Northern At Home V Northern Out And About

[Mike]

Something that alway thought was a valid "theory" was the difference that where you hear a track being played makes in your own appreciation (or lack of such) in the track

as in sounds which can fill a floor and reach anthemic status by the said venue goes, often get slated by those who only hear it via say a pair of fred carno pc speakers

David Flynn just highlighted a past post of his on the current sg thread

Maybe, and feel free to discuss this theory, the 'problem' nowadays is that a lot of folk first hear a track through home speakers rather than pounding out of a club PA, when it can take on a different slant? Think back to some discs in your own collections which sounded completely different when you got them home...L.Allen is another that springs to my mind...I was defo disappointed the first time it hit my home stylus!"

and its something that imo does play a part, in fact i take it a bit further and say one of the skills of dj-ing that doesn't get mentioned much is identifying records which don't work well "at home" or "online" but are a different beast when played out loud and proud

fair comment?

[Kegsy]

Something that alway thought was a valid "theory" was the difference that where you hear a track being played makes in your own appreciation (or lack of such) in the track

as in sounds which can fill a floor and reach anthemic status by the said venue goes, often get slated by those who only hear it via say a pair of fred carno pc speakers

David Flynn just highlighted a past post of his on the current sg thread

and its something that imo does play a part, in fact i take it a bit further and say one of the skills of dj-ing that doesn't get mentioned much is identifying records which don't work well "at home" or "online" but are a different beast when played out loud and proud

fair comment?

Maybe its a question of stimulants, alcohol etc when one is out, whereas

one is usually stone cold sober at home.

kegsy

Edited November 5, 2012 by Kegsy

[Guest MrC]

Definitely fair comment, and one that's always been valid. There's loads of times I've tracked down and bought a record just to end up thinking it was an alternative version to the one I'd heard out.

The accoustics of a decent sized room, and the volume up to 11 can make things sound totally different, as can the pitch control the decks being used! I was always under the impression the decks at Wigan were permanently pitched up by about +3%, don't know where I heard that, but it did explain some differences I heard at the time.

The difference in the way things sound at home affects the stuff I listen to at home too. I'm a fan of good, belting, full bodied Northern tunes when I'm out (and I include some of the big voiced, big production midtempo and beat ballad tunes in that), and wouldn't enjoy a purely 'modern' night out except on rare occasions. BUT, I listen to more Soul/Modern at home than anything, including the records that I (allegedly) spend far too much money on, and I'd be interested to hear if this is a similar story for others.

Having said that, on the occasions that there's people round, or I want to give our chavvy neighbour a taste of her own medicine, I crank the volume up and get the 'proper' northern out!

[Len]

Maybe its a question of stimulants, alcohol etc when one is out, whereas

one is usually stone cold sober at home.

kegsy

There's no 'maybe' about that mate - Your dead right, you wanna see my 'rejects' shelf of records!

All the best,

Len

Edited November 5, 2012 by LEN

[Kegsy]

There's no 'maybe' about that mate - Your dead right, you wanna see my 'reject' shelf of records!

All the best,

Len

I know what you mean, I have one too.

Trouble is if you come home pissed they sound great, only to

sound average/maybe again the next day.

Kegsy

[grant]

There's no 'maybe' about that mate - Your dead right, you wanna see my 'rejects' shelf of records!

All the best,

Len

what is the Yanks call it 'Swap Meet' or summat, maybe we should all meet with our reject records and do swapsies. and who knows we could all go home happy (well until we hear the new swap on the home deck lol)

Edited November 5, 2012 by grant

[Steve G]

I agree there are plenty of sounds that are sparcely produced that sound great echoing around a hall. Put em on your home turntable / system, and they sound a bit limp.

[Guest]

I'm a fan of good, belting, full bodied Northern tunes when I'm out (and I include some of the big voiced, big production midtempo and beat ballad tunes in that)...

Me too...and going off on a tangent I also prefer to hear the 'big-vocal mid-tempo beat-ballads' at smaller venues rather than in a large hall. Whenever I think of all the fantastic big-production New York recordings, my mind is instantly transported to the halcyon days at the 100 Club, when Ady was championing/churning this stuff out. They sounded so right at that venue, yet didn't do it for me in larger halls. This is not me associating the tunes with good memories/times at the club either (though I have many), just the size and 'feel' of the venue...not sure... I fear I am rambling now.

[Kegsy]

Strange one, Just seen Johnny Bristol Do it To My Mind on record of the day thread.

I've had this for years and never thought much of it, however I just dug the record

out and gave it a play, its a lot better than I remember. is this because someone else

has said they rate it.

kegsy

Edited November 5, 2012 by Kegsy

[Guest gordon russell]

I agree there are plenty of sounds that are sparcely produced that sound great echoing around a hall. Put em on your home turntable / system, and they sound a bit limp.

l,ve always enjoyed your sets steve .........seriously it,s all about right music for the right occasion....theres home/car music....soul night music .....and nighter music.........sadly to many can,t differenciate....

