tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83810028474664083532024-03-29T00:14:54.017-07:00Mastering Media BlogMy personal take on being a Mastering Engineer (with a few hints and tips), Music, DVD and Blu Ray Authoring, the CD Loudness Wars, Surround-Sound and anything else that pops into my head...Ian Shepherdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924989200562398660noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381002847466408353.post-10684109905964484102011-09-28T03:05:00.000-07:002012-01-05T14:02:13.014-08:00Mastering Media Has Moved<a href="http://mastering-media.co.uk/" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 450px; height: 72px;" src="http://mastering-media.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/MM_banner_text2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />You may have noticed I haven't posted here in a while. That's because I started this blog several years ago, when I still worked at SRT. But times move on, and I now run my own mastering company - <a href="http://mastering-media.co.uk/">Mastering Media Ltd</a>.<div><br /></div><div>The <a href="http://productionadvice.co.uk/">Production Advice</a> website and blog has also proven to be highly successful, and my readers there are very interested in my perspective on mastering too. </div><div><br /></div><div>So, I've decided to make it official - from now on all my posts will be there.</div><div><br /></div><div>But it's still business as usual - I'm still posting regularly, and about all the same issues (plus some broader topics) - here are some recent popular posts you might be interested in, for example:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://productionadvice.co.uk/mastered-for-itunes/">Mastered for iTunes – sonic revelation, or meaningless sales hype ?</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://productionadvice.co.uk/level-matching/">How to level-match your music</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://productionadvice.co.uk/loudness-war-dynamic-range/">STOP PRESS – Why the Loudness War HASN’T reduced ‘dynamic range’ !</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://productionadvice.co.uk/how-to-make-your-music-loud/">How to master a song loud - and the price you pay</a></div><div><br /></div><div>So please, head on over and say hello, if you haven't already ! Feel free to sign up for the <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/ProductionAdvice">RSS feed</a>, and if you'd like to get the <a href="http://productionadvice.co.uk/free-mastering-interview/">newsletter</a>, there's a free interview with me, all about... mastering.</div><div><br /></div><div>You can also connect with me on <a href="http://twitter.com/ianshepherd">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://facebook.com/shepherd.ian">Facebook</a> or <a href="http://gplus.to/ianshepherd">Google+</a></div><div><br /></div><div>See you soon !</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Oh, and PS - I never wrote my follow-up post, but the <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2009/08/beatles-digitally-remastered-hopes.html">Beatles Remastered</a> box-set sounds <b>fantastic</b> - I'm glad to say my predictions were spot on ! Get hold of it to hear a masterclass in re-mastering :-)</i></div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Ian Shepherdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924989200562398660noreply@blogger.com118tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381002847466408353.post-52029993546798573212009-09-15T08:16:00.000-07:002010-06-16T03:44:51.785-07:00Why Mastering Sucks in the 21st Century<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/21222992@N00/2964971937/"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 334px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3029/2964971937_14f48710fb.jpg" border="0" alt="Image by Ennor - Click here for more info" /></a><br />This is a rant. If you don't like rants, don't read it.<br /><br />The first argument goes like this: <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"></p><ol><li>Mastering is just a matter of balancing tracks with each other using EQ, compression and limiting</li><li>I can get mastering EQ and compression plugins free with a pint of beer, nowadays</li><li>Why would I pay someone else to do my mastering ?</li></ol><p></p><div><br /></div>The second argument goes like this: <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"></p><ol><li>No-body buys CDs any more</li><li>Nobody listens to albums any more</li><li>Everybody uses mp3 players and crappy earbuds nowadays</li><li>Why would I pay someone else to do my mastering ?</li></ol><p></p><div><br /></div> The third argument goes like this:<ol><li>I sent my last CD off to be mastered, and it came back sounding no different</li><li>I sent my last CD off to be mastered, and it came back sounding the same but a bit louder</li><li>I sent my last CD off to be mastered, and it came back sounding absolutely terrible</li><li>Why would I pay someone else to do my mastering ?</li></ol><p></p><br />Case closed, right ?<div><br /><p></p> When I started out as a trainee mastering engineer, over 15 years ago, one of the toughest jobs was explaining to people what mastering actually <i>was. </i>In those days it truly was a dark art, costing you hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gear just to obtain admission to the club. Nowadays you rip a few tracks into iTunes, burn a CD and you're a mastering engineer, right ?<br /><p></p><div><br />Hmm.<p></p><br />My first set of replies goes like this:<p></p><ol><li>That's <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">some</span> of what mastering involves, yes. I wrote more about it <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/08/what-is-mastering.html">here</a>.</li><li>You can buy plugins that <b>say</b> they allow you to do mastering EQ and compression, yes. Why don't the top engineers use them ? Leaving that aside for a minute, do you<b> </b>know how to use the ones you have ? Are your speakers good enough to hear what you're doing with them ? Do you have the experience to know exactly what things should sound like in your genre ? Do you know when it's a mix problem and when it's a mastering problem ? Let's try another tack. As a musician or record label, releasing your music to the world is a bit like having a really important job interview, and you need a new suit. Do you buy the cheapest, or the best you can afford ? Given the choice, would you have one hand-made by a master tailor using the finest quality material to fit and flatter your exact build and body-shape, or would you order one over the internet and hope for the best ?</li><li>Why <i>would</i> you want someone else to do your mastering ?</li></ol><p></p> My second set of replies goes:<p></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"></p><ol><li>Actually over <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/11/music_survey/">75% of the music-buying public still want CDs</a>. And soon all downloaded music will be losslessly encoded anyway, so it will sound the same as (or better than) CDs.</li><li>True, no-one listens to albums any more. Instead, people listen to all their music on shuffle. Before long, all albums will be played at the same average level, as it is on <a href="http://www.spotify.com/">Spotify</a>, so you won't have those annoying jumps in volume, except where you're meant to for loud or quiet tracks. So it will be just as important to have your music correctly balanced in comparison to everything else as it has ever been, if not more so.</li><li>mp3 players will soon sound as good as CD players - see above. And, crappy speakers or earbuds make everything sound crappy. As did AM radio. As poor-quality vinyl and record decks did. As analogue cassette did. As does DAB radio, and as do mobile phones. What's your point ? If recording high-quality audio was important then, why isn't it important now ? Do you WANT you music to sound crappy ?</li><li>Why <i>would</i> you want someone else to do your mastering ?</li></ol><p></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p>My reply to all three parts of the third argument is:<p></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p>That's because lots of people who call themselves "mastering engineers" have absolutely no right to the title. Putting it bluntly, they don't have a clue what they're doing, and they fuck it up on a daily basis. </div><div><br /></div><div>For the last fifteen years, customers from every genre and at every level of the industry have sat and watched and listened to me work, asked questions, and offered opinions. 99% of the time they are delighted with the results, and come back again and again. Some of them have ears every bit as good as mine, and the equipment and skills to do the same things that I do to their music. Why don't they ? Other times I have sent people samples, and heard nothing back. Months later they book in for a session because they found it wasn't as easy as they thought to get the results they wanted, even with my example to copy from.<p></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p>Who am I, Derren Brown ? Is mastering really the world's most elaborate confidence trick ?<p></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> Why <i>would </i> you want someone else to master your music ? </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This post was inspired by a thread on the <a href="http://www.soundonsound.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=756080&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1#756080">Sound On Sound Mastering Forum</a>. Thanks for listening, I feel better now.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com134tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381002847466408353.post-67866696735613082232009-08-31T16:16:00.000-07:002009-09-10T06:45:55.171-07:00The Beatles, Remastered - some hopes, fears and predictions<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/underwire/images/2009/04/07/beatles1965.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/underwire/images/2009/04/07/beatles1965.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>The Beatles' <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002BSHWUU?ie=UTF8&tag=ianshep-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002BSHWUU">digitally remastered catalogue</a> will finally be released, in it's entirety, in just over a weeks time. As a complete Beatles nutcase, I can't help but be excited about this - but I'm also slightly nervous. <br /><br />I've written before about <a href="http://productionadvice.co.uk/the-making-of-sgt-pepper/">why I love the Beatles' music so much</a> - and, in particular, the way that they worked with <a href="http://productionadvice.co.uk/what-is-a-producer/">producer George Martin</a>.<br /><br />So, the idea of lovingly restored re-issues of these classic albums, revealing even more detail and magic, is exciting - whereas, the thought of heavy-handed processing or fashion-led mastering (can anyone say "scooped mids" or <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/metallica-death-magnetic-stop-loudness.html">Loudness War </a>?!?) makes me nervous - especially when spokesmen have said the new releases sound "louder and brighter" than the originals.<p></p> <p><br /></p><p>Will these re-issues reveal the original masters in a new, inspirational light ? Or, will they be yet another cynical re-hash of music we already own ? Here are some of my hopes, fears, and predictions for this release.</p> <p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><p><b>Hopes</b></p> <ul style="list-style-type: disc"> <li><b>Better transfers </b>Digital audio has come a long way since the eighties, when many of the original Beatles CDs were released. In particular, analogue to digital converters have come along in leaps and bounds. So, there is a distinct possibility that even a flat transfer of the original tapes would sound significantly better than the original versions</li> <li><b>Sophisticated restoration</b> Even more than converters, restoration technology has improved immeasurably over the years. Without a doubt the tools used will be made by <a href="http://www.cedar-audio.com/">CEDAR</a>, who effectively wrote the book on this stuff, and they can achieve quite incredible feats - fixing problems with the original sources like hiss and distortion, without any of the undesirable side-effects that some of the older technology involves</li> <li><b>Sensitive enhancement</b> Make no mistake, the original CDs sound pretty good already - but that doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement. Not massive changes, but great <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/08/what-is-mastering.html">mastering</a> should be constant proof that "the whole is greater than the sum of the parts", and I hope these releases will be perfect examples of this. </li></ul> <p><b>Fears</b></p> <ul style="list-style-type: disc"> <li><b>Heavy-handed processing </b>The last Beatles re-issue I listened to in the mastering studio was the "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000002UZ1?ie=UTF8&tag=ianshep-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000002UZ1">Blue Album</a>" <b>- </b>which sounded great, and incredibly clean. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">So</span> clean, in fact, that we hooked out the original CD release of Abbey Road, and compared the two. Sure enough, the track we chose ("Come Together") had been de-noised - ie, the hiss had been reduced. Which I found an odd decision. Don't get me wrong, it's not that there were any unpleasant side-effects (artefacts) from the process - it's just that <i>it wasn't that hissy to begin with. </i>As George Martin has observed, the original 2-inch master tapes of these albums are incredibly clean - the only noise really comes from tracks where multiple reduction passes have been carried out.<br /><b></b></li> <li><b>Too loud </b>No surprises I'd be interested in <a href="http://turnmeup.org/">this issue</a> ! But, you <i>may</i> be surprised to learn that I've nothing against the idea of making them louder, necessarily - just not <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/10/diy-mastering-part-5-how-loud-is-too.html">unnecessarily so</a>. The fact is, a certain amount of EQ, compression and limiting would certainly have been used in the original vinyl cut of these albums, and the goal of modern CD mastering should be to achieve a comparable result on CD. In fact, another reason that the original CD releases are considered to sound "cold" by some people <i>may</i> be because they were made from the final mixdowns rather than EQ-ed production masters. This is a common problem with early CD releases - it removes a generation of analogue tape, theoretically getting a cleaner transfer, but also risks missing out on some of the positive benefits of the vinyl pre-mastering process along the way.</li> </ul> <p>Now know you know the things I think might be in store for these releases - finally I thought it might be fun to make some predictions about we will actually hear on September 9th</p> <p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><p><b>Predictions</b></p> <ul style="list-style-type: disc"> <li><b>This will be a low-level, <i>anti</i>-loudness war release </b>Despite some speculation to the contrary, I'll be amazed if the levels on these are high by today's standards. The original releases had plenty of headroom, so I'm sure they will be at a higher level than that, probably with some gentle limiting - but these CDs will sound just as dynamic as the original releases.</li> <li><b>The sound work will be subtle & tasteful - perhaps not even going far enough </b>EMI's mastering studios have a track record of appropriate, restrained work, and I don't expect the Beatles' remasters to be any different. In fact, if anything these may sound too close to the originals for some - for example, fans of the "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000JJS8TM?ie=UTF8&tag=ianshep-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000JJS8TM">Love</a>" mashed-up versions may be underwhelmed.</li> <li><b>It will have been extensively restored and de-hissed - too much so, for some tastes </b>As a mastering engineer, this is the aspect I'm most curious about. I have little doubt that the masters will have been painstakingly, exhaustively restored - how else could they have spent four years working on these releases ? The question is, how successful has it been, and crucially, how necessary was it ? Have they gone to the lengths of re-making all the reduction mixdowns digially - for example in "Strawberry Fields Forever" ? Will it have been worth it ?</li> </ul> <p>But my final prediction is simpler and clearer - these remasters are going to sound <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">great</span>. The original CDs sound excellent - these can't fail to sound better ! And personally, I can't wait to hear them.</p><p><br /></p><p>What are <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">you</span> expecting from these releases ? How do you think they will sound ? Will we be able to even hear the difference, or is it just a cynical ploy to cash in on the release of the "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001UQ704C?ie=UTF8&tag=ianshep-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001UQ704C">Rock Band</a>" game ?