Pink Floyd DSOTM MFSL Gold Disc

[sanne]

I have just recently acquired the MFSL version of DSOTM by Pink Floyd. Now I defnitely prefer this remastering to the current Capitol version, as it sounds far smoother and has that analogue sound that just fits so well with this album. My only problem is I am hearing pops and clicks throughout the album. I researched this a bit and I found that the original master tapes of DSOTM had these so called "zits", but I also read that they removed them in the MFSL remaster. Can anyone confirm this? Thanks.

 

[Mr.Sneis]

I can't exactly answer your question but I've got one for you, I have the master version of the wall; the tracks are all a few seconds longer than my capitol release though. What's the story on these "gold master" CD's?

 

[Lavalamp]

Mr Sneis,

I would guess that they played the master tape at a slightly different speed.

Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" was known to have a fault in the mastering process. The orginal CD version was mastered by playing the tape at fractionally the wrong speed (the orginal machine the album was recorded on in the 50's was running at slightly the wrong speed).

The re-release fixed this problem.

 

[sanne]

i just wished they got all of the audio engineers (Sax, Guthrie, Parsons) together and made one final mix of DSOTM and stopped issuing new remasters. keeping track of them all is far too difficult.

in any event the annoying pops and clicks are making this MFSL version almost unlistenable. i am switching back to the Capitol release even though it is of lesser quality.

 

[cerbie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sanne i just wished they got all of the audio engineers (Sax, Guthrie, Parsons) together and made one final mix of DSOTM and stopped issuing new remasters. keeping track of them all is far too difficult.

Don't give us empty dreams like that!

They're actually all still alive and working, though, aren't they?

 

[Garbz]

ummm my MFSL master is pop/click free. There's not a single audible blemish to be heard. Could your cdplayer be having difficulty with the gold cd?

 

[nspindel]

No, Garbz, I've also noticed the popping and the clicking, moreso now that I'm listening to it on very high end headphones, so you hear everything including the blemishes.

You're listening to the original master recording. This will bring out every detail in the recording to the maximum extent, including the flaws. The more you try to mess with it to remove the little imperfections, the more you remain untrue to the original.

Just accept this gem for what it is - this is by far the best version of this masterpiece album, even with the imperfections.

 

[Garbz]

I have honestly never heard them. Or at least not to the extent that sanne describes them as unlistenable. Sure there's a minor imperfection every so often, but definitly not unlistenable, and not intrusive at the very least.

 

[nspindel]

Well, it's never anything that jumps out at you or makes it unlistenable, not even close. It's just little subtle imperfections that you notice occasionally that are bound to be present on the masters of a recording from that era. Doesn't bother me in the least - if anything when I hear them, it's a reminder to me that I'm listening to the master recording of Dark Side!

 

[EdipisReks]

i have the MFSL copy, and i notice the clicks. they don't bother me, as the overall sound quality is so much better than the Capitol version. they definitely aren't loud clicks, but i can hear them when i do critical listening.

 

[bong]

i own the MFSL version of DSOTM as well and also noticed the pops and ticks, but i attribute it to the original master. i also own the recent remastered version and still prefer the MFSL version. to me it just sounds perfect... nice, detailed, and warm. i think that recent remaster version sounds a bit cold and mechanic in comparison. of course, i'm typing this from memory and i've not listened to both in quite a while... so take this with a grain of salt.

 

[eyeteeth]

There is more than one MFSL DSOTM.
ULTRADISC I & ULTRADISC II
http://pinkfloydcdscanz.bizland.com/...EMAINPAGE.html
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homep...ives/DMFSL.htm

I'm not a Floyd freak but I remember some stuff.

I like this one.

Pops 'n clicks, no pops 'n clicks?

"There are a bunch of Pink Floyd collectors who'd kill me if I didn't ask this - Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon LP?

If I recall correctly, that one went out of production at right around 25,000 pieces. We didn't cut enough lacquers to go much past that and here's a piece of trivia for which I could get shot. Did you know that the Dark Side of the Moon master was ruined? Somebody put it on a recorder instead of a playback only mastering deck and a little piece of Super Tramp got dubbed onto the outro of Breath. Big secret, that. Stan had left the company so a redux wasn't gonna happen. Makes me seriously wonder where MFSL got the source for the Dark Side of the Moon CD. Hmmm. It would have had to have been a second generation safety or the digital master I made for the cassette run.

The cassette run master would've been suitable as it didn't have any gawd awful EQ done for the duplication. It was very close in master prep to what the vinyl sounded like with one significant difference. Want some cool trivia? Back in the early '80's digital was a bit unpredictable and flaky which is why we used a very expensive 1" video deck (BVH 1000) instead of a U-Matic type 3/4". I'd get these random ticks and pops which we affectionately called zits.

One night I sat in the studio listening to the DSOM digital copy and was horrified when I heard lots of low level clicks and zit like sounds. So I called my wife to tell her I'd be working till sunup as the approval copy had to go to Alan Parsons via counter-to-counter air ASAP. I turned the lights off so I wouldn't be distracted and sat there all night long with the first DAE-1100 editor and made a few hundred 1 millisecond edits to get rid of those zits I was hearing. Then I made an approval copy cassette for Alan, sent it on its way and went home to sleep for a day or two.

A couple of days later we got a heated call from Mr. Parsons wanting to know, "What the ****** did you do to the master?" I explained that I had done the best mastering job I could and that it compared very favorably to the vinyl and, in fact, I thought it sounded better than the vinyl. Was there some problem? He said that when he had mixed DSOM the desk (console) drove him nuts because every time he muted or unmuted a track or switched an EQ in or out there would be a resulting click or pop. There was no technology to remove these artifacts so he and the band decided to just live with it. He said, "How the hell did you get rid of those pops. I love it!" He was left with a patient explanation that it was proprietary. Man, I almost soiled my pants only to find out that he was very impressed.

So, if you compare the CD with a vinyl disc and those pops and clicks are gone then there's the answer as to which tape was used. Once you know what to listen for they are easy to spot as they occur when parts go in or out or the EQ changes."

http://www.aurealm.com/violet.htm

 

[AML]

Thanks for this link eyeteeth.
http://pinkfloydcdscanz.bizland.com...DEMAINPAGE.html

I never knew what version i had until i checked.
Mine is EMI UK 7243 8 29752 2 9 (Second remastered issue)

Must listen to it again, haven't heard it in ages.

 

[Sovkiller]

how about the SACD version, does it has the pops also if this is the case I will give it a serious listening tonight, but I enjoy the album so much that I barely pay attention ot those defects if any....there are also the DSD version...

 

[bong]

okay, i'm looking at my MFSL version of DSOTM and it's the Ultradisc II version... with catalog number UDCD 517. i also have the SACD version issued from Capitol, with the catalog number CDP 7243 5 82136 2 1. if the mood is right late tonight, i'll listen to both copies again...