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

Too much junk for me.

 

I like them too, but they seem to be going through some changes, and I don’t know how it is going to end up. It seems they are pushing their highest tier pricing by pulling the “as low as $$$”, but if you don’t have their highest tier (fortunately I do), you won’t be paying that lowest price. I think they are raising prices too, but I am still exploring that. I haven’t purchased as much there recently has I had in 2020. I still like supporting them though.

 

Yeah, I noticed that too. I think it's because they are really pushing the streaming it seems. They still seem a few dollars cheaper than HD Tracks, but I think where Qobuz really shines is, after you buy something it's always available for download in case you lose your files.

 

I miss Onkyo. They were more & more becoming my go to when 7 Digital pulled the plug on them.

 

In any format to add. I don't like dealing with a separate download thingy (HDTracks and Prostudiomasters for example) to get my downloads.

 

Do you mean you just click on a link? The reason for the downloaders is to TRY to beat the hackers.

 

Well, that and the downloaders are better at resuming interrupted downloads. Which isn't as much of an issue now in the era of high bandwidth as it was a decade ago. But still.

 

With big box sets, I found it to be essential.

 

I rarely have direct DL issues. I'm supposedly at 100 mbs; in reality I average around 92.

 

The Kris Kristofferson was difficult for me with Qobuz, but their app made it seamless.

 

Recently (2 days ago) I got punched several times in the jaw by a bully manipulator who constantly cheats on his girlfriend. But what hurts more is B.S. masters made with too much EQ and compresion. Now that hurts!


And now because I know how much this irritates some members.....


A fireside chat with THE FAT MASTERING GUY AT 2871 DUFFERIN ST. (23 1/3 Stone! and probably diabetic) poor-bastard. Is it normal for your new studio boss to pay you in bit coin?
Forget I asked.......Jesus help me....What.....Is that a busy signal? Oh, with special guest appearance by THE SPEC GUY.

What is a master? Do you know there can be more than one master?

Mixdown master - made from the multitrack.

Vinyl Master - With added EQ and/or compression to make it easier to cut to vinyl. 2nd generations down..

Copy Master - A copy made from a master.
2 generations down..

Affiliate Label Master. Can be 2 to 3 generations down from the Master Tape.

For example: it is 1973 and Pink Floyd had just finished there masterpiece - Dark Side Of The Moon. Now it is time for the work. The day all the affiliate label tapes are made. These are usually made from the mixdown master. But they all might be made from a Vinyl Master. Don't assume! That is my job.....

A&M Records Back in 1973. Affiliate labels.
* U.K.
* Canada "Like take off eh!"
* Mexico
* South / Central Amercia
* Japan
* Hong Kong
* The British West Indies
* South East Asia
* Australia/ New Zealand.
* France / West Germany
* Spain / Portuagal.


I will stop here. A lot of tapes to make.
Companies like A&M Records used to have a strict policy that all affiliate label tapes had to be made from the Mixdown Master: Quarter inch, half track tapes @ 15 ips, Dolby A encoded, NAB EQ. I read it somewhere. So if you purchased a Styx record in Japan or Canada back in 1977 then it is very possible that your record was cut from a copy tape. Still excellent quality! But don't assume. Some cutting engineer in Australia might decide that Crime Of the Century is just too bassy to cut. So he makes a Vinyl Master tape with EQ ( - 3 db @ 50 hz @ a Q of 1, and - 2 db at 150 hz @ a Q of 1) and a little bit of limiting. Now that tape will be what is cut for Down Under. Nothing like the master or the copy tape. And of course as studio protocol demands, copy of that tape is made. Now it is - 4 db @ 50 hz. These copies of Vinyl Master tapes are often mistaken as masters. That is 4 analog generations down. You following me.

A top studer quarter inch half track might be only - 1 db down at 18 khz. And only - 1 db at 30 hz. A bass bump of 1 db at 60 hz. From 80 - 17 000 the machine is 0.5 db +-. But imagine what the frequency response would look like 4 generations down......

