I personally just don’t like how he does things. I frequently hear distortion in loud parts, muddy bass, and really hard panning that sounds uncomfortable in headphones. Doesn’t matter if it’s CD or vinyl or streaming.
I know people will immediately come for me for my setup, but please, I know this isn’t the case because nothing else I listen to has these kinds of issues. I am a professional musician and I have worked in recording studios. I have sensitive hearing and perfect pitch that runs in my family. I have a nice setup that I love and enjoy thoroughly with other recordings. I have actually invested quite a bit of time and money into trying to figure out if it is my setup or not, and I know it’s not. The flaws are more noticeable in headphones (I’ve tried about a half dozen different ones to confirm), and I wonder if he doesn’t check to make sure his masters work well on headphones before signing off on them.
I know that he is often revered and I almost never hear anything bad about him. And I’ll admit that not everything he does is bad. But in general I actually get kind of frustrated listening to his remasters and the way they sound. And I’m curious if anyone else has heard what I’ve heard.
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Stick with 1st pressings.
For best sound generally avoid remasters and remixes.
I don’t think any hard rules can be applied to this.
Steve Wilson’s 2011 remix of Jethro Tull - Aqualung is a vast improvement on the original mix. That album is a favourite of mine, but never sounded right to me. So I was very thankful for Mr Wilson’s work on it as it is a pure delight.
Another one is 2008 Shelby Lynne - Just A Little Lovin’. The original sounded pretty good. But then it was redone in 2014 by Analogue Productions and it COMPLETELY blows the original away. Just jaw dropping good. Makes the original sound dead and flat.
You trippin, dawg
I like everything he does. Very clean masters that sound close to but better than the originals I own. Highly recommended
I rarely fault any sound engineer on how crappy remasters sound.
With remasters, the sound engineer is being paid to make the music sound closer to what the average consumer might buy on impulse.
It’s like asking an artist that can paint like the old masters to recreate Three Young Musicians by Antoine Le Nain by using crayons because the target audience are 5 and 6 year olds.
Sure, but when you see the mastering engineer’s name on a hype sticker, you have certain expectations that it will be somehow better than an anonymous engineer. When the guy is listed as a feature of the recording, I think it’s fair to assume that you’re buying a more audiophile-oriented master. Perhaps this isn’t always the case.
That said, I tend to think a lot of remasters are pointless exercises in loudness or simply a marketing gimmick to get people to buy the recording again. I especially don’t understand remastering recordings after the advent of the loudness war, unless you’re going to provide more dynamics.
Do you tend to like original masters better?
I like the original masters if the original master is well done.
Don’t get me wrong, this engineer is one talented guy, but literally thousands of albums were cut since the dawn of using Vinyl as a medium to stamp records.
Not all engineers are as talented as this one.
It’s a curious question you ask. But for some artists, I do prefer the originals, for the rest, I’m far less picky if it’s an original or not as long as it’s enjoyable to listen to.
Have you thought about getting monitor headphones? It would give you clarity on what a sound engineer hears when they were remastering the song.
I was a professional musician before switching to academia. Lots of experience in the studio and very familiar with the production and mastering processes. It certainly does make a difference - you’re right.
My question about original masters was partly about sounds quality, but it’s also about the perception of “authenticity.” I’ve seen a lot of vinyl collectors spend bundles for original pressings based on the idea that they’re getting a more authentic experience (relative to the time of the recording), but this says very little about objective quality (to the extent that it’s quantifiable). Seems like there are cases where it crosses the threshold into fetishism.
Not making any judgments about you, personally. Just making some conversation.
Truthfully, there’s just some rock bands and artists I’d care about getting original albums, unless it was classical or Jazz. There’s not a big market for remastered classic or jazz unless more channels were added for surround sound
Otherwise, most of what I collect are modern artists and bands that would be classified as indi music in the USA.
But right now I’ve been exploring European indi music.
Panning is not done in the mastering process. Maybe stereo width effects but not panning. Mix engineers decide on panning.
This indeed is correct.
Panning changes would need to be done in a remix, not remaster. So perhaps the OP is perceiving harder panning because of headphones.
What headphones are you listening on? I have Stax earspeakers at home and have none of this distortion or panning you mention. His mastering of The Cars - The Cars album is phenomenal. Maybe you should clean your records properly first. Or maybe your cartridge setup is wrong?Some more information on gear would be useful.
My main setup is Meze Elites with a McIntosh MHA200 amp or Topping A90D, and my turntable is a relatively new Rega P10 /w Apheta 3. My speakers are Elac Vela FS 407.
I’ve tested on various headphones and turntables / CD players / streaming devices, it’s not device specific. For headphones I’ve tried Meze Elites and Empyreans, Focal Clears, Audeze LCD3, Grado SR225, Beyerdynamic DT990, Sennheiser IE900, AirPods and AirPods Pro. For turntables I’ve tried the Rega P10, Marantz TT15, U-Turn Orbit, and Technics SL-1200G, all with maybe a dozen different cartridges between them. I clean my records with an electrostatic cleaner, but also sometimes test other cleaning methods or just playing the record new, so I know it’s not a cleaning method that’s accidentally destroying the records.
Vinyl, CD, Streaming, playing through my setup or on my iPhone or on other people’s setups, it doesn’t matter, it’s always the same issues. So I know it’s not the setup.
What do you mean by electrostatic cleaner. Are you wet cleaning them with a proper automatic cleaner or a using an ultrasonic cleaner? Do you clean your stylus properly and how? I use a Nessie Draabe Vinylcleaner pro to clean my records with fantastic results. The only way to make your stylus sound like new is using an ultrasonic cleaner like the flux sonic. Other methods don‘t even come close. Maybe you also have to much downforce on your cartridge. There‘s a sweet spot that‘s not always the same as the manufacturer recommends. You just have to test and find out for yourself. Maybe you should see a doctor and get some earwax removed. You never know :-)
Never heard of the guy.
Franky, i don’t buy remasters unless there’s nothing else available.
I think every musician on an album being remastered should be present to give input, otherwise it’s just a money grab. I laugh at my contemporaries who buy Beatles albums over and over because the latest release includes a never-before-seen image of Ringo’s first soiled diaper.
Further, if a band blames the label for a poorly sounding album, it’s likely because the band sold out.
LOL! “First soiled diaper” got a good chuckle on that one.
Agree many remasters seem to be just a money grab. I especially abhor remastering that compresses the dynamic range, just criminal.
But then there are others that put in the effort to improve on the original to make things right and those are worth getting. And when I say remaster, not just the re EQ, but also the expert disc cutting to take full advantage of tech we have now, so for example more of the original bass can be cut into the groove. We’re as before it was limited by choice or whatever to accommodate the masses or radio.