</p><p><br /></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; ">Update #3 - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">Most reviews seem positive about the remasters - i</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">f all goes well I'll have some feedback for you early next week. In the meantime, here are some interesting links about the released CDs:</span><br /></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://mixonline.com/mixline/beatles_remastered_2009_0909/index1.html">Beatles Remastered 2009</a> (from Mix Magazine)</span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2009/09/mono_or_stereo_help_2.html">Mono or Stereo ? Help !</a> (Nice comparison of the two box sets, with samples)</span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.popmatters.com/pm/article/111239-beatles-fans-deserve-more-in-the-remastering-department/">Beatles fans deserve more in the remastering department</a> (A less positive take on the new versions)</span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Update #2</span> - Lots of requests for opinions about the final release coming through - I'll posts something as soon as I can !</span><br /></span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Update</span> - thanks for all the great comments on this post ! It turns out I was right about the use of CEDAR, but much more interestingly their <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">ReTouch</span> software was also used in a far more radical way - to remove entire instruments from the mix for the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001UQ704C?ie=UTF8&tag=ianshep-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001UQ704C">Rock Band game</a>:</span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></p><p><a href="http://www.joystick.be/pro/Downloads/CedarBeatles.pdf">Using CEDAR ReTouch in creating The Beatles' Rock Band game</a></p><p><br /></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">We use ReTouch for traditional restoration tasks, but removing complete instruments - wow! Hats off to Giles Martin for that idea.</span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Meanwhile here's an article about the making of the game from Wired magazine, if you're interested:</span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.joystick.be/pro/Downloads/CedarBeatles.pdf">The Beatles Make the Leap to Rock Band</a></span></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">And, here's another article, this time from the New York Times</span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></p><p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/16/magazine/16beatles-t.html">While My Guitar Gently Beeps</a><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Thanks to</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> Thomas Matteo, dk and Various for the links.</span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px;"><br /></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381002847466408353.post-75571996251404990882009-07-09T13:29:00.000-07:002009-07-11T06:25:03.770-07:00Dinosaur Jr mastering fault - recalled for being too loud<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD4W-nt9uZGnLMpYbjXZqsGrZA221VzHmgELee1Cw28Y5XWG1X1Nykkpgc6jnglvKmKDYe1_okCaxKZ51Jyw647OASVEfdmO-b58f59vREXhF5KNvmlgXCrDB5dMT1CbHybfwoLnXnxys/s1600-h/plan.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 215px; height: 332px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD4W-nt9uZGnLMpYbjXZqsGrZA221VzHmgELee1Cw28Y5XWG1X1Nykkpgc6jnglvKmKDYe1_okCaxKZ51Jyw647OASVEfdmO-b58f59vREXhF5KNvmlgXCrDB5dMT1CbHybfwoLnXnxys/s400/plan.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356584675220588226" /></a>This is NOT what you want your album to look like when assessed using the <a href="http://productionadvice.co.uk/how-to-avoid-over-compressing-your-mix/">TT Dynamic Range Meter</a>. This is what a dynamic range of 2dB looks like, and it <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">sounds</span> like shit. In my opinion. And almost everyone else's, too.<div><br /></div><div>And with the new Dinsoaur Jr CD, "Farm", we now have another example - but this time, there's an interesting twist.<br /><div><br /></div><div>Mastering engineers are unanimous in their verdict that music sounds best with a dynamic range (DR) value of <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">at least</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">1</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">o dB</span>. </div><div><br /></div><div>Both <a href="http://turnmeup.org/">TurnMeUp.org</a> and <a href="http://www.pleasurizemusic.com/">DynamicRange.de</a> argue for <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">DR14</span> or higher, for example.</div><div><br /></div><div>In stark contrast, the song "Plans" from the European release of "Farm" by Dinosaur Jr measures... <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">DR</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">2</span>. (2.1, to be exact)</div><div><br /></div><div>"The Day That Never Comes" from "<a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/metallica-death-magnetic-stop-loudness.html">Death Magnetic</a>" by Metallica is also <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">DR2</span>, (2.6) and to be honest, they sound quite similar in one way - both are massively distorted.</div><div><br /></div><div>What makes the Dinosaur Jr CD different is that the record company have <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">recalled</span> it, saying the European release has been made too loud by mistake:</div><div><br /></div><div><blockquote>Dear Dinosaur Jr. Fans, Please note that on the European CD version of the Farm album there is an audio problem. This occurred while duplicating the original master in a duplication studio. The problem occurred when the duplicate was produced, as the software program used for this duplication ‘doubled’ the sound layers. This resulted in a 3dB increase in the overall sound volume. If you have bought a CD of Dinosaur Jr.’s Farm album in a European shop with the bar code number 5414939004926, and you would like to exchange it with a good version, please go to <a href="http://media.pias.com/dinosaurjrfarmcd/">this site</a>. </blockquote><br /></div><div>So first of all - hats off to the label for coming clean and admitting the mistake, and offering clear and simple advice for swapping faulty discs ! </div><div><br /></div><div>Second, a collective European sigh of relief that the way this CD sounds wasn't deliberate. Don't get me wrong, it's still very loud, and would benefit from some more room to breathe dynamically - but it's not <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">DR2</span> bad. (The US release measures <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">DR6</span> - 6.3, to be exact)</div><div><br /></div><div>But finally, some observations and questions. The statement above says that there is a level difference of 3dB between the European release and the intended level, but this didn't sound right to me, so I did some experimenting.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">I had to clip the US CD version by a massive </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">6dB </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">to get the levels (and distortion) to match those on the European release.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>This makes perfect sense - a 6dB boost in level is exactly what you would expect if the "software program used for this duplication ‘doubled’ the sound layers" as the website says.</div><div><br /></div><div>The number on the website is probably just a misunderstanding, since the label are being very upfront about everything else - or possibly a "rounding down" of the difference in DR values (6 vs. 2). But unfortunately the statement is already being misinterpreted - for example, in his <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/jul/09/dinosaur-jr-recall-new-album">Guardian piece</a>, Sean Michaels says</div><div><br /></div><div><blockquote>though three decibels will make a noticeable difference, it is far from the realm of road drills or jet engines. Instead, the difference between good and "faulty" copies of Farm will likely be a matter of "loud" versus "a little too loud"</blockquote><br /></div><div>Personally I would disagree that even 3dB of hard clipping would only be "a little too loud", but the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">actual</span> 6dB difference has resulted in a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">massive</span> amount of distortion which is clearly audible and very unpleasant. The waveforms tell the story as usual:</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7U7InQF1Zi30myL1bKHB9jWmcejNzeLQTGERyfLpxEyr3Z7GScebpvqteKNeOBkMeegDohfF1-2uAAcmcNtZYxMj54ISL5FfzeM2pNOlerFGIqZOIJqvcQEqno-qjW4dyhAUGH9VIL7o/s1600-h/plans.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7U7InQF1Zi30myL1bKHB9jWmcejNzeLQTGERyfLpxEyr3Z7GScebpvqteKNeOBkMeegDohfF1-2uAAcmcNtZYxMj54ISL5FfzeM2pNOlerFGIqZOIJqvcQEqno-qjW4dyhAUGH9VIL7o/s400/plans.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356610626602588018" /></a><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">(For those who are interested, clipping an already mastered track sounds far worse than clipping un-mastered mixes. Everything is already maximised and pushed to the limit, so 6dB of clipping is pretty much a sonic disaster.)</span></div><div><br /></div><div>I just hope no-one chooses <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">not</span> to get their CD changed, based on comments like the Guardian one ! </div><div><br /></div><div>In conclusion, this can hardly be called a victory in the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gmex_4hreQ&fmt=18">Loudness War</a>, but at least it's not a backward step, as some European Dinosaur Jr fans must have originally feared.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you think modern CDs are mastered too loud, please sign up at <a href="http://www.turnmeup.org/">TurnMeUp.org</a> and <a href="http://www.dynamicrange.de/">DynamicRange.de</a> - and write to complain about any albums you think sound bad. And you are always welcome to sign up for <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MasteringMediaBlog">free updates</a> on any posts here, if you like - or <a href="http://twitter.com/ianshepherd">connect with me on Twitter</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381002847466408353.post-72090203029656764562009-05-19T15:14:00.000-07:002009-05-19T16:12:58.319-07:00Twitter Interview - An introduction to CD Mastering<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEuvfDnXKwedv68dEv5DOmsk7yzb-_lnSdEKP-d-5RBKW89AzJNgprazgQyLAuGJ34yPlbeCU7d-iRt0DomEKCzHyvOpGzuInWYN_DBKKB-XN-prZ6eVH3r9DtNOWCdxf7MafHNORs_LU/s1600-h/twinterview.jpg"><blockquote></blockquote><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 302px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEuvfDnXKwedv68dEv5DOmsk7yzb-_lnSdEKP-d-5RBKW89AzJNgprazgQyLAuGJ34yPlbeCU7d-iRt0DomEKCzHyvOpGzuInWYN_DBKKB-XN-prZ6eVH3r9DtNOWCdxf7MafHNORs_LU/s400/twinterview.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337675890400703106" /></a><br />Yesterday I did a short Twitter interview with @<a href="http://twitter.com/DIY_Musicians">DIY_Musicians</a> about mastering - it was slightly chaotic but good fun, and the people reading seemed to enjoy it. It may or may not have been the second ever such interview in the UK, if @<a href="http://twitter.com/neil_mccormick">neil_mccormick</a>'s really was <a href="http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/neil_mccormick/blog/2009/05/15/twistory_in_the_making">the first</a>.<div><br /><div><div>Here is the complete text, in case you missed it.</div><div></div><div><br /></div>***<br /><div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">DIY_Musicians</span>: Let's jump straight in, Ian. Q: What is mastering ?<br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">ianshepherd</span>: Mastering is turning a collection of songs into an album - by balancing them, not matching them. Also <a href="http://twurl.nl/m8bwvo">http://twurl.nl/m8bwvo</a> </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">DIY_Musicians</span>: Great link, thank you... I was wondering how you would answer that in only 140 characters :o)<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">ianshepherd</span>:<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "> </span>[Grin] Cheating, technically, I suppose !</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">DIY_Musicians</span>: Q: What do you actually do ?</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">ianshepherd</span>: I listen to music, and change it so that I like it better :-) Luckily, my customers agree with me, almost all of the time ! </div><div> <br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">DIY_Musicians</span>: Q: What are the most important tools of a Mastering Engineer ? </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">ianshepherd</span>: My ears, my experience, the monitoring (speakers), the room, the audio equipment (EQ, compressors, DAW etc) </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">DIY_Musicians</span>: Q: What's your favourite piece of audio equipment ? </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">ianshepherd</span>: My monitors ! B&W 801s - and I use the TC Electronics System 6000 on nearly every job - great converters, great processing</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">DIY_Musicians</span> :Anyone interested can find out more via... @<a href="http://twitter.com/tcelectronic">tcelectronic</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">ianshepherd</span>: B&W loudspeakers - @<a href="http://twitter.com/Bowers_Wilkins">Bowers_Wilkins</a>, More info on mastering monitoring here: <a href="http://twurl.nl/pr0hjm">http://twurl.nl/pr0hjm</a>)</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">DIY_Musicians</span>: Q: Why is it so important to have great monitors in a great room ? <br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">ianshepherd</span>: Because you need to be able to hear *everything* - accurately. Otherwise you risk doing something unnecessary or detrimental </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">DIY_Musicians</span>: Knowing what you're listening for is essential. Q: Is DIY mastering possible ?</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">ianshepherd</span>: It's possible, but hard ! It's difficult to be objective about your own material, and hard to get a good setup on a budget </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">DIY_Musicians</span>: Q: But, aren't there lots of mastering plugins now ?</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">ianshepherd</span>: Yes, but it's all about hearing the music clearly and objectively, and having a vision. You need knowledge as well as tools. </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">DIY_Musicians</span>: Q: That's something you can learn, right ? </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">ianshepherd</span>: Yes, to a certain extent, but personally I think it's also an instinct. I wrote about it here: <a href="http://twurl.nl/gnkiki">http://twurl.nl/gnkiki</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">DIY_Musicians</span>: Thanks for the link - that's great </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">DIY_Musicians</span>: Q: Do you have any hints and tips for people who want to have their music professionally mastered ?</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">ianshepherd</span>: Yes ! Never let digital meters clip (hit zero). Don't use too much compression. Provide 24-bit files where possible...</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">ianshepherd</span>: ...leave the tops, tails (fades) and gaps for the ME. Always use dither when processing. Use high-quality converters</div><div> <br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">DIY_Musicians</span>: Excellent advice. Q: Where can people find out more about mastering ?</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">ianshepherd</span>: Follow me on Twitter ;-) <a href="http://twurl.nl/b3aohf">http://twurl.nl/b3aohf</a> And, here are two great mastering forums: <a href="http://twurl.nl/xb2vhr">http://twurl.nl/xb2vhr</a> & <a href="http://twurl.nl/xm57pc">http://twurl.nl/xm57pc</a> </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">DIY_Musicians</span>: Some cool links to take away for further reading - we like that. Thanks for your time, Ian. We really appreciate your support. </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">ianshepherd</span>: You're welcome, thanks for asking me ! </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">DIY_Musicians</span>: @<a href="http://twitter.com/ianshepherd">ianshepherd</a> also runs the Production Advice site, helping you get a better recording & mix <a href="http://twurl.nl/jzxdde">http://twurl.nl/jzxdde</a></div><div></div></div><div><div></div></div><div><div><br /></div><div>***</div><div><br /></div><div>If you found this interesting, you might also like to check out <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2009/03/today-i-was-interviewed-by-pete.html">this interview</a> I did with Pete Whitfield from the Manchester College.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feel free to tweet me any questions you may have as a result of this interview, or in fact any questions at all about mastering.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381002847466408353.post-91835360826483728952009-04-20T02:48:00.000-07:002009-04-20T02:59:11.398-07:00Ten Top Tips for Reverb You Can Really Relish<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.productionadvice.co.uk/"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 60px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd64feSsQXPGJTD1_PMgG59th15epcKys-Nfi01InQaEyF7qKqdzkmjqS0zWCdpTcojTFgmTmwYSW775iS-H55Yp7masJ6Io9r_qXfqPCCdZmmXHF41piq3T15aDEI4u9JsdqGJLAWGUo/s400/banner_small.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311299357264432786" /></a><div><br /></div><div>There's a new post over at Production Advice today which you might like to check out - hopefully the title says it all !<br /><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://productionadvice.co.uk/reverb-you-can-relish/">Ten Top Tips for Reverb You Can Really Relish</a></div><div><br /></div><div>We have also recently set up a new <a href="http://productionadvice.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a> blog for <a href="http://productionadvice.co.uk/production-advice-tumblr/">Production Advice</a> - think of it as on "online scrapbook" where we'll be posting all the cool music production techniques, tips and commentary we find and link to on <a href="http://twitter.com/ianshepherd">Twitter</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Finally, I now also have a <a href="http://friendfeed.com/ianshepherd">Friendfeed</a> profile, which pulls in <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">everything</span> I'm up to online in one place...</div><div><br /></div><div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381002847466408353.post-49186150343095754932009-03-27T04:52:00.000-07:002016-11-07T06:49:31.078-08:00What "Death Magnetic" SHOULD Have Sounded Like<object height="240" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gjDRa_cgNOo&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gjDRa_cgNOo&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="240"></embed></object><br />
