Q – What do you think of all the compression going on these days (for a while now actually) in production? I just recently bought a DAC with VU meters and it’s quite interesting how compressed many recordings are. They sit at 100% moving 5% either way. No dynamics just a sludgey mix. Interestingly, many recordings from the 80s – a decade known for overproduced recordings – from such big name bands such as Duran Duran are not.
A – I still don’t really understand mix compression. I like the idea of making a song sound loud, if that’s what you want it to do, or punchy, if that’s what you like… the radio thing I guess was and remains key. Listen to INXS from late ’80s on a stereo – it’s not impressive. Then in your car… it sounds great.
I guess I was never that motivated to make a car radio record. Like I could have done anyway…