Have have a hard time calling anything related to the normal sound of an instrument IM distortion. Of course an instrument sounds different from afar as it does close up. Hopefully the recording engineer knows how to capture this so that what we hear on playback is at least close to the truth. Having lived with a violinist I can say with reasonable assurance from the recordings of soloist violins I have heard that it is easier to get a solo violin right than massed strings. But, given a good recording and the right playback system it is possible to get a reasonable facsimile.
the sound of massed violins in classical orchestral recordings
why do massed violins have this sort of gritty sandpapery reverberation in classical orchestral recordings?even in some sections of a piece, when the violins are playing softly in the background, you hear that gritty overtone more than the melody.when I listen to the Houston symphony in Jones Hall,sitting fourth row, facing the violin section, I don't hear that sound.I have three systems { two of them mid-fi ] and I hear the same thing-even with headphones.in all instances, the other parts of the orchestra are clear. my main system : Vanalistine Trancendence 10 tube preamp,a 35 year old solid state Proton D1200 amp, [have tried NAD,Project, Musical Fidelity amps--they don't sound any better],Onkyo dx7555 CD player [Stereophile class B],and Project Carbon turntable with Grado Black 2 cartridge [ the Ortophon Red was too bright ] through Magnepan MG12/QR speakers.Tried a highly regarded Elac speaker--no change as far as the violins go, but way inferior to those dramatic Maggies.So, there you have it. Is it the equipment? Is the state of the art not up to recording violins? Is it me? [its o.k.-I can take it}. In closing,a couple of years ago,I had phone conversation with a well known person associated with a major speaker company about this. His response :[ paraphrased ] Violins are a problem--don't like 'em. Any input will be appreciated. Thanks.
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6119: Many thanks on your kind words. As a fellow audiophile, my intention was to demonstrate that great results can be achieved by making sure that every link in the recording and reproducing sound equipment is on a high level. While there is some thought and commitment involved, it is so worth it. Finally, as we live in the age of covid, where we may have more home time, we can search out small companies which are creating some of the finest tools for us to listen to our favorite music. They are worth searching out and auditioning with your equipment to discover how they fit in your life. |
I just reach my final goal: Controlling the sonic performance of my room... Passive materials treatment being only half of the solution, active controls device(different resonators, with active diffusors playing the main role in a balanced equilibrium between reflective,absorbent, and diffusive surface). The key to room enhancement controls(i prefer this concept than correction and treatment) is listening with your ears to the tonal instruments accuracy for feed back.... Treating room in function of some frequencies correction only is not my way at all and sometimes erroneous because many variable conditioning sound in a particular room are not reducible to frequencies ...It is more a synchronization, a timing of waves of sound than only correction of the waves.... This recording of solo violin is particularly good and the playing interpretation very impressive, not the best tough (for me it is Henryk Szeryng spiritual endeavour) but soundwise very amazing and you will listen to the micro texture of the string....If not, your audio system+room is defective or not enough refined.... These tonal material microstructure of the strings are like a crowd singing together and you will listen with each note to a crowd of events or voices....Each note is a universe..... All audio is mainly 3 embeddings of the electronic components....(mechanical,electrical and acoustical) Speakers are only a part of the room/ear system... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2a9IY3UtU4 |
Still very interesting ------. I wanted to add a bit more to the discussion. A few posters have mentioned Deutsche Grammophon as one of the greatest offenders regarding string tone and I thought this experience might bring a bit of light to the subject -----. I was involved in a DG recording session as a performer. Myself and a bassoonist friend were very interested in all audio and recording matters and paid quite a bit of attention to the various techniques that their recording engineers used. One that struck us both as being rather unusual was when we saw one of the DG staff walking about the stage with a book and a tape measure. Of course, we inquired as to what he was doing. He was rather indignant that we'd approached him, but nontheless he tried to explain that the book was a microphone manual and that he had a special function on the team. His job was to check each microphone during breaks in the recording session to make sure that they were still located at a specific distance from the instrument they were meant to capture. The book apparently listed every microphone that DG used and listed its proper placement and distance ! I personally counted over 20 microphones on stage for that session, guaranteeing copious amounts of phase distortion ! I figured that the monitoring engineer simply accepted the placement of the mics that the guy with "Das Buch" had determined, regardless of how it sounded ! So much for the personal imprint of a music-minded engineer. This was no Ken Wilkinson of London/Decca fame in action. This was business, pure and simple ! I also had the great pleasure of recording for London/Decca with Ken Wilkinson as the recording engineer and recall his fondness for his Tannoy monitors. He said he used them on every session, not because they were state-of-the-art, but because he knew them so well and could hear changes as they were made, with absolute clarity. One of the "greats" ! |
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