• Released: 05.06.2007
• Plays: 90

• Released: 05.06.2007
• Plays: 49

Magna deafening: has the time come to end the crazy compression?

12/06/2007 By Vincent

Here’s a task for you. Set your stereo to a decent volume. Put on a popular modern day record. Its sounds big and loud right? Now put on a record on from say, 30 or 40 years ago at the same volume setting. Its not as big or as loud I bet, likely lighter and less bassy. Now try it again but this time turn down the modern record so its realistically the same volume as the old record. My guess is that the dynamic range of the old record will be clear, where as the modern record will be up in your face with nothing behind it, and you will find it harder to know exactly what is going on in the song. That is simply a result of the modern indulgence of compression. And what is worrying is that people ears are being conditioned to it. Which is neither good for the music or people’s ear-drums. There have been calls recently in the industry and from Health experts to actually label certain cd’s with a ‘Warning:This record is loud’ sticker in order to raise awareness. It seems bizarre imagining it (and your average Kerrang reader may think ‘Duh! That’s the point, man’ when seeing the sticker) but reasonable when health experts say the enormous compression will damage hearing and cause fatigue and headaches. Its not the volume but the way its compressed. Its causes frequencies that amount to buzzing which is hard to notice unless heard at low volumes. Hopefully it wont have to come that anyway as long as record companies stop insisting on it. Its all part of the fight to be heard. Psychologically people react better to something played louder. Compression allows to the music to be background and still be loud. Its all round us, in supermarkets, bars, on tv, and of course radio. Record companies want their song to come steaming in and catch everyone’s attention. It equates in the same manner as how adverts blast in during a programme break and everyone has to reach for the remotes to turn the bloody racket down. As for radio, well its actually irrelevant as they apply their own compression to everything anyway. Which is good news for us Shakers. Reason being, is that when we came to master the ‘Magna Doors’ album we were giving the option of compressing it to a level where the music could breathe, or to sound like the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. We went for the former option and so came away with a cd which isn’t as ‘loud’ as Arctic Monkeys or U2 but keeps the dynamic range. And when I find out that radio adds its own compression anyway, I’m laughing. Yes, I am aware that people’s ears are conditioned to that level of compression in expectations of what sounds modern, but bugger that- I don’t want any buzzing running through my tracks! I’m just hoping that one day a record company will take it a step too far and release something so crushed and compressed that people will feel sick hearing it and completely dismiss it. Apparently the loudest record in terms of compression currently on the market is Arctic Monkey’s latest Favourite Worst Nightmare. While everyone’s busy reading into Alex Turner’s lyrics and exclaiming the band’s greatness, they maybe haven’t noticed that they just cant turn the f*ing thing down! If the compression is started to be brought down then when listening to the Artics’ in 20 years time people will say ‘god listen to that mastering! Typical Noughties-sounding record’. Thus warranting the album dated in its post-production. Personally that’s something I’d like to avoid with my music. So, hopefully the time will come, sooner rather than later, when compression is reduced and people’s hearing and musician’s posterity enhanced.