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Ladies and gentlemen, I rest <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/search/label/death%20magnetic">my case</a>. Not distorted, not clipped - sounds great. Make sure you click the HQ button...</div>
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(If you're not sure what I'm talking about, please listen to this:</div>
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- or <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours/items/01/2008_41_fri.shtml">click here</a>.)</div>
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Actually even this version would benefit from some more <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/loudness-peak-vs-average-level.html">dynamics</a>, but at least it isn't distorted <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/metallica-death-magnetic-sounds-better.html">to hell and back</a> !</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381002847466408353.post-64056568712885050312009-03-26T05:41:00.000-07:002009-03-27T05:13:31.947-07:00Rise and Shine recording and writing a new song for Earth Hour - TODAY<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bandcamp.com/files/808442792-1.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 350px; height: 350px;" src="http://bandcamp.com/files/808442792-1.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><div>Good news interactive music lovers - <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/12/rise-and-shine-tv.html">Rise and Shine</a> is <a href="http://www.mogulus.com/riseandshine">on-air today</a>, composing a new song to support <a href="http://www.earthhour.org/">Earth Hour</a> - with your help, if you'd like. The essence of the show is feedback from the viewers - suggest ideas, help write the lyrics, or just keep an eye on the fun.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'll edit this post when the show is over - it will be running on and off throughout the day, so if you're reading this - click on the link below to join in via the live video stream and chat ! If there's nothing happening, Dean & Dan are probably having a cup of tea, so pop back later :-)</div><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381002847466408353.post-72454929283866518622009-03-17T02:36:00.000-07:002009-03-18T15:33:45.307-07:0010 Rules For Achieving Outstanding Music Mixes<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.productionadvice.co.uk/"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 60px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd64feSsQXPGJTD1_PMgG59th15epcKys-Nfi01InQaEyF7qKqdzkmjqS0zWCdpTcojTFgmTmwYSW775iS-H55Yp7masJ6Io9r_qXfqPCCdZmmXHF41piq3T15aDEI4u9JsdqGJLAWGUo/s400/banner_small.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311299357264432786" /></a><div><br /></div><div>Some of you may be interested in my latest post over at the new Production Advice site:<div><br /></div><div><a href="http://productionadvice.co.uk/music-mixing-rules/">10 Rules For Achieving Outstanding Music Mixes</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Please head on over and take a look !</div><div><br /></div><div>Ian</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381002847466408353.post-45702706374070745542009-03-12T13:27:00.000-07:002009-03-14T16:55:10.768-07:00Do the kids prefer "mp3 sizzle" ? Bullshizzle !<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wilhei/109404222/"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoTp_asC6ZYlRNIgsrbNXvuJQ_-cnhZ9bUUvur7lvy7gagwDzaJCsc7pLSmmZY_MRUNXB2oy1m8Ol5G91zbusdx_589bOMTwpKlsGC2KKHRWjI4VRLhV71oSVYvc_0fMhoE_1xWAba1wk/s320/109404222_47686b28d3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312458797018127794" /></a>In the last week there has been <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/apple/4941506/iPod-generation-prefers-tinny-music-to-CD.html">a lot</a> of <a href="http://radar.oreilly.com/2009/03/the-sizzling-sound-of-music.html">attention</a> paid to an informal study made by<a href="http://ccrma.stanford.edu/~brg/"> Jonathan Berger</a> of Stanford University, which he claims shows that some young people (a) prefer the sound of mp3s and (b) that this is becoming more true as time passes.<br /><br />To be quite frank, Professor Berger should know better.<br /><br />He says that he:<div><br /><blockquote>tests his incoming students each year in a similar way. He has them listen to a variety of recordings which use different formats from MP3 to ones of much higher quality. He described the results with some disappointment and frustration, as a music lover might, that each year the preference for music in MP3 format rises. In other words, students prefer the quality of that kind of sound over the sound of music of much higher quality. He said that they seemed to prefer "sizzle sounds" that MP3s bring to music. It is a sound they are familiar with.</blockquote><br />Leaving aside all the reasons there are to doubt the testing methods and results of an "informal study" like this, even if it's true that more and more students are choosing the mp3s, that <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">doesn't</span></span> necessarily mean they prefer the sound overall, especially for longer-term listening.<div><br /></div><div>Why not ? First, the short version:<br /><div><br /></div><div>MP3 encoders typically don't have enough headroom to handle the very high peak level of modern CDs, and so introduce extra clipping distortion as well as all the encoding artefacts - this is the so-called "sizzle".</div><div><br />In a short-term A/B test, I can believe people would respond positively to the extra high-frequency distortion, just as they do to small level increases and quantisation distortion.<br /><br /></div><div>But I want to hear long-term testing.</div><div><br />Play those same students the same music for 2 or 3 hours straight - in CD and in mp3. Then, don't ask them if they can hear a difference or which they prefer - ask them how they <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">FEEL</span>.</div><div><br />My prediction is that there will be more irritable, edgy people with headaches in the mp3 pool.<br /><br /></div><div>Just like over-compressed high-level music, typical mp3 encodes are fatiguing to listen too, less involving and sound less "real". </div><div><br /></div><div>So, even though Professor Berger has observed a short-term preference for mp3-encoded audio, I don't believe it's possible to conclude from this that they would genuinely choose to listen to mp3s rather than CDs - or lossless audio formats like FLAC, for example.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, a little more detail:<br /><div><br /></div><div>It's been known for many years that in short-term A/B comparisons of otherwise nearly identical audio, people will prefer the version which is a little louder and as a result seems to have a fraction more bass and treble. This is because of a psycho-acoustic effect known as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fletcher-Munson_curves">Fletcher–Munson</a> or "Smile" Curve, and may be an evolutionary process to make us prioritise sounds which louder and therefore nearer - and might be a predator.<br /><br /><div>What does this have to do with mp3s ? In a nutshell - encoding an mp3 from a modern CD release which constantly "maxes out" the level results in an mp3 which is <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">more distorted than the original</span>.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is a result of "<a href="http://www.tcelectronic.com/media/lund_2004_distortion_tmt20.pdf">intersample peaks</a>" in the decoded digital signal adding extra clipping distortion in the mp3 encoder - and possibly even more being added by the player itself. Couple this with the swirling, squelchy high-frequency artefacts caused by the data-reduction process of mp3 encoding, and you have the "mp3 sizzle" Professor Berger is talking about.</div><div><br /></div><div>So the students may well choose this slightly toppier, fizzier-sounding encoded version in a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">short-term</span> A/B test, especially since modern mp3 encodes have fewer obvious artefacts than a few years ago.</div><div><br /></div><div>But we shouldn't underestimate the acuity of the human ear and brain. A typical mp3 encode discards <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">90% </span>of the original signal - and it's harder to listen to as a result. Even without intersample encoding distortion and obvious artefacts, mp3s don't sound as good as the originals in other, more subtle ways. There is a loss of "3D" stereo imaging, a blurring and flattening of the audio. Often mp3s sound as if they have less reverb than the original. Complex sounds lose their interest, the audio overall is less rich and involving - the result is harsher and more crude.</div><div><br /></div><div>Especially with today's over-compressed, heavily processed music.</div><div><br /></div><div>As a result, the brain has to work harder to "decode" the music. Listening to music in "real life" is an almost effortless process - listening to a CD requires a little more concentration. Right at the other end of the scale, listening to music squawking from the tiny speaker of a mobile phone, it's often a struggle to even pick out the tune. mp3s lie somewhere in the middle of this - thankfully, closer to CD than mobile !</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's an experiment you can try yourself, though. Spend a day listening to your favourite radio station. Next day listen to the same station, but streamed on the internet. (The data-compression here will typically sound like an extreme version of mp3.)</div><div><br /></div><div>How do you feel ?</div><div><br /></div><div>Personally, listening to heavily data-compressed internet streams makes me feel nauseous. Literally - I don't mean that in some namby-pamby audiophile sense - an hour or two of internet radio and I start to feel slightly car-sick.</div><div><br /></div><div>The same applies to mp3s, to a lesser extent. </div><div><br /></div><div>Now obviously not all mp3s are that bad. And some data-compressed audio sounds pretty good - the Ogg Vorbis streams from <a href="http://www.spotify.com/">Spotify</a>, for example, or Apple's AAC codec . (Ironic that everyone blames the iPod for mp3's ills, even though the iPod's own compression codec sounds substantially better than straight mp3)</div><div><br /></div><div>But just as mp3 lies somewhere between CD hi-fi and a mobile phone, it also lies somewhere between 24/96 PCM and 64 kbps internet radio - however in this case, closer to the bad end of the scale.</div><div><br /></div><div>To summarise:</div><div><br /></div><div>In a short-term test, the distortion/artefact "sizzle" may be appealing to some people, but give them the chance to use a lossless codec like FLAC for long-term listening, and I'm confident they will settle for the better quality.</div><div><br /></div><div>The <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">great</span> news is that even of I'm wrong, mp3 is already on the way out - it won't be long now before player drive space and internet bandwidth make the requirement for data-compression a thing of the past, and we can all get back to appreciating good audio again.</div><div><br /></div><div>I mean - does anyone remember how "great" AM radio sounded ?!?</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com80tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381002847466408353.post-3198005881218569972009-03-09T14:12:00.000-07:002009-03-17T02:49:10.755-07:00Production Advice Launched<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.productionadvice.co.uk"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 60px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd64feSsQXPGJTD1_PMgG59th15epcKys-Nfi01InQaEyF7qKqdzkmjqS0zWCdpTcojTFgmTmwYSW775iS-H55Yp7masJ6Io9r_qXfqPCCdZmmXHF41piq3T15aDEI4u9JsdqGJLAWGUo/s400/banner_small.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311299357264432786" /></a><div>OK ! As promised, I'm posting this here first - I'm delighted to announce the launch of my new website - <a href="http://www.productionadvice.co.uk/">Production Advice</a>. It's live now, please head over and take a look.</div><div><br /></div><div>The idea is to offer anyone access to the opinions of professional producers - to give expert, impartial advice on recording, mixing and production issues to anyone who needs it, via a brand new <a href="http://productionadvice.co.uk/what-is-a-producer/">blog</a>, carefully selected resources and a unique package of affordable <a href="http://productionadvice.co.uk/how-it-works/">services</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>I think many Mastering Media readers will find it interesting - I'm going to relish the opportunity to talk about a much wider range of subjects than I do here, and I'd love to hear from you, too - please give me your feedback in the blog comments, or come and say Hello on <a href="http://twitter.com/ianshepherd">Twitter</a>.</div><div><br /></div></div><div>This doesn't mean the end of the Mastering Media blog though - I'll still be posting regularly here on mastering-focused subjects. I see the two sites as complementing each other, and I hope you agree.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, please take a look and let me know what you think - sign up to the <a href="http://www.productionadvice.co.uk/feed">RSS feed</a> and if you're recording or mixing yourself, maybe even give the <a href="http://www.productionadvice.co.uk/free-trial">free trial</a> a shot. And please pass the word to other people who you think might be interested.</div><div><br /></div><div>See you at Production Advice !</div><div><br /></div><div>Ian</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381002847466408353.post-77407502440539770612009-03-01T14:41:00.000-08:002009-03-02T02:35:52.125-08:00Video interview for The Manchester CollegeToday I was interviewed by Pete Whitfield from <a href="http://www.themanchestercollege.co.uk/">The Manchester College</a>, via iChat. We talked mainly about mastering - what it is, how I got started and what gear I use, and what skills are necessary, but also a little about music and social media - blogging, Twitter etc. <div><br /></div><div>I will also be answering questions (if there are any!) from students at the college all this week on their forum. Thanks to Pete for inviting me.</div><div><div> <div><div style="text-align: center;"><embed wmode="opaque" src="http://static.ning.com/ccmmusic/widgets/video/flvplayer/flvplayer.swf?v=3.14.2%3A16906" flashvars="config=http%3A%2F%2Fccmmusic.ning.com%2Fvideo%2Fvideo%2FshowPlayerConfig%3Fid%3D800835%253AVideo%253A28368%26ck%3D42973385&video_smoothing=on&autoplay=off" width="448" height="364" bgcolor="#D3E2E9" scale="noscale" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed> </div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381002847466408353.post-75528765784387390962009-02-08T16:02:00.000-08:002016-11-07T06:50:02.279-08:00Does Rick Rubin Deserve the "Producer Of The Year" Grammy Award ?<div style="text-align: left;">
