You made three masters of the Guns ‘n Roses “Chinese Democracy” album, including one with no compression, saying Axl Rose and Caram Costanzo chose the non-compressed version. Why did that surprise you?
That was really at the height of the loudness wars and, in hindsight, people were too paranoid to simply let the music breathe. With a ‘loud’ group like Guns ‘n Roses, my preconceived notion was they would want things loud, but I was thrilled when Axl wanted to go down the quality route.
Do you think that if more musicians were deeply involved with the production of their records they would make the same decision?
No, most of the musicians signed to the big record companies are deeply involved with the production of their records. For most of them they simply want their record to sound as loud as everyone else’s when played in shuffle mode. Many are insecure.
Why is it that some recent albums such as Adele’s “21” and The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “One Hot Minute” are more dynamic in vinyl than they are as downloads or CDs?
I haven’t heard the vinyl of either of those records, so I don’t know if that is true. Most vinyl these days is cut from the high-resolution digital EQ masters so the vinyl has the same dynamics as the master that was approved.
Are there ways consumers and dealers can develop their listening skills without having to enroll in a music program?
Start with buying some great audiophile headphones and an audiophile headphone amp. It doesn’t have to be crazy money to buy that type of gear either. Listen to well regarded recordings. Audiophile headphones will allow one to hear the great detail that mega-expensive speakers can provide and they can eliminate that marriage of room acoustics and speakers. This is so vitally important for good speaker-created sound.
Are there trends in production that will affect the way music is made, mastered and how consumers experience their music that you see developing? What role will technology have in facilitating these trends?
The most important thing for pop music is lessening the loudness wars and the record company and/or artist sometimes purposely ruining some great sounding music. It is happening more and more.
Check out Jack White’s ‘Blunderbuss’ LP and CD that was done 100 percent analog on vinyl. For that album, basically no additional compressors were used in the mastering for the CD because their master mixes were done so well by Vance Powell.
Robert Archer is senior editor of CE Pro, and he is an audio enthusiast who has written about consumer electronics for various publications within Massachusetts before joining the staff of CE Pro in 2000. Bob is THX Level I certified, and he’s also taken classes from the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF) and Home Acoustics Alliance (HAA). In addition, he’s studied guitar and music theory at Sarrin Music Studios in Wakefield, Mass.