Black Sabbath Vol.4 Andy Pearce Remaster

On my system with the bass and treble set flat the SHM of Vol. 4 does not sound murky at all. The EQ job is spot on. This was never a bright album to begin with. The Black Box has all the levels boosted, so of course there is much more high end. You have to ask yourself, do you want to hear the album as close to as it was originally recorded, or do you want to hear it altered to suit your preferences.

 

Do we really know what the master tapes sound like? I guess the SHM SACD was said to be a flat transfer of the master tapes but I can't remember.

 

Yes the SHM-SACD of Vol. 4 is supposedly a flat transfer from the original UK master. Same for all the Sabbath SHM-SACDs except Paranoid.

 

Another perspective in more ways than one.
I don't know if this has been mentioned before but I am pretty sure the Ray Staff 1996 Castle is a different mix of the album. For instance if you listen to the intro to Wheels of Confusion, the lead guitar part is panned hard left. Every other version of this has the guitar panned right. Plus listen to the little guitar tag at the end of the Straightener. This is not on any other version IIRC.
I am convinced this version is a remix but it is not mentioned in the credits.

 

I posted this above but just to let you know since it seems you really like the album, seek out the 1996 Castle Ray Staff version. I think it is a remixed version. At a minimum, I think Wheels of Confusion is a remixed version. I need to re listen to the rest of it closely.

 

The 1996 Castle is identical to the 1976 NEMS LP release, except with reversed channels. It's not really a different mix. The NEMS LP has the same little guitar tag at the end of WOC but the channels are correct.

The NEMS LP was my introduction to the album in 1979 or thereabouts. I always expect to hear the guitar tag at the end of WOC when I listen to other versions and it seems "wrong" when it's not there!

The Earmark LP is a clone of the 1996 Castle remaster - it also has reversed channels.

 

Thanks. I never heard the NEMS LP. Every other version I have heard does not have the reversed channels nor the guitar tag.
I thought it just may be a channel reverse but other parts sounded remixed to me. My ears tricked me with the channels reversed.

 

So then is the 2004 Sanctuary reissue CD just a reissue of the 1996 Castle remaster?

 

As I've long stated, I don't know if some people are judging an entire album's production by the opening song when it comes to this album or what.

I mean, if "Tomorrow's Dream, "Changes," "Supernaut," "Snowblind," and "Laguna Sunrise" could ever be described as "murky," then I must be lucky with my hearing or system, as those tracks sound excellent to flat out pristine to my ears. I don't need ten tons of treble added to them as that just makes the production screechy. I like it warm so I can crank it.

"Wheels Of Confusion" is a somewhat "murky" production, but I wouldn't really change it. To me, it sounds like a band absolutely killing it live and putting on a unique musical clinic. Whenever I hear versions where they boost the treble, it might work for a bit but then other sections will come in that sound all out of whack. Better to just turn up something like the Japan SACD or a good vinyl copy and enjoy it as the landmark recording that it is. There is NOTHING like it in the history of rock. Even Sabbath themselves never did another track quite like it.

 

I don't know - I've never heard the 2004 Sanctuary. I do have the Andy Pearce remaster (09 IIRC) and that one doesn't have the guitar tag and doesn't have reversed channels. But if it's got that little extra guitar bit at the end of WOC, it's created using whatever tapes NEMS used in '76. And if it's got reversed channels, then perhaps it's using the same digital master that they used for the 1996 Castle CDs.

 

Yeah, one of the things that's often said about this album is that the individual tracks sound very different to one another.

All I can say is, I have the '96 Castle and the Earmark LP and the Andy Pearce remaster in addition to the NEMS LP, and the Pearce remaster sounds great to me. The Castle and its progeny are too bright IMO.

 

Yes that is true, flat transfer.

 

IMHO the '96 Castles are THE WORST representation of the Sabbath catalog out there. I can't decide if they are worse than the black box or not. I do know they are boosted, EQ'd to death, and so shrill and fatiguing in the vocal and guitar departments, that to me they are unlistenable. I bought the whole set in '96 when they came out to replace my original US WBs. Big mistake. The 96 Castles make the original WB's sound like sonic marvels.

 

It's cool to hear the Black Box is helpful in order to figure out guitar parts. I play bass and for me it's just the opposite, the remastered stuff is squashed and hard to hear.

 

The only 1996 Castle I find tolerable is the Vol. 4.

 

Plus some of the 96's were victims of heavy use of no-noise. I don't hear this talked about that often but listen to a quieter songs like "Planet Caravan" or "Changes." The life is sucked right out.

 

I meant to say the 96 Castles make the US WB's sound like sonic marvels.

 

Just so shrill and fatiguing. Really bad.

 

And I did change my mind big time. There are much better alternatives to the Pearce versions!

 

I figured that was what you meant since you don't like the 1996 Castle remasters. I must say though the 1996 Castles are not as loud as the Black Box stuff. The Black Box versions are really the extreme of compression and all of that stuff. Still, the only Castle from 1996 that I will listen to is Vol. 4. I can't remember the last time I listened to any of the others. I keep them only for the artwork and booklet.

 

Those differences were around in the vinyl era as well (it is kind of the same thing as the "Blow on a Jug" thing). In the 80's I had a copy without that tag (it was a NEMS) but my buddy had one with the tag (a spaceship Vertigo) and I was very surprised the first time I heard that. Those were both relatively contemporary pressings (for some reason all the Ozzy albums were around on both labels at the same time in the shops), although none of our copies had anything called "The Straightener" on them, I still get confused when those "extra" songs are mentioned.

 

I've enjoyed reading this thread! Thanks all

Does anyone know if the volume dip at about 4:52 on Wheels of Fortune is a fault on all editions of Vol 4? Or just on the Andy Pearce remaster?

I have the Andy Pearce remasters of Master of Reality and Vol 4, and I find the boosted midrange really aggravating

 

The volume issue should be present on all other versions I think.

 

On the original Warner CD, it sounds sort of like Geezer's bass almost dropped out of the mix about there. The sound also gets a little wonky in the right channel. Everything gets normal(ish) again around 5:07.

 

Just so we are clear, the Japanese SHM of Vol 4 is the Pearce remaster. I have it and it sounds awesome.