Bowie: EQ correcting the Ryko CDs?

What is the frequency band that causes the trademark Rykodisc harshness?

In the abscence of any real audiophile Bowie releases, I'm thinking of tweaking the Au20 CDs and regular Rykos that I got in hopes of getting a more pleasant listening experience. Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

 

See posts #10 and #13 in this thread:
http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=19799

 

Those are good suggestions. I'd also add that lately I've been experimenting with analysing the EQ curves from masterings I prefer such as DCCs, etc., and I've noticed the common trait is a very smooth EQ curve descending in a smooth line from the bass to the treble. I use the DDMF IIEQ Pro Eq plugin (any-amount donationware but with a free demo) and find it to be an amazingly transparent EQ. Using this with Cool Edit/Audition's EQ spectrum, I adjust a song's EQ until the curve is smooth as I just described, and 9 times out of 10 the sound ends up very, very good. It's all about getting rid of the obvious peaks and valleys along the EQ curve. It takes a bit of practice as what you think will be enough of a boost or cut in the EQ often doesn't translate, but I'm quite surprised at how well this works as a means of getting the sound into the "ballpark". then of course you have to use your ears.

 

Thanks for the advice, Mike & Stefan!

This is gonna be fun!

 

I have a better one - it takes more liberties but I like the sound a lot better, it really brings out the tone of the instrument. I'll post a compare in a minute

 

Please do!

I think I tried the eq suggestion from that other thread with my Ryko Hunky Dory a while back. I wasn't a 100% pleased with the results, but I did it in Audacity which I doubt is the best eq for something like this.

 

hes one of scary monsters I did a while ago- this one is closer to the original sound than some of the others I did but it still works ok loud. http://www.megaupload.com/?d=9LEU6GSO

edit- on reviewing that sample, you might want to take a little bit off at ~700 to clear it a little bit, and perhaps shave a little off at 8k... it sounds a little too much like the original.

 

Thanks for posting those. I tried converting the Flac files with Switch, but for some reason I got an error message.

 

This thread had me intrigued, so I thought I would try my hand at EQing a Ryko clip using Audacity. I like the EQ on the Japan RCA Aladdin Sane, so I did some spectral analysis for the song "The Jean Genie" comparing the RCA and the Ryko. I had to eye it between the two graphs, but I think I found something that works. There is a part of the song around 1:35 where the chorus kicks in where the Ryko version just seems to get unbearably bright and screechy on the vocals. The EQ I came up with seems to smooth it out a bit.

Here are some samples converted to 320kbps for space concerns. Just click on the link and the sound clip should start playing after the page loads.

1. Ryko

2. Ryko (post EQ!)

3. RCA Japan

 

Despite your good work the Ryko still sounds either filtered or fiddled with.
Still pretty edgy. The JPN release has that nice-round-bass thing going,
despite being a little on the bright side anyway (or as well).

 

I dunno, I like the Ryko the best. Sue me.

 

I agree. I'm sure a more refined EQ could get the Ryko to sound a little better, but I think there is only so much that can be done with it.

 

I agree. I have owned the US RCA lps of Ziggy, Alladinsane, Station to Station, Lodger, and Scary Monsters. I have also owned both the Ryko and the newer remasters, and prefer the Rykos. Ziggy and Alladinsane had a thin trebly sound even on the lps, while the lp of Station to Station was rolled off and lacked punch, almost the exact opposite of the earlier lps, thought the Ryko corrected some of those problems.

While they don't sound bad, none of them have sounded great. The best sounding Bowie records I have in my collection now are the Ryko cd of Station to Station and the RCA lp of Scary Monsters.

 

I just finished EQ'ing my Au20s of Station To Station, Low and "heroes" as per Matt's 'Hoffman-approved' recommendations, and I am delighted with the results.

The sound of each album is much smoother, but the difference in clarity is really great--for example, I can hear lots more detail in the 'moaning snare drum' effect Tony Visconti created with the Eventide harmonizer in "Breaking Glass".

I never considered Low to be an audiophile-quality album before. And STS and "heroes" also are noticably better sounding now. It's like lifting a veil off the sound of the RCAs.

Mind, this is using the Au20s: I expect the regular Rykos to not be as easy to correct, as you cannot undo compression.

 

I'm glad it worked out. What amazes me about these EQ tweaks is how little one has to apply to get a big difference. I think we often tend to overdo it with EQ (the notion that if a certain amount was good, more must be better). A little really does go a long way. Just 1-2dB with a gentle slope can work wonders.

 

I keep seeing conflicting info regarding this. Are the "regular" Rykos compressed or not?

 

I can post some waveforms. People might be shocked. The Au20 Hunky Dory is louder than the "regular" Ryko.

 

So true... That's why Steve and Barry Diament are so revered--it's for their restraint as much as their expertise in sonic tweaks.

I've since 'done' the regular Rykos of Aladdin Sane, Diamond Dogs and Lodger with the aforementioned EQ tweaks, with mixed results: Sane is not so great (too much compression to smooth out the sound with EQ), while DD and Lodger turned out fine.

 

You must have had a bad pressing of Ziggy. The LP I had was stellar! No CD version can touch the LP. IMO.

 

Yep, the Scary Monsters RCA WG LP sounds wonderful. That was one of the first LP's to release the single hit also as so called 12" Super Sound Single I bought in 1981 when it came out with the title track and Up The Hill Backwards on the flipside . That 12" was a remarkable better sounding solution vs the regular 33 rpm LP's I was used to.. that 45 12" thing really came into fashion back then with New Wave, Reggae , only few Rock acts cared to use the 12" format..
It was decades after 1981 that I finally bought a copy of the Scary Monsters LP and i was smitten by those sonics.. Much better than Station To Station.

 

Can't find the post/thread about the Rykodisc Bowie CD's being out of phase. But I went ahead, ripped the tracks from Station to Station with EAC, inverted them using Audacity, then tried various EQ'ing. First of all I played the Ryko STS on my system and in my car and it sounds dreadful, can't believe I've never noticed it before. Although I've also picked up a copy of an RCA ChangesOneBowie CD and it's not very good either. So after my tweaking, it did seem as if the album was indeed out of phase. And bass deficient and a little harsh in the treble. I tried to use Audacity to EQ, but I always wind up with some extra noise in the 20kHz range detectable using foobar EQ visualization. So I used the cruder EQ on my Cakewalk Pyro software.
+2.20 Bass 0-86 Hz
+0.97 Low center 130 Hz width 258 Hz
------ Mid center 500 Hz width 1024 Hz
-------High center 2 kHz width 4134 Hz
-2.38 Treble 5512 Hz

Anyway it now sounds so much better in both the car and at home, but especially at home with my Onkyo receiver surround set at Studio mix. Wow! Unbelievable that this is the same recording.

My question is: Are all the Rykodisc CD's of Bowie's catalog inverted like that?

My next attempt at salvaging will be Aladdin Sane. Then Low.