Poorly Recorded - Chris Thile & Michael Daves

@bdp24 I've definitely seen a lot of bluegrass like that, and I really enjoy it live. It takes the sound 'mixing' and puts it in the hands of the group, with them dynamically adjusting positions to add more or less of their sound to the single mic. It's a blast to watch, and actually adds to the performance!

Listening back on a high-end rig though...lackluster.

Dusty---I feel the same way about a recording engineer I worked with for a while. He was big on mic’ing a drumset with only two mics---a stereo one overhead, and one on the front of the kick. Without a mic on each drum, they were lacking in presence, sounding a little distant. Hitting the drums harder didn’t change that, either. Also, with the mic further away from the drums, it picked up more of the sound of the room in proportion to the direct sound of the drums. And the room was not a good sounding one; it’s dimensions were the dreaded square, creating large room modes at certain frequencies. The sound of drums is hugely affected by the nature of the room the are played in.

Dusty---interesting chain of events.  I was just listening to the Thile/Daves recording this afternoon, then saw your post about Antifogmatic, then this.  In terms of sound quality, the Thile/Daves album is simply awful.  Thile is a bonafide genius without peer.  What a disappointment the SQ was on this album.  If you like what they did together....you've no doubt seen some of the incredible live videos them on youtube etc.  Also look up their 2011 live Newport Folk Festival performance which is available as a NPR podcast if you haven't already.  A brilliant duo.