launchpad67a

Huge fan! One of my favorite artists and one of the best songwriters of our time. His band always consists of great players and his albums are sonic masterpieces. I run sound and production for large concerts occasionally, and I always tune the system with Dream of the Blue Turtles.

I'm putting together a list of things that all other bands have The Beatles to thank for. I'll post back in 1 Month.

QUOTE (Lerxster @ Jun 19 2012, 01:08 PM) QUOTE (launchpad67a @ Jun 19 2012, 02:34 PM) QUOTE (Lerxster @ Jun 19 2012, 11:42 AM) QUOTE (CygnusX-1Bk2 @ Jun 19 2012, 01:25 PM) QUOTE (Lerxster @ Jun 19 2012, 11:07 AM) It's not overcompressed. Just turn the bass down a hair. Adjust your sub down a bit. Fiddle with the sliders. Turn a knob. It's actually not that bad. There's a thread or three here that intelligently speak to this. Yes it is overcompressed and all the EQing in the world will not rectify it. Well your mod buddy launchpad would disagree with you. It is mainly EQ. You sound a little snooty, and your reliance on waveform seals the deal. You're probably wrong. NO...I do not disagree with Cyg. He is correct, it is over compressed, just like most modern rock records. I have learned to accept this as "the norm" now days, so I didn't dwell on the compression. Do I like it? No. I accept it, but can overlook this because the songs are strong. My suggestions in other posts are only a means for reducing the low end and brighten up the top a bit. No amount of fixing, eq or otherwise, can correct the compression of the recording. It is what it is. Cyg knows his shit, 100%. You all-cap a NO just for me? Well geez, sorray dude. I went back to your thread. You said a couple times how happy you were with the sound, and that it was an EQ issue. I see where Cyg mentioned compression, but you never did, and you didn't seem to indicate any agreement with him on compression. Apparently I misunderstood your thread's intent. It's cool man, I wasn't blasting you at all. Just making a point that I don't disagree with Cyg at all about the compression. As I said in this thread, I didn't bring compression into the other discussion because there's nothing we can do about it. Not many people were talking about compression in that thread, they were saying how much low end there was and a lack of clarity on the top. Those are the 2 things I was trying to address. Yes, I do like the record, and the mix. And yes, I think it sounds fine. Not great or good, just fine. I've just come to terms with over compression on modern cd's so I don't mention it anymore. No worries, I respect everyone's opinions.

QUOTE (Lerxster @ Jun 19 2012, 11:42 AM) QUOTE (CygnusX-1Bk2 @ Jun 19 2012, 01:25 PM) QUOTE (Lerxster @ Jun 19 2012, 11:07 AM) It's not overcompressed. Just turn the bass down a hair. Adjust your sub down a bit. Fiddle with the sliders. Turn a knob. It's actually not that bad. There's a thread or three here that intelligently speak to this. Yes it is overcompressed and all the EQing in the world will not rectify it. Well your mod buddy launchpad would disagree with you. It is mainly EQ. You sound a little snooty, and your reliance on waveform seals the deal. You're probably wrong. NO...I do not disagree with Cyg. He is correct, it is over compressed, just like most modern rock records. I have learned to accept this as "the norm" now days, so I didn't dwell on the compression. Do I like it? No. I accept it, but can overlook this because the songs are strong. My suggestions in other posts are only a means for reducing the low end and brighten up the top a bit. No amount of fixing, eq or otherwise, can correct the compression of the recording. It is what it is. Cyg knows his shit, 100%.

QUOTE Maybe it's the production then? Because I'm not hearing it. Anyone care to point out specific songs/moments where Neil is pushing beyond what he did on A Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres, Perm Waves, etc? Well there aren't any, Because these songs don't call for it. You may argue, but the sign of a true pro is that they play only what the song calls for, period. Just because you "can" doesn't mean you "should". Know what I mean?

The most important notes in music are the ones you don't play, and I find it refreshing there isn't a ton of overplaying on this record. But I couldn't be happier with Geds performance on CA. He really shines.

The drum tech was the person killed. It's a real shame, whether you like the band or not. Bad for the concert industry as a whole. Concerts are "flying" more gear than ever, which is not a big deal when playing an arena, but on outdoor stages the rigging is dependant on ever single piece.

