Tears in the Rain

[pauli]

About spatial realism: there's lot to be learned and everyone must study it. But on the other with the birth of rock'n'roll the strive to realism was luckily abandoned. Main thing was the interesting sound, not the realism. But still in a weird way those spatial rules are valid even in modern electric music. And what am I trying to say? I don't know. Maybe to create something new we must first learn all the rules and then break them all in a skillful way. Maybe the rules are there only to help us, but not to bind us.

In Mike's "Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio," he mentions how some engineers will go on and on about spatial realism in the stereo field when often it's more important to focus on objective technical concerns... that's mostly how I feel about depth, too. Although in this case, spacial realism is also objectively helpful, too...

I'd also contend that when an instrument doesn't sound like it would normally in spacial context, it can be very refreshing for the listener. When you match expectations, that's not a bad thing... but when you successfully EXCEED expectations, that's where the real magic is.