A Decade of Steely Dan on CD: Mastered by Ludwig/Nichols or Katz?

First, let me say that I did a search and did not find what I was looking for. The information could be there, but I missed it.

Anyway, I have several pressings of A Decade of Steely Dan on CD with catalog number MCAD-5570 and one European issue with catalog number 251 957-2. The inserts for all them state that the mastering was done by Bob Ludwig and Roger Nichols. However, every disc says that it was mastered by Gary Katz. Which is correct?

Here are the pressings I have:

* Japanese JVC pressing, disc says "THE BEST OF STEELY DAN"

* Japanese JVC pressing, disc says "A DECADE OF STEELY DAN"

* West German Polygram pressing, disc says "A DECADE OF STEELY DAN"

* European Toolex Alpha pressing, disc says "A DECADE OF STEELY DAN"

* U.S. pressing, disc says "A DECADE OF STEELY DAN"

Who mastered these discs? Thanks!

 

The discs say MASTERED by Katz? Or PRODUCED by Katz? I dont believe Gary Katz has ever done any mastering of ANYTHING, has he?

 

The discs say "PRODUCED BY GARY KATZ" and "Compiled and remastered by GARY KATZ".

The inserts say "REMASTERED BY BOB LUDWIG AND ROGER NICHOLS".

 

Just pulled mine out......

hhhmm....mine is MCAD-11214 and is remastered from the original 2-track analog masters by Glenn Meadows at Masterfonics.

 

Mine is the Gold Masterdisc, and is remastered by Glenn Meadows at Masterfonics.

 

Mine is Made in Japan MCAD-5570/DIDX-306. The inserts (booklet and spines) say "A Decade Of Steely Dan (The Best Of)", whereas the disc itself says "The Best Of Steely Dan" only?
On the insert inserts it states "Produced by Gary Katz. Remastered by Bob Ludwig and Roger Nichols."
On the disc itself it says "Prodeced by Gary Katz. Compiled and Remastered by Gary Katz." There is NO reference on the CD itself to either Ludwig or Nichols!
Both the inserts and the cd states "Digitaly remastered from the original first generation masters."

 

My guess is it's a misprint on the disc. As mentioned, I don't think Katz has ever remastered anything.

And FYI, the gold Masterdisc came later. Meadows also mastered the Citizen Steely Dan box set.

 

The cd I have says it was mastered by Bob Ludwig...there's an oddity at the end of Do It Again. It doesn't completely fade. The song does end at the same point but where the fade would've finished, the song just cuts off.

 

Is Ludwig's name stated on the disc itself or just the inserts? What is the catalog number for your copy?

 

I always thought it was a misprint on the CD but Katz is credited for "mastering" the FM soundtrack double album..

 

Hi KeithH,

I feel like we have a typo here. Original Best Of Steely Dan and A Decade Of Steely Dan CD issues were mastered by Roger Nichols. The MCA MasterDisc Gold issue was mastered by Glenn Meadows in Nashville, TN. The regular remaster following that one was also a Glenn Meadows job. What is your favorite sound wise? I am curious!

 

The Gold Disc is way high-endy, IMO.

 

Agreed. Traded in a West German pressing for the gold.. stupidly.. then found another WG copy recently. MUCH warmer and easier on the ears.

 

Thanks for the info.....I am gonna have to seek this one out.

 

They must have subsituted the mastersound Gold edition master in the regular issues at some point.


Evan

 

I've never heard the gold disc, but the aluminum remaster is awful. The original MCA issue is the way to go, regardless of who actually mastered it.

 

this is funny, didnt think I would find a thread on this.

my cd is US decade and art says ludwig and disc says katz, def confused me.

did we ever conclude this was infact a ludwig mastering and katz on the cd is a misprint ?

sounds like a ludwig mastering to me.

 

The tray card has:

Remastered by Bob Ludwig and Roger Nichols.
Digitally remastered from the original first generation masters


The CD has:

Compiled and remastered by Gary Katz.
Digitally remastered from the Original first generation masters.

Back to square one.


BTW, was this released on vinyl as well as CD?

 

The Gold by Glenn Meadows was a big disappointment for me. It was the 1st GOld disc I ever purchased before I found this website. Live and Learn.

 

I don't like Glenn Meadows' mastering at all on the Citizen Dan box. I haven't heard his "Best Of," but I'm not surprised folks don't like it. The original "Best Of" was mastered by Ludwig and Nichols so far as I know, and to my ears it's some of the best digital Steely Dan out there. Highly recommended.

 

I think I have seen this on ebay on vinyl. sure it was.

quite confusing and quite a booboo.

 

the gold disc was awful. how someone let this get released is amazing.

I bought it, then dumped it.

the citizen box is a bit harsh, cold.... but its not as bad as the gold disc.

the ludwig/nichols is very good.

 

My copy doesn't have any credit on the CD. The catalog number is MCAD-11553. The liner notes say "digitally remastered from the original first generation masters by glenn meadows."

Is this a remaster or the original 1985 mastering? Is there an easy way to identify the orginal mastering of this CD?

 

Meadows did the gold disc (and also the box set), so this is a remaster. Did they later recycle the gold CD mastering for a standard silver reissue?

 

fwiw, I just compared a rip of the vinyl greatest hits to my US CD, and the waveform and spectrum are nearly identical. Both sound fantastic to my ears, with good dynamics, little compression and very natural sound. The CD is slightly brighter, with more pronounced vocals and reveals more detail and spatial nuances. I don't see how you can go wrong with either.