defoLinY
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2010
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Kanye West's MBDTF is a piece of work
ShawnSmith said:/img/forum/go_quote.gif
Just an FYI you guys aren't actually talking about well mastered albums. mastering is one step in the process of recording an album. You are mostly just talking about albums that just plain sound good. Mastering doesn't have anything to do with the recording, the mix, the effects or EQ on individual instruments, etc. Mastering is about the final touches on a project after the final mix is complete. Those final touches are usually just EQ and dynamics changes applied to the entire recording. You are probably confused because we often hear about "remastered" albums that are actually taking source recordings (maybe 4, 8, 24, 32, 64 tracks, etc..) and basically starting from scratch with the work done after the basic parts are recorded. Honestly, on a truly well mastered album the mastering wouldn't even be noticed. It would just present all of the work done before it in the best way possible. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_mastering
By this logic Jimi Hendrix sucks, because ANY song I've ever heard by him sounded exactly like some record played on a portable suitcase phonograph, even remastered albums. By this logic it also means he had no talent. Your logic is very flawed. I guess this is why so many people listen to off-the-wall jazz type non-mainstream stuff anymore. The kind of stuff that is keeping the DVD-A and SACD formats alive but not mainstream. It is horrible music, but the content sounds good. I'm neither way. If I like music but it sounds like crap I won't listen to it. If I like the sound but the music is crap I won't listen to it. I will only give my time to real talent in music AND sound. Music is emotion manifested through sound. Sound is not music.
Quote:
If a guitarist with zero talent plays something mediocre that gets worked over by a team of engineers to the point that it is a powerful and moving piece of music, it is good. If a very talented guitarist records something that is impressive but doesn't sound interesting/whatnot, it is not good. The only variable that matters is the output.
Just an FYI you guys aren't actually talking about well mastered albums. mastering is one step in the process of recording an album. You are mostly just talking about albums that just plain sound good. Mastering doesn't have anything to do with the recording, the mix, the effects or EQ on individual instruments, etc. Mastering is about the final touches on a project after the final mix is complete. Those final touches are usually just EQ and dynamics changes applied to the entire recording. You are probably confused because we often hear about "remastered" albums that are actually taking source recordings (maybe 4, 8, 24, 32, 64 tracks, etc..) and basically starting from scratch with the work done after the basic parts are recorded. Honestly, on a truly well mastered album the mastering wouldn't even be noticed. It would just present all of the work done before it in the best way possible. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_mastering
OK I'd like to hear/ read Some of the best Masters alive today, starting with, Stan Riker, Steve Hoffman,Kevin Gray and Shawn R. Britton to name just a few. And Love to read their comments on what you think is "All they Do is"???
but have you ever been to a recording studio and then follow the Analog Tapes/ Digital, many times to the final mastering, mix down room of a Top Shelf Recording studio????I Have.........They Play a major roll on how the recording "Vinyl or Disc" turns out as far as SQ goes..
I'm all for talking about albums that sound great. I love to do it, and I have my own opinions that are often very unconventional in that regard
and just so no one accuses me of derailing the topic I'll respond to myself on topic.
Quote:I'm all for talking about albums that sound great. I love to do it, and I have my own opinions that are often very unconventional in that regard
here is one of my most unconventional and controversial opinions... I don't think Rudy van Gelder's recordings are all that great for the most part. I'm a jazz nut. I probably have 200+ recordings that Rudy worked on. My biggest complaint is the way he recorded piano. It always sounds very unnatural. Nothing like what a piano sounds like when you sit next to someone playing one. I also don't care for how he places instruments from left to right. It very often lacks subtlety and doesn't translate to headphones very well.
I'm not trying to be a jerk 9pintube, but a lot of your post is hard to decipher so I'll try to break it down and respond to what I think you said.
Quote:OK I'd like to hear/ read Some of the best Masters alive today, starting with, Stan Riker, Steve Hoffman,Kevin Gray and Shawn R. Britton to name just a few. And Love to read their comments on what you think is "All they Do is"???
I think you are saying you'd love to hear what some top mastering engineers have to say about my comments. Although I am unclear why you put the words in Quotes because I never said those words or anything like that. In fact I never talked about mastering engineers at all so I'm not sure how you could take what I said as disparaging to them or their work . I talked about the process of audio mastering. I am aware that mastering engineers do more than just what I described.
Quote:but have you ever been to a recording studio and then follow the Analog Tapes/ Digital, many times to the final mastering, mix down room of a Top Shelf Recording studio????I Have.........They Play a major roll on how the recording "Vinyl or Disc" turns out as far as SQ goes..
yes I have been to a recording studio several times. I'm glad that you have too. I wish more people had. I think it's hard to spend time in one and not come away with a some respect for the work that goes into making a great recording. I think there would be a lot more "audiophiles" if every music fan spent some time learning what goes into the process of making recordings.
My point was that the content of this thread had little to do with the title. Honestly most people would have no idea what a well mastered album is. Frankly, to know for sure if something is well mastered you'd have to hear the work before and after the mastering process to really even be able to tell for sure. I'm all for talking about albums that sound great. I love to do it, and I have my own opinions that are often very unconventional in that regard. However, let's not all pretend that we are talking about well mastered albums when we aren't.
and just so no one accuses me of derailing the topic I'll respond to myself on topic.
Quote:I'm all for talking about albums that sound great. I love to do it, and I have my own opinions that are often very unconventional in that regard
here is one of my most unconventional and controversial opinions... I don't think Rudy van Gelder's recordings are all that great for the most part. I'm a jazz nut. I probably have 200+ recordings that Rudy worked on. My biggest complaint is the way he recorded piano. It always sounds very unnatural. Nothing like what a piano sounds like when you sit next to someone playing one. I also don't care for how he places instruments from left to right. It very often lacks subtlety and doesn't translate to headphones very well.
Just for the record, my earlier recommendations were based on sound quality of the end result of the whole recording process.
I can't see how any of us, with the possible exception of LFF, are qualified to determine what proportion of the end result was due to the recording, production, mixing, mastering etc.
The only time most of us can comment specifically on the mastering is when comparing re-masters.