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Fantastic tracks ruined by mastering/mixing.


Penzoline

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I don't know if we've had this discussion before but what are you favourite tracks that are musically superb but end up not played due their terrible audio quality.

 

 

Absolutely adore this Filteria track but the fact it's so loud and tinny makes me not want to listen to it.

 

 

This Mindsphere track was released remastered but it was the album version(Operation Side) instead, I like this version from VA Human Hyperactivation much more. Just constant power but unfortunately it sounds very tinny and loud as well.

 

Might I add the infamous Lost Buddha 2004-2007 album, it is literally the best(Incredible, even) works of Filipe but most of those tracks were completely lost. Phototropic released a live version of it but it didn't have half of the tracks that were in the unofficial release.

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I got a couple more

 

 

Very unique track, too bad the whole compilation it was on was ruined by some of the worst mastering of all time.

 

 

The best dark goa track of new school, unfortunately suffering a horrendous fate. It's passable to a degree, but really, what it could have been...

 

 

Man what I would do to get these tracks remastered on a best of comp, especially the last one. It's not impossible, is it?

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Well, often albums as a whole for obvious reasons... I think I had to play Astrancer - Koilon from Spiritual Rising at -6 or 7 dB compared to the next track in a mix to match the overall level. Unsurprisingly, not a single element manages to stand out from that flat mass. Most unfortunate because it's a neat track.

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Well, often albums as a whole for obvious reasons... I think I had to play Astrancer - Koilon from Spiritual Rising at -6 or 7 dB compared to the next track in a mix to match the overall level. Unsurprisingly, not a single element manages to stand out from that flat mass. Most unfortunate because it's a neat track.

I really like that track too! It's kind of amazing they got it that loud in the first place without ugly distortion.

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Lithium Dreams the whole compilation, which sucks because all the tracks are awesome.

 

Sephalopod-Option Paralysis from here. Sounds like it's recorded through a broken microphone.

 

Both Analog Pussy tracks and Pergamon-Endorphin from here. All awesome tracks, but the mastering suck. To be honest most Hypnotic related relases have really bad mastering.

 

Dark Soho-Sun Spot the original version. It's mono/pseudostereo! How did they fuck it that bad? Too bad cause the album is a masterpiece.

 

Sundrops-Light In Motion is painfully loud. Sorry guys! :P

 

Amanians-DNA. The mixing ain't that bad, but the kick pans to the left! Totally ruins one of the best newschool tracks. Why? How didn't notice that?

 

 

They're more. I'll come back angrier.

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Whole Suncokreti compilations is ruined with bad mastering. Actually what they did, is they mastered it themself even if they don't have any experience and without sending to artists to check and confirm that they are satisfied with mastering, they released it.

 

I remember when RA send me their mastering of their track, it was so good... But Ultiva destroyed them :/

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Whole Suncokreti compilations is ruined with bad mastering. Actually what they did, is they mastered it themself even if they don't have any experience and without sending to artists to check and confirm that they are satisfied with mastering, they released it.

 

I remember when RA send me their mastering of their track, it was so good... But Ultiva destroyed them :/

I agree with you, it's shame because that compilation is really great!

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I don't want to bad mouth but... BotFB has had quite impressively bad mastering continously all these years and I can't but to wonder why.

 

The recent example, a track that I find excellent compositionally is atrociously loud and can't be played in good PA: After Death

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Absolutely adore this Filteria track but the fact it's so loud and tinny makes me not want to listen to it.

 

 

That whole Alternative Colours album is pretty loud, but as far as I'm concerned all Filteria sounds like that.

 

 

Tim Schuldt's desecration of Dimension 5 - Transdimensional.

 

I haven't heard the original master, but I don't have any problems with the sound of the re-release.

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Whole Suncokreti compilations is ruined with bad mastering. Actually what they did, is they mastered it themself even if they don't have any experience and without sending to artists to check and confirm that they are satisfied with mastering, they released it.

 

I remember when RA send me their mastering of their track, it was so good... But Ultiva destroyed them :/

 

 

Not to say that not all music needs to be mastered.

If the production is top quality, than in fact no mastering is needed.

 

To bad, cause of this, cause RA is amazing music :)

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REALLY!

what as apposed to the original?

or....

please state your arguement

 

Sure. I think when the original was mastered, it was done with the awareness that this was a 'spacy' album. Lots of space between layers in the recording, and the bass has a smudgy/pillowy feeling.

 

With the remaster, everything sounds jammed together, and the bass is a loud 'thunking' sound. It's especially bad on Deep Space 5D, which had a more open feeling originally and now feels like it's on rails because of the dominance of the single bass note. It's meant to be a deep and more rock influenced track, but the way it's mastered sucks the ambience out of it.

