Re: [ARSCLIST] Not using headphones

[Bob Olhsson <olh@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

George Brock-Nannestad wrote
> S. S. Stevens 
>described this as early as 1948. ...
>This explains a lot of things, such as perceived distortion and Dave's 
>observation.

I was fortunate enough to learn this in a Music Psychology course I took at Michigan State University during the mid '60s. Some of my friends and I used to tune vocals using the headphone mix.

My recent discovery is how much headphones also screw up dynamics especially if the performers are listening to themselves and or the backing tracks through a compressor. Playing and singing to an acoustic rather than an electronic balance makes a huge difference.

It has unfortunately become very common to only hire an experienced recording engineer for the final mix. This is a practice that's selling lots of studio time and lots of recording gear as people try to figure out what's wrong with their recordings but it's also killing the quality of the music.

-- 
Bob Olhsson Audio Mastery, Nashville TN
Mastering, Audio for Picture, Mix Evaluation and Quality Control
Over 40 years making people sound better than they ever imagined!
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