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Old 11-22-2014, 10:36 PM   #2413
KMFrye
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 22
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Something else I got from this thread was the "finished is better than perfect" concept.
Jennifer[/QUOTE]

I'm taking Jennifer out of context a bit, but she used a phrase that resonates with me. But I want to take it one step further. Often,"finished" should be when it sounds "just right", and that is not always when it sounds "perfect".

My mother was a recording artist back during WW2 and into the early 50's (until I came along). Often, her records were done in just one or two takes, with the entire orchestra in the same room and only one or two mikes! This was the norm in those days. Mom was treated no differently than Bing Crosby or Rosie Clooney.

There is a spontaneity to those old records that is lost in today's clinically "perfect" recordings, with everything pitch corrected, time adjusted, and with duets recorded at different times by vocalists who never actually meet.

Today's recordings may be technically "better", but aurally, they're just not "alive". Too much time is spent on perfecting them, not enough on allowing the musicians to just be musicians.

Most every recording I've ever done has contained one or two tiny flaws, usually in the rhythm section (nothing big- small timing errors, very minor tuning glitches, a drum stick that clips the rim once,that sort of thing) that are there for the hearing. I like leaving them alone, so long as they don't truly affect the listener. Could I fix them? Yup. But I leave 'em in.

Last edited by KMFrye; 11-22-2014 at 10:49 PM.
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