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Patricia Barber and Stereophile

Has anyone listen to PB's new CD? I just purchased it, upon rave reviews. I have not owned any of her other cd's, but soon will. The recording sounds great in regards to timbre and detail. It really captures the late night club sound. And, the bass is deep!!!!! Oh, of course the music is wonderful. Although, this is not the reason for my post. My concern is that the mix is really problematic. The drum kit is at least 10 to 12 feet wide and the bass player at times sounds like he is sitting on the drummers lap. The perspective is equal to standing 3 feet in front of a drummer. At times I feel that I am on stage. In reading the review in "Stereophile" there was no mention of this strange mix. This is not the first time I have encountered obvious "objective" problems with their music review. One of their recent reviews of a new funk band, I forget their name but it is the one with the cover including a dollar bill theme, gave it 5 stars in sound. Well, a friend of mine brought it over and I listened to it. IMO the low end was as muddy as the Colorodo River in the spring. As well as the over all sound was somewhat fuzzy. Now, I don't listen to all of their reviews and honestly I only catch the few that I like, however, their credibility has been compromised. Again, I'm not talking about the subjective matters of liking the music. I talking about the overall sound quality of the recordings. Has anybody listen to these cd's, what is you perspective and how well do you feel "Stereophile" does with their music reviews? Again, overall I love the new PB cd, it just the unnaturual soundstage I am talking about.
ramstl
subaruguru
1,353 posts
 
After our guests left last night I rang in the early morning millenium with Companion and then nightclub. Percussion miking is contrived on both discs, but not disagreeably to me. The effect is simply like having TWO percussionists, no? And was it not accomplished by having an additional stereo pair directly in front of the drum kit? Musically, nightclub lacks the spontaneity and real-life great looseness of Companion, and suffers from overproduction that's perhaps a consequence of her building success. Don't Krall's latest efforts sound similarly sterile? And KD Lang!...listen to Shadowland to hear her when she was GREAT (too bad the production's so damned bright, though)! .......Nightclub has a decidedly different feel. I enjoyed it much, but then maybe just as a nightcap...it did put me to sleep at 3AM, but so what! Cheers, and a groggy but Happy New Year to all.
subaruguru
1,353 posts
 
Ramsteel: just reread your post...interesting comment on the muddiness on the bottom. I always revered Companion for its tight but close-miked standup. My good friend Larry Fishman was over last night and caught the bass solo on Companion. He's an old jazz bassist from the old days, and has a successful business producing acoustic pickups for stringed instruments (OE for Guild, Parker, etc., as well his own Fishman Transducers line). It was after he left I played Nightclub by myself, and only thereafter noticed in the credits that the new bass player references Fishman Transducers. Larry's such a busy guy that I don't know when I can get him over to listen to nightclub, but I sure would be curious to know what he thinks of the result of that mix! Certainly the mixing and a host of other variables intrude, but Larry's personal taste is to NEVER allow phase-delay muddiness to slow up the transients off the strings. (He even makes a pro monitor that drops precipitously below 70 HZ to ensure a lean tight standup bass in difficult or carelessly managed situations.) I'll have to listen to Nightclub again to compare the bottom to Companion...but you can be assured that any muddiness is NOT due to Marc Johnson's bass nor his FT pickup. Hmmm....what a missed opportunity to get it from the horse's mouth, eh?
jadem6's avatar
jadem6
1,071 posts
 
Hey Subaruguru, I believe Companion was recorded with one drumer and a seperate percussionist. Both Eric Montzka, drums and percussion; and Rubin P. Alvarez, percussion are credited. I know the last two times I saw Patricia she had both so you may be hearing what is there, two players. Also did you have the same issue as Ramsteel on the base. If so, wich track? I have not noticed it as a problem.
avnut
153 posts
 
i love patricia's music. her voice is incredible. i am very disappointed with the muddiness of the bass. in the first track, something seems amiss between the piano and the bass. i dont get it. maybe my system is missing the resolution needed to hear the opening clearly. i love the cd anyway. modern cool was/is the best overall recording i've heard on my system. later fellers!
jadem6's avatar
jadem6
1,071 posts
 
Avnut, are you refering to "Blackbird" on Nightclub? I have a very solid, deep round note untill about 25 seconds into the track at wich point it drops lower. The first pluck is not as solid as the next few but is still completely defined and remains round. My system looses nothing with the Sereophile test disk to 30Hz, losses maybe 7-10 db at 25Hz and is not really not audible at 20Hz under normal listening levels, but you can still feel it. It may well be my ears or something but the base I reproduce is extremely solid to 30Hz. You might try playing with your speakers or room some and see if you can focus the base better. How far into your room are your speakers?
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