Music mastering and recording quality

Gazzip

Well-known member
Jan 15, 2011
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I have just purchased Education, Education, Education & War byThe. Kaiser Chiefs and played it for the first time on my system. Either my HiFi is broken or this is the worst recording I have ever come across. Has anybody else got this album and noticed the same thing?
 
Gazzip said:
I have just purchased Education, Education, Education & War byThe. Kaiser Chiefs and played it for the first time on my system. Either my HiFi is broken or this is the worst recording I have ever come across. Has anybody else got this album and noticed the same thing?

I have not got this album but I am playing it on spotify on the computer as I type and I am not surprised that it sounds so rough on your system !

It is compressed to hell and even on my computer speakers you can hear it smashing into the limiter and being wound back , it sound like there is a large dropout whenever there is a hint of a loud transient , but then there are no transients because everything is at the same level !

It is a crying shame because I quite like it even though it is not my usual type of listening material .

So no your system is not broken , far from it in fact 🙂
 
The Factory Door - the first track off the album.

Yep. ****** all dynamic range there. No clipping though.

TheFactoryGates_zpse2d3c67c.jpg
 
Just had a listen. To be honest I didn't think the production was too bad...til I got to 'Misery Company'. Still, it doesn't seem to quite drop to recent Coldplay unlistenability. If you're a Spotify user, try listening to the ironically named 'Hurts Like Heaven' from Mylo Xyloto. I've tried three times and given up every time. And seeing that I like to listen to albums in track order and that's only track 2 (after a 42 second track 1), I haven't got very far.
 
It's not compressed but intentionally gritty, punkish, just raw. I'm enjoying it. :rockout:

Love the title coming from Blair's 1997 slogan - Education, education, education. He said those would be his priorities but apparently they changed a bit.

Steve thanks for the snapshot. Much appreciated! :cheers:
 
Thumbs up for Employment. :bounce: No loudness on the vinyl editions. The CD of 2014 album is way worse than the vinyl most likely.

Still enjoyable though. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPipMQvKgKk
 
Vladimir said:
It's not compressed but intentionally gritty, punkish, just raw.

Not tried he vinyl but the production on the CD and download is an overcompressed overproduced mess, designed for the ear-bud generation. There's nothing raw about it.
 
If only all recording and mastering engineers were as skilled and took as much care with the music he records as this chap who is legend of the recording world in his own time .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NieKMdsOOj4

Did I mention that he will only use Electrocompaniet amplifiers when recording and takes them with him to all his recording projects around the world ? 😉 :grin: