Recomend me a CD that is recorded properly......
Discussion
Stamp said:
Just downloaded some from the Linn site. Burnt to DVD-A at 24/96 and it sounds fantastic.
What are you using for playback?There is only a handful of pro audio convertors that I have been convinced work well at 96k.
I have yet to try Linn's service but will be doing so soon for research.
Stamp said:
Just downloaded some from the Linn site. Burnt to DVD-A at 24/96 and it sounds fantastic.
Nothing that is really my type of music but even listening to the samples on my laptop the quality is astounding. Must be amazing on a proper system, can't beleive the laptop can actually sound OK.
Leaves thread quietly...
Unfortunately most indie stuff will sound pretty poor as there's no finesse or real effort put into the mastering and production of these discs nowadays.
I know that Embrace always play their CDs on a high-end Naim system before giving final sign-off and sound pretty good.
For a couple of other more CDs that I've found have exceptional production and mastering try the following (I've tried to give a spread of genres..!):
'The Songs of Distant Earth' by Mike Oldfield (electronic)
'Officium' by Jan Garbarek (vocal)
'Brothers In Arms (Digital Remastered version)' - Dire Straits (as if I need to say..)
'Dark Side of the Moon' - Floyd (ditto)
'Come Find Yourself' - Fun Lovin' Criminals (Rap/funk)
'Just Like Me' - Keb Mo' (blues)
'Kind of Blue (24-bit remastered version)' - Miles Davis (jazz)
As mentioned above, pretty much anything on Naim or Linn labels will impress, too.
I know that Embrace always play their CDs on a high-end Naim system before giving final sign-off and sound pretty good.
For a couple of other more CDs that I've found have exceptional production and mastering try the following (I've tried to give a spread of genres..!):
'The Songs of Distant Earth' by Mike Oldfield (electronic)
'Officium' by Jan Garbarek (vocal)
'Brothers In Arms (Digital Remastered version)' - Dire Straits (as if I need to say..)
'Dark Side of the Moon' - Floyd (ditto)
'Come Find Yourself' - Fun Lovin' Criminals (Rap/funk)
'Just Like Me' - Keb Mo' (blues)
'Kind of Blue (24-bit remastered version)' - Miles Davis (jazz)
As mentioned above, pretty much anything on Naim or Linn labels will impress, too.
Edited by Funk on Thursday 14th February 12:54
[quote=Funk]Unfortunately most indie stuff will sound pretty poor as there's no finesse or real effort put into the mastering and production of these discs nowadays.
[quote]
No heart in most of that. Just a money machine and alot of bedroom recording
[quote=Funk]
'Brothers In Arms (Digital Remastered version)' - Dire Straits (as if I need to say..)
'Dark Side of the Moon' - Floyd (ditto)[quote]
Mark Knophler (sp?) loves what he does and the recordings show. Most of his post Dire Straits is worth listening to.
Dark side in Quadrophonic is worth a listen to.
[quote]
No heart in most of that. Just a money machine and alot of bedroom recording
[quote=Funk]
'Brothers In Arms (Digital Remastered version)' - Dire Straits (as if I need to say..)
'Dark Side of the Moon' - Floyd (ditto)[quote]
Mark Knophler (sp?) loves what he does and the recordings show. Most of his post Dire Straits is worth listening to.
Dark side in Quadrophonic is worth a listen to.
Certainly DONT buy the 'Scouting for Girls' album. It is probably the most overcompressed album I have ever heard. Really ruins a few decent songs.
Although not new, I was most impressed by the Mark Knofler/Dire Straits compilation that is out. They must be all remasters, as they sound astonishingly good. Even tracks such as 'Money for Nothing' sound new, fresh and 'huge' in dynamic range.
I think that is the most graphic example of how a well recorded track significantly adds to the musicality of it. It has so much pace, boom, and 'bounce' you can hear every nuance of the guitar lick, it is literally impossible not to tap your foot.
The only thing that is modern I can think of that I bought recently is the last Coldplay album. Superb engineering, mix and mastering. Maybe the end of a dying breed of when people actually cared about making their music engineered a bit better despite most tracks being sieved through an MP3 converter.
Although not new, I was most impressed by the Mark Knofler/Dire Straits compilation that is out. They must be all remasters, as they sound astonishingly good. Even tracks such as 'Money for Nothing' sound new, fresh and 'huge' in dynamic range.
