Red Mosquito

McParadigm wrote:

ItsOkay wrote:Could anybody fill me in on why this is? Why the mastering which reduces the dynamics?

Historically, the mastering process was all about taking a bunch of songs that had been cut on separate rolls of tape and preparing a finished album that could be sent for lacquer cutting. This might involve any number of events...making sure the album's volume was consistent from song to song, cleaning up any potential errors, splicing two takes together on a rare occasion to remove mistakes or recording artifacts, and working with the artist or producer to finalize a sequence and sonic style. Occasionally, you might find yourself adding additional reverb or changing levels to bring a part to the front or otherwise...if you are going as far back as the 60's, mastering engineers had a lot of freedom to help sculpt the final sound of a record.

In the age of protools and pop industry, mastering has largely become the act of maximizing the commercial viability of your recording. Getting the volume to a competitive level...no small task, these days...employing stereo wideners or cutting down prominent frequencies. This last act in particular allows you to boost volume without introducing a lot of distortion or audible clipping...but it also changes the sonic nature of the total recording, by gutting some of the most influential tones and sounds in the previously-created mix. Guitar tones are damaged, vocals begin to sound brittle or tin canned, drums become muddy, and any number of weird ass shit can happen to the bass.

But thank god you got it loud enough, I guess.

Fuck You Jobu wrote:

stip wrote:

southp wrote:On an optimistic note...It's a great time to be a PJ fan!
I was worried about the 82 day countdown seaming like a long time, but new stuff is happening every day.

It also helps when everyone in the office is away on summer vacation and I'm left alone to slack off.

counting that soundcheck song we've had 6 songs in 2 weeks.

6? This thread moves really really fast....

What am I missing?

MYM
Lightning Bolt,
Future Days
Cold Confessions
Let it ride

And how do I get it??

ItsOkay wrote:

McParadigm wrote:

ItsOkay wrote:Could anybody fill me in on why this is? Why the mastering which reduces the dynamics?

Historically, the mastering process was all about taking a bunch of songs that had been cut on separate rolls of tape and preparing a finished album that could be sent for lacquer cutting. This might involve any number of events...making sure the album's volume was consistent from song to song, cleaning up any potential errors, splicing two takes together on a rare occasion to remove mistakes or recording artifacts, and working with the artist or producer to finalize a sequence and sonic style. Occasionally, you might find yourself adding additional reverb or changing levels to bring a part to the front or otherwise...if you are going as far back as the 60's, mastering engineers had a lot of freedom to help sculpt the final sound of a record.

In the age of protools and pop industry, mastering has largely become the act of maximizing the commercial viability of your recording. Getting the volume to a competitive level...no small task, these days...employing stereo wideners or cutting down prominent frequencies. This last act in particular allows you to boost volume without introducing a lot of distortion or audible clipping...but it also changes the sonic nature of the total recording, by gutting some of the most influential tones and sounds in the previously-created mix. Guitar tones are damaged, vocals begin to sound brittle or tin canned, drums become muddy, and any number of weird ass shit can happen to the bass.

But thank god you got it loud enough, I guess.

Thanks for the explanation McP. Wouldn't the artists, who make music for a living, not like this distortion of their sound? And is it really all for the sake of consistent loudness?

I'm sure there are smart and successful people that do this, but it just makes no sense to me. It seems so obviously detrimental to music. And wouldn't better music make more money anyways (for the most part)?

Lots of questions.

Monkey_Driven wrote:The last half of Let it Ride is the Pearl Jam I love.

Fuck You Jobu wrote:

stip wrote:

southp wrote:On an optimistic note...It's a great time to be a PJ fan!
I was worried about the 82 day countdown seaming like a long time, but new stuff is happening every day.

It also helps when everyone in the office is away on summer vacation and I'm left alone to slack off.

counting that soundcheck song we've had 6 songs in 2 weeks.

6? This thread moves really really fast....

What am I missing?

MYM
Lightning Bolt,
Future Days
Cold Confessions
Let it ride

And how do I get it??

