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RE: But Scott, if accuracy "dies at the microphones". . .


"I agree that recordings don't have the dynamics or the spacial stuff just right but recordings that are intended to sound "real" that use very good large condenser German microphones get most other things very close to "right".

I think your lack of personal experience working with great mics has lead to you believing otherwise."

I only have experience with witnessing two different classical recordings that were commercial releases. In both cases the basic character of the live sound was substantially altered. In one case it was altered for the better. Much better. In the other case not so much.

"Accuracy" clearly wasn't the goal for anyone in either case. So given that fact what is "right" becomes a bit of a moving target. Ultimately what is "right" is the provenance of the decision makers.

IMO and in the opinion of the artist and recording engineer for the first recording an "accurate" representation of the sound of that piano would have been pretty far from "right." The artist would have refused to allow the recording to be released if it sounded at all like that piano sounded in the concert hall. That recording engineer was quite aware of that fact and did some pretty amazing "engineering" to squeeze out a rich, colorful sounding recording from a piano that should have been placed in the dumpster. It wasn't accurate (thank goodness) but it was "right" on every level by the criteria of those who had a say so.


OTOH that other recording was way too wet for my taste and did not reflect the relative reverb of the actual concert hall. But clearly everyone who had a say so signed off on it. It was released.

I did get the chance to shoot the breeze with both recording engineers about the two recordings at the time they were being recorded. We didn't get into the specifics of the actual mics used but we did get into the specifics of what they were trying to achieve. neither one mentioned accuracy. For the first recording the goal was clearly to make a recording that everyone who had to sign off on it would agree to sign off on it. Three decision makers with three different criteria. I am less familiar with the ins and outs of that second recording but it did seem by our conversation that the recording engineer on that one felt greater freedom to please his own aesthetic values. Certain aspects of our conversation on his microphone techniques lead to my conclusion that accuracy was not on his plate either and that he was mostly interested in his abilities to adjust tonal qualities throughout the spectrum that he found most pleasing to his ear in the editing room.


I think it is fair to say that anybody who buys either of those recordings will never have any idea what either sounded like in person in the concert hall no matter how "accurate" their home playback may be. There is no way anyone could make any such judgements using either of those recordings. But one of them does sound terrific and the other pretty OK.

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