darrylfunk
Banned
Alan,
Thanks. My guess was that reasons 2 and 3 were the main culprits basically, good technique and uncomplicated recording pathways being key to good sound.
Does anyone record music today with vintage mics, consoles and tape recorders? It would be interesting to see if some of the other reasons you cite, like a noisier grid and more RFI/EMI interference, contribute to the crappier sound of many current recordings.
Joe
most high end studios do this but you are missing two major points - the old studios were normally big enough to cram more than 30 players in and were naturally good sounding rooms picked by the engineers and producers and the fact that they were in constant use nearly 24 hours a day like a production line.
the old motown records actually sound that way because they had a fault on the main desk that was undiscovered for years until they wanted to upgrade the studio and the new desk couldn't be used to get the sound they had used as a basis for years so much testing was done and the old desks fault was revealed.
they could never emulate this fault condition and gordy eventually moved the studios from detroit.
having spoken to some desk designers they say that the current signal path is probably shorter than in the past as well.
audiophiles should visit a studio ans see how records are made as they believe in some 'magic dust' scenario which is just not accurate.
making music is work.
not magic.