I think that is the most graphic example of how a well recorded track significantly adds to the musicality of it. It has so much pace, boom, and 'bounce' you can hear every nuance of the guitar lick, it is literally impossible not to tap your foot.
The only thing that is modern I can think of that I bought recently is the last Coldplay album. Superb engineering, mix and mastering. Maybe the end of a dying breed of when people actually cared about making their music engineered a bit better despite most tracks being sieved through an MP3 converter.
JustinP1 said:
Certainly DONT buy the 'Scouting for Girls' album. It is probably the most overcompressed album I have ever heard. Really ruins a few decent songs.
Although not new, I was most impressed by the Mark Knofler/Dire Straits compilation that is out. They must be all remasters, as they sound astonishingly good. Even tracks such as 'Money for Nothing' sound new, fresh and 'huge' in dynamic range.
I think that is the most graphic example of how a well recorded track significantly adds to the musicality of it. It has so much pace, boom, and 'bounce' you can hear every nuance of the guitar lick, it is literally impossible not to tap your foot.
The only thing that is modern I can think of that I bought recently is the last Coldplay album. Superb engineering, mix and mastering. Maybe the end of a dying breed of when people actually cared about making their music engineered a bit better despite most tracks being sieved through an MP3 converter.
People do care and are concerned. However the budgets available to record the majority of albums now is ridiculously low and the time is not available to go into the same depth as was the norm in previous decades.Although not new, I was most impressed by the Mark Knofler/Dire Straits compilation that is out. They must be all remasters, as they sound astonishingly good. Even tracks such as 'Money for Nothing' sound new, fresh and 'huge' in dynamic range.
I think that is the most graphic example of how a well recorded track significantly adds to the musicality of it. It has so much pace, boom, and 'bounce' you can hear every nuance of the guitar lick, it is literally impossible not to tap your foot.
The only thing that is modern I can think of that I bought recently is the last Coldplay album. Superb engineering, mix and mastering. Maybe the end of a dying breed of when people actually cared about making their music engineered a bit better despite most tracks being sieved through an MP3 converter.
Interesting your comment regarding Scouting for Girls, it just arrived yesterday so I will have a listen to it and check it out.
The dynamic range thing is funny. So often the push is there to make it louder and bigger. When was the last time anyone turned an amplifier up more than a 1/3rd of the way? I always try and capture, maintain and enhance the dynamics of someones playing when I am recording and mixing but if something is not up there and clear every moment of the song there are complaints.
I am keen to hear a new album by a US band called Widespread Panic. I know who recorded, mixed and mastered the album and his ethos, experience and skills are exactly what we need in music so hopefully the results will stand out.
KB_S1 said:
JustinP1 said:
Certainly DONT buy the 'Scouting for Girls' album. It is probably the most overcompressed album I have ever heard. Really ruins a few decent songs.
Although not new, I was most impressed by the Mark Knofler/Dire Straits compilation that is out. They must be all remasters, as they sound astonishingly good. Even tracks such as 'Money for Nothing' sound new, fresh and 'huge' in dynamic range.
I think that is the most graphic example of how a well recorded track significantly adds to the musicality of it. It has so much pace, boom, and 'bounce' you can hear every nuance of the guitar lick, it is literally impossible not to tap your foot.
The only thing that is modern I can think of that I bought recently is the last Coldplay album. Superb engineering, mix and mastering. Maybe the end of a dying breed of when people actually cared about making their music engineered a bit better despite most tracks being sieved through an MP3 converter.
People do care and are concerned. However the budgets available to record the majority of albums now is ridiculously low and the time is not available to go into the same depth as was the norm in previous decades.Although not new, I was most impressed by the Mark Knofler/Dire Straits compilation that is out. They must be all remasters, as they sound astonishingly good. Even tracks such as 'Money for Nothing' sound new, fresh and 'huge' in dynamic range.
I think that is the most graphic example of how a well recorded track significantly adds to the musicality of it. It has so much pace, boom, and 'bounce' you can hear every nuance of the guitar lick, it is literally impossible not to tap your foot.
The only thing that is modern I can think of that I bought recently is the last Coldplay album. Superb engineering, mix and mastering. Maybe the end of a dying breed of when people actually cared about making their music engineered a bit better despite most tracks being sieved through an MP3 converter.
Interesting your comment regarding Scouting for Girls, it just arrived yesterday so I will have a listen to it and check it out.
