I'm tellin' ya man, you guys have some good knowledge, both digital and analog sides and all points in between. I'm listening to 'Californication' right now. My guess would be that it was not tracked on tape. Still the sound, although commonly regarded here as the worst case of overcompression as I have heard it claimed, sounds right for the band, namely the particular songs (as the band may change styles or vibes), but for these songs whatever they did seems to fit the mood of the songs, but I would be curious to hear Huey Lewis and the News' 'Sports' tracked with digital. I hear in my mind's ear that it would lose something, ever so slightly if tracked with the "professional" digital setups of today. It would still sound like Huey and band, because they are good enough at what they do to make it so. I'm not gonna knock digital to the point of most of you guys, simply because I don't know enough technically to battle your most informative arguments.
But again, I like the sound (and process plays a BIG part, too) of hands-on, analog recording and tracking to tape. I get frustrated in creating kits inside
my DM Pro Kit module, let along trying to track, and mix, and edit...well, I would imagine editing is easier in the digital realm, but MIXING is a big one. I'm a whiz at AutoCAD, but for mixing, I want a board not a box.
Ah, what the hell, I've got a book going anyway. Blue Bear, highly regarded and rightfully so here. Well, I am listening to his clips right now. Listened before, but now again so I can get a feel for the hybrid. Now I believe he uses outboard gear (i don't believe he mixes in the box) but in my humble opinion the clips still sound "separated" when listening to the 'song'. Maybe he is just showcasing his tracking abilities, which are absolutely the clearest I have heard of any online studio site so far, but the parts still sound too segregated to me to give an overall audio experience of togetherness. The parts are too distinguished from each other to the point of not sounding like a sum of parts, but more a collection of synchronized, well-recorded tracks. The mix is stellar!!!!!!!! It is just the overall sound, and maybe it is the performers, not the engineer and/or equipment...studio musicians thrown in a booth one at a time without ever having the courtesy of eye contact can do that, not that this is the case here. Not sure the history of the artists and their recording process for these clips.
Anyway, I know Blue Bear has the shit in equipment, and the tracks sound great as far as capturing detail, tone, clarity; they just sound a bit "alone" out there somewhere. Maybe they were an example of tracking and haven't been mastered.
Now this is no knock on BB, but a simple, personal take on sound. I have a feeling some folk may criticize me for not being able to "hear properly" or having "untrained ears." Maybe they're right, but what I hear is right to me is what I hear is right to me, and until I hear differently that is......you guessed it, what I hear that's right to me.
BTW, without having tape and the micing/room to compare to, I think if I had a piano part(s), I would track them in Blue Bear studios, money and location providing. I do dig those piano sounds.
Hmmm, wonder how they wound've sounded on tape...
... also prety idiotic if you think about it.... arghhhhhhh, so was not even funny, really)
