[Slowhand] Re: Disappointment

[Almighty Geetarz]

>> As for the MP3 question, John (I KNOW you had a big

>> mischievous grin on  your face as you composed your

>> message),


I'll bet he was giggling like a little schoolgirl at the same time ;)


>>   but is there nothing more  ridiculous than seeing 

>> someone fuss over the lossless quality of a seed

>>  made from a bad (sub-4 quality) master?


It's amazing how much progress has been made in the past couple decades when it comes to processing and "remastering" (I use the term loosely, since it's one of the more abused references) audio.  So many older recordings have been brought to life and in many cases sound better than they ever have.

The fear a lot of archivists have is that the lossy material will crowd out the originals.  As a case in point, I have an entire shelf unit devoted to corrupt shows (mp3 sourced, bad extractions, etc.) and have yet to find clean sources for any of these shows ... the bad ones are so pervasive.

And long-term the hope is that as new techniques are pioneered, even more sonic goodness can be bestowed on older recordings. Keep in mind that an already excellent sounding recording doesn't have a lot of improvement potential, but for a really mediocre recording there is a huge improvement possible.

I've spoken to audio engineers who even hold out hope that in the future, it may be possible to make audience recordings sound like soundboards - we aren't there yet (by a long shot) but then again a decade ago even considering recording a CD-R took a top-flight computer, several thousand dollars worth of hardware and software, and expensive blanks to boot (pun intended).

Much of these sound processing techniques rely on having ALL the audio data available, even that which you cannot hear. As a case in point, sophisticated noise and hiss reduction software works by careful analysis of the hiss on that particular recording, deducing its "fingerprint" if you will, and then subtracting it from the mix.  This sort of thing isn't possible with lossy audio as the information simply isn't there to process.



>> I can't tell you how many  downloads, of older shows

>> (more than 10 years old) I've trashed because  of the

>> wow and flutter.


Oh c'mon, wow and flutter are cool!  

For the most fun, I really enjoy the OFF SPEED recordings where EC sounds like Barry White, or, even better still, an English-toned Alvin and the Chipmunks!


>> Younger listeners (25 or  younger) may be able to 

>>HEAR a difference between a lossy and lossless  file,

>> but for most people past 25, you cant hear well in the

>> sonic range  that is impacted the most by MP3

>> compression.


True enough, I seem to remember reading about a device meant to drive off teenagers by putting out a sound that most adults can't hear.

Hey, I'll drop a bombshell on the group.  I mean, folks who know me may want to sit down, and those with heart conditions and/or nursing mothers may want to skip the remainder of this post altogether ....


[spoiler space]


I bought an iPod.

Yep, secret's out.  Hell froze over.

Many (most) mp3s leave high frequency artifacts (flanging/phasing) that drive me to distraction, but to my shock and amazement I'm quite pleased with mp4 (AAC) encoding...I guess every once in a while technology really DOES get better with time (the mp3 standard is ANCIENT in reference to most computer standards it's closer to an old age pension than adolesence).

And yes, I wonder how much of it is that the encoding is getting better ... and how much of it is that my ears (sliding ever closer to the BIG FOUR OH) have suffered from decades of exposure to Marshall amps, loud music, firearms, and unmuffled engine exhaust (as much as we talk about EC's tone in Cream, I still know of no sound more glorious than that of a R/R Merlin at full throttle - http://www.bcam.net/engines/merlin.htm)

With that said, I do think there is a useful place in the trading world for compressed audio, for the very reasons you mentioned: it's a fast and easy way to make sound samples available, so that others can make a decision about which recordings are worth pursuing.  Let's face it ... most of them aren't!

Cheers,
AG

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