“I somehow feel like, for some reason, it’s just not quite right... What do you guys think?”
After listening to the recorded source once more, I asked the four of them that vague question.
“Hmm, I think it’s good, though...?”
“Right, right! I don’t really understand what you’re hung up on either, Senpai...!”
As the black-haired sisters tilted their heads in confusion,
“...Probably,”
Sako slightly raised her hand.
“I think it lacks impact. I can tell because I’m always the one listening to Takuto’s sound from the closest distance.”
“Sako-hasu, watch your phrasing...”
...Ah, I see.
“Excuse me, could you let me hear the grand chorus?”
“Sure thing.”
Hichika-san clicked through the controls and played the drums for the grand chorus.
That was the part where I put the most emotion into the song.
I had hit the drums with all my might, with the intention of setting off a massive firework, trying to lift the entire song.
It was the same image as the performance during the July Lock-on, where I played at maximum volume for Ichikawa, who tried to sing ‘Watashi no Uta’ but couldn't get her voice out.
But, listening to it through the recording.
“...It’s true, it has less impact than the sound I heard while I was playing.”
Huh? Was it just that I felt it was powerful because I was close to the drums, and the audience doesn't actually hear it that way?
“Is it because we’re listening through speakers?”
“Should I turn up the volume?”
“Eh?”
Didn't she just say earlier that she ‘couldn't raise the volume’ or something?
While I was feeling confused, Hichika-san turned the volume way up.
When she did that,
“Well, it has impact now.”
“The sound quality really is great...!”
Sako and Azuma muttered.
“...Could you let me hear the beginning of the song at this same volume?”
“Sure thing.”
And then, I finally understood.
The important thing wasn't just the power.
“...It sounds like... there’s no modulation.”
“Ah, I see! So that’s what was bothering you.”
At my words, Hichika-san slapped her knee as if she finally understood.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you see... in recording, you can't really create modulation through volume alone. Ah, I mean, things like ‘hitting harder during the exciting parts’ don't have much of an effect.”
“What...!?”
I felt like the weapon I had been using until now was suddenly taken away. Even back in the brass band club, they always told us to be conscious of crescendos, decrescendos, and dynamics...!
“It works in live performances, you know? Creating modulation with volume. In fact, that’s the standard. But in recording, the concept of ‘volume difference’ basically disappears.”
“I... I don't really understand...”
“Konuma, you look totally crushed...”
Azuma gave me a wry smile.
“Do you know what a compressor is?”
“Uh, let’s see... it’s for shaving off the parts where the volume is too high, right?”
Taira-chan answered in place of me and my clouded expression.
“Roughly speaking, yes.”
According to Hichika-san’s explanation:
First, the basic idea is to adjust the sound based on the loudest part so the audio doesn't clip.
Therefore, if the difference between the loudest and quietest parts of each instrument is too great, the recording is made to fit the loudest part, meaning the quiet parts will become inaudible when played back on a normal player.
Because of that, they shave off the volume of the loud parts to make the overall volume roughly uniform.
To put it simply,
‘No matter what volume you hit them with in real life, the machine will adjust it so everything sounds like it’s at the same volume☆’
...is what it seemed to mean.
“No way...”
“Well, it’s a trap that people who give so-called ‘emotional’ performances often fall into. Especially with vocals and drums. Even with vocals, if you shout, the quality of the voice changes, but it won't actually become a ‘loud’ sound in the recording.”
“So that’s how it works...!”
“...So, if it were you, Konuma-san, what would you do?”
Hichika-san stared intently into my eyes.
“If it were me...”
There was no more time to think.
It was truly pathetic, but I had no choice but to say this.
“Please give me just two minutes.”