Do musicians care about sound quality?

Maybe it's just me, but it seems like most musicians I meet are more into making music than listening to it. They don't care about how music sounds at home; many are satisfied with the sound they get from boom boxes or chintzy computer speakers. Some tell me they're more focused on the way the players play than the sound.

Sure, I've met a few musicians with ears for sound. That happened just recently when I struck up a conversation with jazz drummer and audiophile Billy Drummond.

He readily conceded my point: "Getting a good hi-fi isn't high on their list of priorities. Like everybody else, musicians listen to music while they're on the computer or sending e-mails. That's what music is now, a backdrop, so fidelity isn't important anymore."

Sad, but true, so what is music for? Drummond had a ready answer. "It's for people to enjoy," he said. "It can take you somewhere, you can dance to it, music conjures emotions. For musicians it's an expression, a way to challenge ourselves, and it can be inspiring. If you're a saxophone player and you're listening to Sonny Rollins or John Coltrane, music can motivate you. It lets you see what's possible.

"I really enjoy playing (live) for myself and for an audience, I want people to feel something when I play. When I listen to Tony Williams or Elvin Jones (two great jazz drummers) and what they've accomplished it's mind boggling, that's what music means to me."

That's all great, but how did he become an audiophile? Drummond explained that he was always an avid music collector, and when he first heard his favorite music played on a really great system he was blown away: "Wow, I never heard my music sound so real, so vibrant, so great."

It turned you on, I asked. "Right, I was even more motivated because I could hear the nuances of Max Roach's drum set or Tony Williams ride cymbal. It helped me become a better player because I can get in touch with the thing I'm chasing after. Which is, how can I sound as good as these guys."

So a great hi-fi can be a learning tool, but it's mostly about enjoying music? "Right, I can put on Miles Davis at the Plugged Nickel and just take it in, my brain can shut off the student and I can just be a listener. I can put on music that doesn't have anything to do with what I do, like Ravel's 'Mother Goose Suite,' it doesn't have any drums or jazz, and be moved by the music. Not as a performer or musician, it's just really beautiful music. I'm really gassed by listening to it."

Drummond's saying all the right things, so I was a little embarrassed to ask about sound quality, does that matter? Drummond was getting excited. "Absolutely," he said, "especially when I'm listening to music in all its splendor over my system, it's second only to being in the concert hall. I'd rather do that than watch a movie."

There's sound quality, but what makes great musicians great is their "sound"? Drummond jumped in. "Right, what Miles (Davis) plays is important, but his sound is just as important." I get it, with Miles' unique trumpet sound anybody can instantly pick out his horn from a million other players. You can hear "the sound" on a car radio or a cheap boom box, so what does an expensive hi-fi bring to the party?

Drummond doesn't miss a beat, "OK, if you bring a musician to your house and sit him down in front of your high-end system and play Miles, he will acknowledge the difference. Now, they can really hear his sound. That's what happens when I bring musicians over and let them hear that kind of thing. They get it, and say something like, 'Man, I need to get new speakers.'"

Has he had any converts? "Yeah sure, a couple of great bass players, Steve Swallow and Peter Washington, and now when he's in Japan he's buying Blue Note pressings. Peter was always a record collector, even before he got into high-end audio, just as I was. A better audio system just enhanced his enjoyment of his collection." Jazz icon bassist Ron Carter is another hard-core audiophile. Drummond says they all agree that once you hear a great system there's a big difference.

Drummond can be heard on more than 200 CDs. He's played with Carla Bley, Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson, J.J. Johnson, Nat Adderley, Bobby Hutcherson, Buster Williams, Lee Konitz, James Moody, Andrew Hill, Freddie Hubbard, Charles Tolliver, Sheila Jordan, and Toots Thielmanns. Drummond is an adjunct professor of jazz drums at the Juilliard School of music and teaches at New York University.

These are some of Billy's favorite recordings he plays on:

Steve Kuhn: "Pavanne For A Dead Princess" Venus Records (Japan)

Steve Kuhn: "Baubles Bangles and Beads" "Venus Records (Japan)

David Hazletine: "Alice In Wonderland" Venus Records (Japan)

Gary Smulyan: "Hidden Treasures" Reservoir Records

Tommy Smith: "The Sound Of Love" Linn Records

Javon Jackson: "Once Upon A Melody" Palmetto Records

Tessa Souter: "Night Of Key Largo" Venus Records (Japan)

Billy Drummond: "Dubai" Criss Cross Records

Drummond has a few hi-fis at home. He has Magnepan 1.6/R and Vandersteen Model 3A Signature speakers, used with McIntosh, Quicksilver, Audio Research, and Audible Illusions electronics, along with a Sony SACD player and a Basis 1400 turntable.

[RainCaster]

I have known many fellow musicians through the years, and they always seem to fall into one extreme or the other. There are very few that fit into the middle grey zones where the non-musicians live. I am the audiophile musician, so is my trumpet playing friend- he has a huge set of custom Wharfdate cabs and tube amps powering them. At the other extreme are a bass player & drummer I know- they have such tin ears that they cannot tell the difference between a CD and a 32kbps MP3. iTunes was made for people such as these.