The dynamic range thing is funny. So often the push is there to make it louder and bigger. When was the last time anyone turned an amplifier up more than a 1/3rd of the way? I always try and capture, maintain and enhance the dynamics of someones playing when I am recording and mixing but if something is not up there and clear every moment of the song there are complaints.
I am keen to hear a new album by a US band called Widespread Panic. I know who recorded, mixed and mastered the album and his ethos, experience and skills are exactly what we need in music so hopefully the results will stand out.
A decent mix doesnt cost that much though. A while back I worked out at Ocean Way Hollywood where Jack Joseph Puig is resident in Studio A and uses the room primarily just for mixing. He did mixes at a rate of one a day, at a cost of maybe £4000 or so. Some artists on a tighter budget got him to do three or more mixes a day.
He has got one of the original Focusrite desks, and a *huge* and I mean huge array of vintage and new outboard gear. I have to say, his mixes are always excellent.
The thing is though not many A&R people at labels have the budget or see the value of that, even a few grand. When I was there he was being used a lot by UK labels bringing artists to the US for the US market, and were looking for mixes for the US radio market. I have to say his mixes were better to my ears than the UK 'originals'.
I would certainly check out his stuff if you want to hear a good mix.
£4k a day would be very nice.
Most of the labels we deal with seem to think £400 a day is too much.
Over compression for radio is a stupid state to be getting in. Most radio stations, R1 in particular squash the hell out of everything anyway.
Several albums I have bought in the last couple of years have been pretty awful in terms of the sound quality and I cannot sit and listen to them closely.
Most of the labels we deal with seem to think £400 a day is too much.
Over compression for radio is a stupid state to be getting in. Most radio stations, R1 in particular squash the hell out of everything anyway.
Several albums I have bought in the last couple of years have been pretty awful in terms of the sound quality and I cannot sit and listen to them closely.
KB_S1 said:
£4k a day would be very nice.
Most of the labels we deal with seem to think £400 a day is too much.
Over compression for radio is a stupid state to be getting in. Most radio stations, R1 in particular squash the hell out of everything anyway.
Several albums I have bought in the last couple of years have been pretty awful in terms of the sound quality and I cannot sit and listen to them closely.
A big chunk of that £4k went on the studio hire. Although he would have got a decent discount on the standard rate for being there so long, the studio itself was £2000 a day. Most of the labels we deal with seem to think £400 a day is too much.
Over compression for radio is a stupid state to be getting in. Most radio stations, R1 in particular squash the hell out of everything anyway.
Several albums I have bought in the last couple of years have been pretty awful in terms of the sound quality and I cannot sit and listen to them closely.
The trick is to make it sound punchy without overly compressing it for radio. Stock Aitken and Waterman did it well in the 80's. If you listen to their stuff, basslines were light or non-existant compared to the bassy pop-tunes nowardays. They worked out that the radio compressors cut in heavily on the whole track linked to the bass frequencies. For a while it is what they used to make their records sound louder.
Not sure how much more radio compressors have now advanced since then.
Just bought "Hourglass" By Dave Gahan. Sounds really good. Much better than the other three Albums I bought at the same time. "Empire" by Kasabian, "Black holes....." by Muse and "Employment" by the Kaiser Chiefs.
I'd watch out for any album/single produced by Bill Nelson, Trevor Horn and Martin Rushent.
I'd watch out for any album/single produced by Bill Nelson, Trevor Horn and Martin Rushent.
telecat said:
Just bought "Hourglass" By Dave Gahan. Sounds really good. Much better than the other three Albums I bought at the same time. "Empire" by Kasabian, "Black holes....." by Muse and "Employment" by the Kaiser Chiefs.
I'd watch out for any album/single produced by Bill Nelson, Trevor Horn and Martin Rushent.
I would say Muse 'Black holes..." is one of the best engineered albums of that genre!I'd watch out for any album/single produced by Bill Nelson, Trevor Horn and Martin Rushent.
Rich Costey produced and engineered that. I am honoured to say that I have worked with first hand, albeit some years ago now - he is really at the top of his game.
It is not a 'light and open' type acoustic sound, because he specifically wanted the 'dark' sound and I believe extensively used vintage Neve outboard pre-amps at great cost.
The guy really is a perfectionist, and I would check out some more of his work, for example Fiona Apple "When the Pawn...". Another superbly engineered album although it went largely under the radar in the UK.
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