Bad reference CDs

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maddrummer

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I know there is a thread on good reference CDs, but what do you consider to be crap. Stuff that you are surprised is called professional. Im just trying to learn stuff. Thanks.......Josh
 
the strokes....:rolleyes: although, i guess they are going for the "low-fi made a few decades ago garage sound practice session" sound.

but really....oasis! I love their songwriting, but have you ever heard 'champange supernova"??

the guitars, bass, drums, and vox blend into one incoherent wave of sound.
 
See this stuff is all subjective so there is no one answer to your question.....everyone has a different take on it and you should decide for yourself what is a good reference CD and you shouldn't neglect to take into account the style of your own music and the capabilities of your own equipment when making that decision.....

Personally, I think that because of the nature of my equipment and the style of music I play that the "Strokes" album is a perfect reference CD for me.......Someone else who has better capabilities and different tastes is bound to disagree with me.....

I wish I could use albums like radio head OK computer, which is IMHO a top notch recording......But since I could never even come close to holding a candle to that album with the equipment I own, I would say that it is a Terrible Reference Cd for me and that the only thing I can get out of it is listening to the levels and placement of the different instruments in the mix......As far as matching that type of sound it is pretty much pointless for me to use as a reference CD......

So go figure...



-nave
 
I thought a reference cd was to get relative levels and not to copy sounds........

Mike
 
mike I think your right for the most part except that it's good to have a reference Cd that you can listen to for the sounds as well......

The frequencies that result from the tonal adjustments and the effects that are used on the different instruments IMHO are a big part of what makes those instruments sit well together in the mix......and that is what I am reffering to when I talked about "sound." I'm not talking about stealing someone's style but more or less about figuring out how to make all the different elements of the mix gell together well which is more than just the casuality of having the levels set properly........:)

when I pick out a reference CD I usually try to see if I can imagine that it was recorded on my set up......If I can't imagine that then I don't really see the point in using it as a reference CD.....However, I'm sure others will disagree with me....

-nave
 
maddrummer said:
I know there is a thread on good reference CDs, but what do you consider to be crap.
Click to expand...
Anything that didn't make my "good reference" list!

;)

Bruce
 
That new Chili Peppers album has got to be the worst mixing/mastering job I have ever heard from a "name" producer. Compare that album to BloodSugarSexMagic and it's hard to believe it's the same band members and the same producer.
 
nave said:
See this stuff is all subjective so there is no one answer to your question.....everyone has a different take on it and you should decide for yourself what is a good reference CD and you shouldn't neglect to take into account the style of your own music and the capabilities of your own equipment when making that decision.....


-nave
Click to expand...

"Dude"....are you 'copying and pasting' from my other thread (on how great is great in the mp3 clinic??):D

Nave...I get a kick out of you!!:p
 
yah mix I basically am cause I think it's pretty much the same issue again :)


-nave
 
Blood sugar sex magic was produced by George Clinton of the Parlement Funkadelic. I dont belive he did the new cd.
 
Any of the Seattle grudge recordings from the 90's.

Good music - shit productions.

barefoot
 
I love U2 but I would have to admit that War has some of the worst drum sounds they have ever done. The whole album is very uneven from an engineering standpoint.
 
Any of the Seattle grudge recordings from the 90's.

Good music - shit productions.

barefoot


See, I think for the music, the production was good on most grunge albums...............Over-production surely would have ruined them as far as I'm concerned...............I liked the production just the way it was on those albums.......and besides not all of the production was bad..........Take for example Soundgarden's "Superunknown" - (at least I think superunknow the one with black hole sun on it and my wave etc.) The production on that album was pretty darn good as far as I'm concerned although it was perhaps the best produced grunge album out of them all...........anywho, it's all subjective like I said....It depends on what you like and what your going for......


-nave
 
unfortunately, Smashing Pumpkins "Siamese Dream" doesn't seem top be a very well produced album..the band is great, they are great musicians..well, atleast billy corgan is, the rest of the band are basically his puppets, besides the drummer....but the album sounds so weak...it is about 6dB's less than the hot cd's of today, not that this matters, because over and over again it has been stressed that the hotter the cd the colder the dynamic range...but the dynamic range is weak too. Butch Vig right? He produced their first album if I correctly recall and it sounded much better..all in all, not a very well engineering job, imo
 
samich.........I agree about Siamese dream and all.... it isn't a very lively mix...although the song writing is great........However, it's not that bad of a reference album when you don't have the greatest equipment.....and judging by your posts where you are looking for "the best" $300 dollar acitive monitor speakers it might not be a bad thing to shoot for that man.........I'm not saying to set your expectations low.....But, I mean just what kind of results are you expecting with out high end stuff man? Im just afraid your gonna spend all this money on gear only just to disappoint your self in the end.....You've got to be realistic....just sometin to think about.......:)


-nave
 
The Nelly Furtado record. I bought that a few days ago because I like a few of the songs I've heard at the gym. I just do not like that slick of a production. It's disconcerting to me. Not that I could make anything that even came close to approaching that level of slickness. I guess it wouldn't make sense to compare my recordings to that record, even as a reverse reference recording.
 
Anything Larry Crane engineered! (you gotta hear it to believe it!)

Ed
 
nave - i don't get disappointed with my mixes, i get what i put into it..i never expect to get better results just because i have more expensive gear...i also wouldn't shoot for Siamese Dreams sonic quality, because it isn't that good, plus i don't use 30 + tracks of guitar on each song... i would suggest just finding a cd that has the sonic qualities you desire to achieve and go for it. i try to be realistic, that is why i use Radiohead cd's as reference cd's, especially "Kid A" and "Amnesiac," because they sound very good yet still hold of an amateurish appeal, i think mainly because Thom Yorke did much of the writing and producing. I just want my cd's to be loud and balanced sonically while maintaining my amateur soul.
 
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