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Originally Posted by tarnationsauce  I think the mastering in the 70's and 80's rock could have been a bit hotter.
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Most mastering in the 90's was a just about right IMO. Maybe that's part of what makes 90's music so appealing. |
Don't forget to factor the evolution of A/D conversion into this. I agree that there's a peak somewhere between '95 and '98 -- best balance between headroom and better A/D. A lot of the "classics" that were first in line for CD release STILL sound like copies of the same master from 20 years ago!
I was hoping that Hi-Res audio releases would address this. Well, bye-bye Tower, and Wal-Mart sure as heck doesn't have a DVD-A/SACD section (if they do, I bet it has...like...2 titles...dunno...I go to Wal Mart about once every 5 years...).
I would have no problem popping $50 or more for 24/96 remastered stereo files of classic recordings (or recent, great sounding ones). But they'd have to shut the dang limiters OFF! Call it the "Audiophile Edition" or "Producer's Edition" or something...
Are there any rock-oriented audiophile labels? I was actually thinking that a Producer's Pack including Pro Tools stems, 24/96 non-limited masters and video footage on a DVD, and the usual CD release would be a cool format...2 discs, $30 or so -- or whatever. Just a thought. Of course, I also thought it would be cool for an indie to release 4 or 6 (or more) albums on ONE DATA DVD (everybody puts 'em into iTunes, anyway) -- and sell it for $10 (distro., shows, mail-order, and/or by-mail-quarterly subscription, Sub Pop-style) pooling the artists' share between the artists on the disc. Now THAT would be a way to get "despotic utopians" to fight over money, for sure, but what the heck...it's a cool idea. Why limit a disc to one artist?