[LFF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcmurray /img/forum/go_quote.gif Here's a thread about the mastering of Chinese Democracy on gearslutz, interesting stuff; Guns n' Roses - Chinese Democracy - Gearslutz.com LFF - what do you think of the mastering on this particular album?

Damn it...

I was going to post this one as No. 3. LOL!

For being a modern rock album, it's great (mastering wise). As for the performance...I'll leave that up to you guys.

 

[SoupRKnowva]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LFF /img/forum/go_quote.gif Damn it... I was going to post this one as No. 3. LOL! For being a modern rock album, it's great (mastering wise). As for the performance...I'll leave that up to you guys.

you can still put it at number 3, i wont think less of you LFF

i actually really like the cd, i was never a huge GnR fan, liked a few songs, but this one i do like, though it might just be because of buckethead playing the guitar for it.

 

[Hudson]

I will second two against nature by SD. It's a bit bassy, but I can handle it.

 

[SoupRKnowva]

Just finished listening to both Night is the New Day by Katatonia and Dethalbum II by Dethklok, and i would say that both of them are fantastic, crushed yes, but no apparent clipping that i could find in etiher. Night is the New Day was also much better overall, way better dynamics, i just felt the need to include deathklok because for its genre i feel it does very well.

 

[pyramid6]

@LFF
Did we ever get a full top ten? I'm curious.

Thanks

 

[KBerube80]

Tool - Lateralus

 

[LFF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pyramid6 /img/forum/go_quote.gif @LFF Did we ever get a full top ten? I'm curious. Thanks

No. Still working on the top 5.

 

[roebeet]

I really had to look hard to find a few, and that's pretty sad. I'm not talking about re-masters like the Beatles or Miles Davis, I mean albums where their first run was in the last 10 years.

What I did find:

a-ha - "Foot of the Mountain" (2009). A bit compressed, but the levels are least lower than a normal CD.

Five for Fighting - "America Town" (2000).

The Divine Comedy - "Victory For The Comic Muse" (2006). Levels are a bit high, but at least it doesn't seem to clip. Dynamics seem to be intact, as well.

Bon Iver - "For Emma, Forever Ago" (2007). Yes, this is almost cheating, given the source material. But, even comparable low-fi music is usually mastered much higher than this album.

Neil Diamond - "12 Songs" (2005). Again, it's acoustic pop. But, the levels are still much lower than you expect out of an album mastered in 2005.

The Ditty Bops - "Self Titled" (2004). The levels are high, but the dynamics seem to be intact, at least.

I also avoided any classical works, as I think those are still (relatively immune) to the loudness wars, given their niche status.

 

[stringgz301]

How about Alison Krauss and Union Station - Lonely Runs Both Ways (2004). It's one of the albums I got to when testing equipment because of the great sounding instruments and her terrific voice.

 

[downsize]

Lyle Lovett - Lyle Lovett and his Large Band

Lyle Lovett - Joshua, Judges, Ruth

Insane sound quality, simply insane.

 

[rehabitat]

Celtic Frost "Monotheist" compressed to hell. Just me I'm afraid. Now that I think about it and listen more critically, the sound is rather dense and separation is low. Probably just a case of good engineering let down by poor mastering.

Apologies if this is a little off-topic.

 

[noinimod]

Will probably be crucified for saying this here

Justin Timberlake - Futuresex/Lovesounds

Usher - Here I Stand

This doesn't belong to the category but just thought i'll post the waveform for Billie Jean and Beat It too

Love the dynamics in there

 

[rehabitat]

^ nice. It occurs to me that quality mastering probably goes a long way to prevent music from sounding dated. I can't say I'm a fan of MJ but the songs off Thriller always sound fresh and engaging.

 

[Bmac]

Sorry to go a little off-topic, but what program are you guys using to look at these waveforms?

 

[sonci]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LFF /img/forum/go_quote.gif OK...counting them down.... 10. Diana Krall – Quiet Nights (released March 31, 2009) The music is good, the mastering is rather good and it’s not compressed to hell like most modern albums. 09. Rebecca Pidgeon – Retrospective (released April 22, 2003) The sound on this SACD is just amazing. Some of the most natural recordings you might ever hear. What’s more, a lot of these tracks often show up on demo CD’s. 08. Miles Davis – Kind of Blue (Legacy Edition) (released January 20, 2009) I tried avoiding re-issues but this one is special. This has been released countless times but this is the FIRST time it has been released with the full dynamic range intact

Am I to understand that the best mastered albums are those with as few instruments as possible?..
or just because they are easier to master?

I dont own the first 2, but knowing Krall, I suscept there are no electric guitars, some kind of unplugged boring music...