Lynn Olson recently pointed me to an article in Rolling Stone magazine that digs deeply into the problem of MP-3-quality sound and poor dynamic range in recordings. This six-page article goes deeper than the articles I mentioned in two earlier posts (What Happened to Dynamic Range? and More on Dynamic Range). Also covered are the tweaks that are done in the recording or mastering studio, such as correcting the pitch of a singer’s voice. I won’t go into the excruciating details, but recommend this article, especially since it has a nice on-line bibliography and a selection of “Good” tracks (such as Bob Dylan’s Modern Times) and “Bad” tracks (such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers Californication) so you can actually hear the differences.
With speakers getting more accurate, and high-resolution audio getting better and cheaper, the fact that recordings are being trashed while mastered and then get squeezed through MP-3 lossy compression can only be seen as a dramatic disconnect. We can only hope that a new generation comes along that appreciates and demands good sound.
I was going through one of my alumni magazines this morning and came across a short article that really needs to be on the record in the audio community. It is the story of Winston Nelson, who worked as a research assistant for Harvey Fletcher (of Fletcher-Munson curve fame) while as a student at Columbia University. The story is here.
In 1933, Fletcher, while working at Bell Labs, set up the famous stereo experiment where a live concert performance in Philadelphia was carried by phone lines to Constitution hall in Washington, D.C. By using proper stereo techniques, the illusion of a live orchestra was maintained. Several years later, Fletcher repeated this, but used 4-track film to optically record Leopold Stowkowsi playing Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite. In 1950, Fletcher brought the film and equipment to Columbia and Nelson repair the equipment and get the demo going again. The only place available was in the basement of Philosophy Hall, next to Major Armstrong’s FM lab. Here is Nelson’s description of what happened:
“After a semester’s worth of work, one late afternoon in December 1950, I finally reconnected and fixed all the necessary parts and tried for a test run. I loaded a 35mm reel of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s recording of Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite into the film reader, crossed my fingers, and turned on the system.
The music that burst forth was unbelievable! The deep bass sound from three huge speakers literally made my necktie flutter. When the music ended, I could hear voices up on Amsterdam Avenue. When I looked up through the air well, I saw a crowd of people looking for the source of this amazing, beautiful sound. They must have been as befuddled as that first audience in 1933, no doubt convinced that a live symphony orchestra was playing in the bowels of Philosophy Hall. The revived system was able to perform just a few demonstrations before some irreplaceable parts gave out the following spring.”
The sound must have been stupendous! There is no record that the film of the Stowkowski performance was transcribed to magnetic tape, then just available. Still, this is the kind of experience sound lovers die for. The full story is here.
