Weak sounding 80s CDs

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by antonkk, Apr 22, 2008.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. antonkk

    antonkk Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    moscow
    I know we all hate loud compressed CDs etc but there were plenty of 80's CDs mastered so low in volume that they didn't sound right no matter how much you cranked your amp. I don't mean the ones with huge dynamic range, we all love those but there were plenty thin, flat sounding CDs which simply refused to rock and led many people into the whole "remastering is better" thing. Post your most notorious examples.:wave:
     
  2. blind_melon1

    blind_melon1 An erotic adventurer of the most deranged kind....

    Location:
    Australia
    I know it was released in the early 90s, but Dinosaur Jr "Green Mind" is one tinny lifeless sounding disc...... shame.. the music is great... but you need tone controls for this one....(turn the treble down, and up the bass to make it even the slightest big listenable!)

    The original SST cd of "Your living all over me" is pretty bad too, but not as bad as GM.
     
  3. Capt Fongsby

    Capt Fongsby Music is the best. ... And cats.

    Location:
    Norway
    I agree there were a few cds that sounded anemic due to EQ-ing choices (or a lack thereof) and bad tapes, but I've NEVER come across a cd that sounded bad because it was mastered too low...
     
  4. 905

    905 Senior Member

    Location:
    Midwest USA
    IIRC, Chronicles by CCR has been mentioned.
     
  5. bdiament

    bdiament Producer, Engineer, Soundkeeper

    Location:
    New York
    Hi Tore,

    Well said!

    I hear these CDs as sounding bad because they were either bad recordings/mixes or they got mangled in the mastering room.

    "Anemic" is a function of sound quality not sound quantity. If it was the latter, turning up the volume would help.

    Best regards,
    Barry
    www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
    www.barrydiamentaudio.com
     
  6. KeithH

    KeithH Success With Honor...then and now

    Location:
    Beaver Stadium
    Do all early versions of Chronicles have the same mastering? I bought the original U.S. version years ago and was unimpressed with it, but I actually like the original West German version for Europe very much. Now, I have not compared them side by side, but I was pleasantly surprised with the sound of the West German pressing for Europe.

    Note: The West German pressing still does not match up with the quality of Steve's DCC gold CDs or the SACDs that I have heard, but it is still quite good.
     
  7. JLGB

    JLGB Senior Member

    Location:
    D.R.
    IMO all or most the cds from the 80s recorded digitally (DDD) sound pretty lame. Must be because of low sampling and low bits.
     
  8. waldo

    waldo Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    Quincy Jones - The Dude.. annoys the hell out of me.. it's just not loud enough.. it's one of my favourites.. and i need to hear Ai No Corrida LOUD!!!
     
  9. Pawnmower

    Pawnmower Senior Member

    Location:
    Dearborn, MI
    My copy of Tom Petty's "Southern Accents," from 1985 I think, sounds like total crap.. so quiet and tinny.
     
  10. jv66

    jv66 Estimated Dead Prophet

    Location:
    Montreal
    Culture Club - Kissing To Be Clever
     
  11. waldo

    waldo Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    oh please.. that band were weak full stop. :D :D :D lol
     
  12. elgreco

    elgreco Groove Meister

    Different versions of Chronicles may sound VERY different. One of my first posts on this forum was about my original CD copy of that album, which sounded incredibly muddy in my experience. Several posters pointed out that the West-German pressing actually should sound pretty good. I did, however, have a copy that was pressed in France - it wasn't on the Fantasy/ZYX label, but on Carrere. Bought a W-German copy later on and I was stunned by the difference.

    Some 80's titles that immediately come to mind are Another Page by Christopher Cross and the original A&M issue of Famous last words by Supertramp. The first was said to be a rush job in the early days of CD ('83), in order to meet demands - and it shows. The volume is not only incredibly low, but the mix just isn't right. There's a huge difference in sound with the tracks from this album that ended up on the comp The very best of Christopher Cross (remastered by Bill Inglot, IIRC).