When you run any instrument through 50 effect loops/paths before it gets to the amp, the odds are stacked against you. Alex is obsessed with effects. His rig is out of control, and it's amazing the signal ever even makes it to the amp. He has the "more gear is better" syndrome.

QUOTE (ShowgunSam @ Jun 15 2012, 02:33 PM) QUOTE (launchpad67a @ Jun 14 2012, 10:54 PM) There is something wrong in your mixdown chain. Make sure you have reduced the master outputs to whatever I said in the first post. Make sure you "render" the new file through the entire master bus. I rendered a 320kbps mp3 file and it plays perfectly in WMP. Check all your save-as settings and make sure its just a clean path to disc. I think it'd help a lot if I were actually remixing the original WAV files instead of re-rendering an album of mp3s. Ummm, yep! Gotta use the original wav's.

QUOTE (losingit2k @ Jun 15 2012, 11:40 AM) Sound issues, try this: Get a small CD player, one you could carry. Place headphones on, fill the tub full of water, get in the tub and then place the CD player into the water. The Sound will shock the hell out of ya! disclaimer: This is intended to be humorours and in no way should anyone actually attempt this unless you truly are an idiot and in that case knock yourself out. TRF holds no party in this discussion and should be absolved in the case some idiot actually attempts the "Shock and Awe" sound method to improving Clockwork Angels! Yeah, this is a constructive post. Besides, you can't get shocked from a battery powered CD player (despite the disclaimer).

QUOTE (Jmo2112 @ Jun 14 2012, 05:15 PM) I just hope that they will produce one more album to 2" tape using keyboards with Terry Brown at the board! Wishful thinking, I know. But this is a band that inspires hope in many interesting ways! I believe they do record to 2" tape, then dump it into Pro Tools. As everyone should...

QUOTE (Gompers @ Jun 15 2012, 06:55 AM) QUOTE (Del_Duio @ Jun 15 2012, 07:45 AM) QUOTE (Gompers @ Jun 15 2012, 06:04 AM) QUOTE (Gompers @ Jun 14 2012, 08:52 PM)Not sure if my link works, but I think this can show how heavy the bass is. First try at re-EQ'ing. Link to Carnies You will hear it repeated against the original. Re-EQ first, then normal, then re-EQ , then normal. Hopefully this link works better... Carnies re-EQ Up for 7 days... Holy shit, what a huge difference! Maybe a bit too many highs, but you can see how bass heavy it is. Yes, that's too much on the highs, gotta be careful. Sounds like you have an 'auto-pan' plugin going on too. I hear the sound shifting from L to R more than it does on the cd. Check your effects chain. Like I said, the adjustments are very minor to fix this. A little EQ goes a long way.

ATTENTION ALL PLANETS: Here's the deal. I provided this remaster only as a test and somewhat of a solution for those who feel the record has sound issues. As I've said, the album sounds just fine the way it is but could use a little tweaking. I'm not going to remaster the whole record, it doesn't need it. As CygnusX-1Bk2 points out, you shouldn't have to remaster a freshly released cd. I've already received many messages asking me to "do the whole record". And I've already provided solutions on how to "fix it yourself", with editing software OR with simple treble/bass controls on your stereo. If everyone thought the record sounded bad then I might provide a complete remaster, but it's just a small percentage. The editing settings I tried and provided here took me 5 minutes to dial-in. They are very minor, (with the exception of cutting over 6dB of sub lows). Those with editing software can tweak until it sounds good to them. For the rest, just Reduce the Bass and Boost the Treble on your stereos. There is no doubt that the cd is bass heavy and treble light. Again, this can be fixed with the bass and treble knobs on your stereo. Recordings are never "one size fits all". One observation I've noticed is, this album sounds great at low to mid volumes, but becomes rough at loud volumes. This is something that none of us can fix. My settings really help it at lower volumes, but could possibly make it worse at higher volumes. It is what it is.

Didn't really listen to those 2 songs in 2010 and I'm glad I didn't. Love This Album! Blown away. So good.

