Re: [ARSCLIST] Audio compression on radio, was Re: [ARSCLIST] Libraries disposing of records

[Scott Phillips <scottp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

..and the 'reissued' stamp is there. Not to say that old recordings were
always better, there has always been carelessness and incompetence
regardless of era....

That said, stations have always gone for loud within their allowed
bandwidth, and pumping and breathing from an aggressive broadcast
compressor added to a poor reissue is a bad mixture. However, even if
stations were to themselves back away from the 'loudest' mindset, (after
60 years? Get real !!) they would still face legal limitations that
would at best exaggerate today's poorly mixed and mastered recordings.

While there is plenty of blame to go around, it all comes back to the
center point.... A poor mix and master means every distribution media
suffers, CD, TV, NET, radio. Nothing is going to be better than the
'branch point' of the source of the recording, by nature the CD these
days. No matter what happens in the further distribution of the product,
that is the best it is ever going to be. I myself could settle for lousy
broadcast quality, if it was even possible to obtain at any price the
pure, unsquashed and trashed mix, even as a 'producers cut'. The public
has no options now...

-----Original Message-----
From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
[mailto:ARSCLIST@xxxxxxx] On Behalf Of David Lennick
Sent: Saturday, January 06, 2007 9:44 PM
To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ARSCLIST] Audio compression on radio, was Re: [ARSCLIST]
Libraries disposing of records

I've mentioned this before, but it still happens..FM radio stations such
as WXXI in Rochester will play CDs reissued from analog tapes and quite
often the hiss and BG noise are 5 times as loud as the music. And the
recordings aren't always immortal performances. I once heard Mordecai
play tracks from an old Vanguard recording of the Nutcracker Suite that
should never have been reissued ..no artistic merit, nothing historical
about it, just "product" that likely filled a niche in a budget catalog
at one point.

dl

Scott Phillips wrote:
> Thank you..!
> 
> I have been in the recording industry in one way or another for years,

> but I also possess an FCC license that started out as a first class 
> license for radio, when they were 'hard to get'. Put bluntly, there 
> are legal restrictions that AM/FM broadcasters need to adhere to, and 
> they limit such things as dynamic range. They MUST have gear that 
> restrains/maintains things in those areas. They are NOT going away, 
> they can't. With that in mind, at the very least record 
> companies/producers/engineers/mastering engineers should understand 
> this. Radio CAN'T change this, it is the law. Sure, they have some 
> latitude as to how the gear is adjusted, but less than you might 
> imagine. Once it seemed like this was just common recording 
> engineering knowledge, I must be getting old...
> 
> As a result, they have to be pretty inflexible as to their processing.
> Sure, they also want to be the loudest station as you tune across the 
> dial in most cases... But that WILL happen, HAS happened for more 
> years than I've been alive. Still, they have more restrictions 
> actually placed on them that the rest of the recording chain. This was

> not true when vinyl was king, it was different but 'similar' in 
> discipline. If the industry was in fact recording and mastering to fit

> the needs of radio, it wouldn't sound like it does right now.
> 
> A good deal of yesteryear's best broadcast compression/limiting chain 
> is to be now found in the possession of the best recording engineers 
> doing fine mixes. Fairchild, anyone ? Tubes, don't ya know... Still, 
> one should NEVER overdo a good thing... But a old broadcast tube 
> limiter set to small settings is very nice indeed. Again, just IMHO..
> 
> ..and yes, I'm not a 'tube guy'. My eyes are well and truly open...
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List 
> [mailto:ARSCLIST@xxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Mike Richter
> Sent: Saturday, January 06, 2007 8:23 PM
> To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Libraries disposing of records
> 
> Scott Phillips wrote:
>> I just have to respond to this, even though I agree with 90% of it...
>>
>> Use sound forge or similar and look at a remastered LP at the least, 
>> or a current recording... The results are a LOT of square waves that 
>> result from the misuse of plugin compressors or 'mastering' software.
> 
> There is a page on the subject at one of my WWW sites:
>    http://www.mindspring.com/~mrichter/
> 
> While it has little that will be new to those on this list, it may be 
> useful in communicating with others.
> 
> Mike
> --
> mrichter@xxxxxxx
> http://www.mrichter.com/
>

>