Bad reference CDs

  • Thread starter Thread starter maddrummer
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Hey Sonusman

Have you heard the Go-Betweens record, or Quasi's "Featuring Birds?" Or Sleater-Kinney's "All Hands On the Bad One?" I love the way those records sound. Am I understanding you correctly: you think that Larry Crane-engineered records are the ultimate example of bad recording?

If so, you are the least cool Portlander I know. :rolleyes:

I'm just joking, btw.
 
Cominginsecond - I agree with you a bit on that Furtada issue. That album is almost too "polished" too be a good reference ´cus one can hardly do anything compared to it. I found myself thinking "how did they do that?" a couple of times and it get depressing after awhile...
 
Sometimes I wonder if you could get a reference disk (un-mastered)from a mastering engineer who recommends it from his perspective prior to being mastered. Most of everyones reference disks are "post mastered" commercially available disks. Not exactly what the engineer did is it? So is the goal of the mixing engineer to replicate to the best of his ability, with nearfields and mix specific gear, a recording that sounds mastered? If I remember correctly, the environments and equipment required for mastering is different than that of the mixing engineer. Nearfields and HiFi Mastering Speakers are at the opposite sides of the frequency response curve, two completely different animals. Hmmmmmm, I think something is begging to be asked! But I can't put my finger on it...

Peace,
Dennis
 
Albums I consider to be "Bad" sounding...

Matchbox 20, Debut...
U2, The unforgetable Fire

Other than those 2.. nothing else really "stands out".... I hear lots of shitty stuff, but those 2 are awful in my opinion..

Joe
 
atomictoyz said:
If I remember correctly, the environments and equipment required for mastering is different than that of the mixing engineer. Nearfields and HiFi Mastering Speakers are at the opposite sides of the frequency response curve, two completely different animals. Hmmmmmm, I think something is begging to be asked! But I can't put my finger on it...
Click to expand...
Why don't we mix and master with the same setup?

Is this the question you were thinking of? It's one I often wonder.

Some say nearfields give a "magnifying glass" perspective on your tracks. Maybe so.... so use them for tracking. But mixing should be done with broad band, wide dynamics monitors IMHO.... like those used for mastering. We're trying to hear how everything fits together for gods sake... not editing individual tracks.

barefoot
 
what about some old metal?

Hi guys, our 80's metal encyclopedia is here ;)

Anyway, here some very bad sounding productions:
Venom-Welcome to Hell
Jaguar-Power Games

van Halen-Van Halen; this one needs some explanation:
There isn't much of the frequency band used, only 1 or 2 guitars (with little low, and very harsh highs), a bass, some drums and David Lee Roth...the whole sound is too thin. I love the music on it, but I would do it differently.
Another big point, these recordings were made, after there were made some very clear/clean/full/transparent recordings (Pink Floyd, Boston, and for the ones who know: The 1st album of the NWoBHM band AngelWitch...this album is from 1980, with almost the superb sound of 1986's Metallica's "Master of Puppets", which is a milestone on itself in metal-productions...
So, good productions were already possible, i guess Van Halen needed an aggressive sound, and translated that to harsh guitars...

cheerz
 
Speaking of the metal days....

Metallica - And Justice For All

I think this is a good example of a creative production error, not for lack of equipment, resources or time but rather because it was trying so hard to be a dry, tight, multi-billion-layer album that it over compensated, and ended up thin, weak and ultimately fatiguing to listen to. Wicked solos, though...
 
P Hallin said:
Cominginsecond - I agree with you a bit on that Furtada issue. That album is almost too "polished" too be a good reference ´cus one can hardly do anything compared to it. I found myself thinking "how did they do that?" a couple of times and it get depressing after awhile...
Click to expand...


i've never listened to it that closely - but wouldn't that be true of most commerical pop music?
I don't like the fact that she is being credited as the big "producer" of the album and such.

Word producer is thrown around too much. Engineers made that album what it is.
 
I like that he played guitar herself on the album. I heard she didnt think she was good enough but was talked in too it. And it sounds good to me...
 
Furtado?

Yeah...I'd do her....

without limiting, maybe some soft clipping to get some 'ass-saturation' outta her. ;) :p

I would compress Minogue heavily though. To squeeze some dynamica outta her.

anyway, back serious.... most pop-albums are nowadays overproduced. I like some of the more raw 70's stuff, like Sly and the family Stone...

about ..justice for all, well the drums sound like cardboxes, bassguitar. bassguitar? I don't hear no bassguitar. They have a new player? Ah...did they LET the man play on this album?
Black album sounds better though. Master of puppets rules. period.

cheerz
 
Re: Speaking of the metal days....

Doctor Biscuits said:
Metallica - And Justice For All

I think this is a good example of a creative production error, not for lack of equipment, resources or time but rather because it was trying so hard to be a dry, tight, multi-billion-layer album that it over compensated, and ended up thin, weak and ultimately fatiguing to listen to. Wicked solos, though...
Click to expand...

Yeah, I agree...

I don't know about you... But I cannot hear a bass guitar anywhere on that album....

....Joe
 
Ditto for "And Justice."

As far as the worst reference CDs, I think a few of my self-produced CDs would fit the bill nicely. :D
 
U2, The unforgetable Fire

VOXVENDOR said:
Albums I consider to be "Bad" sounding...

Matchbox 20, Debut...
U2, The unforgetable Fire

Other than those 2.. nothing else really "stands out".... I hear lots of shitty stuff, but those 2 are awful in my opinion..

Joe
Click to expand...

Really, you think TUF is crap? I agree that it sounds odd, but at the same time it has a haunting character, something nostalgic, that chills my soul. It sound like the ocean in the winter. The title song makes me drop a little tear every now and then.
 
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