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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2012 19:09:24 GMT
Knowing not a lot about such things, can I ask a simple, basic question about speakers please? It has often puzzled me why it is important (or is it) to have the left channel amp output fed to the left speaker and the right to the right speaker. To my mind, having them swapped over would be like listening to the music from the back of the stage, rather than from the front, no? And I understand some concerts are performed on thrust stages or even 'in the round' so how does that work in relation to stereo imaging and positioning etc? Just askin' , like . Dave.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2012 21:13:44 GMT
Dave,
Have you tried serious listening to your headphones the wrong way around, ie left earpeice on right ear and vice versa? You will get a similar effect.
The handing is so that you hear the stereo image in the way the recording studio intended. This is not always logical to a standard band layout e.g. snare drum sounding right and kick on the left instead of the more common centre.
More important would be if you had handed 'speakers, then left must be left etc. to enable the 'speakers to perform as intended.
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Post by freddypipsqueek on Sept 23, 2012 21:20:05 GMT
I think its less important when its that newfangled pop music. It doesn't matter which speaker the bumperty bump and plinkety plonk comes from.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2012 5:07:18 GMT
With orchestral music, it feels unnatural to me to have the first violins on the right. When you look at the orchestra from the audience, they are normally on the left. Having them on the right makes you feel as though you're sitting, playing in the orchestra looking out.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2012 10:23:20 GMT
Mmmm, not such a numptie question after all, judging by the answers anyway . I can understand the need to have left channel on the left etc. from the recording engineers point of view - that's how he intended you to hear it and he's recorded it so that, in his opinion and experience, that gives the musical atmosphere he wanted us to hear. But with some stuff that passes for music these days it's probably not so important dare I suggest? Dave.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2012 9:22:03 GMT
When I bought my first Mini (the new BMW version that is) I noticed straight away that the stereo had its channels reversed. First violins on the right ? ! Struth.
I had it fixed under warranty though. I'm sure the staff at the Mini dealer's thought I was nuts but IT'S IMPORTANT !!
Derek
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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2012 15:42:18 GMT
I couldn't live with that either. I'd take the car back to have it fixed straight away.
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Post by JohnnyBlue on Sept 28, 2012 9:57:45 GMT
The vast majority (if not all) of Keith Jarrett's trio recordings (and I have them all, dozens of 'em!) have him towards the right, Jack DeJohnette's drums mainly left, and Gary Peacock's bass in the middle. I'd be completely disorientated if I heard these the other way round: it's actually a signifier to me that the L/R plugs are the wrong way round (see, the Mini APE thread, for example).
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2012 11:33:56 GMT
Those of you familiar with Diana Krall's early recrodings may notice that the piano seems the 'wrong way' round? It does to me anyway. Bass notes are to the left which means that you hear the instrument as the player would... in a recording I would expect to have top end to the left, bottom end to the right... if any separation was called for that is, because from a natural audience perspective a piano sounds diffuse.
Derek
e.g. 'Peel me a Grape'
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2012 15:53:48 GMT
Derek, that's really interesting. I never thought of it the way round you're saying!!
Because I play the piano, I hear the bass on the left and it feels really natural to me. However, I can understand an audience hearing it the other way.
Never thought of that before.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2012 8:08:03 GMT
With the Krall recordings the way they are I 'see' Diana facing me,the listener, so WHO is playing the piano? Maybe she is flexible enough to play while turning her head 180 degrees.
Derek.
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Post by JohnnyBlue on Sept 29, 2012 9:06:46 GMT
I don't think this mike placement/recording technique is limited to Diana Krall (of whom I have very little music, although I do find the cover of her latest release very interesting, for all the wrong reasons). The KJ solo piano recordings have a similar 'bass left/treble right' disposition: I've always assumed this is to give some sense of stereo space, and I would find the other way round to be most disconcerting.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2012 9:11:17 GMT
They appear to do that with TV audio quite a bit too.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2012 9:13:42 GMT
I thought this thread might have a very short shel life but it seems to have taken a very interesting (to me, anyway ) turn. Dave.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2012 9:25:10 GMT
With the Krall recordings the way they are I 'see' Diana facing me,the listener, so WHO is playing the piano? Maybe she is flexible enough to play while turning her head 180 degrees. Derek. I guess a more natural approach would be to step back with mic in the audience area. That way, it would be centre with no stereo separation on the piano. Interesting. Barry would be useful on this. There would be more of an acoustic presence as well. That could make sense on an acoustic piano. With live electric piano/synth, the engineers often electrically move the sound all over the hall so it's not quite as critical I guess in pop/rock stuff. It's probably more a question of whether you like it analytical or a concert perspective. For me, the left/right spread is useful for analysis but never really thought of it from an 'audience' perspective. I think a lot of Barry's work takes this into account and he tries to capture more of a 'concert feel' in the work that he does. After all, orchestras are most definitely recorded from an audience perspective. You are quite right - piano recordings are done backwards!! Sent from my iPod using ProBoards app
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Post by JohnnyBlue on Sept 30, 2012 16:15:14 GMT
All these snaps suggest the mikes are stuck inside the piano, although I don't understand how in some there only appears to one mike, as all these recordings give a stereo image as mentioned above. I still think getting a decent sound via a recording of a piano is a challenge beyond most sound engineers (no offence meant!).
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