It just <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">had</span> to happen.</div>
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I <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">knew</span> it would happen.</div>
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And then <a href="https://twitter.com/TheGRAMMYs/status/1190152448">it happened</a>, about an hour ago, right there in my Twitter stream:</div>
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<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300582828220502914" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg75JaP9OfiBv_4mEx25WHA9M9KqDyGpg9aEJrhbzPXC8n2W2buiQYxWDsGd_zr8Vt_lRrL7HhgeosKi_IX8or_1uN4WdLESBIzmC9mNwuCyuY6vBL0sDiCJttf16Kv9aA274Lv-554H8Y/s400/Picture+1.png" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 243px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></div>
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What may surprise you, though, is that I'm perfectly happy with this decision. </div>
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Even though Rubin produced Metallica's "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00192KCQ0?ie=UTF8&tag=ianshep-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00192KCQ0">Death Magnetic</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=ianshep-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00192KCQ0" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />" - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metallica's_ninth_studio_album#Criticism_regarding_production">arguably</a> one of the worst-sounding records ever made.</div>
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Even though some may use this as evidence to say he was right to do so, or that "Death Magnetic" actually sounds OK (<a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/metallica-death-magnetic-sounds-better.html">It doesn't</a>).</div>
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And even though he also produced albums for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001872MDM?ie=UTF8&tag=ianshep-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001872MDM">Weezer</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=ianshep-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001872MDM" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00133KDWS?ie=UTF8&tag=ianshep-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00133KDWS">Ours</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=ianshep-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00133KDWS" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />, both also pointlessly loud and crushed, in the mistaken belief that this sounds better on iPod headphones, in cars or on computers. (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gmex_4hreQ">It doesn't</a>)</div>
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Why ? Because being a Producer is <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">much more</span> than deciding how an album sounds.</div>
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A producer also works with the band on:</div>
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<li>Composition</li>
<li>Performance</li>
<li>Arrangement</li>
<li>Subject, Feel, Mood, Motivation, Pace, Atmosphere...</li>
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- and many many other, less tangible aspects of the recording process. </div>
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I'll be talking about issues like this in much greater depth on my new site (coming soon !) but as far as this particular producer is concerned, it's also worth saying that <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Rubin is not an engineer.</span> It has often been commented that his input into a record is much more about things like those in the list above, than how the record actually sounds. (In fact, the engineer responsible for actually pushing "Death Magnetic" into the red is <a href="http://www.gregfidelman.com/">Greg Fidelman</a>, chosen by <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">the band</span></span>, not Rubin.)</div>
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On these musical terms, fans and critics alike are unanimous that "Death Magnetic" is a huge success. Rubin coaxed some of the best songs and performances in years from Metallica, making it a true return to form, and a huge commercial success for them as a result. In this sense his award is fully deserved.</div>
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And clearly he knows Good Sound when he hears it - he is a <a href="http://www.musicangle.com/feat.php?id=38&page=3">self-professed</a> audiophile who listens to a startlingly wide range of music. Just take a listen to two other albums he produced in 2008 - Neil Diamond's "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015D3Z3A?ie=UTF8&tag=ianshep-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0015D3Z3A">Home Before Dark</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=ianshep-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0015D3Z3A" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />" and Jakob Dylan's "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ADU7DG?ie=UTF8&tag=ianshep-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001ADU7DG">Seeing Things</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=ianshep-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001ADU7DG" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />". Both sound fantastic (not at all distorted!) and are also highly acclaimed - along with a string of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Rubin#List_of_albums_produced">other albums</a> through a long and very successful career.</div>
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So I would like to take the opportunity to be one of the first to congratulate Rick Rubin on his Grammy, and to say again that I fully support the decision to award it to him.</div>
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I just hope his next album doesn't sound like "Death Magnetic".</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Edit to add - I just noticed that Nigel Godrich was also up for this award, for his work on "In Rainbows". Did Rubin deserve to win over and above Nigel ? Hm...</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381002847466408353.post-58564958331983256032009-01-22T15:25:00.001-08:002009-01-23T08:28:54.153-08:00The Ten Most Distorted Tunes In Music History<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/a_mason/119485658/"><br /><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6NMHXfDWdEQBAPuI-zVoRPc3p1HYRDSFs4RY7W-5BSzs_utwUhys7ay7Hf1knYCe3yXROJReowW__dGYUGC66DRY8Byu0SCE_OG7sioewRPLoYHeJBApS_kYVjI-jH4FccvHwcxUet0s/s320/119485658_a94319088a.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294292865134832146" /></a>Distortion is the Jekyll and Hyde of recorded music. Strictly speaking it's a fault, but the terrible truth is - we love it.<div><div><br /></div><div>Don't believe me ? Open your ears and listen around - the evidence is everywhere. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here's a list of ten highly distorted songs -</div><div> some sound great, some don't. Some are deliberate, some may not be. What <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">is </span>certain is that not everybody will agree about which is which...</div><div><br /></div><div>Where possible I've linked to online previews of each song, so you can hear them for yourself.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">The Beatles "<a href="http://blip.fm/profile/mistertones/blip/1415962">Revolution</a>" </span>- The Beatles didn't invent distortion, but they sure as hell brought it to the masses, most famously in this scorching track from the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">White Album</span>. Instead of mic-ing up an amp as they usually did, in this case George's guitar was plugged straight into the desk - a technique now commonly known as <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">direct injection</span>, or DI-ing. However it overloaded the sensitive input and distorted wildly. This fantastic, powerful sound combined with Ringo's heavily compressed and limited drums, drives the song along at a frantic rate. Listening to it, it's hard to believe that the same band had released "Eleanor Rigby" and "Yesterday" only two years before.</div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Oasis - "<a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?i=78839548&id=78839560&s=143444">Some Might Say</a>"</span> - From their massively successful album "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001GD5ALO?ie=UTF8&tag=ianshep-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001GD5ALO">What's The Story Morning Glory</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=ianshep-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001GD5ALO" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />", which is one of the first heavyweight casualties of the modern so-called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war">Loudness Wars</a> - in fact, some might say (hah!) it was the tipping point at which the trend for loudness at the expense of audio quality began to accelerate out of control. Ironically, even though at times it is just as loud as Metallica's "Death Magnetic" - arguably the current benchmark of crap sound on CD - it often sounds less blatantly distorted.</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 198px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQpiphato1Os85_Cvd8m5EUXJH67ELekp2edViFv66-xlpmaH6R10BCAuhY7EXavtdmTH4B8YBDtFqU2jEDqHfxOuajn207XKIoL28YbkaszLZYF_EpXU2baWUaf09fgFTmm7RNDmiQj4/s200/1164196790_f.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294437521279004098" /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Primal Scream "<a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Primal+Scream/_/Accelerator?autostart">Accelerator</a>" from "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000TERJ5Q?ie=UTF8&tag=ianshep-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000TERJ5Q">Xtrmntr</a>"</span>. This is the most distorted song I know. If you know better, please tell me ! It's incredibly, unbelievably, fantastically, e<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">xtraordinarily </span>distorted. And it's great. It's a deliberate, inspired artistic choice, (as you can tell from the relatively clean vocals) and the way it actually gets even more distorted as the song progresses. Many will find this unlistenable - it just makes me giggle.</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Iggy & The Stooges "<a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?i=14842108&id=14842115&s=143444">Search and Destroy</a>" </span>- from 1973's "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00138KGS4?ie=UTF8&tag=ianshep-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00138KGS4">Raw Power</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=ianshep-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00138KGS4" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border-top-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-width: initial !important; border-color: initial !important; margin-top: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; " />". Often cited as the loudest CD ever made, the 1997 re-master of this classic album divides opinion - Iggy was unhappy with the sound of the original 1989 release and supervised this one himself; critics say it's <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">worse</span> than the original. What's certain is - it's very loud and VERY distorted.</span><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">John Mayal & The Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton</span> - "<a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?i=164896994&id=164896946&s=143444">Key To Love</a>" from "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000V674P2?ie=UTF8&tag=ianshep-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000V674P2">Bluesbreakers</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=ianshep-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000V674P2" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border-top-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-width: initial !important; border-color: initial !important; margin-top: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; " />". This album is often cited as the first time anyone heard what has now become an "industry standard" guitar sound - a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_Les_Paul">Gibson Les Paul</a>, heavily overdriven through a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Amplification">Marshall</a> amp. In fact we are so used to the sound of distorted electric guitars these days that many people simply don't realise the sound is distorted at all - but the beautiful crunchy, warm valve amp sound<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "> is unmistakable, and still impossible to emulate by other means, even today.</span></span></div></span></span></div><div><br /></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">The Wildhearts "Why You Lie" </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="">from</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"> "</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000084VY?ie=UTF8&tag=ianshep-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0000084VY">Endless Nameless</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=ianshep-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0000084VY" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />" </span>- Legendarily nasty-sounding, the reasons for this album's distinctive sound are unclear. Every interview with the band seems to bring a different explanation, ranging from claiming it was "the sound of drugs [and] frustration at how dysfunctional our band was", through through stories that it was deliberate sabotage as revenge on their record company, to a simple "we were sick of hearing limp-wristed rock albums, and ...we went completely over the top". Certainly it's true that they "destroyed a few when mixing, and usually used the f**ked up tracks "...</div><div><br /></div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 198px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__sm4Y9tWB6wu5LMuZditkiZala-m4EEhCivpkWM2w5xD1LngiMMmf53aGYzUa5cTNKjCywO0XQDBj-qAT629XIX8fMLng361sH9eOlAwHs6G4f9Jb9JC_2YhPL6OiuYdUNgr9449b2Q/s200/1c0a96fe50dde58a.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294439102354786146" /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Underworld "<a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Underworld/_/Rez?autoplay">Rez</a>" </span>(Single) It was only when I heard the rendition of this track on the live DVD "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004YZGT?ie=UTF8&tag=ianshep-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00004YZGT">Everything Everything</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=ianshep-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00004YZGT" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />" that it hit me - the signature lead synth sound of this track, the thing that <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">makes</span> it what it is - is pure distortion. Right at the end of the live version, the amazing, fuzzy, glittering sound gradually softens, smooths and clears into a pure, soft, flute-like synth sound, bearing no relation whatever to the rest of the track. They've turned it down, so it stops distorting. Without distortion, this tune would be nothing.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Metallica "<a href="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DRyIACDCc1I&fmt=18">The Day That Never Comes</a>" </span>from "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FEA9QU?ie=UTF8&tag=ianshep-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001FEA9QU">Death Magnetic</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=ianshep-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001FEA9QU" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />" What, you thought I wouldn't mention it ?! I've already <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/metallica-death-magnetic-sounds-better.html">written</a> and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours/items/01/2008_41_fri.shtml">said</a> far to much about this album and it's heavily distorted sound - suffice to say it's not big, not clever, and sounds rubbish, in many people's opinion. Moving swiftly on...