Recording Opinions Please


CD and LP production is a collaborative effort. Of the parties responsible for putting out a recording, who has MOST influence on recording/production quality of the finished product ... the producer or recording engineer? Shouldn't one be able to point to a particular individual and say "... if so-and-so recorded it, I know it's good". Or, are there too many other variables to make such an assessment?
strateahed

Showing 1 response by strateahed

Thanks for the responses Bongofury (very thorough) and Buconero (concise). I was trying to figure out how to tell - ahead of time - if the CD production quality would be up to par prior to actually listening to certain music. Case in point: I have a lot of jazz that crosses a few labels ... Blue Note, Columbia, Verve, Impulse, Prestige, etc. But the sound is inconsistent. For example, one would think that Rudy Van Gelder's (RVG) "signature sound" - especially during the 60's hay day - would be pretty much the same. I have found that some of his re-engineered, re-mastered stuff is superior to the original recordings on CD; some of the CD's (same title) sound really compressed compared to vinyl, while some can sound nearly analog in presentation ( Wayne Shorter's re-engineered "Speak No Evil" for instance).

What's bothersome sometimes is to go through the track list on-line, then get the product home only to find that it's not very engaging. Guess trial and error ... actual listening tests will have to do.