The Verb of God
A few years back I interviewed Kavi Alexander for a magazine article. The interview never got picked up, but it was (IMO) really interesting, so I published it on my Audio Recording Advice Web site. Here’s one of the things he said in the interview:
P.A.: A lot of people argue there is an intangible [...]
Axiom
As convenience increases, quality decreases. Don’t think this is a universal truth? Well, consider a few examples:
instant coffee
tv dinners
non-dairy creamer
tanning salons
You get the picture; something becomes more convenient at the expense of quality. Like it or not, it’s a universal truth. An axiom.
And so it goes with making audio recordings. It seems like [...]
The Value of Space, part 1
It’s become the trend to over-compress music. Gladly, it seems like the days of hyper-compression are behind us, but what’s become the norm is to just use compression very liberally.
Compression does just what it says it does: compresses. It takes the quietest sounds and makes them louder and the loud sounds and makes them quieter, [...]
Testing Equipment
So, keeping on with my DAC testing post, I’ll clarify a bit why I listened to what I did for testing. First, I don’t have a lot of free time (despite what you may think by seeing daily blog posts), so I wanted to compare the Devilsound DAC against my RME/Lavry DAC in an hour [...]
The Devil’s In the DAC, part deux
So, last post I mentioned the San Diego-based Devilsound DAC. Let me clarify that this is a USB converter meant to be the go between from your computer to a home theatre, stereo system or great pair of powered desktop computer sound monitors.
I’ve spent part of the evening listening to music on it, switching back-and-forth [...]
The Devil’s In the DAC
The other day i came across a Web site called Devilsound Labs. They are two guys from San Diego making a DAC, because they can’t figure out why good DACs cost so much.
Hey, I’m a guy from San Diego doing mastering because I can’t figure out why good mastering costs so much.
So I [...]
Sound Advice
I was perusing the Web site of one of my favorite rock personalities, Paul Gilbert, the other day and saw a picture of him performing with very big headphones on…like the kind you’d see an airline runway technician wearing. I was curious if these were a stage prop, a monitoring system…or some combination of both.
After [...]
Poetic Justice
I’ve decided it’s time to take a break from the audio-blogging-high-road and jump the tracks for a short trip to trash town.
Saw this today, and I couldn’t help feeling some measure of justice had been served.
My only question is whether the fact that he created the Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync (not to mention probably [...]
.MP3…the Format That Backfired?
I was just sitting at my desk thinking about whether or not compact discs were ultimately doomed. Whether, someday, everything would be vapor. No physical discs. No CD, SACD, DVD, BluRay, whatever. Nothing. What would musicians sell at shows? Vouchers for .MP3s?
And that made me wonder whether this is the first time in recording history [...]
Lunch With Anyone
If I could have lunch with anyone in the world (that I haven’t already met and/or had lunch with) to pick their brain, it would be Jimmy Page. Actually, I think I’d like to time travel back to about 1974 (putting me at six-years-old) and have lunch with that Jimmy Page.
If you think that a [...]
About This Blog
From Ohm to Om reflects the opinions of mastering engineer Paul Abbott, owner of San Diego's ZenMastering.
We welcome comments from readers...pro or con!