</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Take That "<a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Take+That?autostart=1">Patience</a>" </span>from "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KGGB2A?ie=UTF8&tag=ianshep-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000KGGB2A">Beautiful World</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=ianshep-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000KGGB2A" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />". Pointless. Just ridiculous. "Death Magnetic" was a production decision, and in my opinion a bad one. I've no idea where the level was pushed too far on <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">this</span> album, but it's just inexplicable. Take That make polite, well-crafted, clean, classic pop tunes. So why does this album sound thick, fuzzy, and smushed ? [Shakes head]<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">The Beatles "I Am The Walrus" </span>From the frankly ridiculous back to the simply sublime, and also where we started; with the band whose output almost forms a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0600612074?ie=UTF8&tag=ianshep-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0600612074">textbook</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=ianshep-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0600612074" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /> of production techniques and creative recording for modern music, and another example of how distortion can be <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">exactly</span> what a song needs. As Ian MacDonald describes in his outstanding book "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1556527330?ie=UTF8&tag=ianshep-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1556527330">Revolution in the Head</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=ianshep-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1556527330" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />", this apparently playful nonsense song can actually be seen as desperate, defensive satire, and the distorted lead vocal fits this perfectly - even though it is probably mic distortion and so may have been a mistake. But there is other distortion here, notably on the electric piano at the start, backing vocals later and finally the gorgeous, quintessentially analogue detuning fizz and sweep of the live radio overdubs during the outro...</div><div><br /></div><div>Distortion can literally make or break a track, but in the right hands it can be a delicate, beautiful thing. What songs are are your favourite distorted tracks, and why ?</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">( Thanks to the people who helped with suggestions and info for this post way back in November - <a href="http://www.myspace.com/thesceneisdeadrocks">Simon</a>, </span><a href="http://twitter.com/robgoldie"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">@robgoldie</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, </span><a href="http://twitter.com/fakesensations"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">@fakesensations, </span></a><a href="http://twitter.com/solarosa"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">@solarosa,</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span><a href="http://twitter.com/dperis"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">@dperis</span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, </span><a href="http://twitter.com/ihatemornings"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">@ihatemornings</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> and others. If I've forgotten you, remind me ! )</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> </span></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381002847466408353.post-7796081780324136282008-12-23T06:20:00.000-08:002008-12-25T05:30:41.578-08:00Happy Christmas !<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/g-hat/2385017556/"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282990335850982306" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 213px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmDPBV4PE63fqxzw9Zik0KM28_PxjLtI3ojL30SMN71UZXaqqX45Jh4B4L7-vU0oLwBd_SVwf1LEKmhj-l7BbvNmB_B2nicRYAayw_o1hc5GZS5nf9ivm0oQcMcumB1dNhc2tS9C8k2to/s320/2385017556_01278d2fdd.jpg" border="0" /></a>Just a quick post to wish everyone reading this blog (who celebrate it) a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year ! <div><br /></div><div>I'm excited at the moment because I'm working on new project which some of you may be interested in - it's early days yet but you'll all be the first to know when it goes live.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's challenging and exciting, which is just the way things should be.</div><div><br /></div><div>Let's hope the New Year brings plenty of great music, mixed and mastered at sane levels, and sounding fantastic !</div><div><br /></div><div>I'll be off-line for most of Christmas, but I have several posts in the pipeline - watch this space. See you all in a couple of weeks !</div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381002847466408353.post-12601785129558886902008-12-17T12:57:00.001-08:002008-12-18T14:24:54.786-08:00The Future Of Music Composition ?<!-- SpringWidgets | rise and shine (#71882) | Blogger | Generated on 12/17/2008 --><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allownetworking="all" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="254" width="300" id="springwidgets_71882" align="middle" data="http://downloads.thespringbox.com/web/wrapper.php?file=71882.sbw" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0"><param name="allowNetworking" value="all"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="movie" value="http://downloads.thespringbox.com/web/wrapper.php?file=71882.sbw"><param name="flashvars" value="param_param=http://feeds.feedburner.com/RiseandShine&param_compactView=false&param_blurbLength=400&param_style_borderColor=0x1D1F4A&param_style_brandUrl=http://www.pubcast.be/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/bowls_300.jpg"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="bgColor" value="0x000000"></object><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); line-height: 12px; font-family:arial;font-size:11px;">Get this widget!</span></div><div><br /></div><div>How does realtime video collaboration with hundreds of contributors all around the world sound ? Could this be the future of music composition ?</div><div><br /></div><div>Well, perhaps not quite yet, but it certainly made for an entertaining evening's viewing - and will continue to on future evenings, until the 24th of December.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm talking about the current Christmas Special run of internet show <a href="http://riseandshine.tv/">Rise and Shine TV</a> - </div><div><br /></div><div><blockquote>"a live show, in which songwriters face the daily challenge of writing a song based on news and current events. The songwriters get to choose what song they are writing - but audience suggestions are always welcome. It’s a tough ask, writing an original topical song from scratch in under three hours, and we need all the help we can get."</blockquote><div><br /></div>This evening, <a href="http://www.ihatemornings.com/">Ben Walker</a> (him what wrote <a href="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=dYP-wBaqQAI&fmt=18">The Twitter Song</a>) got plenty of help from his live audience, via the <a href="http://www.mogulus.com/riseandshine/">Mogulus</a> chat interface, as over the three hour running-time, the initial concept of a song called <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">"Christmas Volcano"</span> gradually morphed into soon-to-be-christmas-hit <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">"Magma Lady"</span> - click on the play button in the widget above to hear it yourself.</div><div><br /></div><div>The brilliance of this concept only really becomes apparent when you watch the show itself and start to interact - Ben, admirably simultaneously wielding guitar, keyboard and macbook while fielding comments <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">and </span>writing a song, would pause in mid sentence and mutter something like "a name, he needs a name", at which point suggestions would come flooding in, (along with links to Wikipedia articles on volcanoes) and you just can't help chipping in yourself.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's addictive stuff, remarkably slick, and very high-tech - the show's producer <a href="http://deanwhitbread.com/blog/index.html">Dean Whitbread</a> (him what does <a href="https://twitter.com/johncleese">John Cleese</a>'s <a href="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jMyNk8J1c8g&fmt=18">podcasts</a>) can choose to switch between multiple camera angles at the location, and also to himself or a live presenter - <a href="http://www2.nostalgie.be/">Christophe Delire</a>, based (of course) in Belgium. Although, in pleasingly "live TV" fashion, nuts 'n' bolts are still in evidence - both Ben and Christophe received phone-calls while the show was on air. (Ben's was from his Mum, who may also be his manager. "Hi Mum, I'm live on the internet...")</div><div><br /></div><div>My favourite chat suggestion of the evening was for the potential refrain <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">"hot magma mama"</span>, which somehow got lost along the way, regrettably, along with my idea that the song's subject, a lonely geologist, would discover Santa's grotto while drilling for a magma chamber in Iceland. Or, at one point, Hawaii. </div><div><br /></div><div>However, I did leave one indelible mark on the evening's proceedings - I contributed the geologist's name: Derek.</div><div><br /></div><div>The show got a great <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=riseandshine">reception</a>, and I for one will be eagerly <a href="http://www.mogulus.com/riseandshine/">tuning in</a> again tomorrow evening to see what lies in store, and I recommend you do, too. The shows start at 7pm GMT - <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/search/label/twitter">Twitter</a> users can follow <a href="http://twitter.com/riseandshinetv">@riseandshinetv</a> for updates and a heads-up when the show starts. Meanwhile there is an archive of the first series of Rise and Shine's TV output <a href="http://riseandshine.tv/videos-from-rise-and-shine/">here</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>*Stop Press* Watch the show again here: <a href="http://riseandshine.tv/ben-walker/">http://riseandshine.tv/ben-walker/</a> (but it's not the same without the live chat ;-)</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> </span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381002847466408353.post-54132220786562933102008-12-14T16:23:00.001-08:002008-12-14T17:31:01.685-08:00My Massive CD-Mastering Mind Map<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG4-HFhUI0f7lXHyHKxhm4q94W3zF-OheSeH-egUB5wLmxEE_u32iWBYZ7eUZ5GPlm-vNUhZ_WD2gHDaWfaJJoRaSk3EUJGyWrHMRZWWxHQAC5MhbC_gwRafZnR-QHQjVwAPVGWJLY7PI/s1600-h/MASTERING.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG4-HFhUI0f7lXHyHKxhm4q94W3zF-OheSeH-egUB5wLmxEE_u32iWBYZ7eUZ5GPlm-vNUhZ_WD2gHDaWfaJJoRaSk3EUJGyWrHMRZWWxHQAC5MhbC_gwRafZnR-QHQjVwAPVGWJLY7PI/s400/MASTERING.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279822965175528690" /></a><br /><br />Everything you could ever want to know about mastering <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(*)</span>, all in one monstrous PDF mind-map file.<div><br /><div>It speaks for itself, really.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(*) Or at least, everything that has occurred to me so far !</span></div><div><br /></div>If you're curious, you can download it <a href="http://www.productionadvice.co.uk/files/MASTERING.pdf">HERE</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>This post started out as an experiment with a great piece of iPhone software - <a href="http://www.tenero.co.uk/products/index.html">iBlueSky</a>. I've been using this great little app on my beloved iPod Touch, and I'm seriously impressed. If you're an iPhone or iTouch user who's interested in mind-mapping software, I heartily recommend it. (When they add the ability to manually colour-code branches and type-set the text, it'll be even better.)</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm also using it to brainstorm ideas for my new, very hush-hush "<a href="http://connection-quanta.blogspot.com/2008/11/acorn-dreaming.html">secret project</a>" - but more on that in a future post.</div><div><br /></div><div>If there are any questions or suggestions you'd like to make about the map and it's contents, please feel free to comment !</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381002847466408353.post-44134404966356405732008-11-26T16:30:00.000-08:002016-11-07T06:48:53.427-08:00The Loudness War Is Over - If We Want It<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273129820771311170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRKS0aJ87ChqfPEd165hElqRrRnZQ7kd0GL2tmoYkqfuLSOrt1aGRmbya3ywdDn3udZJz7kcdKC7SJaEeooxzIq-8pzB0umZGB2BfE9aBd7LR2rpbwEqK2ev4BEpsinOV6apqvFXHwSJg/s200/GNRcover_small.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 191px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; width: 200px;" />The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war">Loudness Wars</a> are over. The tide has turned. The <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/oct/01/metallica.popandrock">massive backlash</a> against the <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/metallica-death-magnetic-clipping.html">crushed, distorted sound</a> of Metallica's Death Magnetic has had exactly the impact <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/metallica-death-magnetic-stop-loudness.html">we all wanted</a>.<br />
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Want proof ? Guns 'n' Roses' new CD, "Chinese Democracy", has been mastered by industry legend Bob Ludwig, who offered the producers three different masters, and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">they chose the most dynamic version</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">.</span></div>
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In an <a href="http://www.gatewaymastering.com/gateway_LoudnessWars.asp">article</a> on his website, Bob says</div>
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<br /></div>
<blockquote>
I was floored when I heard they decided to go with my full dynamics version and the loudness-for-loudness-sake versions be damned.</blockquote>
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<br /></div>
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and goes on to explain:</div>
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<blockquote>
I think the fan and press backlash against the recent heavily compressed recordings finally set the context for someone to take a stand and return to putting music and dynamics above sheer level...</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<br /></blockquote>
<blockquote>
...I’m hoping that Chinese Democracy will mark the beginning of people returning to sane levels and musicality triumphing over distortion and grunge. I have already seen a new awareness and appreciation for quality from some other producers, I pray it is the end of the level wars.</blockquote>
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Bob isn't the only one to see a change, though. Mastering engineers have been commenting on the <a href="http://www.gearslutz.com/board/mastering-forum/334878-tide-turning.html">Gearslutz Mastering forum</a> and elsewhere that since the publicity surrounding the release of "Death Magnetic" more and more people are asking<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Please don't do a 'Metallica' on my record"</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">I've seen it myself too - recently I called a long-time customer to suggest that his latest CD would sound better with a few dBs more headroom - I said "I realise you'll probably disagree with this, but in my opinion it's too loud" - and he replied "I know" !</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">That</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> had never happened before.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">But it will happen more and more, from now on. Despite Metallica's unconvincing insistence that they are happy with the way Rick Rubin produced "Death Magnetic", </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">over 80%</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> of fans responding to a poll on their forums <a href="http://www.metallicabb.com/index.php?showtopic=89954&hl=poll+simple">think that it should be remixed</a>. Over </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">18,000 people</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> have signed the <a href="http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/re-mix-or-remaster-death-magnetic.html">online petition</a>. Only a handful of the 280,000 who have viewed the YouTube <a href="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DRyIACDCc1I&fmt=18">comparison video</a> say they prefer the CD version.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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And what about "Chinese Democracy" ? One of the most expensive and anticipated rock albums in recent years ? Against all expectations, it has been produced and mastered with dynamics, punch and power. The average <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/10/diy-mastering-part-5-how-loud-is-too.html">A-weighted RMS loudness</a> is around -16 dBFS, and as a result it "jumps out of the speakers" at you in a way that "Death Magnetic" never will. Check out a preview of the first track on <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Guns+N%27+Roses/_/Chinese+Democracy?autostart">Last.fm</a> - listen to the way the guitars pile in at 1'26" and then again at 2'10" and then <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">again</span> at 3'36" - you just can't <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">achieve</span> that kind of buzz and build with an RMS of -4 dB.</div>
