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Topic: Recordings accurately reproduce a steel's sound? |
Gerald Ross
From:
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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Posted 4 Feb 2005 3:44 pm |
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I've been playing around for a year or so with my ProTools recording system and have discovered that you can dramatically change the tone of any recorded instrument via EQ settings, compression, reverb etc.
Having said that I am wondering if you can really hear the true sound of a particular brand of steel through a recording. Or must you hear the instrument live to truly hear it's real tone and voice.
I guess it has a lot to do with the recording engineer and how much they alter the tone. But I would imagine that all recordings are altered somewhat to achieve a pleasant balance and tone.
I'm not just talking steel here, but all instruments.
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Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'
Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website
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basilh
From:
United Kingdom
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Posted 4 Feb 2005 7:03 pm
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EQ in itself can be used or abused..My view of EQ is as the BBC describe it's use
In the BBC engineering course, they tell their sound engineers that if you have to "EQ" more than a little, you have either the wrong mike, or mike position or instrument for the job.
In a nutshell, that's about it..
Too much EQ gives a "False" sound to the recording and during mixdown it makes it harder to find a place in the spectrum for the instrument..
For obvious reasons, EQ ing should be left until mixdown.
(EQ the signal whilst recording and subsequent overdubs at a later date, become quite difficult)
BTW to the BBC. EQ is actually achieved via an "RSA" !!!
Response Selection Amplifier...
Baz
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| Quote: |
| Steel players do it without fretting |
 
http://www.waikiki-islanders.com
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Dan Tyack
From:
Olympia, WA USA
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Posted 5 Feb 2005 12:13 am
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| On 99% of the recording I do, the engineers record me flat. To my ears, what they record sounds like what it sounds to me in the room. I know that in ProTools anything is possible, but I do take pride in knowing that what got to tape (disk??) was what was coming out of my amp. |
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David L. Donald
From:
Koh Samui Island, Thailand
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Posted 5 Feb 2005 3:13 am
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Some times the recording environment doesn't allow
the optimum placement of optimum microphone,
so EQ is often used to compensate.
Also very often other instruments and textures
are added to a mix later, and the natural sound
conflicts with other natural sounds.
So EQ is used to make space for the disparait elements.
Steel is a pretty wide band instrument depending on
how you play it. I suspect few recordings have
truely acurate steel reproduction.
But if it sounds good to you, then it is good.
Most of what you hear is not pure as it left the amp.[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 05 February 2005 at 03:18 AM.] |
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Bob Stone
From:
Gainesville, FL, USA
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Posted 10 Feb 2005 11:28 am
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Gerald,
My two cents. Even when engineers are trying to get the natural sound of instruments (and voices) it is not totally possible because of the nature of the recording process. In my limited experience, few engineers today are really trying to get the "natural" sound. Even if they do, they are bound to at least do some compression to rein-in the loudness levels, and maybe a little delay or reverb, and that ain't exactly natural. And of course, every microphone has its own "personality." Then there is the "digital sound" factor. Don't forget the characteristics of your playback system.
Making or listening to a recording is simply not the same as being there hearing the music. That said, there are some nice recordings on which the instruments sound pretty close to how I think they probably really sounded.
Don't get me started on how drums are so often recorded these days. Grrrrrrrrr...
Again, my two cents.
Bob |
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