Hi-Res Download News (HDTracks, ProStudioMasters, Pono, etc.) & Software/Mastering Part 12**

THIS WEEK on HDtracks...

Pat Metheny - 10 albums
Paul McCartney - Flaming Pie
Mariah Carey - 2 EPs
Alanis Morissette - Such Pretty Forks in the Road

Plus much much more...

 

I feel all of your pains! Imagine you spend 90 days mixing an album in 5.1 and then you find out it is only released in: Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Sweden. Happend to me. Worse still you attempt to go to Amazon.Japan but they won't ship it out of the country. And on top of that it is limited to 15 000 copies. Happend to me more than once. Remember The J5: Live At The Forum? Limited release and they wouldn't ship it outside of America.

I have friends saying, "Either I can't find your mixes or they aren't available in my country."
No kidding. Hardly anyone heard my stuff anyway. Maybe it's best I am out of it now.

Write angry emails. Tell them you are not happy.

 

The 1210 isn't a Lynn Sondek but it's a competently designed direct-drive turntable. Not anywhere near as good as a 1200 Mrk 1 but it is o.k. It will play music. I guess midfi but then pretty most direct drive tables fall onto that category. I never understood this obsession with exact speed. If you want perfect speed and pitch use a CD.

Direct drive is really a DJ turntable. I would get the best cart one can afford and a good phone preamp.

 

I'm sorry this happened to your work, my friend...I'd imagine that is maddening.

 

Thanks. Someone from Japan sent me a nice email last year regarding some mix I did. That is rare though. I think my 5.1 mixes are odd ball.

The mastering engineer that does all of our 5.1 mixes said on one particular occassion, "You abuse the 5.1 format. I don't care if was recorded in 1968, you can't pan the bass to the right rear speaker and the vocal front left. You were mixing 5.1 albums like they used to mix old stereo. No one wants that....." - 5.1 Mastering engineer Bradley Tomeens. Retired.

O.k. I freely admit putting the entire drum kit in the rear speakers of some 5.1 mix I did. O.k. maybe more than once. So? Drummers are always behind the band. Isn't that more realistic? And then the guitars center right and center left.

The beautiful thing about 5.1 mixing is that you have this crazy amount of headroom. You have 6 channels. 2 front, 2 rear, one center channel and one low effect channel. Bass and more so kick steal headroom. You put the kick in the low effect channel and the kick has it's own channel. Put the bass in the center channel and the bass has it's own channel. I was told NOT to put the bass in the center channel. Doesn't matter really. All systems have bass management. Any low bass that the main speakers can't handle is sent to the subwoofer. So now with the drum kit in the rear, kick in the low effect channel and bass in the center channel the front two channels are free to soar without drums or bass to eat up the head room.

Apparently in the world of 5.1 album mixes 10 000 copies sold is really good. Most 5.1 mixes sell less than 4 000 copies. This shocked me when I found out 6 years ago.

 

When this Covid-19 thing is over, buy a plane ticket, go to the nation in question and buy it there. My sister in 2014 went Tokyo, Japan just to shop for: CDs, high definition Blu-rays, 5.1 mixes on DVD and Blu-ray . And of course movies and television shows on DVD and Blu-ray. Spent $7 000 on her VISA card.

 

Ohhh they have a reason for the nonsense they are doing. But only THEY know why.

 

Try living in Canada. Then you'll have something to complain about when it comes to "not available in your territory". Awful here and few hi-res sources.

 

Yep, no argument there. Born and raised a Toronto boy. "Not available in Canada" is a curse here.

 

I know John. My rant/post wasn't directed at you. More like feeling your pain.

 

Oh yea I know. It's a cool
I was adding to your point.

Adding to our pain.

 

Is Barenaked Ladies, GORDON available in high definition?

 

Don't know. I'd suggest checking HDT, PSM, A.S., Qobuz & 7 Digital. If none of them have it, it would be hard to find at beast.

 

Yep. When the Stones started doing vault downloads, they were only available as MP3 in the USA, but were lossless in the UK. Just one example. In the USA, many years ago in the days of vinyl, the labels sued over "parallel imports". They lost, though the legal costs put the largest USA importer of the time, "Jem" out of business. With regional licensing, & video "regions" the bastards at the corporations found away around the court decision.

 

BTW, looking forward to the new P-Furs in hi-res (24/44.1) tomorrow assuming I can get it in Canada.

 

I tried searching this thread for Qobuz files with LLS in the track name and got nothing. What/why is LLS added to track names bought from Qobuz?
Ex: 01-01-Riley Green- There Was This Girl - LLS.
Is it simply LossLess Stereo?

 

I have worked in this business for almost 18 years and I am afraid I have to say, "WHAT THE WHAT?!" Did you say, "...Labels sued over parallel imports?...." This might explain why so many of my "remixes" and "remasters" never saw the light of day in the West. Record companies don't like other labels doing remixes of their artist's work. Sad.

 

This goes back to the days of vinyl. I was very aware of the situation because I was doing retail music store management & purchasing. Short version: in many cases, European & Japanese pressings were of much higher quality than USA pressings. There was a sizable market in the USA for imports. The USA labels took Jem to court in an effort to make importing identical titles that were out in the USA illegal. The labels lost in court. Similar mentality as you're seeing; different situation. The licensing/region restrictions is how they got around the court ruling (though they were never successful doing so with vinyl).

 

That's not correct but maybe not the thread to discuss

 

Further background below, should be excellent transfers...

Pat Metheny ECM Catalog Headed for High-Res Download and Streaming

 

Great news! I hope they do my favorite Keith Jarrett, Staircase, which has never been done in hi-res digital.

 

That would be great! One of my favourites as well.

 

Fortunately GORDON was mixed and mastered in 1993. Long before they started wrecking classic album. 1993. Could have been done at 24/48 but I doubt it.

 

DJ turntables are always direct drive turntables. They were originally designed for radio station DJs. They need quick start up. Please name me one top audiophile direct drive table. Make me a believer. Basic physics say NO.

 

Because the companies are evil.