Fuck You Jobu wrote:

stip wrote:

southp wrote:On an optimistic note...It's a great time to be a PJ fan!
I was worried about the 82 day countdown seaming like a long time, but new stuff is happening every day.

It also helps when everyone in the office is away on summer vacation and I'm left alone to slack off.

counting that soundcheck song we've had 6 songs in 2 weeks.

6? This thread moves really really fast....

What am I missing?

MYM
Lightning Bolt,
Future Days
Cold Confessions
Let it ride

And how do I get it??

elliseamos wrote:

Fuck You Jobu wrote:

stip wrote:

southp wrote:On an optimistic note...It's a great time to be a PJ fan!
I was worried about the 82 day countdown seaming like a long time, but new stuff is happening every day.

It also helps when everyone in the office is away on summer vacation and I'm left alone to slack off.

counting that soundcheck song we've had 6 songs in 2 weeks.

6? This thread moves really really fast....

What am I missing?

MYM
Lightning Bolt,
Future Days
Cold Confessions
Let it ride

And how do I get it??

apparently a "new" song was soundchecked, but i haven't see/heard anything that would suggest it was anything other than one of the 5 you've listed.

elliseamos wrote:

Fuck You Jobu wrote:

stip wrote:

southp wrote:On an optimistic note...It's a great time to be a PJ fan!
I was worried about the 82 day countdown seaming like a long time, but new stuff is happening every day.

It also helps when everyone in the office is away on summer vacation and I'm left alone to slack off.

counting that soundcheck song we've had 6 songs in 2 weeks.

6? This thread moves really really fast....

What am I missing?

MYM
Lightning Bolt,
Future Days
Cold Confessions
Let it ride

And how do I get it??

apparently a "new" song was soundchecked, but i haven't see/heard anything that would suggest it was anything other than one of the 5 you've listed.

ItsOkay wrote:

Fuck You Jobu wrote:

stip wrote:

southp wrote:On an optimistic note...It's a great time to be a PJ fan!
I was worried about the 82 day countdown seaming like a long time, but new stuff is happening every day.

It also helps when everyone in the office is away on summer vacation and I'm left alone to slack off.

counting that soundcheck song we've had 6 songs in 2 weeks.

6? This thread moves really really fast....

What am I missing?

MYM
Lightning Bolt,
Future Days
Cold Confessions
Let it ride

And how do I get it??

The last one is the soundcheck song leak from London. Five minutes of a tantalizingly poor quality recording, the music of which has been compared to everything from Garden to Sleight of Hand to Falling Down.

Fuck You Jobu wrote:

ItsOkay wrote:

Fuck You Jobu wrote:

stip wrote:

southp wrote:On an optimistic note...It's a great time to be a PJ fan!
I was worried about the 82 day countdown seaming like a long time, but new stuff is happening every day.

It also helps when everyone in the office is away on summer vacation and I'm left alone to slack off.

counting that soundcheck song we've had 6 songs in 2 weeks.

6? This thread moves really really fast....

What am I missing?

MYM
Lightning Bolt,
Future Days
Cold Confessions
Let it ride

And how do I get it??

The last one is the soundcheck song leak from London. Five minutes of a tantalizingly poor quality recording, the music of which has been compared to everything from Garden to Sleight of Hand to Falling Down.

Thx for all 3 replies. Wow, it's almost like a Chat instead of a forum.

Even with the poor quality, where can I find this?

lecherouslittlestump wrote:Leaked soundcheck song was confirmed to be Slipstream, IIRC

ItsOkay wrote:

lecherouslittlestump wrote:Leaked soundcheck song was confirmed to be Slipstream, IIRC

When was this? Link?

BurtReynolds wrote:

ItsOkay wrote:

lecherouslittlestump wrote:Leaked soundcheck song was confirmed to be Slipstream, IIRC

When was this? Link?

he's a lying bastard.

Monkey_Driven wrote:The last half of Let it Ride is the Pearl Jam I love.

stupidmop wrote:So they should just stop mastering their songs. Go rustic.