QUOTE (ShowgunSam @ Jun 14 2012, 07:26 PM) @Launchpad, I've tried your EQ setup and it sounded fantastic through Mixcraft, which is what I used to modify the parameters; however, once I had it mixed down and played it through WMP I noticed that I still get that "brick wall" effect from the original compression and I lost most of the clarity. Do you think that's the playback program (WMP) or is it just the nature of the beast? There is something wrong in your mixdown chain. Make sure you have reduced the master outputs to whatever I said in the first post. Make sure you "render" the new file through the entire master bus. I rendered a 320kbps mp3 file and it plays perfectly in WMP. Check all your save-as settings and make sure its just a clean path to disc.

Sweet!! http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/484275_345632428843992_2004056994_n.jpg

QUOTE (condemned2bfree @ Jun 14 2012, 03:05 PM) Cheers for the info. sound is clearer.. vocals + drums pop out and its not so muddy. The settings on the heavier songs sounds great..c.a. in particular sounds really amazing. Would you keep the same settings for the whole album...lighter songs the garden etc? Thanks. No, I don't think those settings would be best for the entire record. Although they would work, each song should have it's own settings. Also, I feel the first 2 songs don't need any adjustment.

Jewel Cases are totally worthless. Digi-Paks, which is what CA is packaged in, are the industry standard now. Way more durable, classy, eco friendly, and Not plastic.

QUOTE (tst4echo @ Jun 14 2012, 01:19 PM) Thank you for your insight and post. Can someone please tell me, with the storied problems with post-production in the past, how something like this is put out, by so-called "professionals"? I DON'T GET IT! ???? You're welcome. There's really nothing wrong with the sound on the cd. It's not a matter of "how could this happen". It's more of a taste preference. To my ears they just missed the high-end a little in the mastering process, and maybe didn't cut enough sub lows. But it's all Fine! Sounds fine like it is. It's a loud rock record. This is how they sound.

QUOTE (presto123 @ Jun 14 2012, 11:35 AM) That sounds really good. So unlike VT the problems with CA are easily fixable.(if you think they need to be fixed) Thanks! Yes, that's correct. Clipping was the problem with VT. There isn't any clipping on this record. For the record, I like it the way it is. Just needed a few tweaks to sound a bit better. The fix is easy. For the generic fix on your stereo (car, home, whatever), just turn up the treble some, and reduce the bass. This is perfectly acceptable.

QUOTE (beherit @ Jun 13 2012, 04:52 PM) ask people "is this tom sawyer?" after each song Now that's funny!!

Oops, link was broken, now fixed.

While I'm very happy with the overall sound and mix of CA, it's isn't without a few minor issues. First, let me say that the "mix" is there, meaning everything is audible and the levels are mostly fine. After deciding the mix was there, I realized some of the instruments weren't coming through as well as they should be. Hmmm, what could cause this? Being an audio and mastering engineer I was able to determine fairly quickly the cause. It's an slight EQ issue, especially in the top end, and the amount of low end on the recording was getting in the way of the clarity. So I dumped a song into my mastering program just to see what was going on. Sure enough, the recording lacked some highs (just some specifically), and the low end (sub lows only) were a bit much, causing the highs to get lost. So it just lacked a bit of clarity in the top end, which is a direct result of the low end, and is easily fixed. If you have audio editing software, Try This: (I used "The Anarchist" for my tests - .wav file) Multiband EQ: -5.0dB cut from 50Hz - 20Hz -2.5dB @ 140Hz (Q=50) +2.1dB @ 4400Hz (Q=50) +2.2dB @ 6450Hz (Q=50) +1.9dB @ 13350Hz - 20000Hz Multiband Compressor: -1.7dB cut from 46Hz - 20Hz -0.7dB cut from 500Hz - 707Hz Master Output: -0.40dB Left and Right With these settings the (sub) low end gets tamed down and the high end is pushed slightly, only at specific frequencies. Subtle changes, but fairly effective. Plus, the average overall volume (RMS) is reduced from -8.5dB to -10dB, making it not quite so loud. This seems to give the mix a bit more clarity, to my ears. Try it out, or listen below. Don't have audio editing software? Listen to the result: The Anarchist - Remaster (320kbps Mp3 file) *since everyone here has the album, I don't have a problem posting this file. Don't abuse it.

Yes great song, great album, can't stop listening. Neil is indeed doing some double-bass around the 6:42 mark.