diz

I think there was a short time pre-Jan, when a new compressor/gate was added, or Jason started using some sort of auto-leveller. I also think there were also times there when Jason was out and Ben was on the controls. I noticed his tendency to turn everything up (as inspired by chat) until it distorts then leave it there.

There is a term (I used it earlier) called "soundstage" but that refers more to the stereo spread of sound. I think recently there is a dynamic range limit issue with GBW sound (then again only sometimes - not always), where some hard compression settings push the background noise up, so they implement a noise gate to cut all sound under a certain level. That way, you get this weird swooshing and "ducking" when people start and stop talking and a generally "squashed" result.

Your point about different types of listener is still true. On your excellent headphones and through my speakers in a quiet location, we don't need so much compression or gating. But if I was driving, operating heavy machinery, or playing back on a frequency-limited device, the compressed sound would be clearer against my challenging listening environment (although ultimately ruined). This was the same "philosophy" as the "close-mic" "AM radio" sound, as used for making voices clearer on bandwidth-limited, mid-frequency, medium wave radio broadcasts. We know what happened to AM, so lowering the quality is not the right way to go in my view.

@fatalbanana: AFAIK, boom mics are the same directional mics on a boom-stick.

@dan_citi: You wouldn't see Frank doing that to his prized Telefunken!

That is a problem with group mic situations. To make it worse, the GBW soundstage is much wider, covering around a chair, and the desk behind. I'm not sure the sound from GBW is that bad, except for some rather harsh noise gating at times. If that's down to a PC in the area, they could always silence it or make it remote. If it's the air-con, then maybe turning it on only if there's some background sound might work, or having some quiet background music to mask the hum. That'd be some studio discipline! The other issue I hear is the taking on and off of the lavalier mics and their placement that rubs sometimes. Personally, I'd much rather have that and the more natural sound they make when on correctly than the the plosive-ridden "close mic" sound that is GBE.

Astroneer?

I agree - it would be good to have this. And @ntm you make a good point well.

It might not be too much busy-work, if it can be part of the recording process. And the potential gains are huge for new listeners, via the published metadata.

I remember hearing someone repeating "like" 4 times before saying another word in one video. I think this is a record. I've turned these oft-used pet-phrases from an annoyance into a bit of a bingo-like game. Points awarded for the following unsupported openings:

"Listen...."

"In a lot of cases..."

"I mean...."

"Again, ...."

"I'm not saying ....."

The floccinaucinihilipilification of antidisestablishmentarianism occured at Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

(I couldn't help but write a bit of a novella)

@fatalbanana: I think we share the same view - I'm not optimistic, but radical government change is possible - just look at 2017 for UK, EU and USA! But saying things will never change is unrealistic too (they may get worse!) and I believe there is much appeal to emotion and not enough objective analysis in these discussions.

When I was growing up in the UK, our neighbor was a gun fanatic. Everyone was scared of him. For my 13th birthday, he took me and my pop to his gun club's firing range. We had a great time there, firing all sorts of weapons, from Magnums to old Colts, Zigs to black powder guns. I couldn't believe it!

Then (much later) in 1996, a man walked into a primary school in Scotland and killed 16 children and a teacher. Following this, our government effectively banned all handguns from public ownership. The only hand guns that can be privately owned must be located in designated secure premises and there is huge control over them.

The right to arms is a myth, if you think about why you can't also own the gunships an attacking government will use against you.

Gun control can work. It did work in England, even in the late 1990's. I hope people in the USA understand that positive action is possible.

I'd ask work if there were any more trips abroad on the cards.

Like others have said, it is harder to pine for an old relationship than to take the knock, learn from it, be easy on yourself and keep half an eye out for your next relationship. It will be all the better because of this experience.