Record Recorders Philosophy
The majority of people alive today have rarely, if ever, heard excellent music performed live in an intimate setting — an event which recordings were originally meant to recreate. This situation has contributed to a decline, both in the quality of our recordings, and the appreciation of quality in the listener. But eroding standards does not absolve us of our responsibility to make extremely good sounding recordings. It does just the opposite.
The ability to powerfully convey a perception of real, physical space should serve as a basic platform for more creative manipulation. This anchor in reality forms an immediate emotional link to the listener, and a dramatic setting for the surreal. Without this skill, the palette of an artist is severely limited; it is like an abstract painter who does not know how to draw.
Simultaneous to the decline of our collective ear has been the increase in our technology. But while technology has made the process of recording more convenient, it has not made modern recordings sound any better than they did forty years ago. Electronic manipulation after the performance phase has become the primary focus of the recording process. But at best, electronic manipulation is a compromise. By prioritizing our efforts instead on the musician's side of the control room window we stand the best chance of affecting those variables that will have the greatest influence on the final product, and reduce the number of electronic stages required between the event and the listener.
There was a time when an audio engineer was called a balance engineer. For us, this definition has a layered meaning; the object is neither to be a purist, nor to use technology simply because it is there. Extremism and conformism both ignore the specific requirements of the moment. Instead, the role of the engineer should be to decide what changes can be made to the myriad physical variables of the music itself, and what must be done by machine. As in all things, there is a balance.
The ability to powerfully convey a perception of real, physical space should serve as a basic platform for more creative manipulation. This anchor in reality forms an immediate emotional link to the listener, and a dramatic setting for the surreal. Without this skill, the palette of an artist is severely limited; it is like an abstract painter who does not know how to draw.
Simultaneous to the decline of our collective ear has been the increase in our technology. But while technology has made the process of recording more convenient, it has not made modern recordings sound any better than they did forty years ago. Electronic manipulation after the performance phase has become the primary focus of the recording process. But at best, electronic manipulation is a compromise. By prioritizing our efforts instead on the musician's side of the control room window we stand the best chance of affecting those variables that will have the greatest influence on the final product, and reduce the number of electronic stages required between the event and the listener.
There was a time when an audio engineer was called a balance engineer. For us, this definition has a layered meaning; the object is neither to be a purist, nor to use technology simply because it is there. Extremism and conformism both ignore the specific requirements of the moment. Instead, the role of the engineer should be to decide what changes can be made to the myriad physical variables of the music itself, and what must be done by machine. As in all things, there is a balance.