newer bands distorting guitars?
Mar 4, 2006 at 4:05 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 12

mcryptic

New Head-Fier
Joined
Aug 14, 2005
Posts
36
Likes
0
I've been listening to some of my music with my newer cans and have notice that a lot of the newer groups are severely distorting their guitars. I cannot listen to any theory of a deadman, or foo fighterss in your honor without getting sick to my stomach, and all are lossless rips. I don't have a very good soundcard (soundstorm) and only what you would consider average headphones (A500s) but can anyone verify that it is indeed these awful sounding albums and not my equipment? I can agree with that article "Modern rock so bad, kids turning to "classic rock"" because i've have discovered older bands like megadeth and symphony x (they aren't old, just an example) which sound so much better.
 
Mar 4, 2006 at 5:41 AM Post #2 of 12
I can't listen to Theory of a Deadman either without getting sick to my stomach...but it doesn't have anything to do with guitar distortion...
tongue.gif
 
Mar 4, 2006 at 6:12 AM Post #4 of 12
While I don't know either of the albums you refer to, guitarists have been using distortion since the '60s.
 
Mar 4, 2006 at 6:21 AM Post #6 of 12
Quote:

Originally Posted by fante7
While I don't know either of the albums you refer to, guitarists have been using distortion since the '60s.


Never heard In Your Honor? it's worth a listen...well, I mean if you like the Foo's...
 
Mar 4, 2006 at 6:28 AM Post #7 of 12
Quote:

Originally Posted by Homeless
Never heard In Your Honor? it's worth a listen...well, I mean if you like the Foo's...


most definitely worth getting, i should probably compare their older album's sound quality to their latest, but i don't remember them using so much distortion, or maybe its just recorded poorly, i'm trying to find out.
 
Mar 4, 2006 at 7:20 AM Post #8 of 12
Listen to some Industrial Rock, if you hate guitar distortion you will LOVE IT
 
Mar 4, 2006 at 5:52 PM Post #10 of 12
IMO, you are reacting to a phenomenon called "compression" that is plaguing most modern recordings (not the same "compression" as in creating lossy mp3 versions, but compressing the signal to destroy dynamic range). Foo Fighters perfect example, some of the most compressed music of all time. Many people do theorize that the reason music sales are down, and why people aren't listening to music like they used to is due to all the compression labels force mastering engineers to apply to finished CDs, so they'll be "competitive". No one wants to be the quietest song on someone's iPod, or else risk being skipped over. Sadly, most people equate "louder" with "better". Sure it grabs your attention, but it will give you a headache if exposed for more than 30 seconds. It's destroying music. Sadly a lot of this compression is now being applied in the mixing stage thanks to pro tools, so even if the loudness wars get ended, there will be no dynamic range information to retrieve from many of the recordings made over the last 10 years. It's a real bummer.

Here's a decent summary from wikipedia:

Quote:

The phrase loudness war refers to the practice of recording music at progressively higher and higher levels, to create CDs that are as loud as possible. Louder CDs sound louder when played with the same equipment at the same settings. One reason for this practice is that when comparing two CDs, the louder one will sound better on first impression. Higher levels can result in better sounding recordings on low quality reproduction systems, such as web audio formats, AM radio, mono television and telephones, but since most of the material affected is delivered via CD audio, it is largely seen as detrimental to overall quality, given that one of the initial benefits of a CD was its enhanced dynamic range.

To educated ears this practice is unnecessary, since if listeners want to listen to loud music, they can simply turn up the volume on their playback equipment. If a CD is broadcast by a radio station, the station will have its own equipment that flattens everything it broadcasts to the same level, regardless of the original recording's loudness. [1], [2]

This practice often results in a form of distortion known as clipping. [3] The loudness wars have reached a point at which most pop CDs, and many classical and jazz CDs, have large amounts of digital clipping, making them harsh and fatiguing to listen to, especially, ironically, on high quality equipment. [4]

Further, current compression and limiter equipment allows engineers to create a recording that has a nearly uniform dynamic level. [5] When that level is set very close to the maximum allowed by the CD format, this creates nearly non-stop distortion throughout the disk. [6]

This situation has been widely condemned.[7] [8] Some have petitioned their favorite groups to rerelease some CD's with less distortion. [9] Others have even said that recording engineers who knowingly push their recording equipment past clipping should be blacklisted and not allowed to "victimize artists or music lovers." [10]

It should be made clear that this distortion is different from other kinds of distortion such as overdrive or feedback (see Overdrive (music)), which is created by electronic musical instruments, not by the recording process, and which can be an intentional and integral part of the performance (see Jimi Hendrix). Digital clipping is created by recording engineers, not by musicians.

Another consequence of the loudness war is that even if there is no distortion, every song on a CD, and every moment within each song, will have the same dynamic (i.e., loudness) level, with no rise or fall or any sense of dynamic shaping. The music has been flattened against the ceiling, so to speak. Pop music in general has not been interested in the expressive possibilities of crescendos, diminuendos, sudden loudness or quietness, or any of the other dynamic devices available to musicians, but the loudness war has eliminated even the possibility of dynamic expressiveness in recorded pop music.


 
Mar 4, 2006 at 6:16 PM Post #11 of 12
Quote:

Originally Posted by mcryptic
I don't have a very good soundcard (soundstorm) and only what you would consider average headphones (A500s) but can anyone verify that it is indeed these awful sounding albums and not my equipment?


It's not your mid-fi gear, it even get's worse when played through a high end rig.
What you are complaining about has nothing to do with distortion caused by utilizing tube guitar amps.This kind of distortion often sounds very good and is common in rock music for more than 40 years now.
The foo fighters CD is totally overcompressed and digitally clipping all the time.I guess I would like some of their songs if they would be mastered properly, but unfortunately the music is totally destroyed by the crappy mastering and unlistenable through decent hifi gear.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top