Distortion Is Truth

In two realms of music production—the amplified electric guitar and the recording studio—archaic technology is often the state of the art. Electric guitarists, recording engineers and producers rely upon technology that was perfected in the 1950s and 1960s for much of their sound-making and sound-processing needs because it provides a desirable sonic character. The author asserts that sonic transparency—“uncolored” sound made possible by modern solid-state and/or digital equipment—is antithetical to musical pursuits in which distortion itself is an essential part of the aesthetic.