Dissertation (Compression Vs Musicality)

[JamesCherry]

Hey all, i am currently writing my dissertation on compression vs musicality in recent years.

I am looking for mastering engineers who would be happy to take part in an interview process and answer some questions.

There is also a quick 2 minute survey which you can go too through this link. This will be a massive help.

Survey Link -
https://jamescherry.wufoo.com/forms/zwtypvi0wgl256/

For the survey you'll need to listen to two files on these links and answer a couple of questions.
https://soundcloud.com/digitalmindsofficial/track-2
https://soundcloud.com/digitalmindsofficial/track-1

Really appreciate any help thats given. Would love to hear your views and opinions around the subject. Thanks,
James

[Drew Stephenson]

Hi James,
Is the survey just for mastering engineers as well or are you looking for wider contributions?
Cheers
Drew

[job]

...my dissertation on compression vs musicality in recent years.

Would love to hear your views and opinions around the subject.

Is that a dichotomy? I think it's an erroneous one since they aren't mutually exclusive and one can also complement the other. I also think conclusions drawn from the statistics gained from a single track having 2 different levels of processing could easily be in error.

Good luck with your thesis though

[James Perrett]

Might be better to edit the tracks down a bit as I didn't really fancy spending 10 minutes listening to the tracks all the way through. I also found the questions a bit strange - one person's over compressed is another person's raw and energetic so it might be worth re-phrasing that question into something that isn't so leading. It would also be good to level match the samples unless all you are trying to prove is that people usually prefer the louder version.

[JamesCherry]

"Is that a dichotomy? I think it's an erroneous one since they aren't mutually exclusive and one can also complement the other. I also think conclusions drawn from the statistics gained from a single track having 2 different levels of processing could easily be in error"

There are other tests, surveys, interviews etc which I will be developing over a few months. However it wouldn't hurt to set up another similar test as this one.

[JamesCherry]

Hi James,
Is the survey just for mastering engineers as well or are you looking for wider contributions?
Cheers
Drew

Yes, open to all.

[JamesCherry]

Might be better to edit the tracks down a bit as I didn't really fancy spending 10 minutes listening to the tracks all the way through. I also found the questions a bit strange - one person's over compressed is another person's raw and energetic so it might be worth re-phrasing that question into something that isn't so leading. It would also be good to level match the samples unless all you are trying to prove is that people usually prefer the louder version.

Fair points, will take these onboard. As for level matching they were both level matched its the dynamics which are playing with the ears. Will double check them though.

[Urthlupe]

As for level matching they were both level matched its the dynamics which are playing with the ears. Will double check them though.

...well it depends on what you’re meaning by ‘level-matchng’ of course....

Loopy

[James Perrett]

As a start you could try adjusting them to give the same dB Lufs value.