Why Myung is Buried...

[rarisgod]

Ok so a lot of us have been noticing John Myung is often buried in the mix, especially on the latest releases.

Someone posted the isolated tracks on here...and I've listened to them and I must say...I now know why Myung is buried.

If you listen to some of them, like A Rite of Passage for instance...not only is Myung mostly following the guitar, but he's also using a tone that will NEVER cut through. It's rather crunchy, but it's so weak...has anyone else listened to these?
I'm not assuming anyone didn't know this already, but I'd like to start a discussion about it....why does he use this tone? And it doesn't cut through at ALL!

[Beta]

1) What leads you to believe that Myung has anything resembling final say over his studio/album tone?

2) When was the last time Myung's studio tone/playing was acceptable to you?

[rarisgod]

I wasn't primarily placing the blame on his tone, but it certainly is a factor...obviously the fact that Petrucci and Portnoy are primarily in charge of production, surely that is also a factor...
But also, I can't sit here and think that Myung has NO say in what he wants to sound like.

Myung was audible in the past but it could also have been due to slightly more complex basslines, which I've also complained about in my post.

[Jazz Ad]

I'd say he sounds the way he wants. He's known for being a rather shy and discret individual therefore playing support bass sounds like a good job.

[polydeathsphere]

Chances are he doesn't have much say, I mean why bother attempting to deal with two headcases like Port-rucci. Whose to say they dominate Myung in terms of recording decisions, I have no clue whether they're good guys or not, but they do dominate just about every other aspect of the band so it could be a good ol' And Justice for All case

[Beta]

Originally Posted by rarisgod

I wasn't primarily placing the blame on his tone, but it certainly is a factor...obviously the fact that Petrucci and Portnoy are primarily in charge of production, surely that is also a factor...
But also, I can't sit here and think that Myung has NO say in what he wants to sound like.

Myung was audible in the past but it could also have been due to slightly more complex basslines, which I've also complained about in my post.

1) What leads you to believe that Myung has anything resembling FINAL say over his studio/album tone?

2) When is the last time Myung's studio/album tone was acceptable to you?

You complained that Myung's tone is "weak" and "will NEVER cut through." You asked, "why does he use this tone?" You did not ask, "why does Myung just follow the guitar part?"

The point of following the guitar part received the lesser amount of consideration by you in your original post. Your point about his bad tone got more. Which are you really asking about?

[rarisgod]

Originally Posted by Jazz Ad

I'd say he sounds the way he wants. He's known for being a rather shy and discret individual therefore playing support bass sounds like a good job.

Yes but in the earlier days, his bass playing did not reflect that as much as it does now.

[rarisgod]

Originally Posted by Beta

1) What leads you to believe that Myung has anything resembling FINAL say over his studio/album tone?

2) When is the last time Myung's studio/album tone was acceptable to you?

You complained that Myung's tone is "weak" and "will NEVER cut through." You asked, "why does he use this tone?" You did not ask, "why does Myung just follow the guitar part?"

The point of following the guitar part received the lesser amount of consideration by you in your original post. Your point about his bad tone got more. Which are you really asking about?

Well I intended to mention both points..however, it is still a factor in his not standing out.

That being said, I am complaining in this post about his tone, as you said. His tone is not one that will cut through.
Why doesn't he have a final say in what he should sound like on what is being released to the world? This is all that confuses me...as for following the guitar, well that's his own choice.