New T-RackS Compressor

[The Noodlist]

What about an American 2500 compressor to go with the EQ PB? That's a thought.

[simon.a.billington]

Well no it doesn't, but then you hear stories of engineers like Mick Guzauski auditioning different units of the same device to find the right one to fit the project, because according to him "they all sound different"

For LA-2As, sure. I doubt he does this for Distressors, or comparable modern high-quality devices.

Tolerances will always be a factor in manufacturing, because it is physically impossible to manufacture components exactly identically. Even this day and age. The question is, can you hear the differences.

Maybe not in one or two components, the trouble is these devices are made of chains of components, each one adding a tiny bit of difference, but together it becomes more noticeable. You only have to read up on "acceptable tolerances" for mastering grade equipment to get the gist of it.

[jens]

The question is rather: even if you could hear the difference between two units side by side, would you be able to tell which is which in an ABX-test? Isn't it far more likely that the tolerances would kind of cancel each other out? (i.e. lead to slightly different sounding units where however none is practically preferable over the other(s)...)
People often seem to have a strong tendency to confuse difference with relevance. teh former might cause the latter, but not neccessarily so. (One might even go as far as to assume that if you have a strong desire for relevance in one regard, that might be caused by a lack thereof in some other regard)

[simon.a.billington]

The question is rather: even if you could hear the difference between two units side by side, would you be able to tell which is which in an ABX-test? Isn't it far more likely that the tolerances would kind of cancel each other out? (i.e. lead to slightly different sounding units where however none is practically preferable over the other(s)...)
People often seem to have a strong tendency to confuse difference with relevance. teh former might cause the latter, but not neccessarily so. (One might even go as far as to assume that if you have a strong desire for relevance in one regard, that might be caused by a lack thereof in some other regard)

Many long time high profile engineers have said they can hear the difference. They can hear the difference between each channel strip in the same console and so they'll exploit each strip for those same differences. A console is really just a device made up of multiple identical devices laid out side by side for efficiency and functionality. Then there's guitarists who will swear by certain versions of amps or pedals but not other's as they "don't sound as good" even though they are supposed to be the same.

Then there's the emulations, especially from the really well funded companies. There is so much riding on getting it right. You don't waste a million dollars on project only to say.. "that's good enough". That doesn't make good business sense. Businesses with that kind of attitude, spending that kind of money never last. So of course they shoot for as close as possible, often including things like null tests and expert opinions from theendorsing companies. Yet there's differences between each emulation. Sure there's bound to be a little difference, even after spending a cool million on getting it right. What that really suggests to me is these differences are baked in to the unit itself and would reinforce all the other anecdotal evidence.

It's a very really thing. We can hear it and we can measure it well enough to model. Its the reason why have technologies like Brainworx TMT or Waves NLS. Without a doubt its there.

But here's the thing... does it really matter?!?

It does the job its supposed to do, its very much close in the vicinity to how its supposed to sound. Does it matter?? Should it matter?? If does matter, why?? What do we hope to, achieve when we'll most likely be the only one to notice those differences. Last I checked where not making music for ourselves, but the client and the general audience as a whole. They don't care. So really, should it matter??

I'm not even going to attempt to answer that as I imagine the answer would be very much personal for each and every one of us.

[Scotty]

"People often seem to have a strong tendency to confuse difference with relevance" - well said Jens.