Over the years I've bought a ton of albums in their original guise and also later on the rereleased remastered versions on account of having lost the originals, or having lent them out never to get them back again.
In all honestly I've never heard a remastered album that has any discernible difference to the original. So what does it mean when an album is remastered? Is anything different done to/with the recording or is it a marketing gimmick used to shift more units?
And speaking of mastering and remastering albums, how does Bob Ludwig find the time to master so many albums? He must be the busiest guy on the planet! I bet I can look on any number of albums I own and it'll state it was mastered by Bob Ludwig. The guy can't have slept for about 30 years!
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There is no 'H' in Aych, you know that don't you? ~ Wife
Turns out there is an H in Haych! ~ Sporky
Bit of trading feedback here.
For example, Vapor Trails by Rush.
Although that was called a 'remix' but effectively they just dealt with the shitty mastering from the 2002 release.
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There is no 'H' in Aych, you know that don't you? ~ Wife
Turns out there is an H in Haych! ~ Sporky
Bit of trading feedback here.
Then, when CD versions of those records were made, the record company might use the vinyl master to burn the CD. Which is why so many early CDs sound like pants compared to the vinyl version. Nothing to do with the vinyl, it's the mastering process they used to overcome the limitations of vinyl for cutting.
Which is why some older CDs really benefit from being remastered. And remixed. And even then you can sometimes hear how poor the original recording was even if the musician's performance itself was great.
(I'm looking at you, 1970s prog bands...)
There is no 'H' in Aych, you know that don't you? ~ Wife
Turns out there is an H in Haych! ~ Sporky
Bit of trading feedback here.
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Or in the case of the fantastic Beatles Sgt. Peppers 50th anniversary edition, somehow everything is louder and clearer *without* the overall mix being noticeably changed... the album sounds exactly like it used to, only better.
So there is no hard and fast rule. I think it probably depends on the skill and ears of those responsible, and the amount of time and effort put in - ie in the case of Sgt. Peppers, a very great deal. With others, bang on some compression and hope for the best seems to be how it's done.
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Then the same thing happened the other way, vinyls sounded crap because they used the master made for CDs
Certainly anything mastered for vinyl will sound poor if simply transferred to CD
When first Zep remasters came out, I loved it - there was detail there I had never heard before. Admittedly, I do dislike some of JP's production ideas though. I remember Tony Visconti remarking that when he heard the remasters of Bowie albums, he heard details he remembered that he'd not heard since the sessions. This is what can be achieved.
There is of course plenty of scope to do a bad job of the remastering
I've played myself with remastering the multitrack sessions I have been able to find. It's interesting to go too far intentionally then pull back
On a side note, I love the remasterings that are really completely re-imagined productions from Bill Laswell, especially the Bob Marley, Miles Davis and Santana ones
Then when I've bought the remaster I leave it sealed and carry on listening to whichever version of the album is on Spotify.
Still, there is often the "bonus" of some previously unreleased demos or alternate takes. Which I will listen to once then ignore forever.