HiFi Subjectivist ¦ Audio Forum ¦ NVA User Group

CN211276 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 27, 2024 8:05 pm

Fretless wrote: ↑Tue Feb 27, 2024 10:47 am The Bluetooth/Spotify generation are the reason for the Compression - and they accept it as 'normal'.

Do they ever listen to live music? It is dynamic and this is part of the attraction. No need to go to a concert, just find a street busker.

Preferably a street busker, compressors are used on live music if there is a sound system involved.

My personal gripe is with the universal application of Autotune to vocals. It seems that nothing can be released these days without a ghastly artificial processing on voices.

Have people just forgotten how to sing properly or are they just not bothered?
Probably the latter

Fretless wrote: ↑Tue Feb 27, 2024 8:35 pm My personal gripe is with the universal application of Autotune to vocals. It seems that nothing can be released these days without a ghastly artificial processing on voices.

Have people just forgotten how to sing properly or are they just not bothered?
Probably the latter

I completely agree. And then I found out that Sam Browne had lost her pitch (and I recommend her Ukulele and Voice EP if you don't know how she could sing). It wasn't coming back. She turned to autotune to be able to make her album Number 8. No it's not the same as the EP but she gets her songs across.

Fretless wrote: ↑Tue Feb 27, 2024 8:35 pm My personal gripe is with the universal application of Autotune to vocals. It seems that nothing can be released these days without a ghastly artificial processing on voices.

Have people just forgotten how to sing properly or are they just not bothered?
Probably the latter

I have a friend who is a professional singer, ROH, and she regularly has lessons to ensure that she retains hers skills. I imagine that autotune is cheaper. I actually had a discussion with someone last year who had experimented with using autotune on live streaming. The whole thing went pear shaped when the operator got the wrong key.

My personal opinion is that when something can be done by anybody it ceases to be attractive. Something that requires a rare skill still attracts attention and admiration. In photography autofocus, autoexposure and auto everything else means pretty much anyone can capture a decent sunset. I fully expect AI to turn out lacklustre work in both musical and photographic fields.

Where’s Ned Ludd when we need him?

I am firmly in the Luddite camp. Music means musicians playing instruments and singers singing.

"This computerised crap ain't getting me off.:

There is a place of judiciously applied compression, female vocals can benefit where a singer tends to drop the volume in some passages, trained singers are less prone to this so don't need compression. Speech can benefit but generally the problem with speech is that people either speak too quietly and require excessive gain to be audible or try to project despite using a microphone and require rapid and extensive application of equalisation, compression is rarely any real help.

Compression can help with some instruments in specific environments but microphone placement iss more important as is the appropriate microphone stand.

My approach, and remember I am an amateur working with mostly amateur musicians and singers, is to try to get the sound right with minimal use of compressors and only apply compression if it is really necessary. Feedback suggests that, occasionally, this approach works.

Feedback from whom? Complete and utter morons?

There are plenty of them about in the music biz.

I see parallels with the world of art. Where there's plenty of follow-the-leader sheep that think that efforts like this are worth paying money for:

Ah but he's not painting something that he sees, he's painting something he feels.

In this case I think it's biliousness.