The Master Flat-Transfer Thread

The White Album always sounded "flat" to me. Lots of hiss on those tracks and they sound somewhat "un-mastered". "Martha My Dear" is a good example.

Let It Be is a maybe in my book because I always thought my Apple vinyl (US) sounded a bit better. I think there's a good chance that some slight noise reduction might've been applied to some parts of the CD version.

 

I find this subject interesting, as until I joind up here I was under the impression that flat transfers were inherently undesirable for CDs, and that - as a matter of course - for accurate reproduction the bass needed to be boosted owing to the medium's lesser playback capacities for bass relative to vinyl (and indeed, that treble needed a bit of a boost for vinyl). Live and learn!

 

Doobies: Best Of (DCC...sounds great Steve...lots of space)
Jimmy Buffett: the plaid back MCA cd's...those sound nice and unfutzed with
Dave Mason: Alone Together & Headkeeper (MCA plaid back cd...not sure if this is a flat one or not...but it sure sounds natural)

 

Was yours the one before or after they added "Storms In Africa II"?

 

Hi Lazlo,

I did both. After the CD came out, Geffen decided to add one more track and had me master it again.

(There was no mastering credit on the CDs I did. I don't know if it has since been mastered yet again.)

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

 

I agree the Dave Masom twofer sounds great and very natural. I would guess it is a flat transfer.

 

I would argue that the artistic intent of any recording is best represented by the sound the artists and engineers heard when they listened to the playback. That's what they decided to "set in stone," so to speak.

If the studio monitors used for the playback were not perfectly flat (and odds are they weren't), then a flat transfer of the master tape would actually misrepresent the original intent. That's why we need guys like Steve, who know about the errors made by different studio playback systems and can compensate for them accordingly.

Case in point: Steve has said that Hotel California was monitored on speakers with a big midrange peak. The result is that the master tape has a big midrange hole! IIRC, Steve said he had to EQ that one like mad to get it to sound right.

I agree that flat transfers are good in that they do no further harm to the original intent than is already present on the master tape. But that is a far cry from saying that flat transfers inevitably come as close as possible to the original intent. I suspect that the opposite is true.

 

Wasn't it actually the lower end? IIRC, Steve said the original tapes were very bassy.

 

Could be. I was quoting from memory. Steve definitely did mention the problem of a monitor mid-range peak in relation to some remaster he did. Maybe it wasn't Hotel California. The point remains the same, however.

LATER. It may have been a Steely Dan album he mentioned – you know, the one where Steve's master was in circulation for only a short time before being replaced. Aja, that was it.

 

...and Barry, and Dennis, and all the other forum favorites. Didn't mean to slight anyone.

 

All the official (on Seventh Records) Magma CDs are absolutely flat, direct to 44/16 transfers of the master tapes.

 

"Flat sound we like"? I think you are confused. A "flat transfer" means a mastering made directly from the master tape, with no EQ added.

As far as "flat sound," I sure wouldn't like that.

 

Oops, nevermind, that issue was already tackled in this old thread!

 

Odessey & Oracle (1986 Rock Machine)??

 

MFSL Muddy Waters. I know someone who was at Mobile Fidelity when this was mastered. He told me that the tape sounded so good that they didn't do a thing to it.

 

I miss Barry Diament

 

Is he not mastering anymore?

 

That CD sounds like it could be a flat transfer to me, but not having heard the master tape I can't be sure.

 

I don’t know, but he was a forum member that posted regularly until being driven off by obnoxious posts

 

That's a pity.

 

I see from the below link that he is still active, just not mastering “popular “ albums anymore.
Barry Diament Audio

 

And that was a decade or more ago, I believe.

 

Shame. I enjoyed his posts