Interesting comments on the subject of mc cartridge loading; especially from Ralph Karsten of Atma-Sphere and references to Jonathan Carr's feelings on the topic.
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/mc-cartridge-loading
In the context of my systems over time my experience with cartridge loading has been that most of the mc's that I have owned sounded "best" at 47K. While lower values could tame possible excessive brightness or add fullness to the upper bass/lower midrange, these "benefits" were often accompanied by a loss of overall detail and linearity and a sense that dynamics were being supressed. I found that I could ultimately achieve more satisfying sound by addressing the issue of brightness or lean bass (at 47K) elsewhere in my system or by changes in VTA and slightly higher VTF. In fairness, my systems have tended to be fuller sounding than most, and I can understand how in the context of a leaner sounding system one might take the other approach.
Harry, Paul Desmond had one of the most beautiful alto sounds ever; as you point out he was one of the greats. His obsession with not wanting to hear the spit on his reed led him to say what is one of my favorite quotes in jazz. When asked how he got that beautiful pure tone he replied that he wanted "... to sound like a dry martini". I think that what he was asking for from the engineers was that they not let close micing alter his natural tone which did not normally have the sound of air and spit in it. Close micing will exaggerate any air or spit in the tone, so "rolling off his feed" would compensate for that exaggeration. Ben Webster, on the other hand, used what is referred to as "subtone". He didn't want the purity of tone that Desmond had and cultivated that breathy-with-spit tone. Both great players. Regards.
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/mc-cartridge-loading
In the context of my systems over time my experience with cartridge loading has been that most of the mc's that I have owned sounded "best" at 47K. While lower values could tame possible excessive brightness or add fullness to the upper bass/lower midrange, these "benefits" were often accompanied by a loss of overall detail and linearity and a sense that dynamics were being supressed. I found that I could ultimately achieve more satisfying sound by addressing the issue of brightness or lean bass (at 47K) elsewhere in my system or by changes in VTA and slightly higher VTF. In fairness, my systems have tended to be fuller sounding than most, and I can understand how in the context of a leaner sounding system one might take the other approach.
Harry, Paul Desmond had one of the most beautiful alto sounds ever; as you point out he was one of the greats. His obsession with not wanting to hear the spit on his reed led him to say what is one of my favorite quotes in jazz. When asked how he got that beautiful pure tone he replied that he wanted "... to sound like a dry martini". I think that what he was asking for from the engineers was that they not let close micing alter his natural tone which did not normally have the sound of air and spit in it. Close micing will exaggerate any air or spit in the tone, so "rolling off his feed" would compensate for that exaggeration. Ben Webster, on the other hand, used what is referred to as "subtone". He didn't want the purity of tone that Desmond had and cultivated that breathy-with-spit tone. Both great players. Regards.