SH Spotlight A few angry (but sort of funny) notes people sent me about my mastering work, imagined defects.....

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Steve Hoffman, Dec 2, 2013.

  1. ringosshed

    ringosshed Forum Resident

    Location:
    san diego
    I agree with this 100% and I'm surprised no one else does.
     
  2. rxcory

    rxcory proud jazz band/marching band parent

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    Thinking about the comined value of all those returned DCCs makes me want to cry!
     
  3. coffeecupman

    coffeecupman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Caterham, UK
    Not YET... :evil:

    ccm
     
  4. John B Good

    John B Good Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    NS, Canada
    How long before you started telling him HE was the guy killing the music? :)
     
    One Louder likes this.
  5. moops

    moops Senior Member

    Location:
    Geebung, Australia
    I work in customer service ....... the general public are just plain weird.

    I think this is my fave .....

    DCC Gold CD/Wes Montgomery "Goin' Out Of My Head":

    "Guitar totally out of tune, not that way on my LP."
     
    Grant and Sneaky Pete like this.
  6. jimac51

    jimac51 A mythical beast.

    Location:
    Allentown,pa.
    The reason why I own a copy of Steve's Uh-Huh collection of Ray Charles material is because of a customer complaint.The guy who owned the store I managed was on the premises for much of the time and was notorious for never taking back an opened return,even if it meant turning away a regular customer who spent way more than the returned piece.But one deep pocket customer bought Uh-Huh for their bed & breakfast and returned this for the sound.Now,I had no idea who Steve Hoffman was(though I did see his credits on those MCA Vintage Music comps),how cool DCC stuff was(the boss was adamant about NEVER bringing in any gold,collectable,audiophile stuff that he would have to get involved with returning)or just how special this particular collection was,just that it was the best "bang for for buck"comp of Ray's career available.So,to keep this regular customer coming back,I gave her cash out of my pocket and kept it for myself(I forget why I have no booklet).The boss didn't know any better(this was not the first time I did this).
     
    mikeyt and Tjazz like this.
  7. MrSka57

    MrSka57 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Syracuse, New York
    You should dig up the video of the 1970 Isle of Wight festival (Message to Love)
    where she tries to tell 500,000 people to be quiet.
     
  8. Cassiel

    Cassiel Sonic Reducer

    Location:
    NYC, USA
    The appropriate response is, "Is it particularly humid where you live? Because everyone knows that will throw off the tuning."
     
  9. fredhammersmith

    fredhammersmith Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montreal, Quebec
    This is hilarious!
     
    Dave likes this.
  10. dlokazip

    dlokazip Forum Transient

    Location:
    Austin, TX, USA
    I didn't know how to adjust the speed on my turntable until I was in my early 20's. Most people that I grew up with didn't bother. I always surmised that most turntables were too fast out of the box.

    My guess is that these wonderful individuals got used to that sound not realizing that it was at the wrong speed.
     
  11. let him run...

    let him run... Senior Member

    Location:
    Colchester, VT USA
    You should have really confused him and steered him to Little Jimmy Scott.
     
  12. Dondy

    Dondy Forumaniac

    Too cool, really! :)
    Humm, just speculating but PERHAPS this hapless guy simply confused Billie with Buddy Holly(day), haha!
     
    NapalmBrain likes this.
  13. reb

    reb Money Beats Soul

    Location:
    Long Island
    That would be great, I'm sure the thread would draw a nice response. Those old catalogs really belong in some type of "DCC Archive" sticky, so we can all get nostalgic over them.:)
     
  14. vjf1968

    vjf1968 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Philadelphia, Pa
    You don't know what was available to Steve when the project was started. Usually masters for a greatest hits are dubs from the original tapes and not the best fidelity, especially in a format that can reveal the flaws of a dub of a dub. If he says he had 3rd and 4th generation masters who are you to dispute it? For him to make the album sound better, he used the best sources available to him.

    Personally I can't see the point in spending $30 (or more) on a "Greatest Hits" comp.
     
    mikeyt likes this.
  15. Joel1963

    Joel1963 Senior Member

    Location:
    Montreal
    One of the reasons Steve cited for returns: DCC Gold CD/The Beach Boys "Pet Sounds":

    "Return: This music is in mono."

    Our local daily used to have a consumer column, and one complaint in the early days of CDs was that a CD was mono and the store was refusing to take it back.

