Good distortion

An old studio manager we used to know was fond of saying "I think we all know what good sounds like" at his morning team meets. Good was happy paying clients leaving with low noise and low distortion master tapes. The only welcome distortion was that produced by guitar amps and the occasional special effect. We didn't regard tape saturation/distortion as desirable and longed for transparent mixing desks and mic pre-amps.

How times have changed! It seems when we couldn't have transparency we longed for it, and now we have it .. well .. it's just too clean isn't it!

For music fans growing up in the 1970s, distortion was a big feature of cheap record decks (expensive decks weren't much better) and poor quality AM radio. We hated it because it came between us and the music. Sound engineers and listeners waged a constant battle against unwanted distortion.

Today 24-bit digital audio and DAWs have marginalised distortion and given us tools to add it only where required.

It's worth remembering that audio distortion may be defined as any change to a signal caused by a device, so even the most welcome "warming" of a signal as it passes through a much loved pre-amp transformer is distortion too.

For the most part we choose to add distortion to a pristine audio for the same reason film makers colour grade film. We want to exaggerate reality to create maximum impact. Although the jury is out on how well plug-ins can achieve this, we are fortunate to live in a time when so many hardware manufacturers are producing superb pieces of outboard to colour our audio.

The API 500 lunchbox format is a great way to add such devices to you setup and this week we have been experimenting with three devices.

We mentioned the DIYRE Color Palette in our Christmas blog post and have since taken our own advice and built one together with 3 Color modules. With 3 flavours of saturation/distortion to play with we are deeply impressed with all Peterson Goodwyn and his team have achieved. Brilliant concept and execution.

We are also currently building a Sound Skulptor EQ573, a design celebrated for its non-linear musicality.

And finally, a Looptrotter Emperor 500 is on its way. This is a hybrid saturation/compression/distortion device that we can't wait to try.

We can now say with confidence that we know what good distortion sounds like. It's the distortion we choose.

Thanks for reading and watching

FairFax

Are MP3s really that bad?

There is a widely held view in sound recording circles that the MP3 format is responsible for degrading the quality of the listener's musical experience. Vocal critics include Neil Young and George Massenburg. They maintain that MP3s are unlistenable. But is the format really that bad?

Initially developed to overcome storage and network distribution limitations in the early years of the world wide web, many feel that it is no longer needed and that modern technologies such as FlashRam and broadband permit fun bandwidth uncompressed audio.

It is true that if you study the theory of how the MP3 codec works it looks like bad news for audio quality, but before we jump to the conclusion that that format should be abandoned here are a few points that we might want to consider when deciding how our recordings should be published and delivered to a listener.

1. Many critics refer to the MP3 format without qualifying data rate. There is a vast quality difference between 320kbps (the upper limit) and 128kbps, and no-one would seriously argue that 64kbps should be compared to even CD quality. If we are going to compare MP3 with other formats, lets agree to use 320kbps.

2. When was the last time we made a comparison for ourselves? Do it now. Grab a favourite CD, rip an MP3 version at 320kbps and a do a blind test comparison, preferably with family or friends. You may be surprised at how difficult it is to identify differences.

3. Now try the same comparison in your car and using a mobile phone with ear-buds. This is how most people experience music.

4. When was the last time you saw a hi-spec hi-fi system in a friends home (no not other audio enthusiasts! just regular folk who like music). Back in the 60's, 70's and 80's you saw hi-fi separate systems everywhere. Now most folks use their PCs, TVs or mini systems. Will they hear a difference?

5. With the increasing popularity of vinyl, many music fans are looking for a different way to experience music recordings. No one could argue that vinyl can faithfully reproduce the sound of a studio mix master yet many of us still love that distorted analogue sound. How come that's a good fashionable thing?

6. Maybe it's because we don't regard an MP3 file as aesthetically "valuable" as a physical fixation like tape, vinyl or CD.  It doesn't resonate culturally. We can't define ourselves with a MP3 collection the way we can with a record collection. MP3s are much less visible!

7. Has the sheer convenience of MP3 devalued them? It takes dedication to maintain a physical music collection doesn't it?

At Project Studio Handbook we have no clear opinions on this debate. Most of us record at 44.1kHz / 24-bit and master for MP3. Some of us burn CDs to listen to at home and in the car. In our studios we listen to the mix masters. What do you do and what are your thoughts on this subject? It would be great to hear them.

Thanks for watching and reading
FairFax