DCC Archive Steve, has DCC ever considered remastering Def Lepard's Hysteria?

MFSL released it once. But their version sounded very EQ'ed. To the point that it was very distorted.

 

Steve W,
Are you talking about the Ultradisc (Japan) or the UltradiscII (USA)?
I own the Japanese pressing and I don't think it's been eq'ed at all at least it doesn't sound that way to me. The UltradiscII's are typically inferior to the Ultradisc pressings, with no exceptions so far,And I've compared over 1/2 a dozen.
Oops, thought you were talking about Pyromania. Sorry as I do agree with Hysteria.
[ October 09, 2001: Message edited by: Dave ]

[ October 10, 2001: Message edited by: Dave ]

 

Why stop there? "Pyromania" needs help too!

 

Pyromania and Hysteria need a remaster... both sound very compressed! But I doubt DCC will evr do these titles...

 

Has anyone on this page ever heard the difference between UD & UDII versions of the same album?

 

Remember barely. By that I mean I forgot what album. Ultradisc-I sounded a little more colored like a bad cassette tape, while Ultradisc-II sounded like the low-level signal was gated to smooth digital artifacts & the frequency response was expanded.

 

I have the MFSL "Pyromania", and I really like my early Vertigo pressing instead. It was one of those weird Polygram Cds done right at the birth of CD technology. "Hysteria" sounds a bit compressed, but I really think that's on the 2 track master, and meant to sound that way. If you like the 80's mushy sound, I'd say just enjoy your Polygram CD. Only way they're gonna make it sound better, IMHO, is a remix, and it better not be like the "High & Dry" remixes. They made me ill.

Hysteria, the LP was cut with 34 min per side, so all that compression was even more useful when cutting the laquers on both sides of the world. Cassettes, as they had to use thin BASF tape, again, the weak, thin sound helped that as well. Sonically, "Hysteria" was never (might never be) sonically perfect. To me, (sorry fellas) it's 80's cheese wizz, only represents a band catering to the pop world, and losing it's edgy feel from the warehouse rehersal days.

Oh, I should mention, I liked the B sides that came off that album WAAAY more than the album itself. Didn't help when the girlfriends I dated during that time WORE out the album on me. I think a couple of copies got thrown out the window.

 

Hey now...that album was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. It's SUPPOSED to sound "heavy" and "mushy".
Doug

 

I agree whole-heartedly. Leppard wasn't for sonic integrity. They wanted a certain sound, and they got it. High and Dry is more simplistic in its arrangements while still keeping the splashy sound with those "chorus happy" guitars. Just don't listen to the remixes. They make a mokery out of what was great about that sound by adding fake soundstage and Hollywood Eq. Even with Pyromania, they shed that idea a bit. Less grit, higher chords, less darkness.

I suggest people go back to the High and Dry on vinyl. Really listen to it. That's the band!

 

Are you saying that all versions of High and Dry on cd are remixes?

Mike

 

I think this is all Ultradiscs need as an unfortunate artefact of digital EQing, not the EQing itself. Personally, I appreciate the restored FR extension. This would be a great augmentation to DCC, IMHO, even if the glitches requires some trimming. It eliminates some of that annoying "recorded" bandpass sound. IMHO, I find it ironic that a compromised digital EQ (that tweaks attenuated signals just sort of fully restored levels so as not to call attention to accompanying distortion) reduces that processed sound. I still believe DCC's analog capablities coupled to MFSL's digital capabilities would be a marriage made in heaven that only a squirrelly schmuck behind the knobs can muck up.

 

Why would MoFi have any better digital capabilities than DCC?

 

Let's just say Steve Hoffmann has implied in his interviews that this isn't something in which he's interested. Although, some of his stuff still sounds processed in the analog relm. However, this may be the original engineer as much as Steve trying to add the right dash of gunk to make the master tapes sound authentic.

 

Huh? Do you mean digital processing, like EQ and such? If so, there's no reason to use it - I kind of doubt MoFi used it either (although that's a guess).

On the other hand, I know Steve is *very* aware of the A/D conversion process.

Not sure what you're getting at...

 

The "gunk" to which I refer was analog processing "sound" like that of a Rane EQ. As to adding authentic gunk, Steve said he used an Ampex tape machine because it added some much needed swoosh & goosh (or some onomatopoeias to that effect) to the music to reproduce the period sound. He said without this the sound isn't "right" like the original hit.

Who knows, like I said, maybe the stuff I hear is a limitation of the equipment in the oiginal mix. It's just that those words haunt me despite my enjoyment of many of DCC's albums. It stays with me like some dude who enjoys hearing a guitar amp's hum on an album, or some other guy that enjoys the distortion of live concerts so much he uses pro equipment for his home.

I, OTOH, am constaintly straining to hear the instruments through all the crap during a concert. I nearly shat a brick when I attended a Boston Pop's Christmas concert & saw amplifiers. I was almost ready to demand an immediate refund if I wasn't alone. This SS amplified MP3 sound has got to die.