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Here are some predictions for "Chinese Democracy":</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>It will sell by the bucket-load (head?!) even though it hasn't been smashed to hell</li>
<li>No-one will complain that it's too quiet</li>
<li>It will sound fantastic (and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">loud</span>) on the radio, because it's dynamic and punchy</li>
<li>No-one will start a petition to have a crushed and distorted re-release made</li>
</ul>
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Hats off to Bob and the team behind Guns 'n' Roses, and here's to a future of better-sounding music.</div>
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<a href="http://www.turnmeup.org/">Turn It Up</a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Please use the Digg or Stumble buttons below if you enjoyed this post and would like to publicise the issue of the Loudness Wars !</span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381002847466408353.post-50272927637477214812008-11-04T07:09:00.000-08:002008-11-05T01:40:04.953-08:008 Music Mastering Techniques to Make Your CDs Sound Better<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mulad/285462500/"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ZUb7VdLDownUM1EGwDqsjAulDwuXDXXVYtb6mrAsDhcBc_EZp0N9bl0e4govE_P5lfF_ZOdKioa08b6EAXWTYwcDI9Ic1JS0FITVpQdAFRiQFqfoEAVPeEsWcPQ2qBrO0SEMNoipBRE/s200/285462500_11d6717633_m.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264974891248483042" /></a>How can you make your CDs sound as good as possible ? <div><br /></div><div>By "<a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/08/what-is-mastering.html">mastering</a>" them - meaning, by balancing each individual song against the others in level and sound to create a coherent, satisfying whole.<div><br /><div>Many of my posts are squarely aimed at people who want to get as close as they can to having their CD mastered by a professional. However these tips and suggestions are more general and will benefit <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">anyone</span> who wants their CD to sound good - they apply equally, regardless of the level or standard of your mastering skills.</div><div><ol><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Think big </span>-<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "> </span>Mastering is about <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/08/what-is-mastering.html">making an album from a collection of songs</a>. Now isn't the time to agonise about the details - whether the vocal is too high in one song, or whether you should add another guitar part to another. Mixing is over - move on ! Think about how songs relate to each other, look for a "line" through them, so they flow convincingly. I often describe mastering as finding the "centre of gravity" of a collection of tracks, and helping them all sit right next to each other. Listen to the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">overall</span> sound of each song, and work on that.</span><br /></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">EQ and volume are everything </span>- The <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; "><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equalization">equalisation</a></span> (broadly speaking the bass, middle and treble balance) of each track needs to be right before anything else will work. To choose the right EQ, the level needs to be right, but the EQ influences what level you choose. Sounds like a Catch-22 ? It is. So, set the level, adjust the EQ - repeat until happy. Of course <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/08/mastering-techniques-1-using-compressor.html">dynamic compression</a> is a crucial part of this process - see below.</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Have an open mind</span> - Normally my advice to people is "don't try to master your own stuff". If you <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">are</span> trying to do it yourself though, throw away all the pre-conceptions and ideas you have inherited from the recording and mixing process, and start afresh. Be prepared to cut swathes through all the detailed decisions and reasoning you've put into the project so far - a mastering engineer gives an impartial, third-party opinion about what's best for your material - you need to try and do the same. Listen to the Big Picture.</span><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Match vocal levels<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "> - When choosing how loud each song should be compared to the others, it's easy to get confused. A great rule of thumb is to balance the vocals. If you can get the vocals for each tune to sound as if they're in the same ballpark, almost anything else will work around them. Where you don't have a vocal to listen to, pick the main melodic element instead.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Work fast, be bold - </span>Use broad brush-strokes; listen to each song and make big, instinctive changes. Set the level, choose an EQ and go for it. Instinct is important in mastering, and often your first thought is the right one. If you find yourself going around in circles worrying about the details, it may be best to move on to a different song and come back later.</span><br /></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Keep it Dynamic</span> - You can master a CD without boosting the overall level at all, and all the EQ and level adjustments will still be invaluable. However most people also want to lift the overall level to be closer to commercial releases as well, and so <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_level_compression">compression</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_level_compression#Limiting">limiting</a> become important parts of the process. I'm writing a whole <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/search/label/compression">series of posts</a> about this, but the main point to make here is - <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">don't be tempted to over-cook it. </span>Music needs light and shade - without Quiet, there can be no Loud. So strive to find the "sweet spot" for your album, where the benefits outweigh the problems compression and limiting can cause. If in doubt, check out my post <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/10/diy-mastering-part-5-how-loud-is-too.html">How Loud Is Too Loud ?</a> Don't let your CD be a victim in the <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/02/diy-mastering-part-one-turn-me-up.html">Loudness Wars</a> - no-one wants to be the next "<a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/metallica-death-magnetic-sounds-better.html">Death Magnetic</a>"...</li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Good gaps - mix it up</span> - The silence between tracks on your CD can sometimes be as important as the tracks themselves. If a gaps are too short, the album can feel rushed and exhausting - too long and the listener is distracted form the flow of songs wondering where the next tune is. Some people swear by two-second gaps, but my favourite rule of thumb is - <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">make the gap equal to two bars of the out-going song. </span>Times to consider breaking this rule are early on on the album, where you might want to build momentum, or after a song with a slow fade. Occasional longer gaps can give the listener time to catch their breath, or frame a change of mood or style, for example. Variety is the key here.</li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Burn Slow, Burn Steady</span> - So your songs are sequenced, balanced, boosted and spaced - all you need to do is burn a quick copy at 52x and listen, right ? Wrong. Different brands of CDRs work better in certain burners than others, and error rates vary widely depending on the write speed. Yet again this is a complicated topic, but on the whole we see the best results burning at slower speeds like 16x, 8x or even 4x. This isn't such a big issue unless you want to use your CD for replication, but avoid the very high speeds, and spend a little more on "name" brands like EMTEC, TDK or Verbatim. If you want to use what <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">we</span> use, these brand-names are no use, though - the company widely-regarded as producing the most reliable CDs of all is called <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Taiyo Yuden </span>- but not all suppliers can offer them.</li></ol><div>If your goal is to try and get a professional result for a CD release, all the above techniques will help you. You'll also need decent <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/05/diy-mastering-part-3-mastering-speakers.html">monitoring</a> in a reasonable <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/04/diy-mastering-part-3-room-acoustics.html">room</a>, and probably to read all my other <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/search/label/DIY">DIY mastering posts</a> - but you'll find the ideas here equally valuable, even if your goal is only to make your band's demo sound as good as possible, or you just want to make a better-sounding mix tape.</div><div><br /></div><div>I hope you find them useful, let me know how you get on trying to put them into practise.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> </span></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com54tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381002847466408353.post-83294747650664179752008-10-21T15:02:00.000-07:002008-11-29T14:05:52.037-08:00How to shoot a film for freeFor a blog whose blurb claims to be about a "Mastering engineer <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">and </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">DVD Author</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">"</span> </span>there's been very little about DVD and films here! Here's a post to redress that balance slightly.<div><br /></div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSE6OYfQK8f7s9-R5-Nmq3vFB0hZeQ2zfsZqqznAy6ivLf5qvd0Z2truiZPv8oe5ZDnw9XvbodP4Z4RW7TPC_SjsTQTIjl5S9lIHxhppizYvZMYBLgV-W9JA7u7yp8gVWvfxPSBmqfLWU/s200/gse_multipart44343.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259735729840132242" /><div>One of my favourite DVD projects of recent years is <a href="http://brokebutmakingfilms.blogspot.com/">Greg Hall</a>'s magnificent cult triumph "<a href="http://www.theplaguefilm.co.uk/">The Plague</a>". <a href="http://www.soundrecordingtechnology.co.uk/">SRT</a> created a new 5.1 upmix and re-master of the original stereo soundtrack, plus a new upscaled master tape for the film's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_cinema">digital cinema</a> debut in Covent Garden, and later the authoring of the DVD, all under the watchful eye of Tom Swanston from <a href="http://www.wysiwygfilms.com/">WYSIWYG Films</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Originally shot on mini-DV for only £3500 (!!!), "The Plague" is a fantastic mix of black humour, social commentary and improvised drama, and has won awards and garnered <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0466472/externalreviews">praise</a> from all corners, not least none other than <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005139/">Mike Leigh</a>, who said</div><div><br /></div><blockquote>"It's anarchic, crazy, kind of rough-edged and raw, but it's got an amazing energy, and it embraces white kids, black kids, Asian kids, kids up to no good, boys and girls out on the street. It's a full length film, made low budget, so it's absolutely a gang of people getting together with great imagination and wit, and a bunch of talented actors. It pulsates with energy."</blockquote><div><br /></div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5wh4AX4K64yHLY103Oe4Zb8csZeJmf9bCvYqsXnAgPncKXFPrgFDkVWBA8cnYiEhPspdT9O3Tu0KrDxtYAS-DKQmemCFpU-mn0XALeSZxBZ17fLSnK0sHAlPmvVhi0VzC2itFssv6s98/s200/51IEwPFisRL._SS500_.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259749213237343330" /><div>We were all proud to be involved with it (and had a great time at the premier!) Meanwhile Greg went on to direct "<a href="http://www.kapitalfilm.com/">Kapital</a>" for the Man</div><div>chester International Film Festival, a bold collaboration with composer Steve Martland, and is currently working on "<a href="http://bashtherichfilm.wordpress.com/">Bash The Rich</a>", an autobiography of <a href="http://ianbone.wordpress.com/">Ian Bone</a>, as well as numerous smaller projects. I highly recommend his blog, <a href="http://brokebutmakingfilms.blogspot.com/">Broke But Making Films</a> as a great, inspiring read for any would-be indie film producer, but his latest venture will be particularly exciting to follow, I think.</div><div><br /></div><div>After his "naive" success making the Plague for such a tiny budget, Greg has decided to make his third feature film for <a href="http://brokebutmakingfilms.blogspot.com/2008/10/moving-out-moving-on-new-beginnings.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">no money at all</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="">No, I don't know how this is supposed to work, either! As he says it's a "slightly mad" idea, but if anyone can do it, Greg can - he has "the equipment, the crew, the actors, the determination and the mad glare in my eyes to be able to do this" - and my bet is that the results will be inspirational.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Best of all, he will be blogging it for our education and enjoyment. As he says in his latest <a href="http://brokebutmakingfilms.blogspot.com/2008/10/moving-out-moving-on-new-beginnings.html">post</a>:</div><div><br /></div><blockquote>I will blog and keep a video diary of the whole journey. We will show the improvisation period that is often kept secretive, the madness of shooting on no money, the turbulent editing process and the possible festival circuit and uk cinematic release of the film. Everything you need to know on how to - or possibly how not to - make a no-budget feature film.<div></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div>As anyone who has checked out the fantastic extras on the DVD of The Plague will know, coming from Greg this is no idle claim. I for one will be keeping a sharp eye on his <a href="feed://brokebutmakingfilms.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">RSS feed</a> in the coming weeks and months, I hope you will too.</div><div><br /></div><div>And you could do worse than <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Plague-Moses-McDonald/dp/B000M2EIGS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1224629322&sr=8-1">rent or buy</a> a copy of "The Plague", while you're at it, too!</div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com110tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381002847466408353.post-46853447216212345192008-10-09T16:48:00.000-07:002016-11-07T06:55:50.046-08:00Radio 4 discussing Death Magnetic and the Loudness War<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255461799717520962" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijDkCiWUk1e8lHxVNVem8OQ1bh2PtUiovQiD6eUiWJk8h_r91VwpKGrSRJklq1lEyRlkDCeM_WTDB07gn5a7BfBpSmTWFb0nHdjp8y25S2ISK2ju6sETepBO0BCT0EyFWv5ZwwvKIgC6s/s200/radio4.gif" style="cursor: hand; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" />I will be taking part today in BBC Radio 4's consumer affairs show, "<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours/">You and Yours</a>". They are doing a short item discussing the controversy over the <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/metallica-death-magnetic-stop-loudness.html">distorted</a> sound of Metallica's "Death Magnetic" CD and the <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/metallica-death-magnetic-stop-loudness.html">Loudness Wars</a>, focusing on the unprecedented <a href="http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/re-mix-or-remaster-death-magnetic/signatures.html">reaction</a> of the fans who are unhappy about the way the disc sounds. <br />
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I'll be wearing my "boffin" hat and providing technical background and there will also be audio examples and interviews with fans, I believe.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Update: Just got back from recording my interview - it was basically done live, so I heard the whole "item" from beginning to end. I managed to say most of the things I wanted to (I think, it's a bit of a blur !) and the interviews with the fans were excellent. It's a hell of a lot of information to pack into 10 minutes of radio, but I think it really gets the message across, I hope all the fans agree.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Updated update: Well, having listened to the programme I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. I said more of what I wanted to than I remembered straight after the recording ! Thanks to Joel Moors at the BBC for doing such a sterling job putting the piece together, and to John Waite (the presenter) for making it such a painless process.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Update #3: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;">Click play to listen to the clip here:</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">The show will be also available for a week on the "You and Yours" website here:</span></div>
