BOC:WOTTmish mosh

[Paul Mather]

Albert Bouchard writes:

>         Now you have to understand that I haven't hear any of these cuts on CD
> before so I have only the vinyl to compare it to. Here are some of my
> impressions:
>         The first four (from BOC) to me sound better than the vinyl. Whoever
> said "no remastering" must be mixed up. In order to get these songs on this CD
> they had to be remastered. The only way they wouldn't have been is if they
> were taken directly from the previously CDs and even if those were used as the
> raw mixes they still would have to assemble them on some kind of mastering
> computer (a Mac running Sonic Solutions or Pro Tools) and while they're at it
> why not run some no noise.

Well, you wouldn't use a BLACK & DECKER power sander to restore an
antique Chippendale cabinet, would you?  Finesse is wot you need.

Seriously, though, I have heard that one of the biggest problems with
the early CD reissues (and maybe some not so early) is the lack of
knowledge of the available tools by those using them.  NoNoise, so I'm
led to believe, has been particularly abused by people who wouldn't
know what the word "subtle" was if it ran up and bit them on the
arse.  There is a fine line between "not enough" and "too much", and
not everyone knows where that line sits.  I guess, like everything,
you need practice and experience to get good at anything.

I must admit, quite frankly, I don't know what goes on when somebody
masters a CD.  (Anyone care to illuminate me, via private e-mail??)
But the information theorist in me tells me that any signal processing
application will introduce artifacts into the data.  Whether those
artifacts are perceptible to humans is another matter.  But the more
invasive ones are going to affect the signal more.  Judgment should be
exercised...

Btw, this is probably my ignorance talking, but I don't see why they'd
have to use Sonic Solutions etc. to master pre-existing CD tracks.
Can't they just use the same old data that was on the existing CDs
(tweaked to include new time codes, track information, etc.).  To me,
using Sonic Solutions implies some kind of sonic "improvement" of the
sampled data, probably because it crops up a lot in the discussion of
Frank Zappa's CD reissues.

Speaking of whom, there's another excellent example of where a good
engineer makes all the difference.  Just listen to Spencer Chrislu's
*superlative* work on the FZ _Ahead of Their Time_ CD (a 4 track live
recording from 1968) to hear what can be accomplished by an engineer
who truly understands *both* the material *and* the technology.

I guess the bottom line is I don't consider remastering to be a
mechanical process (not yet, at least).  Decisions have to be made.
If those decisions are poor---due to lack of time, care, experience,
knowledge, etc.---then the end result will be poor.

I think Deborah made a good point regarding the involvement of the
artist in the reissue/remastering process.  Ultimately, they alone are
the people who *know* what sound they're after.  If they're excluded
from the process, or simply don't care to be involved, then why should
the engineer be able to fill in the gaps (or be bothered to)?  After
all, it's just another day on the job...

Cheers,

Paul.

obCD: Ed Alleyne-Johnson, _Purple Electric Violin Concerto_

e-mail: paul at csgrad.cs.vt.edu                    A stranger in a strange land.