[Slick1of2]

LOL! Hey! I'm a drummer and hate Apple for making such horrible sound qualities. I'm a PC guy all the way. I can certainly hear the difference between an ok sound system and a great one. I prefer to have a great one. For me, when I listen to music on a great system I can explain my feelings as a clearness of thought. Everything seems softer, more vibrant, and so much more pleasing to listen to.

[monkphin]

I am a person such as that (drummer by trade.) However I am also an audiophile.

Not all drummers and bass players are completely deaf - though how those of us who aren't have remained so is a complete mystery considering my habits.

I do however use iTunes, if only for the convenience more than anything. A guitarist friend of mine has his audiophile leanings, but at the same time owns a crappy stereo from a well known UK catalogue store...

[dascha1]

I enjoy listening to a professional pianist at my Church every week who plays technically-based pieces on a Steinway from the Baroque and Classical eras. Outside of that, I enjoy playing improvised and classical pieces, and listening at the same time, on my Boston grand at home. The recording aspect I haven't used in years due to the dying music industry, I work in accessibility now. Among other things, I have an honors degree in Music Industry from a well-known public university.

[CDubber]

If I were to base it on the horrid sound quality (clipping) of one of my favorite recordings (music-wise, not sound-wise) - the Californication album by The Red Hot Chili Peppers - I would say no, musicians (nor their sound engineers) give one whit about sound quality.

Thankfully that album is a rare exception to the sound quality rule.

[Devhux]

Sadly, it isn't a "rare example" -- a lot of music from the late 90s and onwards have had similar sound quality. Take a look on Wikipedia for "Loudness War" and you'll get an idea of just how bad it's become. People seem to think that "louder is better" but that just means you lose out on a lot of dynamic range (and introduces artifacts such as clipping at extreme levels).

[jeffguevin]

Thanks, Mr. Guttenberg, I enjoyed hearing from one of the musicians I admire most about this subject. I'm a jazz bassist, but have never "gotten" the audiophile thing--crappy speakers or mp3 quality bother me, but there's a threshold of "normal" quality above which I'm perfectly happy. On the other hand, there have been occasions when I've been blown away by sound quality, such as the remastered Kind of Blue recording, which brought new intimacy and excitement to an album I must have heard at least 500 times.

Hopefully I'll have a chance to hear a good setup some time so I can really appreciate what you guys are after.

[mrtunes]

it's an interesting subject. as a musician i can say i get really annoyed when i see some friends only listen to music on their macbook built-in speakers, and even worse MY music!

but in my production workflow i tend to stay away from using some of the higher sample rates like 96khz+ which are becoming all the rage these days. they help a lot when you're making your own recordings though like micing a flute or a vocalist.

people's lack of care for super-high quality music is actually holding the industry back from a business standpoint. when film jumps to blu-ray discs, it becomes hard to pirate it through our current data lines. if the industry can make the leap to higher quality sound, and have people see the benefit to listening to an album that isn't 100 megs, then that will surely help profits. not solve all it's problems though that's for sure.

[drbyte]

As a music producer and audio engineer I find that the dynamics of music are lost. Musicians care about the sound quality, as do most engineers, but ultimately its about what the kids want. An album gets released thats louder than all others before it, like Dr Dre's 2001, and everyone wants their recordings to sound like that. Then Timbaland releases Shock Value which sounds like the whole thing was in the red (massive clipping, hello Grammy engineer nominee), and then everyone wants to sound like that. They want it loud, they want all music (no matter what style) to have a hip hop low end, and they want highs that will wear out your ears on a 30 minute listen. Besides, who sits in front of 2 speakers anymore unless your in front of a computer. For extended listens I always turn to music recorded in the 60s-80s.

Much of what you learn to appreciate about music is lost on kids. Chord changes, instrumentation, dynamics....and if you do a masterful job in recording and mastering it gets compressed to the might mp3 format. If you look at how people listen to music these days its the perfect format. There's only so much quality your going to get from laptop speakers, $30 ear buds, and $250 surround sound setups.

Times have changed, and the way people listen to music has as well.

.... jeffguevin

Kind of Blue remaster......so nice.

[seanmusic]

Couldn't be more untrue. I am a performing musician, and an audio engineer. When recording anything, either for myself or someone else, I do my best to ensure the highest audio quality.
And most of my musician friends feel and/or do the same. Anything from using the highest possible bit rate, to endlessly tweaking effect and tone until they're (in my opinion) perfect, or near so, etc.

[soundman45]

In all of my years as an audio engineer it is my consensus that in general musicians do care about sound quality. it varies from person to person though. Usually the first thing they focus on is performance. rightfully so, and the sound of their own instrument. Musicians who have studio experience seem to gravitate to how their instrument sounds first, then the rest of the band. It's usually a collaborative effort.
Most importantly I work best with people who let me do my job and my job is to make the band sound the best I can, ear candy and all. usually if the band plays well together and their instruments have good tonal quality, that's half the battle.

[ragingplatypi]

As a musician, I can say with some amount of certainty that most musicians are not audiophiles because they spend all their money on their gear (for making music, as oppsed to gear for listening to music). For years after my boombox died, the only loudspeakers I had for listenting to music was my PA system that I gigged with. It wasn't until I found my "#1" guitar that I could even think of setting aside cash for a stereo. It took a lot of inner strength to not spend my money on an instrument.