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<em></em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381002847466408353.post-72988089518174485672008-10-08T14:55:00.000-07:002008-10-08T16:26:05.595-07:00Metallica fans needed for radio interview todayI have been speaking to a BBC reporter who wants to do an item a UK radio show about the controversy over the sound quality of Death Magnetic, and the reaction of unhappy fans.<div><br /></div><div>Ideally he would like to speak to them in London, but this could be extended around the UK if necessary. Please check out one of these threads to get in touch if you are able to take part:</div><div><br /></div><div>http://www.metallicabb.com/index.php?showtopic=91270<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>http://www.justiceforaudio.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=201<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This is a great opportunity to get the word about the Loudness War and Death Magnetic out to a wider audience. Even if you're not able to take part yourself, maybe you know a friend who could - please try to help out !<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'Trebuchet MS';font-size:13px;"><br /></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381002847466408353.post-35544869516445520222008-10-05T15:05:00.000-07:002016-11-07T06:59:13.933-08:00Metallica "Death Magnetic" - Vinyl sounds better than CD. But not much.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjALI1QMSwhW3FnsFo72-43Qkgq5U3OL03nqKUuz-fJhrBI_uUKwGAtvEZwFfIgpgI4nNy_TluBXypvqVd_YT8LYpqDYtdeUUx8gpL1Lj9AEUJfXfruN1ZhyphenhyphenKAwkO-XlNkHELFkscyBQMg/s1600-h/Picture+1.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjALI1QMSwhW3FnsFo72-43Qkgq5U3OL03nqKUuz-fJhrBI_uUKwGAtvEZwFfIgpgI4nNy_TluBXypvqVd_YT8LYpqDYtdeUUx8gpL1Lj9AEUJfXfruN1ZhyphenhyphenKAwkO-XlNkHELFkscyBQMg/s400/Picture+1.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254159870714199458" /></a><br />To cut a long story short:<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; "></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; ">The vinyl LPs of "DeathMagnetic" sound better than the CD release. </span><div><br /></div><div>Not by a huge margin - they were clearly made from the same, <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/metallica-death-magnetic-clipping.html">heavily distorted</a> original mixes, but despite this they sound a little more <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">real, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="">more</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"> d</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">ynamic</span>, more <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">spacious</span> and (yes, really!) <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; ">more <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">exciting</span>. </span></span></div><div><br /></div><div>That's the good news. The bad news is that the difference isn't <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">that</span> huge, and not<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> all</span> the tracks sound much better - there is more difference on some than on others. And also, the versions I listened to are the $100 5-LP set. So not only do you need a turntable to listen to them, but they aren't cheap.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are however several fascinating questions which are raised by this, of which the most controversial is:</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">Did the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="">CD </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="">mastering</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; "> actually make the sound </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="">worse<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> ?</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div>Of course "worse" is a subjective term, but I'll explain what I'm hearing in more detail below.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">What makes Death Magnetic (on CD) sound the way it does</span></div><div><br /></div><div>There are three major factors that contribute to the overall sound of the Death Magnetic CD:</div><div><ol><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">The mix</span> - hard, raw, dry, with very litle reverb. This is Rick Rubin's signature sound on this kind of material, and undoubtedly is the way the band wanted the album to sound. Even the "Guitar Hero" mix that many fans prefer shares this sound.</li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Distortion </span>- the CD release is massively distorted, especially the drums and the bass. This harsh type of distortion is made by a process known as "clipping" - in this case it sounds like <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">analogue</span> or "soft" clipping, probably from overdriving valve circuitry, channels on the mixing desk or similar. This distortion is <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/metallica-death-magnetic-sounds-better.html">mostly absent from the "Guitar Hero"</a> mix, but mastering engineer Ted Jensen's claims the "artistic" decision to make the record sound like this happened at the mixing stage.</li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Digital clipping</span> - caused by lifting a digital signal above it's theoretical maximum level. Although it is also <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/metallica-death-magnetic-yes-it-is.html">a form of distortion</a>, on a record<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> this</span> distorted to begin with, it's debatable whether this would actually be audible as such - it tends to have a more thin, "fizzy" quality which is probably mostly masked by the crunchier, cracklier analogue distortion discussed above. However it has other effects on the sound - in small quantities it can allow additional level boosts without major distortion and loss of punch. If overdone though, or used on signals that are already very loud, it can actually have exactly the opposite effect. Unlike the mix and analogue distortion, it's not possible to know with any certainty whether this clipping occurred at the mix, master or both.</li></ol><div>Or rather, it <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">wasn't</span> possible (for me, at least) until now.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Why listen to the vinyl ?</span></div><div><br /></div><div>There has been discussion from the outset on the Metallica forums and elsewhere that perhaps the vinyl release would sound better than the CD. This doesn't rely on any purist audiophile belief that vinyl is better <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">per se</span>, but simply stems from the fact that vinyl releases are typically mastered separately from the CD versions, partly to take into account the pros and cons of each format, and partly because engineers often specialise.</div><div><br /></div><div>This means there is scope for a vinyl version to sound different:</div><div><ol><li>Because it was mastered (or "cut") for a different format</li><li>Perhaps by a different engineer</li><li>Perhaps from a different mix</li></ol>This last possibility was the one that had the fans really excited, but it was quickly established that it wasn't the case - the crackly analogue-sounding distortion was on the vinyl, too. At this point most people lost interest, and in fact many commented bitterly on the fact that the much-touted "audiophile" release, pressed on limited edition heavy vinyl at 45rpm for the best possible quality, suffered all the problems of the vanilla CD.</div><div><br /></div><div>However as time went on, several people started <a href="http://www.metallicabb.com/index.php?showtopic=90690&st=0">saying that the vinyl </a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.metallicabb.com/index.php?showtopic=90690&st=0">was</a></span><a href="http://www.metallicabb.com/index.php?showtopic=90690&st=0"> better</a> in some ways, even though the distortion was still there. One chose to send me a couple of high-quality FLAC extracts to listen to, to get my opinion of them.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">How does the vinyl sound ?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div>My first move was to listen to the same track I've used in my other comparisons - "The Day That Never Comes". I quickly established that indeed, the same mushy distortion covered the mix as the CD version. However discussion on the forums mentioned that different tracks sounded better than others, so next I chose one they highlighted as sounding clearly better - "All Nightmare Long". Before listening I used <a href="http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/audio/audioleak.html">AudioLeak</a> to calculate the long-term RMS loudness of both files, and reduced the CD version by 3.6 dB to match them. Comparisons without matched levels are highly unreliable. (The A-weighted values suggested a 5dB difference, but the CD sounded unfairly quiet to me at this level.)</div><div><br /></div><div>After loading them up to ProTools, instantly I could hear a difference, even though I was just listening at home on headphones. Both were crunchy and distorted, but the vinyl version had more "punch", more weight in the drums, and the bass was clearer and more defined - even though the mix overall had less bottom end in it, the notes were more clearly audible. This was especially obvious during the more "full-on" sections, where the CD version suffered noticeably in comparison. After listening a little longer, I found I had a strong preference for the vinyl version. </div><div><br /></div><div>Returning to "The Day That Never Comes", I can hear the same difference, and draw the same conclusions, although the distortion from the original mix is so extreme it doesn't jump out at you in quite the same way. In comparison the CD sounds flat and lifeless. I'm still not keen on the distortion, but of the two versions I would choose the vinyl to listen to.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">The difference between the vinyl and CD</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Waveforms aren't proof in cases like these - there are lots of reasons the vinyl might look different. In fact though, they are remarkably similar. Having looked at the waveforms of the CD before, I was pretty sure of what I would find, but zooming in on the waveform confirmed my suspicions.</div><div><br /></div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9pz_HgVP4m2kfXIc99gy42UdmKztr7SjXD2LZNjQzeBRExXZclcrv9dQHf5EGXKlPXtjECjKVV4JwQMWxXVcfnA2cmx_qOVsElW6bV6lzs1qJdVsTou1fn6-fTiO76FLFSxNF3IrJ9HE/s400/Picture+2.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254129370523189234" /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The upper (CD) waveform is digitally clipped or "squared off", as expected, but the unexpected part is the vinyl version - it's a very unusual, unnatural shape because of the distortion, but it's <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">not</span> squared off. This explains why the vinyl sounds better - although harsh, the analogue distortion hasn't completely removed all the remaining dynamics. Extreme digital clipping of this kind on the other hand, where the whole wave becomes almost square, obliterates pitch information - the ear can't resolve the original fundamental or it's harmonics. Impact and punch are lost, too - the result sounds two-dimensional and plastic in comparison.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Some people on the Metallica forums expressed the opinion that the extra "peak" information on the vinyl didn't represent "real" musical information, simply the inherent difference in the format. Initially, I was inclined to agree, but after doing these listening tests myself I don't agree - <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">the vinyl is less clipped than the CD and sounds better as a result.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Put another way: True, we are only talking about 3-4 dB extra dynamic range. But most of the CD tracks have a "<a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/10/diy-mastering-part-5-how-loud-is-too.html">loudness range</a>" of only 3dB RMS anyway. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">So the vinyl has roughly twice the loudness range of the CD.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">More questions</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; ">There are various differences between the vinyl and CD versions, as I would expect of two different masters for different formats. The CD sounds slightly thicker and fuller, without quite as much edge, and perhaps slightly more compressed. However the most noticeable difference is in the levels - there is 3.6 dB RMS between the vinyl and CD versions, even though both are peaking at full digital level. This means someone somewhere decided to boost the CD version by a further 3.6 dB, and digitally clip it in the process. (It's possible a digital limiter might have been used, but it looks like a straight clip.)</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The question is who, and why ? The RMS measurement of of the vinyl version is -8.5, which is right at the top end of <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/10/diy-mastering-part-5-how-loud-is-too.html">the loudest you can go without damaging the sound</a>, and it already has the harsh, aggressive, distorted sound it seems that Rick Rubin wanted. So as a mastering engineer, I would see no reason to boost it further - simply balancing the EQ and levels of the tracks would be fine, and I'm sure Ted Jensen would have the same opinion.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So, were the files supplied to Sterling Sound already clipped ? Ted <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/metallica-death-magnetic-clipping.html">says</a> they were "already brickwalled" - does he mean in a digital sense, as well as the analogue distortion ? Or, was he pushed to make the CDs even louder than the mixes, to the detriment of the sound ? He says he "would never be pushed to overdrive things as far as they are here". In which case, were the files that were supplied for CD mastering clipped more than the ones used for the vinyl ? If so, why ? There seems to be no logical reason for doing that, at all. Perhaps new, cleaner files were supplied for the vinyl cut in response to the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/oct/01/metallica.popandrock">unfavourable public reaction</a> to the CDs ?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-size: small;">(Edit - I have been told the CD and vinyl versions were released simultaneously, in which case this last suggestion doesn't hold water.)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Either way, it's a shame the CDs ended up this way - the clipping isn't enough on it's own to ruin the music, but in my opinion in the unfortunate case of "Death Magnetic", it really is the straw that breaks the camel's back.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Now, I wonder what the downloadable mp3 versions sound like...!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> </span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381002847466408353.post-66478675705960840532008-10-02T05:44:00.000-07:002016-11-07T06:59:37.004-08:00DIY Mastering Part 5 - How loud is Too Loud ?<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252867586491238578" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglDGEUd-fdpZ8M421yBY2rurG6byFPvy85wx2Ve4ZN8Mcxvzbv3RjpdZMSdb6HOb7YBn054c_pibyq3ZjXhSGnkVQzH-OBQhpGlrzCSmiMU3Kb1HB68odDOX6KYwZ49HEL0pHcFLhLrDE/s320/Picture+1.png" border="0" /> <div>As regular readers of this blog will know all too well by now, I am firmly <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/stop-loudness-wars.html">opposed</a> to the so-called CD "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war">Loudness Wars</a>", where everyone tries to get their CD louder than anyone else's by pushing the recorded level higher and higher. This is ultimately a self-defeating process - the CD spec defines a mazimum recordable level, and the harder you push your music up against that level, the more squashed, flattened, crushed and ultimately <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overdrive_(music)#Physics_of_clipping">distorted</a> it gets. Meanwhile there is far less scope within the tracks on the CD for the <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/loudness-peak-vs-average-level.html">contrast</a> needed for a satisfying musical result.