Guest antic Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 Always when I buy a new CD and discover it was badly mastered I feel cheated. Especially, if it is great musically I think to myself, why the hell do I pay for a product, when someone did not manage to do his work properly till the very end?! I have of course other standards for old-school stuff, because the scene was much more underground then and mastering tools / services were much more expensive. Here's my list: Tranan - Restarter. The bass in tracks "Restarter", "Resonance dinner" and "Lost" is heavily overdriven, causing very audible clipping. Alienated - FF. Tracks 5 to 7 have barely no high-end (or maybe high-mids) and therefore feel very muddy. Too bad, because it's so good otherwise. Eat Static - De-classified. Heavily overcompressed, hurts the ears. Shakta - The Enlightened Ape. First track ("The Future is Now") is like 2-3 times more quiet than the rest. Troll Scientists - Useless Science. Could use a bit more trebles in some of the tracks. But the music is so good, I almost don't notice it anymore. Both Filteria albums. I know he uses hardware synths and all, but damn - lot of old-school stuff sounded much cleaner and crispier than his stuff. The track on Opus Iridium for example sounds very plastic compared to others - too little bass and definitely too much mids. All Deedrah & Transwave CDs. Dado's mastering sucks in one thing - he can't keep equal volume and as a result you end up with a CD where you've got to turn up the amplifier in one track and then the next one blows the speakers... BTW, the Shakta CD above was mastered by Dado Your turn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malevol3nt Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 Aphex Twin, anyone? But his Selected Ambient Works 85-92 is pure art, even tho the mastering is really bad, but it doesn't bother me at all. Track #13. Actium <- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basilisk Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 One that really bothers me is Soundscapes Part 1 from Crotus Records. There are some great tracks on this release but they all sound so thin. I really hope Inhuman is re-released one day... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest antic Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 One that really bothers me is Soundscapes Part 1 from Crotus Records. There are some great tracks on this release but they all sound so thin. I really hope Inhuman is re-released one day... Oh, speaking of 'thin'. The Misted Mupper - From The Legend has to be the king here! I believe it's possible to see right through the CD, even if it's still in jevel case... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goa-Head Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 Good thread. First example which comes in mind is I.F.O. Anyone not agreeing ? VA - Atom Smasher VA - Sphere Dark Soho - Sun Spot , and easily all CD's by these 2 labels. Then of course The Muses Rapt's Spiritual Healing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sideffect... Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 rastaliens - freestyle big time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemmiwinks Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 so I take it none of you know what this device is used for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rino Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 Anything with California Sunshine stamped on it. But then again, I'm not sure whether it's just atrocious music, dated sound, or incompetence and/or ability to master properly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest antic Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 First example which comes in mind is I.F.O. Anyone not agreeing? Agree, I'd say it is overcompressed and - similarly to other Etnica stuff, especially Alien Protein - has to much mid/high frequencies and thus doesn't sound very pleasant, especially on the headphones. But then again - as I said - I reserve special rules for old-school stuff, therefore I didn't mentioned it. VA - Atom Smasher VA - Sphere Dark Soho - Sun Spot , and easily all CD's by these 2 labels. Then of course The Muses Rapt's Spiritual Healing. Can you tell more what's wrong with them (don't have those CDs)? I know Dark Soho's album was initially released in mono? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest antic Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 so I take it none of you know what this device is used for Well, I perfectly know what to do with an EQ, but I'm not paying for music to be forced to fiddle with knobs/sliders every time I put new CD on... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemmiwinks Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 Well, I perfectly know what to do with an EQ, but I'm not paying for music to be forced to fiddle with knobs/sliders every time I put new CD on... dude, did it ever hit you that this kindof music is played in VERY different circumstances, ranging from your average Joe jogging to psytrance on his iPod to artists playing this stuff live on a sound system pouring a few thousand watts in open air parties? I mean how could you make music sounding good in EVERY circumstance? Especially when there's a LOT happening in a track like oldschool. That's just the way it is: some stuff sounds great on a home stereo, other stuff just needs to be played on a HUGE sound system to get it right (like basically ALL dark trance releases...), yet other stuff was made specifically for open-air events (forest trance), etc... IMO it's is prefectly normal to have to fiddle around with the EQs to get your sound right. PS my pick of choice is Aphex Twin - Ventolin... if anyone manages to listen to the whole track on ANY sound system full-volume without loss of hearing, please tell me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goa Bill Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 Oh, speaking of 'thin'. The Misted Mupper - From The Legend has to be the king here! I believe it's possible to see right through the CD, even if it's still in jevel case...Yea, interesting music with absolutely horrible mastering. I'll add in the same "kill the music with compression" slot Juno Reactor's Labyrinth. My ears were bleeding. Also Tristan's Chemisphere sounds very poor to my ears. Especially the first tracks. And yes, early Aphex Twin is notoriously bad sounding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goa-Head Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 Can you tell more what's wrong with them (don't have those CDs)? I know Dark Soho's album was initially released in mono? Right, I'm very lame, and know nothing about music production. I don't know what mid-range means. The Dark Soho CD is in mono, OK. The other 2 CD's have the tracks sounding different from each other. Bass/teble/power/volume not equal. Can't explain more sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ormion Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 Personally a cd must have extremelly bad mastering to bother me, like Liquid Dreams (Starchild 1997). Otherwise I don't care that much. What about MFG-New Kind Of World? EDIT: For new releases I'll go with Freaks Blast (Trance Karma 2008) compilation. Surprisingly it has been mastered by Artifakt who is the mastering master. I still can't believe it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supergroover Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 dude, did it ever hit you that this kindof music is played in VERY different circumstances, ranging from your average Joe jogging to psytrance on his iPod to artists playing this stuff live on a sound system pouring a few thousand watts in open air parties? I mean how could you make music sounding good in EVERY circumstance? Especially when there's a LOT happening in a track like oldschool. That's just the way it is: some stuff sounds great on a home stereo, other stuff just needs to be played on a HUGE sound system to get it right Thats bullshit. Its possible to make music that sounds good everywhere. I know for sure britney spears sounds good on every stereo. Its just that some people dont know how to do it.... Also Tristan's Chemisphere sounds very poor to my ears. Especially the first tracks.I agree.. I would love to play tracks from that album but it just sounds crap... did it acure to anyone that it might be the bad mix that was delivered? And it just wasnt possible for the guy that was mastering to fix it. Tristan for example has a pretty bad production level in general imho. With the misted muppet for example i think its mainly him delivering a bad mix. Not the bad mastering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basilisk Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 Don't confuse production quality with the mastering job. Sometimes there isn't really any way to know what is what--other times it can be inferred. For example, Sensient usually has very high production quality, so when you hear Inhuman on the release I mentioned earlier, you just know something is up with the mastering. Tristan's Chemisphere is an interesting release to consider. I've heard some people cite it as an example of good mastering. Opinions may differ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowball Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 Personally a cd must have extremelly bad mastering to bother me, like Liquid Dreams (Starchild 1997). Otherwise I don't care that much. What about MFG-New Kind Of World? EDIT: For new releases I'll go with Freaks Blast (Trance Karma 2008) compilation. Surprisingly it has been mastered by Artifakt who is the mastering master. I still can't believe it. new kind of world has one of the best phat sounds around man. give it another try Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Time_Trap Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 Personally a cd must have extremelly bad mastering to bother me, like Liquid Dreams (Starchild 1997). Otherwise I don't care that much. What about MFG-New Kind Of World? All i know is i played it on my mp3 player a few days ago and got the chills all over my body Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ormion Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 All i know is i played it on my mp3 player a few days ago and got the chills all over my body I get the chills too everytime I listen to it and yes Snowball it has indeed awesome phat sounds, but come on check out Alien's Land. Probably the track with the worst mastering or maybe mixing. The same with many tracks in Project Genesis. Check out Sunshine. I'm not talking about music quality here, but about sound quality. Not that I care that much like I said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest antic Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 dude, did it ever hit you that this kindof music is played in VERY different circumstances, ranging from your average Joe jogging to psytrance on his iPod to artists playing this stuff live on a sound system pouring a few thousand watts in open air parties? I mean how could you make music sounding good in EVERY circumstance? Especially when there's a LOT happening in a track like oldschool. That's just the way it is: some stuff sounds great on a home stereo, other stuff just needs to be played on a HUGE sound system to get it right (like basically ALL dark trance releases...), yet other stuff was made specifically for open-air events (forest trance), etc... IMO it's is prefectly normal to have to fiddle around with the EQs to get your sound right. PS my pick of choice is Aphex Twin - Ventolin... if anyone manages to listen to the whole track on ANY sound system full-volume without loss of hearing, please tell me "Dude". I'm not listening to my music through my mobile's speaker (though I did try it and for example "Skylon" sounds wonderful on my Blackberry). Most of the music I own sounds similar and good on headphones, car stereo or on home hi-fi. But the releases I mentioned fail on every sound system I tried unless I start fiddling with EQ. Why? Because they diverge from that optimal sound picture. Have you even bothered to check those CDs I listed? What's up with you that whenever you post something you criticise other people? Chill out... :clapping: And I agree with Basilisk. Production and mastering are two different things. Tristan's first tracks sound like they do because they are composed with crappy sounds, the ones he used like 10 years ago. I think same thing is with Aphex Twin, because as far as I can remember it is well mastered, just awkwardly produced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veracohr Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 Down with the Loudness Wars! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowball Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 I get the chills too everytime I listen to it and yes Snowball it has indeed awesome phat sounds, but come on check out Alien's Land. Probably the track with the worst mastering or maybe mixing. The same with many tracks in Project Genesis. Check out Sunshine. I'm not talking about music quality here, but about sound quality. Not that I care that much like I said. ok elaborate! what exactly is wrong with the mastering? too much bass that kill the highs? give me some more details Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technosomy Posted May 10, 2008 Share Posted May 10, 2008 now now children stop your bickering or your father will stop the car and belt the lot of ye's i am no good with that sound stuff but the one i was most dissapoited was when i got hunab ku - magic universe, sound is real bad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yathabhuta Posted May 10, 2008 Share Posted May 10, 2008 First example which comes in mind is I.F.O. Anyone not agreeing ? agree. I.F.O is also a perfect example that great music hasn´to be superclean/supermastered, to create positve feelings in us. I think, nowdays at the moment, its a crazy clean-mastering hysterical chasing in the studios. Sometimes is it good, like Son-Kite - Colours for example. But to often the "spirituality" in the tracks, albums are forgotten... We have this israeli "psytrance" which are clean, everything is at the same level, top-notch production. I can´t see the spirit in that music. The same phenomena have now also went over to the proggressvie trance scen:(. What happended to Iboga, which have been one of my fav-labels? (this i my humble opinon) I think that I.F.O wouldn´t be better if the mastering was it. Maybe it would be more negative for the album? I think that all mysterious tranceendental, up in the space sounds wouldn`t be present in the same grade, if the mastering were top-notch... Have a nice springday! // Yatha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drosophila Posted May 10, 2008 Share Posted May 10, 2008 Anything with California Sunshine stamped on it. But then again, I'm not sure whether it's just atrocious music, dated sound, or incompetence and/or ability to master properly?Just my thoughts! But I don't think u can blame time here, there has been made way better productions before them But not sure where the main problem is, maybe a combination!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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