How important is a good recorded music to you?

[steve_1979]

And I totally disagree. I have CDs I no longer listen to because the quality is so bad.

The last Coldplay album was awfully recorded so I didn't buy it.

The only way we will stop the madness with highly compressed, often clipped CDs is to refuse to buy them.

What about the millions of people who don't know or care about sound quality? They'll just keep buying it anyway. Audiophiles only represent a tiny portion of the music buying public.

 

[bigfish786]

i'll give californication a spin tomorrow, i've not listened to it for a while, i'll see what it sounds like on the rega.

 

[steve_1979]

i'll give californication a spin tomorrow, i've not listened to it for a while, i'll see what it sounds like on the rega.

I spent a year listening to it on really rubbish quality car speakers when I travelled around Australia in 2000 and it sounded fine. When I got home and played it on a decent hifi system I thought that the speakers were broken it sounded so bad. I took a while before I realized that it was just a distorted and badly clipped recording.

 

[MakkaPakka]

I agree. The Red Hot Chili Peppers album Californication is rubbish quality but I love the music and have listened to it literally thousands of times.

There's also an illegal 'pre-mastered' studio version of it available on the internet with more dynamic range and less clipping. The quality's still not great but it's much better than the CD/LP versions. I wonder if the band deliberately slipped the pre-mastered version out on the internet themselves because they were so dissapointed with what the record label had done to their music (the Californication album has a reputation for being the worst victim of the loudness wars ever).

'Rubbish quality' doesn't come anywhere close. It is offensively bad. I too like the music but I tried listening to it at a decent volume recently. I got as far as track six, felt a headache coming on, and just couldn't take it any more. It would sound fine on my phone of course.

If RHCP were that unhappy with it they wouldn't have used Rick Rubin for their subsequent albums which - whilst not having the same level of clipping - are also way too loud.

The irony of course is that Rick Rubin also did Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik which sounds very, very good.

 

[richardw42]

I've never really been too bothered about recording quality unless it was really bad. I am now though and really appreciate the good stuff.

I always thought Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime was good, but when I heard the remsater it was like a new album.

 

[richardw42]

I've never really been too bothered about recording quality unless it was really bad. I am now though and really appreciate the good stuff.

I always thought Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime was good, but when I heard the remsater it was like a new album.

 

[bigfish786]

looks like i'm going to spend a couple of hours listening to cr@p recordings of 'chilli's tomorrow! can't wait. :dance:

swear filter in full effect. c.r.a.p recordings, not rubbish!!

 

[bigfish786]

i had my first listen of "mindcrime" yesterday. after owning it for umpteen years and never finding time to play it!

thought it was a class album.

 

[MakkaPakka]

Rick Rubin is widely acknowledged to be one of the worst offenders in the loudness war. See here:

Though Ulrich defended Death Magnetic's sound, he has not denied the band's aggressive approach to mastering. "It's 2008, and that's how we make records," he said. "[Producer] Rick Rubin's whole thing is to try and get it to sound lively, to get it sound loud, to get it to sound exciting, to get it to jump out of the speakers

 

[manicm]

Rick Rubin is widely acknowledged to be one of the worst offenders in the loudness war. See here:

Though Ulrich defended Death Magnetic's sound, he has not denied the band's aggressive approach to mastering. "It's 2008, and that's how we make records," he said. "[Producer] Rick Rubin's whole thing is to try and get it to sound lively, to get it sound loud, to get it to sound exciting, to get it to jump out of the speakers

I agree, he's flavour of the day as producer, but as my ex would attest he managed to screw up Josh Grobahn. He's a one-dimensional producer, still I'd like to hear that new Kanye West album.

 

[matthewpiano]

Have to say I like Rubin's work with Johnny Cash. Those American Recordings albums are superb. I like what he did with Diamond too.

 

[steve_1979]

'Rubbish quality' doesn't come anywhere close. It is offensively bad. I too like the music but I tried listening to it at a decent volume recently. I got as far as track six, felt a headache coming on, and just couldn't take it any more. It would sound fine on my phone of course.

