Ramblings From Justin Penney

I was on a writing kick yesterday and did some quick demos. I was gonig for speed more than good sound so everything was hastily setup. No multi-mic setups, just throw a mic up and capture something. I obviously did give thought to how it would sound but I didn't fret over it.

These are brutally honest recordings. The drums are played poorly and unevenly, the guitars are humming, the vocals have pitch problems... but they feel real.

So I went on and did some EQ, compression and reverb. Now I'm lying. I think it sounds better but it's not truthful. My carpeted room doesn't sound like it has a plate reverb sound. The cymbals don't really wash like that. The direct bass sure didn't sound that squahsed and dirty (intentionally) when I heard the strings flapping in the air.

We have been trained to expect these un-realistic sounds. From hyper-compressed vocals that soar above the entire band to the huge toms and clicky kick drums that are completely in your face over the cymbals.

This isn't limited to recording, live sound is a partner in crime. The unrealistic representation of the ends of the registers with massive subs and huge horns. No band ever sounds like that. Unfortunately with most bands if there is no PA and you stand in the middle it's a jumbled mess with every instrument trying to trample the others.

# posted by Justin @ 1:26 PM