    The Supertramp album didn't sound right, too - really worse than most other Supertramp albums at the time. The remasters (there were two of them) were slightly better, but not a big improvement.

    These just don't sound right. The mere fact that they're low in volume isn't the point. I have some great sounding CD''s that are incredibly low in volume.
     
  13. dartira

    dartira rise and shine like a far out superstar

    :confused: Turn it up?
     
  14. vonwegen

    vonwegen Forum Resident

    Replacements - Pleased To Meet Me , a tinny, brittle, compressed-sounding production;

    The Byrds 5D - the original CD sounded horrible because the source tape was in terrible condition on several songs.

    The original Dylan Blonde On Blonde CD - poor source tape = crap CD

    The non-Steve Hoffman version of Who's Next that appeared in the mid 80s in the US--like it had one bollock missing.
     
  15. waldo

    waldo Forum Resident

    Location:
    London

    can you get with the program here a little ??
     
  16. Larry Geller

    Larry Geller Surround sound lunatic

    Location:
    Bayside, NY
    The first few releases of Abraxas and Aqualung. Original All Things Must Pass (both the quietest, for My Sweet Lord, and the loudest, for Awaiting On You All, disc I have owned---dynamic range gone overboard--have to turn it WAY up to even hear some cuts, only to then be blown out of my seat by other tracks).
     
  17. Scott Strobel

    Scott Strobel Forum Resident

    Location:
    Selma, CA USA
    I'll take a low volume mastered Cd over a hot mastered one any-day.

    I'd rather turn it up than have to turn it down!!!
     
  18. Joel1963

    Joel1963 Senior Member

    Location:
    Montreal
    The original MCA Who Are You by The Who, and the DDD The Visitors by Abba.
     
  19. jv66

    jv66 Estimated Dead Prophet

    Location:
    Montreal
    Not really, they were a very good pop band, they're just perceived as weak because of Boy George's antics. If pop music today (top 40) had 1/2 the melodies etc... of that album i wouldn't bitch so much.
     
  20. Johnny Connor

    Johnny Connor New Member

    Location:
    Homdel,NJ
    All the 80's Simon & Garfunkel,Bob Dylan,Rolling Stones,Journey and Billy Joel CDs;the MCA Elton John Greatest Hits and Greatest Hits Vol.II are both crap.Also most metal CDs sounded weak and tinny.
     
  21. New Order's "Low-Life" CD on Factory Records - one of the earliest Factory Records Cds I bought. Has pre-emphasis which my kit decodes but stills sounds awful. I am still haunted by the memory of the much better sounding vinyl which I had back in the day but sold to fund my early CD purchases!
     
  22. MerlinMacuser

    MerlinMacuser New Member In Memoriam

    A Space in Time by Ten Years After....the dynamic range is so thin I had to turn it off while playing it in the car. The traffic noise in my usually very quiet Buick Ranier was too loud for Alvin Lee! Unbelievable. On the other hand, Ssssh plays just fine.
     
  23. CharlesS

    CharlesS Forum Resident

    Location:
    NYC
    20 years of Jethro Tull

    Oh well I had to chime in ... I just rebought an old favorite box set .. namely 20 Years Of Jethro Tull.

    It is thin-sounding and digital with a harsh hissy treble and weak bass.

    Anybody else feel the same way or have I become too sensitive ? (coming here has helped that along)

    Charles
     
  24. akmonday

    akmonday Forum Resident

    Location:
    berkeley, ca
    i still think the original pressings of "remain in light" and peter gabriel's "iv" sound awful
     
  25. DetroitDoomsayer

    DetroitDoomsayer Forum Middle Child

    Location:
    Detroit, Michigan
    Steve Earle & The Dukes "Exit 0" is a DDD disc from the late 80's and it doesn't have any life to me at all....turning up this one doesn't help one bit. Too bad as there are a few classic SE tunes on this one.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine