raw or polished production?

tohostudios wrote:

For me it depends on the musical style. For punk, sleaze, glam I like raw production. For symphonic, industrial and power metal, I like polished.

For instance, a slick production of The Clash or Rancid wouldn't sound right. But a raw production of something like Nightwish or Therion would sound like a mess.

I agree pretty much. I dont listen to the bands above but I get the gist of what yer sayin'. so yeah, you are right.

Raw.

Am I the only one who thinks that even if it is raw or polished, the production can still stink ? You can hang a mic from the rafters of a garage and record on an old 4 track reel to reel, then bounce the tracks and if it is mixed decent it can sound better than if you have a high dollar studio record the tunes. It isn't the price of the toys...it is knowing how to play with them.

I agree, production style depends on the band and what works. Funny thing, the production should be transparent but far too often takes on the personality and philosophy of the one twisting the knobs. The producer is the tech guy who is suppose to capture the sound of the band on tape, and not create a "new" sound for the band. More often than not the producer becomes the unofficial leader of the band and takes the band and their music where they think it should go. The record companies only care about sales so they support the most profitable option and could care less what the band or the producer wants, they are only concerned with results, and that is why they always go for the big name producer with the proven track record for creating the "best selling" sound. The record company signed the band cause they thought they had a "selling" sound and the producer wanted in because he thinks he can transform the band into a "better selling" sound. The band is caught in the middle and is along for the ride, and some cases responsible for the "changing sound" from album to album. With this being said, I think production is very important, almost as important and the song writing.

I kinda favor lean production techniques. The idea of capturing the "live" studio sound, which is not an easy thing to do.

Rather than start a new thread, I'm posting this in here.

I was listening to Def Leppard's Pyromania yesterday for the first time in awhile. Does anyone else think that album sounds muddled on CD?

Eyesore?