Bad mastering - Make you comments heard

[moni]

That same clown C. Rigby has just posted another message saying Agree the sound on the cd's is poor. I prefer the original Japanese pressed disc over the 2003 as that's really smooth.http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R2UPL8LU ... hisHelpful you couldn't make it up seriously.

[gnj1958]

I don't understand what the big deal is with the original CD's. I've been buying CD's since 1984 and although a small portion of the CD's that came out back then sounded inferior, the vast majority sounded good to damn good. In fact some of them sound better than some CD's produced today. Especially since the loudness wars started. I often read on here people saying I wish I had a remastered version of so and so album and I think why? what is wrong with the old one. Someone was saying they want the Howard Jones albums remastered, why? the ones I have sound fine.

I certainly am not gonna spend my money rebuying half my collection. If I have a CD that I feel really needs to sound better I usually just take it into Audacity and tweak it myself until I get it to sound how I want it to sound. Lot cheaper that way. Of course if you're looking for new bonus tracks that are sometimes added to new remasters then I can see your wanting to get them. I'm not that interested in that kind of stuff.

[ghosty]

There's actually an article about this in the latest issue of Performing Musician magazine. It's a situation where the fans are furious and the labels don't give a shit. The mandate is "Make it louder!!" and it's not going to change. Oddly the most vocal critics in what's called The Loudness War are 80's Metal fans who are baffled by the crappy quality of remastered albums by their favorite hair bands. This might be the war that brings fans who usually hate each other's taste in music together.

[BigManRestless]

Some of my original cds sound superb, the very first CD edition of ABC's Beauty Stab being a prime example.

[Surly]

Even current music is being mastered for digital listening standards (iPods, streaming, etc). Ben Folds released a limited version of his last album to cater to fans who actually listen to CDs, although he seemed to be doing it as a favor, stating that the album was originally mastered with iPods/MP3 players in mind.

Here's what he had to say. I'm a fan of his, but when an artist believes that loud & compressed is better, well, we're all doomed:


"As you may have noticed, records have been getting louder and more compressed over the last ten years or so. Many like a loud record, many do not. The official version of "Way To Normal" is very loud and this was the intention. Loud records sound good on car stereos, iPods and on the radio. Quieter records are more dynamic and while they don't compete so well on a mix tape, they often sound better on good audio equipment.

"Many of my fans are audiophiles and there have been requests for an alternate less compressed version of Way To Normal to be made available.

"Although I stand behind the official version of this album and have the utmost respect for the producer and engineers involved, I'm a populist at heart and saw no reason not to provide a slightly different approach for those who prefer more old fashioned dynamics along with a sequence that builds."

I listen to my iPod a lot, but hell, I had it on shuffle today at the gym and "Don't Let Go" by Wang Chung came on, from their Millennium Collection that was released a number of years back (a line notorious for ear-bleeding remastering). And, of course, even on an iPod, it was painful to listen to. I'm taking it off and putting the original album back on. F'ing hell.

I tried making my case against this type of lousy mastering when I worked at major labels (Universal, Rhino) and it fell upon deaf ears. The migration away from CDs and towards MP3/iPods told the labels that people don't care about the quality as much as they do about convenience. I'm not saying that logic is correct; it's just what many people at the labels believe.

"Words like conviction can turn into a sentence"

[Andee1970]

I don't mind loudness it's the tinny sound like some flid has put a cheap mike against a speaker to tape it off

[moni]

[quote][i]Originally posted by gnj1958[/i]
<br> Someone was saying they want the Howard Jones albums remastered, why? the ones I have sound fine.


[/quote]

I'm sorry but the sound quality on on his 80's albums is total shit. If you listen to any of his recent best ofs which have been remastered you can hear a hell of a difference compared to this horrid tinny sounding Cd's from the 80's. Anyway i for one can't wait for these to be released especially for all the bonus tracks. Just as long as Andy Walter has no involvement in it i will be happy.

[gnj1958]

[quote][i]Originally posted by moni[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by gnj1958[/i]
<br> Someone was saying they want the Howard Jones albums remastered, why? the ones I have sound fine.


[/quote]

I'm sorry but the sound quality on on his 80's albums is total shit.
[/quote]

Then you must have bought different versions than I did. My sound just fine and that's compared to the other 2K CD's I own.

edit. I went to Amazon to listen to a clip from a remastered Best Of and couldn't hear much difference between those and the albums I have. Then I read one of the reviews for the Best Of album and read this

"The remastering probably helps when compared with the U.S. editions of the original albums, but the UK/EU imports always bested the U.S. pressings anyway"

I have the UK versions. You must have the US versions.

[Sean]

I usually get remasters because they have bonus tracks or rare tracks that weren't included on the original release. I also buy them for the bonus dvd's or unique packaging. If neither of these criteria fit, I don't buy the remasters. The majority of the original cd's that came out sounds fine to me, and as mentioned, sounds better. It just really sucks that so many of these remasters are coming out with messed up audio. These are the final years of the format we call "cd's". They should have perfected all of this by now. [}:)]

[obs]

[i]> "The remastering probably helps when compared with the U.S. editions of the original albums, but the UK/EU imports always bested the U.S. pressings anyway"

I have the UK versions. You must have the US versions.[/i]

Weren't the original worldwide pressings of those first two Howard Jones CDs all made in West Germany? (ie. the popular "target" CDs)