Celtic66,
I believe that your assessment is on the mark, simple high quality equipment used in a simple /minimalist signal pathway. Sound engineers who seem to strive for a natural reproduction and relied on their ears. The vast majority of my jazz recordings from that era (1950s-1960s) are very good sounding.
I don't listen to much pop, rock or Hip hop, so can't comment on them . I can say unequivocally that most modern jazz recordings are done exceptionally well. As a jazz devotee I'm very happy with this outcome. It seems that the tendency to "over manipulate " or process the sound is avoided for this genre. I will say that modern jazz recordings seem to get a fuller scale or weight from pianos than earlier recordings. The earlier era stereo recordings do have an undeniable natural ease and flow of the music. I think that in most audio applications, simplicity has a high correlation with good natural sound quality.
Charles,
I believe that your assessment is on the mark, simple high quality equipment used in a simple /minimalist signal pathway. Sound engineers who seem to strive for a natural reproduction and relied on their ears. The vast majority of my jazz recordings from that era (1950s-1960s) are very good sounding.
I don't listen to much pop, rock or Hip hop, so can't comment on them . I can say unequivocally that most modern jazz recordings are done exceptionally well. As a jazz devotee I'm very happy with this outcome. It seems that the tendency to "over manipulate " or process the sound is avoided for this genre. I will say that modern jazz recordings seem to get a fuller scale or weight from pianos than earlier recordings. The earlier era stereo recordings do have an undeniable natural ease and flow of the music. I think that in most audio applications, simplicity has a high correlation with good natural sound quality.
Charles,