 

[concorde1]

Regarding: Tommy James & The Shondells

Subjectively:

40 Years (1966-2006) The Complete Singles Collection (2008 compilation CD)
Way too much midbass.

Crimson & Clover / Cellophane Symphony (1991 CD)
Too much midbass and has that "cloudy untransparent quality" I think you mean - just gets on my nerves really badly.

1985 CD The Best Of Tommy James & The Shondells (RCD 42040)
- Sounds much better balanced to me - but has numerous annoying dropouts which I have to tolerate

 

[scrubb]

I can't stand purposeful saturation of the pre-amp input of a recording console, or the clipping caused by hard limiting in mastering. I don't know if engineers/producers think saturating the input sounds louder or what, but I think it sounds amateurish and horrible. Sadly, it seems to be a trend recently. Please save distortion for the guitar amp, not the production process.
Examples:
Xanny - Billie Eilish. It's un-listenable and makes me fear for my speakers. Is Finneas really as good as we're led to believe?
Reach Out - Sleater Kinney. And most of the Center won't Hold Album.
Stadium Arcadium (album) - Red Hot Chili Peppers. Classic example of clipping from hard limiting as part of the "loudness wars". There's a lot of good songs here, but I can't listen to more than one at a time without a ton of listening fatigue.

 

[Petrushka]

Brian Wilson. From about 1965 through 1968, he mixed everything down to mono. I have nothing against monophonic, in fact, in many respects it makes more sense than stereo (which always seemed and sounded like a 'kludge' to me). But by doing so, you really missed the intricacy of Wilson's arrangements.

Having only one ear might have influenced Brian.