Just what, exactly, is so controversial about the use of the term “micro dynamic nuance”? I doubt very much that I am the first person to ever use that term. However, let’s say, for the sake of argument, that I am the first to use this “made up” term. Let’s see:
“Micro dynamic nuance”. I think we can agree that the term “micro dynamics” is a term commonly used in audiophile parlance. The notion, if not the actual term, is commonly used by musicians. So, within the realm of the micro dynamics in a performance, or how a piece of gear or format is able to convey micro dynamics there can be “nuance”. No? The term describes the very fine gradations of micro dynamics present or not. The perfectly gradated crescendo made by a string section playing Mahler, or the extremely fine gradations of volume in a beautifully executed phrase by a solo flute for example. The difference between pppp and ppp; or ff and fff. So, again, just what is so controversial, or offensive, about the use of term “micro dynamic nuance”? Oh, wait, I get it, “recording engineers don’t use the term”. Well, I could simply say, “I rest my case”, but I will expound.
Just what on earth does the fact that recording engineers don’t use the term prove or have to do with anything? I have worked with some recording engineers who are absolutely clueless when it comes to some of the aspects of sound that astute audiophiles, never mind musicians, concern themselves with. This should come as no surprise to anyone when one considers the sonic quality of many recordings. Obviously, there are and have been many great engineers. However, as in any endeavor there are also many marginally capable ones and some who are absolutely terrible. Just as in the world of the audiophile there are engineers who are simply gear heads and don’t have a grasp of.....here it comes.....the “nuances” of a musical performance. They may have “intimate knowledge of the recording process”, but they do so only in the technical sense. I can’t begin to describe how many times I have told a recording engineer: “please, try putting the mic here instead you’ll get a better sound from me” and been proven correct. Of course, often one only gets a dirty look or even told to mind one’s own business. It IS my business. Just two weeks before the COVID lock down, I was at a recording session with a twenty five piece orchestra at one of the sadly few remaining studios in NYC that can accommodate an ensemble of that size. I could clearly hear that my mic was breaking up during loud passages. I kept trying to point this out to the engineer and got the “mind your own business” attitude. I gave up. Not my dime. Guess what phone call I got the next day asking me to go back in for some retakes? To those who often question why musicians don’t have better playback equipment at home, you would be shocked at what some recording engineers consider to be SOTA playback equipment. Please note that I said “some”. As I said there are many very fine engineers.
Now, and this is why I don’t like to relate these discussions to my professional experiences. The fact is that the level of nuance (there’s that pesky term again) that most musicians concern themselves with in the sound of musical instruments and ancillary gear when choosing their personal instruments is much more subtle and varied than most of what gets discussed among audiophiles and by some of the engineers that I have had experience with. This, when discussing the various sound characteristics of sound equipment. Then there is the issue of nuance (sorry) in performance: phrasing, pitch, timbre, ensemble (playing with others) to name a few; all which, for a good musician, have to be even more nuanced (☺️) for there to be a credible performance.
It is true that a player (or singer) does not always have a clear sense of he actually sounds like in the room due to the proximity of the instrument to that musician’s ears. Again, so what? This assertion mistakenly assumes that this type of comparison is made only when considering one’s own sound. This is nonsense. In the realm of acoustic music such as chamber and orchestral “Classical” music and acoustic Jazz, musicians are often obsessive about having trusted colleagues describe what they hear in each others’ sound while performing and while recording.
Once again it is shown that dependence on “evidence” is pure folly. Sound familiar? There is no sonic difference between cables, right? Ignore what your ears tell you and show me the “evidence” that there is. Right.
