[Rwp] To Quantize or not to Quantize - that Is the (Non-technical(Question

[Matej Golian]

Scott, you're most likely right.
Generally I guess I have to learn to trust my ears more. I don't know
much about analog recording, but from what I've read and heard back
then it was either 'it sounds right' or 'it doesn't sound right'. In a
way it was better, maybe.

2015-11-11 16:46 GMT+01:00, Scott Chesworth via RWP <rwp at bluegrasspals.com>:
> IMO, you're spot on Matej. Use quantization when it achieves
> something, but I don't believe music has to be locked to a grid to
> feel good. For me, timing imperfection is only a problem if it's
> detracting from the overall feel or pocket of a song. More often than
> not, it's that subtle deviation from the grid that creates a sense of
> pocket rather than spoils it. At the end of the day, if quantization
> felt as good as a real solid player, there'd be much less demand for
> solid musicians.
>
> Scott
>
> On 11/11/15, Christopher-Mark Gilland via RWP <rwp at bluegrasspals.com>
> wrote:
>> You know...
>>
>> I agree.  I think it really just depends on the sound you're looking for.
>> I
>>
>> tend to do a lot of quantization, and I do mean, probably wayyyyyyy!
>> overkill, but the thing is, for me, it's a must.  Even after about 5
>> years
>> of major major practice, I still find that I am very very unsteady at
>> times.
>>
>> I don't know why, but I just never seem to be able to follow the constant
>> tempo, even with a metronome.  So, for me, it's a must!  For some
>> however,
>> they might be steady enough that it's not an issue.
>>
>> I think ultimately, it just depends on the song, the sound you want, and
>> like you said... how humanized do you want it to sound over all.
>>
>> Also, remember, I'm not sure if Reaper can do this, as I'm  more a
>> ProTools
>>
>> guy, but there should be a way to only quantize a certain selection of
>> audio.  So, in other words, rather than quantizing the whole track, or
>> for
>> that mind, every track, just pick the parts which actually need that
>> little
>>
>> push.  You may find that if it's minor... no pun intended... enough, it
>> may
>>
>> be better then to just take the few beats that are off, and nudge them
>> manually forward or back on the time ruler.
>>
>> Hope that makes sense.
>>
>> Chris.
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Matej Golian via RWP" <rwp at bluegrasspals.com>
>> To: "Reapers Without Peepers" <rwp at bluegrasspals.com>
>> Cc: "Matej Golian" <matej.golian at gmail.com>
>> Sent: Wednesday, November 11, 2015 10:02 AM
>> Subject: [Rwp] To Quantize or not to Quantize - that Is the
>> (Non-technical(Question
>>
>>
>>> Hi guys,
>>> this time I don't really need any technical advice, but I'd be eager
>>> to know how you approach the concept of quantization. I know that this
>>> is a general recording question and so if you think that this is not
>>> the right place to ask this, just ignore this message.
>>> So, from what I gather quantization is very common in today's
>>> recordings. I understand that it's more frequent in certain genres
>>> than others, but I guess that it's safe to say that everyone working
>>> with music has to know something about it. Quantization should be used
>>> to fix timing issues, so that sloppy recordings don't sound sloppy or
>>> so that they sound at least less sloppy if possible. So far so good.
>>> But the question is: how much to quantize?
>>> I know that this is subjective, just as everything, but the general
>>> opinion is not to overquantize. In other words, if I for example
>>> record something as MIDI and than make every note absolutely perfect
>>> (in terms of length and position), the result should sound robotic.
>>> But is this really so?
>>> Obviously, whether one perceives something as robotic or not depends
>>> on a number of factors, but I get the feeling that in some cases it
>>> makes no perceivable difference whether you quantize or not. Imagine a
>>> recording of only 8th notes at 200 BPM for instance. Maybe it's only
>>> me and my unseasoned ears, but it seems to me that human ears have a
>>> tendency to perceive things as much more regular than what they
>>> actualy are - unless the recording is extremely sloppy they in my
>>> uneducated opinion seem to compensate for minor imperfections - thanks
>>> to or because of their imperfect nature.
>>> My point is, if I slow down a fast recording, I'm able to tell how
>>> much it has been quantized. If it's too perfect I might say to my self
>>> that this is too perfect to be a human, but does this really matter in
>>> the end?
>>> Sorry for the essay. I started thinking more about quantization,
>>> because I'm finally working on my first recording and I quantized a
>>> part of it, but not because I thought it sounded bad, but because I
>>> had the chance to easily do it.
>>> So my personal conclusion is to quantize up to the point where you
>>> perceive something as perfect (to keep it human), but all in all this
>>> topic still puzzles me.
>>> Currious to know what you think.
>>> Matej
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