More than accurate, I simply want recordings to sound good to ME. I have actual instruments around for reference, but to say I use those for that purpose isn’t particularly accurate (no pun intended) since I don’t. How an "actual performance sounded" is also relative to where you sat for it, and what the sound tech (sometimes actually me) was thinking, except when there is no sound reinforcement (saw Brad Mehldau last year playing an unamplified Steinway in a hall near Harvard…lean in man…lean in…softer notes were eaten by the room, but I still enjoyed it). I mix live shows with the sound check as the point where my goal is to make the artist think (!) it sounds good so they can relax and play, and when the great unwashed show up to hear the show it all changes anyway…experience allows one to adjust for that, but the goal should be clarity and balance and audience happiness. It’s always a head scratcher when I work with somebody (jazzers mostly) who’s recordings have a great sounding and prominent kick drum, and they insist that no drum mics be used…uh…OK…or after the sound check the bass player completely changes their amp settings causing the whole mix to change…I get paid anyway, but I won’t run up to the stage to tell a bass player to turn down as I don’t want to Harsh Their Mellow so to speak...
What exactly is colored sound?
I guess the definition would be a deviation from what what was originally intended but how do we really know what was originally intended anyway? I mean solid state mostly sounds like solid state. I guess that would be a coloration, push pull amps and set have their own colorations. It seems we try to denote certain definitions to either promote or dis certain sounds I guess. We could have a supposedly neutral amp but their just is not enough bass so we turn up the subwoofer or the bass, a coloration per se. I guess one could say that colored sound would be a good thing. after all, each instrument has its own sound (color). A mullard, a telefunken, I mean who knows what tubes were in the recording studios at the time of the recording. Syrupy, sweet, rich, NEUTRAL, forward, backward I mean really... I guess its all about certain preferences for each person. even in the studio. who knows, maybe a recording may be meant to sound syrupy or sweet and then we try to make it as neutral as possible. Maybe thats a coloration in itself. I guess what I am asking is why do reviewers use the word colored in reviews anyway?