Edited November 5, 2012 by gordon russell

[Dylan]

l,ve always enjoyed your sets steve .........seriously it,s all about right music for the right occasion....theres home/car music....soul night music .....and nighter music.........sadly to many can,t differenciate....

I agree with this up to a point.

but you can't polish a turd.

some records will sound bad where ever you listen to them.

[Guest Dave Turner]

I agree with this up to a point.

but you can't polish a turd.

some records will sound bad where ever you listen to them.

[The Tempest]

Or the reverse question being this sounds crap at home , but the dogs bollocks in a main hall !!

[Daved]

It is true. When I walked into the Village Soul do on Saturday, Lenny Curtis was blasting out and it sounded fantastic. It amy be that I hadn't heard it for years or just the first time I've heard it out, but it sounded much better.

Btw, Kegsy, Do It To My Mind has always been a great record . Someone will now say that about Lenny Curtis

[Andreas B]

There's no 'maybe' about that mate - Your dead right, you wanna see my 'rejects' shelf of records!

All the best,

Len

wouldn't mine seeing that myself! as they say, "one man's trash, another man's treasure"?

[Steve Foran]

I nominate Porgy and the Monarchs My heart cries for you. Sounds so tinny at home. That bad it totally turned me off it to this day.

[macca]

Flynny is bang on. I think I might have first heard stuff like Garnett Mimms - It Was Easier To Hurt Her, at West Hampstead or 100 Club. A week later the same record at The Fleet Peterborough was quite underwhelming. Club Soul in smoky (not now), pokey places, dripping ceilings etc. Big Northern stompers a la Bob Relf, Velvet Satins in a big ballroom. It could be the way our minds have been conditioned, too. :-)

[Jordirip]

Flynny is bang on. I think I might have first heard stuff like Garnett Mimms - It Was Easier To Hurt Her, at West Hampstead or 100 Club. A week later the same record at The Fleet Peterborough was quite underwhelming. Club Soul in smoky (not now), pokey places, dripping ceilings etc. Big Northern stompers a la Bob Relf, Velvet Satins in a big ballroom. It could be the way our minds have been conditioned, too. :-)

They all sound better on a full bodied powerful sound system in a night club, never mind some crappy Garrard music centre with a couple of speakers on poles in a big hall.

Jordi

[Simsy]

Or the reverse question being this sounds crap at home , but the dogs bollocks in a main hall !!

Or another way still, crap at home and bollox in the main hall. Sorry never liked that one, think the intro is offal and downhill from there.

On the subject generally of sounds better out than at home, yes a decent pa is always going to create a bigger sound and better atmos than pc speakers. That said, if a record is good, it's good and that's it. There are records I covet that I've never heard out, I can only imagine how great they'd sound.

[Len]

wouldn't mine seeing that myself! as they say, "one man's trash, another man's treasure"?

You know what? Every so often I ‘wade’ through it and I always ‘discover’ something I really like! — It really is unbelievable sometimes, so god knows where my head was at when I ‘shelved’ some of these records!

Ref the above, one 'kinda' regret I have, is years ago I sorted a plastic bag full of records to get rid of, yes, I know a plastic bag, anyway, this plastic bag got passed around various people including Dave Vanner, Tony Parker, and even Cliff Steel had a ‘dip’ — I honestly don’t think there was anything amazing in there (Who knows!) but what time has taught me, is that you can never tell how your taste can develop or how your ears are sometimes!

All the best,

Len

[Len]

I remember returning from Burnley to John McClure’s house with Danny, Terry and Irish - I’d bought a record and of course the first thing to do was ‘give it a spin’…..As soon as it started my heart dropped because it did sound sh*t, and I couldn’t have picked a worse ‘audience’ if I tried could I? -Queue Terry, “What the f*ck’s this sh*t Len?”, then Danny, “F*cking ‘ell Len” etc, etc….

You gotta laugh though ain’t ya? This is why I stopped buying records at nighters - I’d be better off going down the bookies!

All the best,

Len

P.s — I bet the said record will have its day…..Not entirely sure which one it was though….

Edited November 6, 2012 by LEN

[Guest scottie]

got tae agree there are numerous records which i play at home sound ordinary but when played at an all-nighter take on a whole new life,dont know if thats the equipment used or just the atmosphere of an all nighter

Edited November 8, 2012 by scottie

[Geeselad]

sposse I'm spoilt, got a big cellar all to myself, large speakers, and I listen to tunes late @ night when usually, ahem, fully relaxed, so the settings not that disimilar at home.

[Spacehopper]

also someproductions/ pressings (i dont mean boots!!) aren't that great and with a home sound you may be limited as to the eq you can give a tune....

our 'new' venue of 6 months has an amazing sound system and so many people have commented on it not that our previous ones were bad but about a dozen bass bins built into the stage facing onto the dancefloor and the mids and tops hanging from the ceiling facing down.... it does make certain tunes youve heard so many times sound...well different!...no ones played lou pride yet...looking forward to that one

dean