what are you listening to?

Vynuladikt said:
I have a true appreciation for well engineered recordings. Of course, as the quality of equipment improves it becomes more crucial for enjoyable listening. There are some very old recordings that are done at a level that amazes me for the technology of the day. Kind of Blue - Miles Davis is just one that comes to mind. Some of the more modern recordings are terrible, with no dynamic range. In the words of Meatloaf, "Everything louder than everything else".
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Many of the late 50's to early 60's recordings are first class engineering and are a joy to listen to. The Miles Davis recording you refer to was a Columbia 1959 release and is an exemplary example. The Rudy Van Gelder recordings for Blue Note, Prestige and Verve records are always very well engineered. Van Gelder started recording in Stereo in 1957, and the soundstage he created often put you in the center of the performers. It's true that the recording and engineering were often superb at this time. The Mono recordings of this time are often just as enjoyable, as they were engineered to put the main performance front and center. Many of the albums in the late 60's and early 70's are horribly engineered, the performances were well executed, but the sound engineers and producers just wanted to get an album out, and good engineering takes both time, and money.....neither of which they wanted to spend on those albums.
 
Vintage 700b said:
Many of the late 50's to early 60's recordings are first class engineering and are a joy to listen to. The Miles Davis recording you refer to was a Columbia 1959 release and is an exemplary example. The Rudy Van Gelder recordings for Blue Note, Prestige and Verve records are always very well engineered. Van Gelder started recording in Stereo in 1957, and the soundstage he created often put you in the center of the performers. It's true that the recording and engineering were often superb at this time. The Mono recordings of this time are often just as enjoyable, as they were engineered to put the main performance front and center. Many of the albums in the late 60's and early 70's are horribly engineered, the performances were well executed, but the sound engineers and producers just wanted to get an album out, and good engineering takes both time, and money.....neither of which they wanted to spend on those albums.
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I'm not familiar with Gelder, but I'll look into his work. I really appreciate the work of Alan Parsons, Roger Nichols and Robert Ludwig to name a few of my favorites.
 
My purchasing focus is on 50's-60's jazz/hard bop records and the recordings are always first-class.

Exceptions are usually the older (60's-80's) third-party releases where the dynamic range is narrower, and quality is poor. Similar on earlier recordings as well in many (not all) cases. By the mid-50's the good studios really had their ducks in a row, and they sound excellent.
 
Vintage 700b said:
Many of the late 50's to early 60's recordings are first class engineering and are a joy to listen to. The Miles Davis recording you refer to was a Columbia 1959 release and is an exemplary example. The Rudy Van Gelder recordings for Blue Note, Prestige and Verve records are always very well engineered. Van Gelder started recording in Stereo in 1957, and the soundstage he created often put you in the center of the performers. It's true that the recording and engineering were often superb at this time. The Mono recordings of this time are often just as enjoyable, as they were engineered to put the main performance front and center. Many of the albums in the late 60's and early 70's are horribly engineered, the performances were well executed, but the sound engineers and producers just wanted to get an album out, and good engineering takes both time, and money.....neither of which they wanted to spend on those albums.
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Like (I assume) Jim, I'm a huge fan of Rudy's engineering. As few jazz albums as I have, when I'm looking, I have my list of his recordings on my phone in case I run across something I don't have.

J!m said:
My purchasing focus is on 50's-60's jazz/hard bop records and the recordings are always first-class...
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Exactly.
 
Vynuladikt said:
I have a true appreciation for well engineered recordings. Of course, as the quality of equipment improves it becomes more crucial for enjoyable listening. There are some very old recordings that are done at a level that amazes me for the technology of the day. Kind of Blue - Miles Davis is just one that comes to mind. Some of the more modern recordings are terrible, with no dynamic range. In the words of Meatloaf, "Everything louder than everything else".
Click to expand...


I would not have made a decent record company executive.
That band you were moving through the studio with no regard to the potential creation of a generational theme song or instant classic , could be the biggest thing in your stable and this could be album so let's get the bean counters involved....
Gotta turn that profit. And I get that, gotta make profit myself. But when dealing with a medium that can stir the soul, perhaps profit can sit the fuck down for a minute...
 
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