From: chrisc@gold.gvg.tek.com (Chris Christensen)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Perceptions (was something else!)
Date: 17 Apr 92 18:46:10 GMT
Organization: Grass Valley Group, Grass Valley, CA

Lon Stowell writes:

>>(Kurt Strain) /  9:50 am  Apr 15, 1992 /
>
>>My opinion about most musicians, not all, have a fairly poorly developed 
>taste in sound quality.
>
In article <11840013@hpspdla.spd.HP.COM> garyr@hpspdla.spd.HP.COM 
(Gary Rosen) writes:
>Yeah, what would one of those stoopid *musicians* know about sound!!
>
>>   For once, Kurt does have a point....musicians often have been
>>   known to be satisfied with truly horrid audio systems.  

Another poster did justice to this thread so I won't comment.

>>   I must confess that if given a chance between a $1.95 K-Mart AM
>>   special and no music at all, I'd have to think about it but would
>>   take the K-Mart and listen.

I think that you are being realistic here.

>>   And it is not at all unusual that musicians have truly horrid
>>   tastes in sound engineering.  After all, if you have the tympani
>>   and tubas blatting in your ears all day, it is hard to appreciate
>>   the sound of a solo oboe from in FRONT of the conductor.

I don't expect for all musicians to have good taste in sound
engineering but not for the reasons that you cite.  BTW I  usually
record an orchestra from a position over the conductor and just
behind.

>>   Note that this isn't all musicians...some have excellent taste
>>   and artistic judgment.  But a lot shouldn't be allowed within a
>>   kilometer of a mixing console or EQ.    

Same as above.  And I don't EQ the classical recordings that I do. 

Andrew Walduck writes:

In rec.audio, chrisc@gold.gvg.tek.com (Chris Christensen) writes:
>   This is total bull!  The musicians ARE very concerned with room sound
>   and the quality of Timbre is their LIFE.  Where do you get off with
>   these statements!  To state that a musician in an orchestra isn't a
>   listener is correct, after all they are only creating the gawd damn
>   shit!.

>>hmmm...does a musician really know how his music sounds to the audience??
>>I think not. A guitarist may know when he's hot...but he doesn't know
>>how it sounds to the audience. To know how it sounds to the audience,
>>he'd have to be in the audience and playing at the same time!! ;-)

I do not know exactly what I sound like to the audience when I'm
playing but I do have a good idea how it sounds.

Part of the problem we have here may be one of terminology.  A
listener is anyone in the room,  not just the audience or someone in a
prime seating location.

>>Or another example...a bassoonist in an orchestra may know how she sounds,
>>and she may know how others around her sound...but she does not know
>>how the orchestra sounds to the audience. A musician in a orchestra, is in
>>the orchestra, and cannot know how the orchestra sounds to the listener in
>>the audience, its a physical impossibility.

Are you indicating that you are not able to hear the other musicians
around you and what ther are doing?  As I stated above you are not
able to hear *exactly* what it sound like in the audience,  but aren't
you effected by the reflections in the hall?  How do you judge youe
blend in the section?

In all of the recording and sound reinforcement that I do I always
have players that are not playing on a piece (during rehearsals) out in
the audience area listening.  And they always go back to the other
players and tell them what is happening.  If I am accurately
reproducing the orchestra I never hear about it!  If someone is
concerned,  I hear about it.  (I always welcome this).

As a result of the way that I treat the musicians and the skill with
whch I present their performance I earn their trust.
 
   And yes...I am a musician.

What is your instrument?

-- 
Chris Christensen                  The opinions I express are my own,
chrisc@gold.gvg.tek.com            and sometimes they are wrong!
916-478-3419 FAX 916-478-3887      After all, I AM only human.
Newsgroups: rec.audio