The Logic Off Topic list

Zeek Duff wrote:
> call me a temperamental artist, but this whole concept pisses me off
> and I blame the same overall attitude for the adoption of the crap 16 bit
CD
> format we're STILL stuck with.  So, in regards to "dithering down," unless
> you're doing work for video or some other format where you can actually
USE
> a higher bitrate for enduser reproduction, I can't see starting and
working
> in anything more than 16 bit, IF that's where you're going to end up.

I am no Mr. GoldenEars at all, I am also not running any professional studio
at all, plus I am using 16bit beause I want all my PC's horsepower for other
things, but even I can clearly see the advances of using 24bit files for
mixing.
In the end you get more headroom when recording, therefor less truncation
errors when it comes to some lower levelled passages and sound details, and
having all those dithering algorhythms available most likely introduce less
of those errors than doing the initial recording at a lower bitrate. But
then, I never "experienced" that audible difference on my own system...
I do however agree that for most of the stuff we may call "popular" music
this might not be too important as it'll usually be compressed more or less
drastically anyways, plus you usually don't deal with that much dynamic
signals such as in, say, a classical recording. So 16bit might be completely
OK.

Regarding the story about the 4k roll off on guitars: That engineer should
be fired immediately (apparently he was...).
Frequencies somewhere between 3-5kHz certainly are THE most important ones
for electric guitars, they make them bite or not, and even if most guitar
speakers will certainly have a more or less strict cutoff between 5-8kHz
that still doesn't mean there isn't anything important happening in that
range - there's even some higher overtones.
For acoustic guitars that would be even more ridiculous.
Personally, I never cut any higher frequencies on guitars. I may filter some
lows and I may use a notch filter on some annoying mids, but that's about
it. Sometimes I do even boost the "biting" frquencies, especially on doubled
riff like things.

Regards,
Sascha