mrvander

Putting aside the 5.1 mix, is there any known information regarding the differences between 2112 Deluxe and the Sectors discs? Both were mastered by Andy VanDette with Sectors being mastered in 2011 then Deluxe was done in 2012. Are these the same masters or did he really remaster it again a year later? If you have any info with links I would appreciate it.

I like air.

I still don't have this to this day. I gave up a long time ago on this riff and never revisited it. I "cheat" when I do play it - non-guitarist/non-rush fans can't tell the difference, but it's not right. I should tackle this again someday. If I recall, I couldn't quite get the picking right to hit that open E after the fretted D and have it sound smooth.

Come on, folks. Give a little bit of analysis as to WHY these are your favorite songs to play on guitar. Let's have a conversation, not just a list of Rush songs. Do a little bit of self-analysis as to why you find a certain song fun.

I used Jacob's Ladder to build up my pinky dexterity way back when I was a kid.

That's your favorite song to play on guitar, is it? :sarcastic:

I'll add some more. I love fast, single string riffing. Songs that include this are Bastille Day which leads into the fun power chords (very similar is Headlong Flight), the bridge from Secret Touch has that single string riffing I so love (the whole song is fun too, except the chorus pattern - just long, sliding notes there) Then of course, Driven is great fun. I love the change from the riff to strumming to power chords in the chorus and that bridge section is all over the fretboard, much fun!

The "remastered for iTunes" version is the same master as the Sectors box set with some additional consideration for AAC compression. All I can say is that my original copy is beat to all hell so my Sectors version blows it away as it actually plays!

Remember that the latest releases were "mastered for iTunes" which means that during the mastering process they made their tweaks to avoid compression artifacts specific to AAC compression technology. Apple provides special software so one can make adjustments to see what effect the encoding process will have on the file. Then the file is submitted in high quality 24/96 (or better) to Apple who then encodes/compresses them. I don't imagine they made two masters, so any mastering done this go-around was done specifically with AAC compression in mind using Apple's "preview" tools. Therefore the high quality tracks from HDTracks are indeed 24/96 but mastered with another goal in mind (AAC compression, not delivering in 24/96). They may still sound great but something to think about before plopping down that much money. Also, the limit of human hearing is about 20 kHz. That's why CD encoding is at 44.1. Even with a system that can handle playback of 24/96 - you're not going to tell the difference (well, I'm not anyway.) The higher fidelity is really only useful during the mastering process itself. Selling it to the masses is a bit of marketing and even knowing that bit, some just like to know they have the best quality file as they transcode it to various formats (I'm guilty of this even if I can't tell the difference, I like to know I have the absolute best quality digital file to begin with as close to the recording masters as I can come.)

What is the most FUN Rush song for you to play personally and why? Some ideas may be the one that may be the most challenging, the one you feel you have "nailed", the one that just has that one section you love or that solo you like to play note for note. I know picking just one is nigh impossible, so post multiple times! I'll start with Far Cry. I love playing this one. Rush syncopations and drop beats, the throwback to the Page style riffing, kick in the wah pedal for the verse, then jump to Townshend-style strumming before launching into the typical Lifeson-style chord voicings during the chorus. Playing this song with energy that sustains throughout and even builds later in the song - ending with a resounding Hemispheres chord voice. Simply fun from front to back.

Well loved by me as well. But if I had to criticize it, I'd say there was not enough thematic/musical variety in the title track. Almost 10 minutes of the same musical themes and some could see that as tedious. Additionally, Circumstances and The Trees are structurally and sonically similar as well. La Villa makes up for the lack of variety in a single instrumental though.

it was out of the band's/producer's hands. They delivered it to the distribution chain. The mastering process screwed the pooch as you say. Although, there seems to be some evidence the band also introduced digital distortion duing recording/mixing as well. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vapor_Trails

Hmm, I find there is something to like about every Rush release. I like bands that try new things, new sounds, new approaches yet still sound like that band. I'm curious what the OP thinks about other post-Terry Brown material since this, on the surface, just sounds like another stereotypical "new rush/old rush" divide.

