The Rush cd mastering thread (part 2)

Got the AMCY of Grace Under Pressure a couple days ago (AMCY-292), and am interested to find out why it seems to have been disliked... or perhaps "not preferred" in prior discussion.
I compared it to a Canadian Anthem and my 25.8P, and actually prefer the AMCY to both. The 25.8P bothered me for a little while because it's pretty loud relative to the other (Rush) albums of that period in particular, and compared with the Anthem it has a noticeable and unnatural sounding mid-boost. Ged's vocals sound very forward... too forward, because of that. It's kind of ... reverse smiley'd.

The AMCY is louder than the Anthem, but quieter than the 25.8P. It adds more bass and bit of fullness without sounding woofy or bloated... and no radical re-shaping of the mids. Everything else sounds great - space, clarity, etc.
So I'm kind of surprised that it is not a go-to for many. Anyway - just my 2 cents

 

When I compared various GUP CD masterings a while back, I found that the AMCY (which is the same as the SHM) is identical to the Anthem for The Body Electric, just level shifted slightly. Aside from CD rips of 2 songs each, I no longer own the SHM or the Anthem. However, I do have the 25.8P coming in the mail this week. It'll be interesting to compare to the other versions.

 

Thanks DG - appreciate the thoughts.
In fact, in my second paragraph I originally typed: "... overall very similar to the Anthem" rather than, "... and no radical re-shaping of the mids". While I didn't note track-by-track (I mainly compared "Red Sector A" and "The Enemy Within"), my general thoughts were that someone took the master for the Anthem, then tweaked the low end as needed in a very pleasing and not ham-handed way. It's a bit more exciting to listen to - similar to the difference between the Anthem Moving Pictures and Atomic 03 Moving Pictures.

 

Looks like I should investigate with some inverse-phase tests.

 

I'm glad I only slightly care for that album. Too much trouble.

 

@Diablo Griffin Totally off topic, but your MGS avatar just makes me smile big time. Everyone has their franchise when it comes to games and MGS just happens to be mine

Back to the thread...

 

The 25.8P is now my favorite mastering of GUP. It has better, more natural sounding low-end compared to the Anthem and Atomic. It's also a bit brighter than the Anthem, but on-par with the Atomic. Unlike the Atomic, the highs on the 25.8P aren't abrasive and harsh. While there are some clipped peaks, they're hardly noticeable, if at all. To me, this was money well spent! I'm glad to say that for the time being, I have no interest for the hi-res version of the album.

 

Well, finally decided to 'commit' to a preferences list; what a long, strange, and expensive road
And for handy reference, here is 'that' chart of the masterings: http://www.southtexasdiecast.com/rush/rush_cd_masters.html

Rush - U.S. Mercury Silverface
Fly By Night - SHM
Caress of Steel - Anthem
2112 - MFSL (I know. I compared it to my ANC-1-1004 and I like the MFSL slightly better. So sue me )
All the World's... - U.S. Mercury Silverface
A Farewell to Kings - Anthem
Hemispheres - Anthem
Permanent Waves - MFSL
Moving Pictures - U.S. Atomic 03 Matrix
Exit...Stage Left - U.S. Mercury Silverface
Signals - AMCY
Grace Under Pressure - AMCY
Power Windows - 25.8P
Hold Your Fire - U.S. Mercury Silverface
A Show of Hands - Vertigo
Presto - Audio Fidelity
Roll the Bones - orig. Atlantic (sorry)
Counterparts - orig. Atlantic (yep, loudness aside, the AFZ removed that bite that I found to be a hallmark of the original).
Test for Echo - orig. Atlantic
Different Stages - U.S. Atlantic
Vapor Trails - SHM Remixed
Rush in Rio - Atlantic
Feedback - Atlantic
Snakes & Arrows - SHM
Snakes & Arrows Live - Atlantic
Clockwork Angels - Roadrunner (actually think it sounds slightly better than the SHM)

 

Rats! i've got a crappy Signals (US Atomic)

 

Here is some of mine.

Fly by Night - AMCY
2112 - Anthem
Permanent Waves - WG Atomic
Moving Pictures - MFSL

Apparently all early FBN are the same mastering. Great packaging on the AMCY (just like the LP) so I pick that one. The others are what I have found to be the least bright of all early versions.

