What's the worst professional mainstream mix you've heard

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I was always disappointed with Zep's In through the Out Door, in particular Bonham's dull snare sound.

Also Aerosmith's Toys in the Attic always had a muddy quality to it, although being in the days of LPs it could have been a bad pressing job
 
donkeystyle said:
just a side note......did you know that fletcher.......the fletcher that posts here, worked on that album? He said something about it on here once, then i noticed in the linear notes that he did. I think it's cool that guys like him come to this site.
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I know it was done at Blue Meanie and they have good equipment, but I didn't know Fletcher was directly involved with that one. I like the songs on the album, but thought the sound was too much guitar, too little snare, too much cymbals and too tubby sounding.

Maybe it was a crap mastering job, I dunno. But I do know it was pretty much 100% analog, and the end product didn't sound great... further citing the worthlessness of the analog is inherently better than digital recording debate.
 
I was always disappointed with Zep's In through the Out Door, in particular Bonham's dull snare sound.
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Agreed. And they totally buried Plant's voice on at least half the tracks (maybe not such a bad thing by the time of that album, especially considering his witless lyrics). But I always liked "Carouselambra" and its cheesy late '70s synth sounds. (That was the only studio song on which Page used the Gibson doubleneck; guitar geek trivia.)

Bad mixing: definitely "Justice," and I seem to remember being disappointed with the Roth-era Van Halen, particularly the bottom end. I think they improved things when Hagar showed up, but that's when I tuned out. Almost anything that came out in the late '80s could be criticized for one problem or another, though at the time lots of that technology sure did seem cool! 20/20 hindsight and all that.

Bad mastering: all the original Zeppelin CD issues were atrocious. And one of Gillian Welch's albums, maybe "Soul Journey," has a problem with clipping I think. You could argue that every CD is poorly mastered these days, with all the squashing and -0.05 dB normalizing going on.

On the positive side, for good mixes I always liked the incredibly cheesy early '80s sounds of Men At Work's "Business as Usual." Go ahead, laugh! Joni Mitchell's mid-'70s stuff always sounds good (especially with Jaco on bass). And one of the best recorded and mixed albums of all time in my opinion is Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, "For the Last Time," from the early '70s. You're in the room with that band, and that band cooks.


Joe R.
 
Cloneboy Studio said:
I know it was done at Blue Meanie and they have good equipment, but I didn't know Fletcher was directly involved with that one. I like the songs on the album, but thought the sound was too much guitar, too little snare, too much cymbals and too tubby sounding.

Maybe it was a crap mastering job, I dunno. But I do know it was pretty much 100% analog, and the end product didn't sound great... further citing the worthlessness of the analog is inherently better than digital recording debate.
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I don't know if it was mastering or not either. i only listened to the cd a couple times because i really, really hate the songs. i'll have to pull it out and see if maybe i was mistaken on the quality, or if we just have different tastes. I think you have to agree that it sounds better than the full collapse though.....even though I think the songs on the full collapse were better.
 
After reading some of the first posts on this thread noting Eminem/Dre stuff as bad, i really think Em's first 2 albums are great. Sharp and Bassy. 'I just dont give a fuck' on his first album (not even sure if Dre was around at the time he laid that down...) is great. Trippy backing track and exciting production and atmospheic vocals.
 
I think for many of the bands and albums mentioned, it's a personal taste more than a bad mix. I think Damien Rice's album was one of the best I've heard, and the fact that his performances had "mistakes" lent a frailty and honesty to the songs that wouldn't be there if it was recorded in a pro studio with a million dollar budget.
Same with NIN and the Fragile. Every element is there for a reason. The guitars sound buzzy? Well, they were recorded direct to board, most likely using EQ as distortion, and somehow they don't make my ears bleed like when I try it. It may not be every guitarists ideal sound, but he chose to do it, and some people like it, some don't. It's not bad mixing, just personal preference.

On the other hand, I'd have to say the Digital Ruin album Dwelling in the Out was pretty poorly mixed, and Lamb of God's As the Palaces Burn just sucked.
 
More crap mastering jobs come from the older cd's from The Cure. Head On The Door, Disintegration, Pornography, Kiss Me x 3, they sound really weak. I know it was the time and they were just representing the vinyl mixes, but they just sound bad when put next the newer albums, or even the remastered versions on the greatest hits CD.
 
Cloneboy Studio said:
I know it was done at Blue Meanie and they have good equipment, but I didn't know Fletcher was directly involved with that one. I like the songs on the album, but thought the sound was too much guitar, too little snare, too much cymbals and too tubby sounding.

Maybe it was a crap mastering job, I dunno. But I do know it was pretty much 100% analog, and the end product didn't sound great... further citing the worthlessness of the analog is inherently better than digital recording debate.
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i listened to it again. it doesn't sound as cool as i remember it. the first song sounds like ass. the rest of the record sounds better, but not much better. i read the linear notes, and it appears that fletcher engineered, or tuned the drums, it's pretty vague. it seems like the drum sounds are good, but terribly mixed. and the hihat seems un-naturally loud. I really hate the way they eq'd the vocals. they turned up a TON of high end. there were a couple songs that i liked the mix on. signals over the air especially sounds good, even though i think it's the weakest track songwriting wise on the album. And i realised that i really do like the music a lot........the lyrics are just so lame that i can't stand to listen to the record. I also really like between rupture and rapture.......or rapture and rupture.....not sure exactly what it's called.....anyway, i think it was one of the better songs and mixes on the cd.