Most of these posts are quite the funny response from what was obviously (to some) a tongue-in-cheek posting. :crazy:

Yes. Yes it is. My all-time favorite has nothing to do with Rush - it's from Nazareth's Hair of the Dog, in the first verse: "I've been told about you... Steve rode a midnight soda." To this day, I can't hear anything else and it still cracks me up when it comes on the radio!

Now I'll play devil's adovcate with my own post here. I guess mastering for CD is the same thing, you're mastering for a 16-bit format to avoid artifacts (which failed with VT). I guess it remains to be seen if the HDTracks versions really do sound better despite being mastered for AAC compression. They very well may, since the AAC compression never actually happened with the tracks from HDTracks. So what will happen with the physical media when it's released? Will they be AAC encoded files on physical media for digitial devices or will it be a true 16-bit CD and how will the specific mastering for lossy AAC sound on a 16-bit CD? Curious.

I for one, will pass on this. I don't think mastering for a specific, lossy format is the point of mastering (and I have zero investment in the apple ecosystem). However, I do see these are now available at HDtracks as well so that begs the question - were all these tracks remastered for iTunes then simply offered at the higher bitrate on HDTracks? That's still a no-no in my book. The original product is still compromised since they mastered things to avoid the compression artifacts of AAC. To me, not a true remaster. http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2012/02/24/147379760/what-mastered-for-itunes-really-means

Listen to Armor & Sword. Obviously you know the real lyrics but this is one of this "purple haze - 'scuse me" lyric things. I swear you can "hear" this: The battle flags are flown. At the feet of a garden gnome.

When your five-year old is playing with his trains and suddenly belts out "Duh-na na-na na-na! Duh-na na-na na-Noom! In a world lit only by fiiiiire....."

I have got to disagree that they are all the same. I'm only basing my disagreement from my own experience here. As soon as I popped in Signals from the Sectors set, I was blown away. This is like an entirely new album! This is without any A to B comparisons. I next popped in an album which I've never really had any issues with how it sounded, Farewell To Kings, and was still amazed at the bottom end without sacrificing clarity of the mids or high end. Now admittedly, perhaps because I noticed such a significant difference in Signals I was perhaps predisposed to WANT to notice a difference in the other albums - but it's a moot point because it's MY perspective and MY ears. So if I perceive a difference and think it's better - more power to that disc - for me. That's sort of what these guys who love vinyl think and they're right every bit as much as I am right. If they think it's better, more power to them becuase that's their perception and isn't it great we all get to listen to the disc we each think is the best one? Except for Vapor Trails. :) But to imply mastering only matters to those who know how to professionally master is disingenuous. Vapor Trails and the two subsequently remastered tracks from Retro 3 is perfect proof of that. It certainly makes a difference to my middle-aged ears!

Specific to this thread topic though... well I guess it's not a "lick" persay but rather song construction is how he uses the same fill patterns but complicates them or otherwise adds or changes them with each passage. Never the same way twice.

Even if you are not a drummer (I don't call myself one but I know enough to play my V-drums... poorly) a great study of Neil is the Taking Center Stage book by Joe Bergamini(probably best to own the DVD too!) He breaks down a lot of classic songs as played on the Time Machine tour, calling out many of Neil's signatures and how he applies them in different situations. Not only that, great photos, old advertisements featuring Neil, and a great study of how the kit has changed over the years. A must for any Neil and Rush fan.

Where's the evidence of this?? Look at the pictures. Or did you mean evidence this was a cool interview? :)

Too bad for me. I don't participate in the Apple ecosystem. I'm curious though, do you have to buy the entire collection to get the VT tracks or can you buy them individually? At what cost? Lossy or lossless?

No worries. A record is technically a disc, right?