If RHCP were that unhappy with it they wouldn't have used Rick Rubin for their subsequent albums which - whilst not having the same level of clipping - are also way too loud.

The irony of course is that Rick Rubin also did Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik which sounds very, very good.

I doubt the RHCP or Rick Rubin have much say in the matter. It's the record label which holds the purse strings and makes the decision on how it's mastered. I've read that the people who do the mastering hate producing music with limited dynamic range and clipping but if they don't do as they're told they're out of a job and there's plenty of other people willing to to it.

The pre-mastered studio version is worth tracking down if you can find it but it's only availabile by illegal download though. There's a couple of good unreleased tracks on there too which never made it to the final album.

 

[bigfish786]

well, i listened to Californication today. yeah, that does sound pretty bad. still not as bad as St Anger by Metallica.

i've put Blood,Sugar,Sex,Magic on, to test, and that is a vast improvement.

:clap:

 

[steve_1979]

well, i listened to Californication today. yeah, that does sound pretty bad. still not as bad as St Anger by Metallica.

i've put Blood,Sugar,Sex,Magic on, to test, and that is a vast improvement.

:clap:

I found Blood, Sugar, Sex Magic a little bit trebley. Much better sound quality than their new albums though.

 

[Helmut80]

i refuse to let recording quality dictate what I listen to. I'd choose iPad and a pair of headphones over having to listen to nothing but Diana bloody Krall for the rest of my life.

 

[richardw42]

well, i listened to Californication today. yeah, that does sound pretty bad. still not as bad as St Anger by Metallica.

i've put Blood,Sugar,Sex,Magic on, to test, and that is a vast improvement.

:clap:

i was was going to post about St Anger too.

The worst tracks are Frantic & Invisible Kid. Listening to that album used to really p*** me off. Now I rarely do.

 

[lindsayt]

Quite agree. The amount and the genre of music I tend to buy these days is entirely driven by reviews of recording / pressing quality.

The saddest thing I've read in a while, mate.

I was thinking exactly that.

Enjoying the music is all that matters. A good recording helps that I agree but a bad recording can still get me purring

I buy and listen to anything and everything. The only thing that stops me from buying anything is if it's too expensive - over £1 for a CD, £2 for vinyl - or if I think I've got it already.

It's funny how some bands can put out mediocre recordings as well as good recordings. Red Hot Chilli Peppers Eskimo is a great track. Great music and well recorded. If I can find my copy I'll be playing it at Scalford on Sunday.

 

[steve_1979]

If anyone's interested here's a comparison between the CD and the pre-mastered studio versions of the track 'Parallel Universe' from the RHCP's Californication album.

Pre-mastered studio version (clipping shown in red)

Retail CD version (clipping shown in red)

:O

Retail CD version (clipping not shown)

 

[altruistic.lemon]

So? Still a great album which should be in anyone's collectio.

 

[steve_1979]

So?

It sounds horribly distorted and there's no need for it to be like that (thank you loudness wars).

Still a great album which should be in anyone's collectio.

Totally agree. One of my top ten albums of all time.

 

[steve_1979]

Here's a picture taken from Windows Media Player when playing the track 'Around the World' from the Californication album.

Remind you of anything?

 

[altruistic.lemon]

Yes, but that's how it is and how we enjoy it. Imagine how sterile and unexciting it would sound without that distortion. The chillies aren't about sonic perfection.

 

[bigfish786]

they could have been though. isn't that the point? they make great sounding, interesting music, so shouldn't we, the consumer hear it at its best?

 

[lindsayt]

Retail CD version (clipping shown in red)

:O

Sometimes in hi-fi a graph will tell you all you need to know.

 

[steve_1979]

Yes, but that's how it is and how we enjoy it. Imagine how sterile and unexciting it would sound without that distortion. The chillies aren't about sonic perfection.

I've heard the pre-mastered version without the distortion. It's much better.

The clipping on the CD version sounds horrible and distorted, it's like you're listening through a cheap phone speaker with the volume turned up too loud. The pre-mastered version is much clearer and having more dynamic range gives it more impact and energy. It sounds more lively and enjoyable.

When you hear them both side by side the CD version is muffled and lifeless by comparison.