Better Technology Sometimes Means Worse Sound Quality
John Pierce of Toto
[From the interview with John Pierce of Toto]
Cris Cohen: To me, the bass is one of those elements that makes a song three dimensional in a sense. For a while, I didn't have much of a stereo. But that was because life was normal and I was going to concerts regularly.
Then COVID shuts everything down and I get tired of streamed music, with its two-dimensional -- or even one-dimensional -- sounds. So I started building up my stereo again. And that's when I really heard specifically your parts, bass parts again. It's what seemed to me to make the music more three dimensional. It's not changing the overall essence of the song, but it's broadening it.
John Pierce of Toto: Well, what's interesting is that, with this technology we have, it's crazy because the sound has gone down the tubes. People are listening on their frigging phones. You can't hear a bass on the phone. It's like, “Don't play me that on that phone. I'm not going to hear it.” That's flat as a pancake. You're just getting these upper frequencies. All you're going to hear is the vocals, guitar, hi-hat, and snare.
No kick drum. No bass. You're missing out. If you're going from the sound of computer speakers or phone speakers to even a halfway decent stereo, it should be enlightening. So good for you getting your stereo together. It makes it more enjoyable to listen to music.