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Recording quality by decade

As I've been listening to my records, a pattern seemed to emerge that prompted this question - did the recording technology advance significantly between the previous decades and the mid/late '70s? Most of the classic rock records I own pressed in the '60s sound like crap compared to the classic rock records recorded in the mid to late '70s.

My Cream, Doors, Led Zeppelin, Beatles, and Jimi Hendrix records, just to mention the biggest acts, sound awful compared to Pink Floyd, Foreigner, Supertramp, Kate Bush, Rickie Lee Jones, or Fleetwood Mac records I have that were released in the '70s (and '80s). There are arguably a few exceptions, such as good pressings of some of the Led Zeppelin records, but on average any record recorded and pressed in the '60s sounds just bad compared to most records from the '70s and '80s. All of the Cream records I have are just painful to listen to - muddled, veiled, flat, and essentially garage quality.

I understand I'm making a big generalization, but seriously, I can't think of one record from the '60s that sounds really good. This puzzles me as there is a plethora of superbly recorded jazz records from not only the '60s, but also the '50s. Has anyone else noticed this?
actusreus

Showing 5 responses by mapman

mapman's avatar
mapman
22,636 posts
 
I think its fair to say that recordings over the years have tended to continuously become more heavily "processed" over time, digitally in particular. Kinda like a lot of fast food. Also like we always seem to get new taxes and laws and few older ones ever repealed. Things tend to snowball over time. Luckily, there are many with the skills needed to tame it all. That's what makes technology a benefit and not a curse!

Myself, I have really taken a liking to listening to older recordings, most anything that pre-dates the 70's and the rise of the transistor and digital to replace tubes and analog.

The recording vintage has a lot to do with whether my main system sounds like tubes/analog or transistor/SS. That's the way it should be! I can appreciate it all when its good for different reasons. Listening to old recordings can be a nice "tweak"!
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,636 posts
 
"Some early Muddy Waters will keep you pinned to your seat."

I have some newer CD remasters of early Muddy Waters tracks (mono) that sound absolutely stunning!

In general, I think I find that most GOOD modern digital remasters of old stuff like that sounds really quite excellent! It tells me that digital these days especially on a MODERN rig is capable of delivering quality sound that can rival the best recordings from the "golden age of hifi". ANd of course the original vinyl on a modern system in particular is capable of taking old recordings to new heights.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,636 posts
 
"The jazz recordings made from 1958-1963 were, in general, recorded with better sound than in any other time period (amazingly, including even today)."

That was the time when stereo lps started to hit the market. Sound quality was a selling point and major labels touted their wares accordingly. It was a true golden age for music lovers. The sound quality possible was the culmination of many years of technological developments prior! Good sound gradually became a commodity after that. That's where we stand today. More good sounding recordings of a greater variety accumulated over time than ever, but not all can be winners. 50 years later, there are lots of good recordings and much better equipment to play it on than ever. No audiophile should be complaining IMHO. But have we hit the plateau in regards to how good a recording can sound? I suspect we may be getting pretty close, at least until someone comes up with a way to improve our ears as much as the stuff we listen to has improved over the last century.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,636 posts
 
Nature of recordings then and now is similar to movies. Used to be simpler, more organic, and natural in many ways. The trend, with some exceptions, has been towards more complex. varied, and "processed". Think Cinemascope versus CGI. The good news is the older technologies and approaches are still available in newer forms plus new innovations occur all the time, so recording engineers have a lot they can and do chose from I would think. Of course, a lot is done certain ways because that is what sells. But there will always be niche markets for more specialized forms of unique art. DOn't worry, be happy! More fantastic recordings than ever to choose from and better gear by far to play it on as well. BEtter digital, better amps, better speakers, better wires. BEtter fuses? The list goes on....
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,636 posts
 
a lot of good hendrix recordings are very tricky to get to sound good but once it does..........
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