In recording albums, editing Tape Op, being a fan of music and teaching recording information and techniques to groups of home recordists one thing has become clear to me. The biggest problem that has happened as recording technology moves forwards is loss of depth of field. Some of you will know exactly what I mean and nod your heads, but others will be wondering what the hell I'm talking about.
Why is it that Phil Spector's productions are renowned for their big sound even though they were mono mixes? What gives a recording a sense of place? The earliest recordings were one mic, or earlier a horn, and the placement of the artists in the room where it was recorded determined how the mix came out. As mixing consoles and multitracks entered the picture close mic'ing became possible, allowing the mixing board to determine the balance of the mix, not the room placement. As technology moved along, overdubbing allowed disparate elements to be pieced together and gates allowed close mic'd sounds to be separated from one another. This allowed more control over the balance but changed things drastically.