    "All CDs are supposed to be in stereo," the angry consumer wrote.

    :rolleyes:
    On the other hand, I could see some justification if the CD packaging misleads about the sound of its contents. Didn't the double EMI CD Complete Animals have a "stereo" designation on each disc? The whole thing was mono and the packaging also listed a track which did not appear on the CD.
     
    Last edited: Dec 3, 2013
  16. markbrow

    markbrow Forum President

    Location:
    Denver

    urban myth/radio hoax.

    http://www.snopes.com/humor/letters/deercrossing.asp
     
    rmbaker and AlienRendel like this.
  17. markbrow

    markbrow Forum President

    Location:
    Denver
    I'm amazed that record stores took back records just because people didn't like them. If I made a bad buy I just figured it was my bad and sucked it up (and often grew to like the album later). The few times I could have legitimately returned an album I didn't do it (found Neil Young's Hawks and Doves in a vinyl pressing from the Philippines that was so loaded with surface noise it was ridiculous).

    It would have never occurred to me to take back music just because I decided I didn't like it.
     
    Ham Sandwich, Sneaky Pete and somnar like this.
  18. Elton

    Elton I Hope Being Helpful, Will Make Me Look Cool

    Location:
    Carson Ca.
    This is how most Greatest Hits get released:

    1. Most Popular albums are done from the "working master" (2nd generation) because "The Master," the real master, was stored away (and Marked "DO NOT USE" on the tape box) after making the (EQ 'ed LP "working master") of that album.

    2. From that albums tape (2) they make the edited single (3rd generation).

    3. Then when the call comes down from the big offices to make the "Greatest Hits". The edited single versions from that album and all the other edited singles from the other albums (3) are put together on a "Master Tape" (4th generation).

    4. The Greatest Hits are a record company product, that artist used to finish a contract, or to buy time because, they want time, while they are working on their "next great release."

    The artist is rarely involved. That is what you will get if you except the Greatest Hits "Master Tape." Thank You Steve, for not excepting "Their Greatest Hits" Master tapes.

    Edit: 1st generation is the multitrack tapes, not heard in public much (Why Artist, Producers and Engineers complain about CD)
     
    Last edited: Dec 3, 2013
    RobCos02330, mikeyt and glenecho like this.
  19. PH416156

    PH416156 Alea Iacta Est

    Location:
    Europe
    Bummer. Enemies of dynamic range? Sadly, I 'm reading a lot of this "too quiet /too loud" nonsense too many times, mainly when people post reviews of classical (well mastered) CDs...:doh:
     
  20. onionmaster

    onionmaster Tropical new waver from the future

    It's really not the same, because modern vinyl is a niche market and most new things have been released on CD too. What I'm talking about is say RSD releases of previously released material, or limited vinyl releases of things that have been released digitally.
     
  21. Reads like posters on this forum
     
  22. Only agree with one comment. Wings Speed of Sound : Dreadful album.
     
    YardByrd and Carserguev like this.
  23. Sneaky Pete

    Sneaky Pete Flat the 5 and That’s No Jive

    Location:
    NYC USA
    Hilarious, I loved "Music starts too soft, and goes too loud." Darn that dynamic range I hate that stuff in my music.

    Must be frustrating, I guess you just have to laugh.
     
  24. hurple

    hurple Forum Resident

    Location:
    Clinton, IL, USA
    You've probably all heard the joke, but it actually happened to me. In the early days of CD, I had a customer return one because, "the needle keeps sliding off."

    In another store in another time, I had a lady return a cordless phone because it wouldn't work *miles* from her home. When I explained that the phones have a limited range, she asked, "then what are all those things I see people talking on in their cars driving around all over the place?"
     
  25. Robin L

    Robin L Musical Omnivore

    Location:
    Fresno, California
    Well, he's right, isn't he?

    Ah, sweet mystery of life. No funny 'return' stories, but Working at the Musical Offering in Berkeley [that great magnet of the weird] I had to set my radar for potential shoplifters, developed a sense of someone with 'illegal' intent, and help them with their potential purchases with greater attention than usual. One particularly squirrely character turned out to be the Dancer/Choreographer Mark Morris, moving around the store like a crab on stilts and reeking of tobacco smoke, usually signs significant in that neck of the woods. No dis on the talented Mr. Morris, but those New York dancers do smoke, don't they?
     
    berndt and Moshe like this.

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