The Rush cd mastering thread (part 2)

Only way to find out - ABX tests + ReplayGain.

 

I'll get right on that...now who's going to send me their set of 2009 Rush SHMs? Anyone? No takers, eh?

 

I may be able to give you the repeats of P. Waves and Signals that are coming in the mail, but I have no experience with selling things here (or anywhere online). I'll let you know if I figure everything out, then you can PM me.

 

Tempting offer- I'll have to think about it...I'm not a "collector" in the sense that I am interested in necessarily having every copy of every album- it's more about having the generally agreed upon best (or best within a reasonable budget) copy, plus the 97's (because that's what I've been listening to since, well, '97). I know "best" can be subjective, especially with albums like GUP where it sounds like every mastering has its issues, but in some cases it seems like the differences become pretty subtle. Maybe at some point I'll even ditch the 97's (even though I recently told you not to ditch yours).

I'm just flattered that you'd consider passing some duplicates along to me- just wouldn't want to stand in the way of you getting what they are really worth!

 

Well, have a silverface Hemispheres on the way I got for very little, so that's exciting! I swear that right before I really started to realize that the older pressings were the way to go, there were a whole slew of them sitting in the local record store used bin. Now, only 97's & one AFTK SF I already have a copy of. Bah! At least I have been able to source AFTK, ASOH MP and the US atomic Signals locally.

 

Same as my experience - it's been soooooo hard just finding Anthems at the local store - my Anthem AFTK and 2112 are two I'm particularly happy to have found.

 

That seems to be just the way it goes....now I check a lot more frequently in case someone decides to unload a bunch.
My sole Anthem is a copy of Counterparts- My US original went missing years ago, sad because I have fond memories of a buddy hand-delivering a copy to me in class the day it came out and what a pleasure of an album it was after RTB. I assume it sounds as good or better than the US version- I only have terrible quality MP3s left of it for comparison....

 

Releases Presto and after are identical in all countries - they standardized the masterings. I prefer the vinyl or AF SACD Counterparts due to the compression and over-processing of the CD.

 

For Counterparts, get the AF SACD because it's less compressed than any other CD version and it has nice EQ. I'm only talking about the CD layer, so I don't know how much better the SACD layer sounds. I also have the original, '04 remaster, and the Studio Albums remaster, all of which have similar dynamics. We'll get to the Counterparts comparison soon enough.

 

Whoa!!!! That guy really has an axe to grind I read the entire thing and agree 100% I also spit out my coffee when I read "Spaghetti Lee!"

 

What I am about to say is not a joke but 100% honest to God truth:

As I write this, the entire lot of the 1997 remasters are in a box, on my driveway, awaiting the Veterens to come pick them up today......my donation.

 

Maybe I'll track down the SACD for Counterparts once I've filled in the holes for some of the older albums. To my ears, the '04 remaster is a tad more squashed, can't comment on the others. When I first got into Rush in the late 80's, Counterparts sounded miles ahead of the "bassless" production of both Presto & RTB. I remember thinking with Presto that they were headed in a good direction, then RTB came out and I was not impressed. With Counterparts, it was still their newer sound, but with more of the "umph" of their earlier albums.

I almost walked out of a local Goodwill with a SACD-capable DVD player a few weeks ago for $15 but I had the good sense to plug it in- the DVD drawer was stuck in a loop of constant open & close.

 

Dang! Hopefully some kid will pick them up cheap & start down the road of Rush fandom...

 

Took em till '89 to say, "gosh, we can just make one digital master & then send that out to all the plants to use for CD production!" Brilliant.

 

Actually maybe 2- another for LP. 3rd for cassette?

 

I think the mastering for the Cassette version of Test For Echo is different. Its sounds quite different in a good way. I think one song even sounds like a different mix.

 

I know TFE often gets a bad rap, & yes it's compressed, but I thought at the time (& still think now) that it was a very decent album. After TFE, they lost me until CA...

 

Would be interesting if the same "limitations" that prevent vinyl from having a loudness war mix also apply to cassettes.

 

Listened to Permanent Waves last night. First US press CD. I liked it. Just picked it up a week or two back. Might not be the best version but everything is nice and crisp..Spirit does have a little distortion right at the begining...like it gets blown out. I've heard that on a few versions though..

 

I don't think so, although if you saturate an analog tape, the result is a lot more "musical". You're not going to make a tape jump a groove because of too much signal tho...

 

I'm pretty happy with my US silverface...

 

Snagged this one a while ago ,
unique mastering ?

http://www.discogs.com/Rush-Counterparts/release/5571268

 

If what Ambassador said above holds true, probably not- only the SACD would be a different CD mastering (not counting the 2004 remaster)...

 

@rcsrish is correct. I actually tested the Japan mastering awhile back - it's identical to the US/Canada/etc. releases.

Only the SACD and the German/Brazilian vinyl releases as I mentioned are unique.

 

The 1st press US CD is the same as the silverface. Luckily, Perm Waves was one of the few more "universal" Rush masterings pre-Presto (and to an extent HYF).