"The Best Of The Doors" 1973 Quad & original stereo Audio Fidelity SACD, adventures in mastering.

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Steve Hoffman, Apr 13, 2015.

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  1. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Doors cover.jpg Just received approval from the Doors management on the mastering for this so I can talk about it a bit.

    First release since 1973 of the original Quad Doors mixes. Stereo section will have my new mastering of the stereophonic mixes.

    I mastered both the stereo version and the quadraphonic version with Stephen Marsh and it was really a blast. Always an honor to work on the Doors, their office is always helpful, enthusiastic and eager to get it done and released. That is much appreciated, believe me.

    They even suggested we take some photos of the mastering session, in fact, encouraged it. So that's unique but thanks to photographer Elton Evans, accomplished. Pics to come.

    A visit to the Doors' Vault is always an adventure, it is freezing in there (I wore two jackets and an overcoat) but we had permission to recompile the 1973 BEST OF track listing from all original first generation tapes, both Quad and stereo so I pulled them all while Kenny (from the Doors office) froze beside me.

    During mastering, I concentrated on the stereo stuff first, going not in order, but from non-Dolby titles to Dolby A titles. Stephen Marsh is an expert in making 50 year old Dolby tapes play back correctly and we got everything transferred to perfection before lunch (having done my actual mastering homework the week before). The QUAD reels we also did (first time) mainly because we couldn't send the analog tapes to Gus, they had to stay at the studio so we gladly did the four channel transfers from analog to high-rez.

    I think that those of you who are used to the modern 5.1 surround versions of these songs will really dig the Paul Rothchild 1973 Quad attempts. And of course the stereo Bruce Botnick mixes were handled with a light mastering touch, not changing the sonic signature of the songs but simply directly the ears (or suggesting to them) a certain course for the brain to take during each song. That was fun, picking one or two songs from each album without the pressure of having to do the entire album..

    One thing is clear, the talent of the great engineer Bruce Botnick. His decades old mixes hold up so nicely, they really are a pleasure to listen to. I never get tired of The Doors!

    Being released in June, 2015. Won't be long!
     
    Steve Hoffman, Apr 13, 2015
    #1
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  2. kanno1ae

    kanno1ae Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dallas, Texas, USA
    Wow! Awesome! Can't wait to hear it, Steve!
     
    kanno1ae, Apr 13, 2015
    #2
  3. Mister Charlie

    Mister Charlie "Music Is The Doctor Of My Soul " - Doobie Bros.

    Location:
    Aromas, CA USA
    I look forward to this as I have the Quad album from the 70s.
     
    Mister Charlie, Apr 13, 2015
    #3
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  4. kozy814

    kozy814 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Harrison Twp, MI, USA
    I agree -- This sounds really cool!
     
    kozy814, Apr 13, 2015
    #4
  5. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    VERY cool!
     
    GuildX700, Apr 13, 2015
    #5
  6. Todd Fredericks

    Todd Fredericks Senior Member

    Location:
    A New Yorker
    Looking forward to this.
     
    Todd Fredericks, Apr 13, 2015
    #6
  7. hi_watt

    hi_watt The Road Warrior

    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    Woo hoo!!! Can't wait to get this disc! Thanks Steve and of course the Doors' management.
     
    hi_watt, Apr 13, 2015
    #7
  8. xdawg

    xdawg in labyrinths of coral caves

    Location:
    Roswell, GA, USA
    Sounds great! Thanks for the scoop Steve!
     
    xdawg, Apr 13, 2015
    #8
  9. frank3si

    frank3si Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Castle DE USA
    frank3si, Apr 13, 2015
    #9
  10. The Hud

    The Hud Breath of the Kingdom, Tears of the Wild

    Location:
    Kansas, United States
    Preordered this and the Joe Cocker SACD.
     
    The Hud, Apr 13, 2015
    #10
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  11. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Love reading about stuff like this. Thanks, Steve!
     
    PaulKTF, Apr 13, 2015
    #11
  12. supermd

    supermd Senior Member

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    Hi Steve,

    Can you elaborate a bit on why there is more pressure to do an entire album as opposed to a greatest hits? Thanks.

    Edit: Or maybe you just meant that, as you jumped from album to album, it was nice to only have to do a few select songs instead of the full albums you chose songs off of.
     
    supermd, Apr 13, 2015
    #12
  13. ZAck Scott

    ZAck Scott Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA, USA
    Now this is what I would say a great multichannel release! So happy that this was done and I hope that more Original Quad mixes will be done by you, Steve!
     
    ZAck Scott, Apr 13, 2015
    #13
  14. jstger6969

    jstger6969 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    That's great news Steve, Wish I was a fly on the wall!
     
    jstger6969, Apr 13, 2015
    #14
  15. Steel Horse

    Steel Horse Forum Resident

    Location:
    Uppsala, SWEDEN
    Excellent news. Looking forward to listening to Steve's MC version. First time for me.
     
    Steel Horse, Apr 13, 2015
    #15
  16. Stan94

    Stan94 Senior Member

    Location:
    Paris, France
    Steve, could you upload pictures of the actual master tapes boxes? Thanks.
     
    Stan94, Apr 13, 2015
    #16
  17. reb

    reb Money Beats Soul

    Location:
    Long Island
    People are cold
    Love me with two jackets on
    Light a fire
    Riders on the snow storm

    Seriously, why is the vault kept at that temperature..?
     
    reb, Apr 13, 2015
    #17
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  18. supermd

    supermd Senior Member

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    Waiting for the Sun
     
    supermd, Apr 13, 2015
    #18
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  19. SKean

    SKean Forum Resident

    Location:
    Central Jersey
    And your mastering of Renaissance's Ashes Are Burning and ELP's Welcome Back My Friends is going how well...?
     
    SKean, Apr 13, 2015
    #19
  20. ascot

    ascot Senior Member

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    I am so looking forward to this release. I am really enjoying hearing vintage quad mixes, too.

    Steve, how much did your prior work on these songs affect your decisions this time?
     
    ascot, Apr 13, 2015
    #20
  21. C6H12O6

    C6H12O6 Senior Member

    Location:
    My lab
    Quick question: when master tapes have been stored in a really cold environment, would there be a risk of damaging them if you, say, played them while they were still cold on a warm machine?

    Just curious, because I once tried to play a VHS tape that had been left in a car in the dead of winter over night, and just before I tried putting it in a machine, I got a stern warning that I had to wait for the tape to warm up to room temperature, otherwise it might jam in the machine. Not sure why this would be though.
     
    C6H12O6, Apr 13, 2015
    #21
  22. Shak Cohen

    Shak Cohen Forum Resident

    Location:
    United Kingdom
    To the one person here that cares (me), Steve could you please also add a couple more details:

    1. I presume these are 1/4" 15ips tapes? Which brand/variation of tape did The Doors use? (Ampex 456, etc.)
    2. NAB or CCIR equalization?

    Thanks!
     
    Shak Cohen, Apr 13, 2015
    #22
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  23. Cake

    Cake Forum Resident

    Location:
    Reseda, CA, USA
    Thanks for the wonderful news, Steve!
     
    Cake, Apr 13, 2015
    #23
  24. bleachershane

    bleachershane Forum Resident

    Location:
    Glasgow, Scotland
    One word: condensation.
     
    bleachershane, Apr 13, 2015
    #24
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  25. jmrife

    jmrife Wife. Kids. Grandkids. Dog. Music.

    Location:
    Wheat Ridge, CO
    Not much of a Doors fan, but for the quad version, sure.
     
    jmrife, Apr 13, 2015
    #25
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