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I have to agree the remaster was quite poor. Ever since I realized that I paid attention to Schudts masters and I didn't like much of them until recently as it feels like he's either improved or gotten enough feedback about the poor mastering that was done before. Suntrip there was a reason I wanted you to get someone else to master your albums! But it's quite fine now.

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the only time i thought that tim's mastering wasn't as good as i liked is the climax of the original version of time current at around 3:41. everything has about same perceived loudness here, so it's not as intense as it could be, but that might also be a mix decision...

 

 

hunab ku is much better now in the remastered version, but the sound quality is still not near where it should be for such an album. probably the mixes of the original files were far from ideal.

 

another one that sounds awful now but could be great with better mixing/mastering is trypticon - the 7th portal.

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I need to echo that Schuldt's mastering of Transdimensional was indeed loud and 'jammed' as Earwall put it. It's a tricky business when you're remastering old classics, but for example Colin OOOD has been doing great work for Mind Rewind series.

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I've found Tim Schuldt's mastering is always quiet flat. It just sounds boring IMO. It's why I find so much of Suntrip's work pre 2012 hard to sit through. Actually only since Blacklight Moments have they taken off. As far as the new generation of Goa trance goes it's Timewarp Records that have blown me away with the quality of the final product in terms of sound. It just seems to catch the energy so well.

 

Actually Tim Schuldt seems to excel at mastering darker stuff, all of his work on Anjuna Records has been amazing. Maybe because his background is more the darker industrial style. I am thinking Suntrip probably has a good deal price wise with him now that makes switching to someone else unaffordable.

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You'll always have people that don't like certain things that are "different", "modern" or whatever you name it.

When the guys of DimensioN 5 heard the remaster, they were super happy... Specially because they thought the original mastering was bad, and almost non existent. And when the artist is super happy, and we think it fits perfectly on a modern dancefloor, it is cool for us :)

Tim Schuldt does mix maximal (like some say, he did stop that a little since Blacklight moments), but that is "his" sound autograph. Unfortunately we are 2014, and our tracks need to sound good on festivals like Boom, SUn, etc as well, which means modern mastering is somehow a must. We try to keep the best of both sides. And also, the re-release of Psykadelia is not even sure to be remastered :)

As for, why not taking someone else; very simple: we are happy about him. And I didn't like the Mind Rewind 2 mastering for instance.

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You'll always have people that don't like certain things that are "different", "modern" or whatever you name it.

 

When the guys of DimensioN 5 heard the remaster, they were super happy... Specially because they thought the original mastering was bad, and almost non existent. And when the artist is super happy, and we think it fits perfectly on a modern dancefloor, it is cool for us :)

 

Tim Schuldt does mix maximal (like some say, he did stop that a little since Blacklight moments), but that is "his" sound autograph. Unfortunately we are 2014, and our tracks need to sound good on festivals like Boom, SUn, etc as well, which means modern mastering is somehow a must. We try to keep the best of both sides. And also, the re-release of Psykadelia is not even sure to be remastered :)

 

As for, why not taking someone else; very simple: we are happy about him. And I didn't like the Mind Rewind 2 mastering for instance.

 

i agree, except for mind rewind, i think it's awsomely done

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That is so weird, I think MR1 and 2 had some of the best re-mastering ever. The sound seperation is a must, goa needs to breathe, rather than be a big flat line of sounds mashed together.

 

I mean hell, just go and compare D5 Iron sun and Iron sun remix, the other from 2007 and the other 2013. The difference is huge! The 2013 sounds much nicer.

 

Obviously I don't know how any of that translates to live audio, but speakers/headphones, colin OOOD has had the best sounding masters I've heard in goa. Other EDM genre's I listen to(mainly dnb, dubstep, trance, prog house) don't seem to suffer from bad mastering or mixing so much. Obviously those genre's are more popular and have more money in them, but still.

 

I've found Tim Schuldt's mastering is always quiet flat. It just sounds boring IMO. It's why I find so much of Suntrip's work pre 2012 hard to sit through. Actually only since Blacklight Moments have they taken off. As far as the new generation of Goa trance goes it's Timewarp Records that have blown me away with the quality of the final product in terms of sound. It just seems to catch the energy so well.

 

Actually Tim Schuldt seems to excel at mastering darker stuff, all of his work on Anjuna Records has been amazing. Maybe because his background is more the darker industrial style. I am thinking Suntrip probably has a good deal price wise with him now that makes switching to someone else unaffordable.

+1 to everything you said. I also noticed the improvement in Blacklight Moments.
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I mean hell, just go and compare D5 Iron sun and Iron sun remix, the other from 2007 and the other 2013. The difference is huge! The 2013 sounds much nicer.

 

Obviously I don't know how any of that translates to live audio, but speakers/headphones, colin OOOD has had the best sounding masters I've heard in goa.

 

absolutely.

colin really makes things shine, the only exception imho is artha with those piercing highs.

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