My recording philosophy is pragmatic, skeptical, not super critical. After all, the performance is by far the most important component of a track, and every aspect of the recording is a matter of taste.
But I do like to “know things.” Back in hifi days I learned about double blind testing. I learned that we humans can easily hear differences that don’t really exist. That we can fool ourselves over and over. The more I’ve learned about our human auditory system, the more I’m skeptical of what people say they hear, especially if they claim that a particular microphone or preamp or cable has some magical property.
I’ve only been recording since 2001, and when I started I found the usual places on the internet. I sought advice and accepted it, thought I would improve my recordings by using more expensive equipment. It’s fun thinking about and buying gear, but in my experience the gear didn’t result in better recordings.
Two things that did seem to lead to better recordings were experience and room treatment. Getting an appealing sound is the combination of many small details, and learning those details only comes from experience – recording and listening over and over. Experience is also the best medicine for red light fever.
At the same time, the sound of the recording space is a big factor all by itself. Improving the sound of the room is wonderfully effective, and it makes all the other learning easier. In a poorly treated room, small changes in position make big changes in the sound, so it’s easy to lose the sweet spot.
I’ve only recorded seriously using digital technology, but I remember trying to record rehearsals and gigs back in analog days. I don’t have any nostalgia for analog recording and playback systems at all. I think even low end digital systems can capture marvelous recordings. So when I look at gear, I look for good specs: low noise, broad flat frequency response, wide dynamic range, low distortion. I’m not interested in colorful components, mics and preamps with a sound, I want the sound to be the sound of my guitar.
But the last word is that I’m just learning. I’m wide open to the possibility that I’ll hear a mic or preamp that really does have some magic. If I find it, I’ll let you know.
