Great point, Ron, and well worth pointing out that the folks making that argument about the old recordings would be listening to something else entirely had the technology been available.

What is worthy of agreement with Spleen Cringe is his/her criticism of the use of compression. Compression is a tool that is overused today, with regard to acoustic instruments. Setting the levels is one thing, taking the extreme edge off instruments that need it is OK, but this crazy need to compress all the highs and lows into this oatmeal bland sound just takes away from the beauty of the music. Paul Mills gets it just right. Listen to some of his work with Jed, Stan Rogers, Rick Fielding on Acoustic Workshop, or any of the others he has recorded and you will know what I mean. Sandy Paton is another who understands what an acoustic instrument is supposed to sound like, standing alone or ensemble, and masters accordingly. These are skills honed over years of work. Skilled producers, such as these, understand how one gets a total sound, mixes that with his/her understanding of what the artist is trying to do, watches out for the negative unintended consequence, suggest (based on experience and talent) ideas for instrumentation, and is as important to the final product as the artist is.

All the best,

Mick