jrbirdman333: I'm a little slow--after all this time it suddenly hit me......"this a fascinating STRING". P U N !!!
the sound of massed violins in classical orchestral recordings
why do massed violins have this sort of gritty sandpapery reverberation in classical orchestral recordings?even in some sections of a piece, when the violins are playing softly in the background, you hear that gritty overtone more than the melody.when I listen to the Houston symphony in Jones Hall,sitting fourth row, facing the violin section, I don't hear that sound.I have three systems { two of them mid-fi ] and I hear the same thing-even with headphones.in all instances, the other parts of the orchestra are clear. my main system : Vanalistine Trancendence 10 tube preamp,a 35 year old solid state Proton D1200 amp, [have tried NAD,Project, Musical Fidelity amps--they don't sound any better],Onkyo dx7555 CD player [Stereophile class B],and Project Carbon turntable with Grado Black 2 cartridge [ the Ortophon Red was too bright ] through Magnepan MG12/QR speakers.Tried a highly regarded Elac speaker--no change as far as the violins go, but way inferior to those dramatic Maggies.So, there you have it. Is it the equipment? Is the state of the art not up to recording violins? Is it me? [its o.k.-I can take it}. In closing,a couple of years ago,I had phone conversation with a well known person associated with a major speaker company about this. His response :[ paraphrased ] Violins are a problem--don't like 'em. Any input will be appreciated. Thanks.
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It's well known that Karajan was a particularly enthusiastic early adopter of digital recording and the CD. He make pronouncements on its superiority to anything achievable by analog technology. And like I say, given the dubious quality of the early ADC machines handling the feed from the mikes, the recordings from that period often suffer from a lot of digital glare. Since then, things have improved very considerably. But you can make your entire CD collection eminently listenable through careful selection and combination of components. |
Respectfully, your friend from the speaker company is clueless. There are literally hundreds of recordings that don’t suffer from the problem you’re referencing because the engineer and producer know what they are doing. Here is a video that deals with some of the nuances of both recording and reproducing: https://youtu.be/h9dv9AVVHT4 The bottom line is some of the best mics to record violins or any acoustical instruments are being made now. Conversely ribbon mics of the 1930s were also marvelous at recording the great orchestras of the Golden Age. Look for Cleveland Orchestra with Szell and Chicago symphony with Reiner as a start and you will hear breathtaking sound. Let me know what you think of the video and what your conclusions are. |
So many great posts on this one. You’ve all given me a great sense of relief as you report experiences that parallel mine. After a virus-driven (bored) series of updates, cables and tweaks, I still get the orchestral hash under extreme volume passages. In 50 years of hifi, I always blamed my gear, or the recording, or some unknown soprano. I’ve got it down to a dull roar by treating my room and re-cabling, but still . . . . What most of us are talking about here is IM distortion that is originating at the instrument. Darn harsh cellos! I watch many of the youTube classical videos (especially those originating in the Netherlands), so I suffer through the string problem often. These videos span a few years right up to today and the mics used and their set-up is evolving fairly rapidly. The sound improves—and then it doesn’t. Never fear, this blog has enough good ideas to keep me spending and tweaking until I get it right. |
glevinson : Watcfed the wonderful video. I was surprised by how clear and listenable the sound was though the tiny speakers in my laptop! The beautiful playing, the articulate discussion.Very interesting about the old and new mics and their spacing and the eye opening description of the roles of engineer and producer in recording classical music. I hope that many of the posters here will watch this video. Thank you very much. |
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