I now agree with you about it being a terrible pro recording. I genuinely think that a lot of people here could have mixed it better.
 
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donkeystyle said:
I now agree with you about it being a terrible pro recording. I genuinely think that a lot of people here could have mixed it better.
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It certainly could have been a lot better. Everything seems so... miscalculated. Like someone was *really* trying to be impressive. What I hate the most is that it sounds forced and sterile.

Full Collapse, while sounding definately "indie" in its production values at least sounded raw enough to be cool.
 
Cloneboy Studio said:
Full Collapse, while sounding definately "indie" in its production values at least sounded raw enough to be cool.
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Full collapse is SOSOSO compressed! At the time it was probably the punchiest album i'd ever heard. I think that's why all the indie kids loved it so much.
 
I think you guys who are slamming Metallica's "And Justice for all" are nuts! I thought it was their best drum sound ever, although the bass lines were completely indistinguishable. If anything, I thought the production on "Ride the Lightning" was horrible. Muddy and way too much midrange. I have nothing to say about their newer stuff because anything after the black album I no longer consider Metallica anyhow...

Another album that had good songwriting but bad production was Black Sabbath's "Born Again". Ian Gillan himself who (unfortuneately) sang on the album said he puked when he heard the mix, then he saw the album cover and puked again.

Imagine how great that album could've been if Ronnie James Dio stuck around to do it and if they had a real producer.Obviously I'm not the only one who thinks the songwriting was at least good - countless bands including Guns & Roses have ripped off riffs from it.....
 
NIN. The perfect drug sounds nasty production wise. Probaly the tracking and the mastering that let it down not so much the mixing. Trent prob produced that ttrack a good while back when not as experienced. Brilliant tune though.
 
dang i havn't read this post in a while, so i don't know where we're at now... ha.

but, back to eminem/Dre:

Encore is terrible, I agree. I think everyone agrees with that one. There is one track I really like on it, "Like Toy Soldiers" - awesome rhymes, awesome beat. Well done. The rest of the album is a joke. ha.
 
quadrajet said:
Another album that had good songwriting but bad production was Black Sabbath's "Born Again". Ian Gillan himself who (unfortuneately) sang on the album said he puked when he heard the mix, then he saw the album cover and puked again.
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So you're the other guy who bought that album.
There's some creepy shit on there...

I'm surprised Ian didn't puke from screaming so damned much...
 
Mr. Moon said:
AMEN!!!!

...And I thought I was the only one who felt this way. :rolleyes:

-mr moon
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Probably all of us who were into it at the time feel that way!
 
quadrajet said:
I think you guys who are slamming Metallica's "And Justice for all" are nuts! I thought it was their best drum sound ever, although the bass lines were completely indistinguishable.
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Heh. To each their own.

The bass lines aren't indistinguishable--there ARE NO BASSLINES on the album at all! Hetfield and Ulrich muted them to spite Newsted because of Cliff dying. They have gone on record about this. Single stupidest act of self-sabotage a band has ever committed.
 
I'd have to say the worst mixed song I've ever heard is Smashing Pumpkins' "Jelly Belly". I LOVE LOVE LOVE the band and this song, but for some reason this mix is just so muddy. I don't understand why. You can't hear Billy very well, no part really stands out and it really feels like you have to strain to hear anything but the low frequencies in Chamberlain's (one of the greatest drummers ever) drums.

Can anyone speculate on this. If you're familiar with the song, take a listen. What sounds wrong and what would you change? Seriously, I'm learning myself. I know it sounds bad but I don't know what I'd do.

I suppose helpful examples using songs I'm familiar with is a great place to start.

Take Care,
Ender
www.enderhq.com

PS - as an aside, my first "single" from my new album is up at www.enderhq.com if anyone is interested. check the blog entry for Feb 14.
 
You are right on; that's what I was talking about.
The guitars have that dang undefined muddy BigMuff or whatever on them, the bass could use some EQ or something to make it a bit more defined, and the drums are just plain awesome (but could use some EQ on the kick probably). My band covers this song, which I can almost guarantee NO ONE else does. Everynowandthen my drummer (who is pretty awesome) fudges up that drum break in the middle and all heck breaks loose for a second or two. Fun

I think that whole CD could've been mastered/mixed better, although it didn't bother me back when I first heard it and didn't know better. I guess they didn't make it to impress audio geeks!
 
I just bought a cd from 'Jet'. I just so happen to play it in my studio......man.....it really sucks......bad......Cd didn't say where it was recorded, probably a wise move....lol.
 
Just listened to one of the benchmarks of recording...Kind Of Blue by Miles Davis. I believe this was recorded around 1959? Anyway, with the reverence that is placed upon this landmark recording, I hate the fact that Coltrane's and Adderly's saxes are up front and in your face, but when it comes time for the piano solo it sounds like it was in the back of the room.
A lot of the earlier jazz recordings have that problem. With all due respect, I don't like it and find it short sighted of the legendary engineers who worked on these recordings in their early years.

Terry
 
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