I have this CD and it's brilliant. Just about my favourite . For me, the audio has that thing called ' PRESENCE'. Doesn't hurt my ears BUT then again, after many years of playing in bands, I'm probably going deaf anyway !!

I actually love Beau Jocques recording levels and balances .I sorta think the Geno audio is, engineering wise, like those BJ recordings. Check It Out, Lock It In , Goin' Downtown,....never fail to get my toes tapping .
We all hear things differently.
I like all sorts of music but strong and punchy doesn't worry me. A LOT of people can't handle it and I'm still bewildered by that !I've seen plenty of Cajun bands play who punch it out hard and strong.I prefer that to the more folky semi- acoustic stuff...but that's just me.

but there's a "punch" to his accordion playing on that cd that I don't think is physically possible. I can how someone could make most notes pop like that.

I'm thinking it's processed somehow. Yes, I know audio is processed in the studio, but this seems to be a bit up front. I like the cd too, by the way.

You stole that photo from my website.

It's not just the loudness though. There is a feeling like my head is inside a drum. Pressure pulses, not just continual loudness.

Yes, AM is VERY annoying to listen to.

But this is like having my head in a hermetically sealed can, and someone continually increasing and decreasing the pressure, very quickly.

Hey Dwight..been re-listening to the Geno CD. That accordion sounds just fine to me ( I don't get any of that issue you're referring to ) BUT the bass gittar is definitely throbbing away..as they do !!! Depends how you set the EQ on your playback unit...but with the bass setting down it probably would help. If no good..suggest a hearing test might be a good idea? Signed : Dr. Darryl.

BTW..compression/sustainer pedals are, as you'd know, very commonplace in bands. In the studio, those engineering geeks do all sorts of stuff, I think half the time just because they can. I know that final mixes and mastering is essential for a decent quality CD. Radio stations won't generally take any CD without it being mastered. HOWEVER, mastering seems to me to be a black art....someone will explain it to me one day .

I'd love to know what PA/EQ/FX settings Geno and others use but I gather it's a tough call to get them to reveal them..and I can understand that.

In support of DPM's Post :

http://productionadvice.co.uk/stand-out-on-the-radio/

You stole that photo from my website.

-Did I really? :)

It's not just the loudness though. There is a feeling like my head is inside a drum. Pressure pulses, not just continual loudness.

-How loud are you listening to the music?
-Are you using headphones? (don't)
-Do you listen the day after a gig? (your ears are still recovering)

Yes, AM is VERY annoying to listen to.
-No comment.

But this is like having my head in a hermetically sealed can, and someone continually increasing and decreasing the pressure, very quickly.
-Sounds painful.

I've always thought that the playing on that whole CD was phenomenal; however, I find that as a result of processing, the accordion has a characteristic that is similar to the accordion in the High Performance recordings. I can't only listen to so much of it. Now that you've mentioned it, perhaps it is the compression. I know from the solo recording I did back in 2005 that compression can make the listening experience not as pleasant as it was intended.

The playing is phenomenal. I was listening to it again today. I had turned the bass down from an earlier listening, turned the treble down. However, it is recorded louder than some of my other stuff I play on my phone. I think the recording on the cd is loud. Turning the volume down seemed to help somewhat, but things were....less audible....couldn't hear the backup instruments well.

Seems everything was POPPING to a degree. Drums were popping, accordion was popping. Not so much fiddle because it's more fluid. Maybe they had the noise gate turned up too, to filter out some of the ramp up and ramp down from notes.

I don't think it's my imagination. I didn't used to think this, but I didn't know the function and results of compression either, so I had nothing to relate it to. It was great to listen too, but it's begun to wear on me.

I also just bought a compressor/limiter/gate.

compressor
limiter
gate

3 good ways to mess up your sound
just saying
there are a lot of wrong ways to do them all

wle

I'm mostly interested in compression to experiment so I don't have to scream over the band to sing and hear myself, and the limiter to keep from bleeding from my ears while wearing in ear monitors, if any feedback starts. Not sure if I'll keep the in ear monitors, so, compression is an option.

ok
not sure it can really do either one
but it;s another time waster trying it out
oh sorry i forgot - -''education'' :)

i don;t think most acc players use either one live
if you get compression wrong it can
a. make feedback worse and
b. suck the life and dynamics out of the music
[[which is one of the attractions of accordion, dynamics]]

or you might get it right!


wle