All of sudden - 1 db at 18 khz becomes -4 db! And a bass bump of 1 db at 60 hz is now +4 db. And - 1 db at 30 hz is now - 4 db at 30 hz. And - 0.5 db at 80 - 17 000 hz are now - 2 db down. This is why some vinyl copies sound like crap. If they are made from such tapes.

Also there is another consideration. When pressing plants get a tape. Usually a copy of the master (Copy Master) they are supposed to make a copy of that tape and then pass the Copy Master on to the next plant. Unfortunately more often then not the reverse happened. They kept the Copy Master and sent the copy of the copy off to whomever. These is the extreme case. But this is the reason research is required to locate a mix down master.

And sometimes all that is left is a Vinyl Master Tape. Eq, compression, edits and all. This is now "the new master."

No Sony PCM DASH 3302 tape from 1983 is gonna play is 2020. Soemtime in the last 26 years the 3302 tape was transferred to DAT. And later to Pro Tools.

Styx - Kilroy Was Here I believe was recorded on a DASH 3302. Forget any high definition nonsense. Just buy the 1983 CD. It has been around since 1983 and is still around. That is the mix. Just a straight digital transfer to a 1600. No fudging.

Anyone hear the HD tracks for Supertramp?
Loud and bright. No thank you. Or have they improved on it.

 

Mmm yes. Pro Studio Masters gets my seal of approval.

 

HD tracks makes most of it's money on junk. Kids think HD is great as long as the files are 24/96 loud and bright.

 

At one time packets of honey from store rooms above dripped all over Motown Masters tapes. They didn't mention that did they?

 

Per the Rhino website, the superexpensive 5 LP D2C version will include a "DÉJÀ VU - 50TH ANNIVERSARY HI RES DOWNLOAD CODE FOR NYA"
DÉJÀ VU - 50TH ANNIVERSARY DELUXE D2C EDITION Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
I'm guessing this means You go to the Neil Young Archives site to redeem. If it's from Neil's site, I'll assume 24/192.
But is this just the main LP, or the bonus tracks as well?
And will it be sold separately on HDTracks, etc., or is it exclusive to this set?
There's not a whole lotta information there.

 

Hey, no argument there. And who is the cute cat in your avatar? Love cats. Owned 2 of them. There were my best friends. I had to put Mango down 3 years ago. I cried uncontrollably for an hour.

 

****. Neil pulled the same on Archive 2. You had to buy the cd or vinyl to get the download. It makes the pirates happy, though!

 

The Black & White boy in the front is Georgy. His "wife", Dolly is the white girl in the background. She passed 4 years ago at the young age of 6. I hear you on that; in the middle of February at 1 in the morning I bundled her up & with no shoes drove asap to the emergency pet hospital. Too late unfortunately. It was quite sudden when she passed. Likely heart attack.

Georgy's doing well & thanks you for the compliment!

 

Based on what I've seen on the EEC streaming services (they come out a day early due to the time zone difference), this looks like another awful week. Only things even worth mentioning imo are ep's from U2 (4 songs live) & Ringo, neither of which interest me. Hopefully more will come, but I'm not holding my breath. So frustrating that so much major rock catalog has never come out in hi res.

 

Funny. That is what I was charged with.. hacking into a competitor's server and stealing master tape files. I couldn't hack a cardboard box. Anyway it got our studio shut down 3 years ago.
Unfortunately what happened with our studio might have affected other sites that sell HD downloads. It might explain why some HD sites just disappeared or why others were unavailable for many months. But....Who knows! If all else fails you can blame it on me....

 

That's what Cats are for: to accept all blame for all things!

 

The cat updated my Samsung Blu-ray player and now it won't work.

 

My last boy liked to type emails............. "kitty on the keys"..................

 

I will get the hi res download with the 99.00 set...

 

Question. Is $99 a good price for this box set?