Distortions that the human ear likes. Are there any ?

Is firstnot a derivative of Slipnot minus some class?

Funny you should mention that, Geoff. When composing, auto spell first spelled that instead of the word I wanted to use. I almost missed it. 🤪

@cd318,
 I agree that there is a certain amount of condensention on the part of some engineers, misguided as it may be.

And, I'd like the ability to hear things as they were performed, as close to an "acoustic" rendition as possible. It would be limited to a small portion of recordings as most studio recordings are, of necessity, required to use some sort of wizardry to accomplish the desired end product. 

As for that authentic sound of yesteryear, in some cases yes, others, no.
After I heard that Nat King Cole CD, going back to the Gold Reissue (both done by Steve Hoffman), it was never the same. 

All the best,
Nonoise

I wish they still made Olds. My dad had a ’58 Olds station wagon and it was like a living room on wheels. Can’t remember what it sounded like but I do remember all of us getting out and pushing it to a gas station.

It was like pushing a living room on wheels. 😄

All the best,
Nonoise

I think what the engineers were talking about were the nuanced distortions injected into even order harmonics that can please our ears. He wasn't referring to even ordered natural harmonics as they wouldn't be distorted, by their very nature.

Think tubes from the good old days that couldn't help but introduce even ordered harmonic distortions. Those old enough to remember when tubes powered everything, including your TV. Those days. 

All of what engineers do nowadays is based on those very old notions of what sounds pleasing. It can't be helped. It gives rise to lots of debate as to what sounds right as technology progresses and when you hear a really good, minimalist recording, you get it. Our ears have been played with for a long, long time.

Musicians estates, long after they've departed, still insist on that sound that existed/was used back in the day. Sometimes it's played with but not often are they corrected to what it actually sounded like. Those that do are usually reissued and touted as remastered.

Nat King Cole is a good example. I was lucky enough to hear a CD that made it pass his estate where there was no manipulation of the performance and it sounded like he was right in the room with me, playing away. When his estate found out, they halted and recalled all the CDs that made it out and had the recording altered to how they felt Nat should be remembered; like he sounded on all of his recordings. 

He was no longer in the room. 

All the best,
Nonoise