Re: Data compression, twitch factors, knee jerks and God

[Andre Cholmodeley <andre@monmouth.com>]

> >>
> 
> The LoOpDoctOrs don't agree...we listen with our ears and we hear that
hard
> disc recording kills what we can afford for analogue and we love the
freedom
> allowed by our computer. .... In short, we trust our ears and nobody's
spec sheets.  And we are HIGHLY
> suspicious of faux scientific explanations as to why we should accept
"less"
> as "more."  That includes marketing/compression schemes.  Bang for the
buck is
> one thing, but don't tell our ears they're related to jerky knees.   The
> "twitch factor" for marketing types with profit line incentives is much
higher
> then the > "knee jerk" factor in musicians.

and you're absolutely correct. but it's all about balance. i really think
life is too short to worry about a few 1,000 khz of compresssion or
inaudibility. very few people can blindfold test this stuff. I don't know
about everyone esle - but i make music so someone will hear it, and like it
or not, lo or hi tech, our music will  be heard on boom boxes, bose wave
radio, walkman crappy headphoes, car stereos of umpteen diff. quality
levels.. etc.

i 'm not trying to pick a fight in the least bit, but lets step back - if
someone finds affordable gear for their current budget and it can trap
their musical performance in time, that's all ya need. the recently
departed Micheal Hedges, for all the warmth and beauty of his guiatr sound,
used old analog tape machines, but also used digital stuff, synths and hard
drive recording. now's he's gone, as we all will be, and should we get to
that other side saying " i woulda recorded my masterpiece - but the specs
were wrong"

on the other extreme - again, you're correct, the corporations have, do,
and will milk all these alternative for what they are worth and beyond. the
trick is to catch what falls between the cracks, like the fisher-price
"toy" video camera that now fetches hundreds, or the quickly discontinued
casio cz 101, still a fave. i think MD may do a bit better, but is in that
category as far as the big suits are concerned.

use what works.

andre