<br /><br /><strong>BUT</strong> as a <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/08/what-is-mastering.html">mastering engineer</a> I spend a lot of my time lifting the level of people's music so that it can compete with the high levels of other CDs out there. And, as I've said in a <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/metallica-death-magnetic-putting-record.html">previous post</a>, I feel that this is actually a positive step for most albums.<br /><br />How do I reconcile these two apparently contradicting views ? The answer is something I've also said several times before here:<br /><br /><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Louder is Better, but Too Loud is Worse</span></strong><br /><br />By which I mean - every track (and group of tracks) has a "sweet spot", where it's loudness (and by implication compression, level, EQ etc) is <em>just right</em>. It sounds the best it can be. If it's not <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/08/mastering-techniques-1-using-compressor.html">compressed</a> enough, then quiet passages won't have enough presence, the mix may not "gel" or have enough impact, detail may be lost, and loud passages will make you wince. Whereas if it's <span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-STYLE: italic">too</span> loud and compressed it can sound squashed and dull (meaning bland and lifeless, not lacking treble) and ultimately fatiguing. </div><br /><div>If the idea of using compression on a mix surprises you, it's worth knowing that as a rule of thumb people tend to like quite loud, compressed music, especially for pop and rock. Rick Rubin, who produced Metallica's latest album "Death Magnetic" (currently being heavily <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/oct/01/metallica.popandrock">criticised</a> for it's excessively-squashed, distorted sound) <a href="http://www.musicangle.com/feat.php?id=38&page=3">said</a> in an interview from 2004:</div><br /><blockquote>I wish I had examples here to play for you. If I knew we were going to talk about this I’d go through the library and find examples. Ultimately, if you listen on a car sound system or in the mainstream place where most people listen to music—cars, boomboxes sound systems you get at (chain stores), and if you “A/B” the less compressed version to the more compressed version, you pick the compressed version.<br /></blockquote><br />And he's right ! He also says, in response to a question about things sounding better on the radio: <div><br /><blockquote>Sometimes actually, if it’s too loud, it sounds worse on the radio.<br /></blockquote><br /><div>And again, he's right. Sadly, this is <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/metallica-death-magnetic-guitar-hero.html">exactly the case</a> with Death Magnetic. Clearly this is a delicate issue, and one that even the most respected engineers sometimes misjudge. Music needs just the right amount of compression and level, based on the style of music and the original recording. <div><br /></div><div>So, how loud <em>is</em> Too Loud ? Where do we cross the boundary from sweet-spot into overcooking ? The answer of course is -<br /><br /><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Something is Too Loud when it starts to sound worse</span></strong><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>But what is worse ? Everything is subjective. Rubin obviously thought Death Magnetic sounded good when he was working on it - perhaps he still does. Lars from Metallica has no problem with it, but I and <a href="http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/re-mix-or-remaster-death-magnetic/signatures.html">many others</a> think it's a great shame that so much distortion had to be introduced.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Loudness Measurements</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Ultimately the only <span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-STYLE: italic">real </span>way to judge this is to <span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">use your ears</span>, but for what it's worth, here are a few facts and figures. I have analysed the loudness of several tracks using a free Mac utility called <a href="http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/audio/audioleak.html">AudioLeak</a> to measure their long-term <strong>A-weighted RMS level</strong>. RMS stands for "root mean square" and as applied to music roughly describes the loudness of a musical signal. <strong>A-weighting</strong> improves on this by taking into account the fact that the ear is less sensitive to bass and treble when judging loudness, and provides a better guide to how loud we think things. A track of equal "raw" RMS level but with more bass won't sound quite as loud, for example, and so will have a lower A-weighted RMS.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here are some example A-weighted RMS level measurements, with raw RMS in brackets - they are long-term measurements, ie. average values over an entire track. The highest theoretical value possible is zero, and slightly confusingly they are measured <span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-STYLE: italic">down</span> from there, so -10 is <span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-STYLE: italic">louder</span> than -12, for example. So, with the loudest at the top, we have:</div><div><br /></div><div></div><p><span style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">-8.6</span> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"></span></span>(-6.2) <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Oasis</span> - "Some Might Say": Severe clipping distortion<br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">-8.9</span> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">(-4.9)</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Metallica</span> - "TDTNC" <span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">(CD)</span>: Massive distortion & clipping<br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">-10.4</span> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"></span></span>(-7.7) <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Feeder</span> - "Pushing The Senses":<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"> </span>Heavy clipping distortion<br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">-12.7</span> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"></span></span>(-7.7) <span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Metallica</span> - "BB&S" <span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">(Mystery Mix)</span>:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"></span></span>Slight source clipping<br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">-14.0</span> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"></span></span>(-10) <span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Katatonia</span> - "Consternation":<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"></span></span>Awesome (clean) sound, massive choruses<br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">-15.3</span> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"></span></span>(-13.1) <span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Sugar</span> - "Fortune Teller":<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"></span></span>From 1993<br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">-21.8</span> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"></span></span>(-16.9) <span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Metallica</span> - "TDTNC" <span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">(GH3)</span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"></span></span>Needs to be louder !<br /></span></p><div><br /></div><div>There are plenty of interesting things to be seen looking at these numbers - firstly, the Oasis track actually measures fractionally louder than Metallica ! However by looking at the raw RMS values we can see that in brute power terms Metallica has a higher level - they just have more low-frequency in the sound than Oasis, so the A-weighted value doesn't reflect that. This higher raw RMS may also explain why the distortion on the Metallica tracks is even worse than on Oasis.</div><div><br /></div><div>Looking at these tracks it would seem that with care the A-weighted RMS can actually be pushed as high as -12 dBFS without obvious distortion. Whether the result is satisfying musically, the numbers can't tell us, though. In my opinion the two best-sounding tracks here are Katatonia and Sugar - "Copper Blue" was a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">loud </span>album for it's time, but look how things have changed. (By the way examining some SRT masters, the A-weighted RMS typically hovers around - you guessed it, -14 to -12 dBFS)</div><div><br /></div><div>So, is the answer to "how loud is too loud" actually "any higher than an overall level of -12 dBFS RMS, A-weighted" ? </div><div><br /></div><div>Well, if we're judging "too loud" to mean "the onset of distortion", then for guitar-driven rock music, yes, maybe. However other genres may suffer more or less and we need to bear in mind that rock is a highly compressed, distorted genre to begin with. I prefer a more dynamic sound personally, so I would pick a level closer to -14 - <span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-STYLE: italic">if</span> it suits the music. Once again, at the end of the day we need to <span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">use our ears</span> to make these judgement calls. </div><div><br /></div><div><strong>Understanding Loudness Measurements</strong></div><div><br />It's also interesting to think about what these numbers <span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-STYLE: italic">mean</span>. The Katatonia track is only 2dB (RMS) quieter than the "<a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/metallica-death-magnetic-remixed-from.html">Mystery Mix</a>" of Broken, Beat & Scarred", but still has more punch, weight and impact, to my ears. This difference is vastly more apparent comparing to the Metallica CD, and looking at the numbers we can see why. Katatonia has maximum RMS of -8 dB, in the track, compared to an average of -14, giving it a "loudness range" of 6dB.</div><div><br /></div><div>Compare that with the "Death Magnetic" track. The highest raw RMS level in the track is -2.5 dB. But the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-STYLE: italic">average</span> is an eye-watering -4.9, allowing it a range of <span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">only 2.4 dB</span>. So the loudest parts can be only 2.4 dB louder than the rest of the track. <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Katatonia has almost </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">three times</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"> the loudness range</span> to play with. No wonder TDTNC sounds flat and lifeless by <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/metallica-death-magnetic-sounds-better.html">comparison</a>, whereas when the chorus kicks in on "MyTwin" the impact and buzz it generates is huge. And with almost 10dB to play with, it's obvious why the Guitar Hero version has so much more punch and life - and in fact in my opinion, it would benefit from some EQ and being at a higher level and more compressed, to get it into the "sweet spot". This is why despite preferring the reduced distortion, some listeners <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/metallica-death-magnetic-putting-record.html">still find it lacking</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ultimately the decision about when the music starts to suffer at the expense of level is one of taste, and requires a judgement call by all concerned. However looking at RMS levels as we have here can be very revealing for a mastering engineer, so I strongly recommend you experiment with AudioLeak or another form of <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/05/mastering-software-1-metering.html">loudness metering</a> - like all mastering facilities we use them constantly here at SRT when mastering. I also recommend you stick around the -14 dBFS A-weighted RMS level to ensure that your CDs are both competitive but also loud-sounding<em> in their own right</em>.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-STYLE: italic"></span></div><div></div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"></span><div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com85tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381002847466408353.post-17918056420776424452008-09-30T15:40:00.000-07:002008-10-01T09:14:51.047-07:00Metallica "Death Magnetic" - Bands comments spark furious response<img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBNTqwqjd-FG6nnsGc_OhnhxyoaBywkc296VsiHnOjNU85Pmo91Gt05CXE2OeaEYbykXCU-OLlxDH7lSKzQeSv4J8a4OrDMXI-JSWpCkDvWRbzmVUd2tTW_d22QsWmXJsWkfk6guUXaFk/s200/deathmme4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251949583026368162" />If Lars Ulrich, Metallica's drummer, thought that his <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/metallica-death-magnetic-distortion-is.html">comments</a> to Blender.com about the distorted sound of "Death Magnetic" would put an end to the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122228767729272339.html">controversy</a>, he was sadly mistaken. <div><br /></div><div>With no official word from the band, many who disliked the <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/metallica-death-magnetic-clipping.html">excessive compression and distortion</a> of the CD release had simply chosen to listen to the much <a href="http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/metallica-death-magnetic-sounds-better.html">cleaner and more dynamic</a> mix from the PS3 "Guitar Hero" game instead. On the Metallicabb.com <a href="http://www.metallicabb.com/index.php?showforum=30">forums</a> where much of the debate has been conducted between fans over the last few weeks, things seemed to have started to calm down again. <div><br /></div><div>However Lars' comments have lit a blue touch-paper, and suddenly the dissatisfaction has exploded again with renewed vigour. The forum is swamped by threads, bitterly arguing about <a href="http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/09/lars-ulrich-res.html">Lars' apparent disregard</a> for the opinions of loyal fans. It's true that Metallica has picked up it's fair share of "haters" over the years - people who are determined to criticise whatever the band do - but the vast majority of people complaining about the sound have always made it clear they love the new material, and only have a problem with Rick Rubin's punishing, fatiguing production style. Lars' dismissal of the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">12,000+ signatures</span> on the <a href="http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/re-mix-or-remaster-death-magnetic.html">petition</a> to have the album remixed as "a few people" was greeted with incredulity and scorn by most, along with his assertion that it sounds "smokin'" in his car.</div><div><br /></div><div>One group of fans, dismayed by what they have learnt about the so-called Loudness Wars since the release of Death Magnetic, have already set up a new site to try and stop the Loudness "arms race" - <a href="http://www.justiceforaudio.org/">JusticeForAudio.org</a> is still in it's early stages but already features an impressive level of activity. </div><div><br /></div><div>Since the Blender.com article, a new focus of protest has also developed - a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">co-ordinated return of CDs</span> to Metallica's offices on <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">October 17th</span>. Initially <a href="http://www.metallicabb.com/index.php?showtopic=90066">suggested</a> on the Metallicabb.com forums, the plan has been given focus by a <a href="http://mikemelancholic.blogspot.com/2008/09/metallicas-death-magnetic-being-sent.html">blog post</a> by user <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">mikemelancholic</span>, and seems to be gaining considerable support amongst unhappy fans, judging by the replies on the forums.</div><div><br /></div><div>It remains to be seen how many copies will eventually be returned, but if the organisers achieve their goal it could have considerable impact - if there's one thing that makes record companies sit up and take notice, it's returns.</div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile views of the YouTube <a href="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DRyIACDCc1I&fmt=18">video</a> offering a comparison between the CD and Guitar Hero mixes actually seem to have <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">increased </span>since Lars' comments rather than decreasing as he must have hoped, and leapt up to over<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"> 175,000</span> this evening, with signatures to the <a href="http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/re-mix-or-remaster-death-magnetic.html">petition</a> seemingly unaffected and steadily growing by about 1000 a day.</div><div><br /></div><div>It seems this battle in the Loudness War isn't over just yet.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> </span></div><div><br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com11