If the goal of high-end audio is to recreate the sound of live musicians in our rooms why do nearly all studio recordings place the main vocal in the center?
Most of the shows I have been to have the singer off to one side of the stage or another. Only when the singer is the main performer do we find them front and center.
As a mix engineer, I naturally place the lead singer smack dab in the middle. In fact, I cannot think of a record or recording I have in my collection where this is not the case.
And now I am wondering why that is. Other than convention and the fact it sounds correct, I have no earthly idea why.
Tradition?
I put this vexing question out to the community.
