Musicians/Engineers/Producers who ENDORSE compression, brickwalling etc.

I was just watching a youtube Q&A with David Coverdale from 2012; he's asked about preferences for recording vocals, he stresses how he puts a compressor on his vocals to, as he sees it, give more emphasis to his breathing.

I also watched that Oasis Definitely Maybe 10th anniversary doc (also available on youtube) where Owen Morris talks about how he brought brickwalling to the table, how felt he pioneered it, and how it benefited the record i.e. made the band louder (and therefore I guess more attention-grabbing) than the songs on the radio which preceded/followed it. Covered up mistakes, too.

These are the only two examples which immediately spring to mind but I'm sure there have been other instances I've seen where notable figures in the music (or, more specifically, recording) game have sang the praises of these modern examples of recording/mastering which leave me scratching my head.

Anyone heard/read any similar examples?

 

I'm not familiar with Owen Morris, nor with all the technical duties required of a Record Producer.
However, if he is quoted that this modern recording method "covers up mistakes", presumably due to an error that he missed or did not fix...
It strikes me as being borderline unprofessional.
Or shall I just say lazy?

 

It seems like nearly everyone implicitly endorses it...

 

In the 60s pop records were recorded to sound best on transistor/car radios. Many groups listened to pre-mastered recordings on car radios to see how they sounded.

Nowadays, the recordings are made to sound best on portable devices listened to with ear buds or Bluetooth speakers.

 

I notied that Stephen Marcussen mastered "3 Pears" by Dwight Yoakam and Bob Ludwig mastered "Memory Almost Full" By Paul McCartney. Both albums represent over the top LOUD to me. I wish for a remaster...

 

It did cover up the mistakes well. So well in fact, I never heard them because I would always eject the CD before reaching them.

Oasis albums are among the absolute worst sounding albums I own, and I own a lot of music.

He didn't pioneer it, either.

 

Compression cleverly used can be beneficial. But I'd whip the butt of those who promoted brickwalling!

 

All rock/pop/etc vocals are recorded and/or mixed with compression on the individual track. As are drums, bass, guitar. This is not the same thing as compression/brickwalling as discussed in the loudness wars.

 

And the Oasis remasters of Definitely Maybe and What's the Story Morning Glory were made even louder from what I've read.

 

And Bob Ludwig has gone on record to say that Memory... was delivered to him with the compression already applied:

Paul McCartney MEMORY ALMOST FULL - Mastering good or bad? * »

 

That line from American Pie is ringing in my head right now..........

 

Alright, so it's not just a matter of mastering? It can be done by the producer? I remember David Kahne had this thing going with Wilco... Hm.

 

Compression as part of the RECORDING process is a completely different thing from excessive compression in MASTERING. Compression as an effect in recording is a great thing - when applied too much in the mastering process, it sucks.

 

For comparison sake, what songs have "good or beneficial" use of compression?
Honestly, I'd like to learn how it can be used effectively... And I've only heard of it described in a negative sense.

 

I'm not a recording engineer, so I'm willing for those more knowledgeable to correct my assumptions.

As I understand things, the recording of vocals can produce a very loud dynamic range, with some syllables/words creating much more instantaneous energy than the other parts of the singing, and this can also be a product of the singer's vocal and mic technique. So it is appropriate that compression/limiting is applied to the recording of vocals to contain these aberrations of the recording process. In the old days it would prevent tape saturation. This compression does not need to brickwall, only contain, so the vocal track still retains dynamic range.

 

Again, the "bad" compression is applied during the mastering process. If compression is applied to a voice or instrument during recording, it can be a good thing. For an example of extreme good compression, listen to the guitars on Alice Cooper's "School's Out." Those guitars are compressed all to hell and it sounds great. If the whole RECORDING was compressed during mastering, it would sound awful, but when mastered well it sounds great.

 

Just to confirm what many others are saying: almost every single vocal and instrument track of any album you've ever heard has compression in the recording/mixing stage. It helps to keep the level of the track relatively constant. Likewise, almost every single album you've ever heard has compression applied at the mastering stage; the problem is the excessive use of mastering compression.

I wish that everyone had the opportunity to spend an afternoon in a studio watching a record being made. I think that a lot of people would be amazed at how much the engineers contribute to the final sound of every single thing we hear on a recording.

 

MANY guitarists and bassists (specially shredders and metal ones) use compressors on their rigs

 

Bu bu bu but compression is bad.