 

It's not crappy, it's just not awesome

Yea, they're the same and so-so, but I still prefer them to the remasters (I have the U.S. Mercury Silverface, SHM, and '97 Remaster). Once your ears get used to them after 30 seconds or so it's all good. And did you mean SHM rather than AMCY? I love the packaging on the SHM as well. From the AMCYs I have, they don't appear to have anything special with the packaging.

 

No, I meant the AMCY. The back is the same as the LP. Most are not.

 

Yes - most of them are just blue with the text; so the AMCY has the rest of the painting with the three headshots like the LP and SHM-CD. Cool!

 

This week I've picked up a few Rush used CDs and have been very happy with the sound. One of them was a VANK Canadian Anthem series of Permanent Waves and I was very impressed with the sound and overall presentation. Another one that I found that causes some confusion, is a Canadian Farewell To Kings ANMD-1010 Canadian Anthem. I know the 1997 remaster is ANMD-1079 but the disc I found shares the same CD design as the VANK Permanent Waves, but is ANMD-1010 and I can't find anything on Discogs about this CD or the original release date. Sounds incredible too.

Well I'll be seeking more of the VANK series as they offer great sound for a great price.

Very interesting thread guys, it's been very helpful.

 

Thankfully someone in the first thread noted that CD and it indeed shares the same peaks as the other early Anthems. Great sounding disc! I have the WANK-1010 and it's my go-to.

A Farewell To Kings ANC-1-1010 {ANK-1010, WANK-1010, ANMD-1010}
1. 100.0 %
2. 100.0 %
3. 98.6 %
4. 97.1 %
5. 73.1 %
6. 100.0 %

 

Awesome! Thank you for that clarification. There isn't any info online about this version I have, and you are right it sounds incredible, so I knew it had to be pre-remaster.

Today I found a second hand Exit...Stage Left WAGK 1035 and it has the same style design CD. Can't wait to crank this one.

 

Another great score! I have the U.S. silverface version (which is the same mastering as the WAGK and ANC) and the 25.8P. And the U.S. silverface is my go-to as well! You're on a roll

 

I ran into the same confusion with an ANMD a while back, GUP being the album in question. Apparently a catalog number beginning with ANMD is simply another Anthem reissue that came out sometime in the early to mid 90s, before the '97 remasters started flooding the market. I also have a PoW ANMD like this.

 

Yep. Important to always check the number after.

 

It's a bit more confusing with Signals. The the catalog # for the un-remastered AMND is 1038, while the '97 remaster's # is 1083. Before I obtained a mint VANK 1038, I spent 2 days with an Amazon.ca seller trying to sort the AMND issue out. It must've blew the poor guy's mind

 

Just need to amend my 'preferred' list...

Picked up the 25.8P of Moving Pictures on a whim and damn it sounds great. It's reminds me of what I remember the green arrow sounding like... 'bigger', and like Ged was up a little higher in the mix... but without the flaws of the green arrow (the cutoff intro to Tom Sawyer and the abridged intro to Red Barchetta)!

So the 25.8P of Moving Pictures is now my go-to for that album.
And I wanted to clarify that the U.S. Mercury Silverface of "Rush" I have is the clear-hub version - I believe the silver hub version is a different mastering.

 

I got in a #01 matrix of Grace Under Pressure German atomic, very nice sounding. I also have Signals and Hemispheres Canadian Anthem CD's coming to me by mail. Can't wait to hear those.

 

Interesting. I'm starting to find that the US Atomic (as well as the 02 and 03 Atomic since they're technically the same mastering aside from the 02's louder volume) can be quite thin and grainy sounding at times. The drums just sound so clinical to me now. Funny, because I used to love this mastering until I heard the MFSL (which I've since sold). I'll have to look out for the 25.8P of this one.

I believe that the clear-hub version is the same as the Anthem, so you have the best mastering on CD if that's the case!

 

You may want to try the AMCY/SHM as well - last I listened it seemed like an improved 25.8P (like the AMCY Signals vs the 25.8P).