Prog tracks that you feel get too much hate...

Grumpyprogfan wrote: The reason I buy any SW remix is because of the surround mixes, and all I've heard are excellent. Even an average budget surround setup will sound excellent. Also, both Alan Parsons and Steven Wilson have both mentioned that they prefer surround to stereo.

Hi,

We kinda forget that Alan Parsons was already doing "surround" when doing a lot of the classical music work he was a part of. So Alan saying that he preferred surround is kinda funny and weird, and almost suggests that we do not know what surround was being done in the 1960's to get a better sound out of an orchestra, however, the playing equipment at home, was stereo as "surround" could not exactly be done at home, though some German efforts (the Head system) and other things were attempts at spreading the ability of a stereo system, but a stylus, in general could not exactly pick up 4 points on a groove in the LP, I don't think.

NOTE: Check out an orchestra recording on a RED SEAL album ... you will be able to tell, on the headset, that this was a different microphone than that and many more examples, since in those days, one did not exactly do as much changing, and was dependent on the quality of the playing more than it is these days, where electronics allow for changes later if one wants to. Wonderful example with Klaus Schulze and Lisa live album on one of the CD specials where they want to change a detail ... that you and I will NEVER find ... to make it better!

This brings out how things were recorded all around ... and the orchestra had a lot more details to work on, than a rock band, in general 4 or 5 folks. The design and implementation for an orchestra is far more important for a recording than what was done with rock music, and only rock fans don't seem to know that. You can't record an orchestra with 4 or 5 microphones, in general it's going to take at least 30 or 40 microphones (possibly more!!!), creating a really huge work for the person at the big table which we see in pictures ... with 30 or 40 sets of levels and faders and some addons to each line, or microphone. Early rock music used to combine things on a microphone, and I think that some of the early Beatles and Rolling Stones had this, and when you hear it today, it really does not sound very good. Every time you see a table that big for the engineer, you know that they have done larger groups and orchestras.

Since that time, however, a lot of really good engineers and producers, have helped improve the state of the recording of things for rock music, so SW making it look like he is repositioning things and making the whole thing sound better, or livelier, will sound good all around, and when it is cleaned up, it becomes even more interesting and enjoyable.