So, we had discussion about my videos, that boiled down to two issue types:
Tempo changes not correct
General issues with the score
@fennario’s analysis tackles the first issue, which we heavily discussed. I took the time to run RipX on various tracks and I have yet to find a track with no tempo changes. Even the holy Joy Division has a +/- 4 BPM variance on many songs ^^
So, that gets me to my original argument: for synched tab/songs, those tempo changes in tabs are necessary to be … synched! And - at least for RipX - those tempo changes happen in many songs.
I cannot argue against the 2nd issue though, as I am a noob in musical notation and transcribing!
Now that’s very interesting @fennario . I’ve often had this issue of a slightly floating tempo, that makes tempo synchronization impossible really in Reaper. I was not aware of the tempo mapping technique. Seems very nice but also a pain in the a** to map a full song …
I usually just don’t sync the tempo in Reaper with the actual song, and I just play with the original track as if I were playing live with the musicians. What is not satisfying is that I can’t really use the metronome when needed. In this case I record a small loop with https://drumbit.app/ at the “local” tempo and use it where I need it in the song. Luckily I don’t need to do this very often.
Not surprised. Stephen Morris is a beast of a drummer but he’s still human. And it was all recorded on to tape (the worst recording medium in history) and pressed on to vinyl (the second worst recording medium in history). Lots of dubious ways that timing fluctuations could be introduced.
But I had quite some discussions with vinyl freaks that told me that vinyl is better than (hires) digital - and they had some flat earth level arguments to convince me.
So, a diamond, virtually raping vinyl for the xth time, while it grinds mercilessly through the grooves of that black polyvinyl chloride, sounds better than a 24bit/192Khz sampled file?
WTF?
It makes especially no sense when that vinyl record was taken from a digital master, as it is the case with the 12"s of my techno DJ friends that swear that vinyl is better than digital (except for production, of course).
I have ended friendships because of this discussion!
Diamond needle, destroying a record and failing to recreate sound:
Ah, that’s a big nono for me! MP3 is bad as it is, but even for 320Kbs I hear(ed) a difference to the original.
I recently reripped over 4000 CDs to FLAC and OGG (highest quality setting) as I could not stand the artifacts in MP3.
Converted FLAC again to M4A (highest quality setting) to replace my OGGs again. Honestly don’t remember why though.
Got 3 CD-ROM players, activated some old PCs … and had "fun"for weeks ^^
The FLACs I use for home listening, the M4As are for my Smartphone. I need access to all my music at all time, otherwise I go mad!
I love the argument made by audiophiles (that will otherwise track down and spend thousands on eradicating impurities in their audio reproduction) that vinyl adds warmth missing in digital. And that compressed digital destroys fidelity.
Yes, that warmth is called “noise” and “compression” and is the same effect you would get with something like tubes or an overdrive; it’s just analog compression and noise, not digital.
Digital, on the other hand, is an exact reproduction in the range we can hear.
Also, just wait until they learn how Class D amps work
First 320KB/s MP3, then CD … and then SACD or the hires FLAC version.
I was no fan of Metallica until I almost weeped when listening to the SACD version of “Nothing else matters”!
Maybe the weeping was not “almost”, but don’t tell anybody!
The hardest argument is often to justify to themselves how much they spent for a cable or something similar
That’s a fun one too : they love tube preamps and even power amps, even if it’s not at all the most linear technology. How strange is it to search for the lowest THD with tubes, when there are MosFET’s everywere ?
IKR? It’s like taking your pristine digital photos and enshittifying them with instagram filters. Sure, it can look cool, but it’s not exactly a good accurate reproduction any more
I say that as someone that loves tube preamps too.
But really, Class D Amps, audiophile bros. Look them up and then sell all your Class D gear in rage
For cables, I find the discussion more complicated, even for digital.
Cables need good shielding. And for speaker cables I can say that better cables deliver better sound. Often those cables are more expensive…
I find “highend” optical cables kind of funny though
Yeah the cables are important but I was more talking about how much every component can cost.
Class D amps are fine for HiFi but actually I much prefer a Class AB amp for an instrument amplifier. There is something “slow” in Class D amps that I don’t like much. Class AB amps are more punchy, more raw. But it’s most probably something you feel when playing, more than the actual sound.
