My Take on Music Recording with Doug Fearn

Send us a text Since the advent of multitrack recording, the goal of most engineers has been to keep the sound of every instrument totally isolated from all the others. That makes our job much easier, since we can adjust the mix of every track as needed, and apply effects like equalization and compression to each sound individually as needed. But does that make the best recording? For some types of music, the answer is yes. But having all the players in the same room where they can see and hear each other often results in synergy from the musicians working together that can create exceptional music. Without baffles, isolation booths, or overdubbing, the music can be better. But this can create problems for the mix engineer, since there can be at least some of the other instruments bleeding into the mic of an instrument you want to manipulate. In this episode, I talk about this approach to recording, which can be very challenging. It requires a studio setup that works to help maintain the desired balance of the instruments. In essence, you are recording and mixing at the same time, although there will likely be overdubs added to the basic tracks. This isn’t an approach for everyone. But it might be a good technique to have in your repertoire when the situation is right. It will definitely stress your skills as an engineer or a producer. email: dwfearn@dwfearn.com www.youtube.com/c/DWFearn https://dwfearn.com/

Send us a text I live and work in the woods, surrounded by wildlife. There are many species of birds and in the spring their songs are pretty amazing. Over the years, I have thought about recording those birds, but the background noise level was a problem. Although very quiet by most people’s standards, there is still a lot of man-made noise -- too much noise to make recording the birds feasible. But an opportunity arose in May of 2020 during the Covid pandemic when there was very little travel. I took advantage of that short window to capture the spring birds in the early morning. This episode is the story of how that recording was made. I explain the challenges I faced and the technical decisions I made to effectively make a recording that I find quite compelling. It is recorded in DSD digital, and it is available on Outer Marker Records through our international download distributor, Native DSD. You can listen to a CD-quality version of the album for free, and purchase it in several high-resolution formats, including DSD256, which is an exact bit-for-bit file of the original master. It’s also available on all streaming services, under my name, Doug Fearn. I hope you find this story interesting. https://www.nativedsd.com/product/om04100h-spring-birds-an-audiophile-recording-experience-from-doug-fearn/   https://www.outermarkerrecords.com/ email: dwfearn@dwfearn.com www.youtube.com/c/DWFearn https://dwfearn.com/

Send us a text Virtually all digital recording uses a format called PCM. But there is another digital format that works in an entirely different way. It’s called DSD, for Direct Stream Digital, and you might find that it sounds better than PCM. In this episode, I explain what DSD is, mostly from a practical, user, viewpoint. If it sounds better, why don’t we use it? Well, DSD comes with some serious limitations. I explain those limitations and the techniques used to get around them in the world of contemporary recording. Most people will find the shortcomings of DSD to be enough of a problem that they have no interest in it. But for those of us who are on a quest for the best sounding audio we can achieve, DSD is worth it despite its challenges. Here is a link to Native DSD, a digital distributor that has specialized in DSD digital downloads: https://www.nativedsd.com/ … and a link to Outer Marker Records, the label the Hazelrigg Brothers and I founded a few years go. All the releases on Outer Marker were recorded in DSD: https://www.nativedsd.com/label/outer-marker-records/ We think DSD is the most musical recording format there is.   email: dwfearn@dwfearn.com www.youtube.com/c/DWFearn https://dwfearn.com/

Send us a text Does audio quality really matter? Our society in general has seen a major loss in quality of goods and services. Music recording has not escaped this trend. In this short episode, I give some examples, some possible explanations, and a bit of guidance on how recordists can do a better job. It benefits the listener, even if they can’t even describe the difference between a good recording and a mediocre one. email: dwfearn@dwfearn.com www.youtube.com/c/DWFearn https://dwfearn.com/