does mixing kill the soundstage?

Hi A71spud; Great thread, and my thanks to all the above posters who took time to explain modern recording techniques. Now I know how JJ Cale can sing in the center of the stage and still lay down the guitar "hot licks" off to the left. Cheers. Craig

Slartibart, thanks for the heads up on the Ry Cooder/V.M. Bhatt recording. I also prefer a live 2 track analogue recording at 30 ips. I have done this previously on a few demos, and love the feeling of a real event being captured. Unfortunately, time and budget prevent me from recording that way at the moment, but I am hoping to eventually do another 2 track live recording. It is an amazing energy rush!

BMP- I have done some interesting experiments with 2 and 4 mic setups with non-acoustic type recording. I have tried to have bands play in a large room and position them at various distances from the mics but the results varied. I have also tried to overdub instruments with the same technique using a stereo pair but again, the results varied. I think the best recording I ever made was of a violin recital. I used an AKG C24 in Blumlein flanked by a pair of Neumann KM130 omnis. The mic preamp was an old and heavily modified Ampex tube unit all of which ran to a Nagra D. Analog is the way to go but a 1/2" reel at 30 ips gets mighty pricey (about $50-75 for every 15 minutes of record time). Honestly, recording on 1/4", 15ips Ampex 499 to a Ampex ATR or Nagra IV-S is pretty sensational (I have access to several thousand master tapes on this medium that are better than anything else out there). I am also amazed at the amount of artifical signal processing that is put on to even symphony recordings. If people heard an original master vs. a post production CD release, they would be astonished at how much the sound often changes.

Slartibart, it has been a long time since I paid close attention to engineering. I used to produce in the 80's, and have been teaching since the 90's. You are inspiring me to take a more active hand in the recording project I am just beginning. Thank you. Once you have tried 30ips on a Studer 16 track, and then a Studer 24 track, it's hard to go back to less expensive formats. I will be recording digitally in a very intimate and well designed studio with only mid level recording gear, but a very good engineer. If I can get enough interest in my work I will pursue a more desirable recording format in the future. Man, talk about bass authority, you a'int heard nothin' till you hear a Studer 2" 16 track. Whoa! I think that Led Zepellin's second album was 16 track and that Who's Next was recorded on 16 track, but I don't know which machines were used. Anyway, I will speak with the engineer I will be working with and attempt to formulate a plan to achieve some semblance of a true soundstage. First idea that comes to mind is to record the different musicians and their instruments in the part of the room that they would be standing in if the entire band was in the room, and then assemble a facsimile of the soundstage. I'll let you how things progress.

If anyone is interested, I made a post where I copied some of the emails from the Harbeth user's group (harbeth.com) where one of the BBC's recording engineer members spoke of his experiences. It was titled "BBC engineer s bent on live recordings." Lots of similar discussions can be found on that site.