The Rush cd mastering thread (part 2)

I know that the Magee mastering is available on CD for 2112, A Farewell to Kings and Hemispheres.

What are the chances that the entire Magee mastered Rush collection will be put out on CD? Any rumours of a box set in the near future?

 

Didn't know that. I have that CD. Just never listened to it.

(Have all of the compilation discs except for the Time Stand Still Euro import which I would guess is similar to The Spirit Of Radio Comp.)

 

I'd love that, but I haven't heard anything about it.

 

I do not recall if this has been covered already:

The Anthem Exit differs on the last 3 tracks from the 25 8p and Atomic based masterings. To clarify my previous post I did mean was unable to determine a preference on those last 3 tracks

Anthem:
Freewill/Tom Sawyer/La Villa Strangiato
100.0/100.0/83.9

Atomic and 25 8p:
Freewill/Tom Sawyer/La Villa Strangiato
79.4/84.9/80.2

 

That's one of the reasons why I prefer the Anthem mastering (same as U.S. Mercury silver face). It's more consistent with the rest of the album. And who wants an album with 'The Trees' at 100.0 and 'Tom Sawyer' at 84.9?

Anthem/U.S. Mercury silver face:

Track Peak [ CRC32 ] [W/O NULL]
-- 100.0 [7C804FDC] [B4D24558]
01 77.6 [D37483A1] [3B4B701E]
02 94.7 [8E8D83B6] [A2842B7D]
03 95.5 [2F955820] [66908435]
04 91.6 [3DDBA4BD] [D624B90A]
05 92.0 [79CA3764] [6BA47216]
06 87.5 [B0E43E59] [630B9164]
07 18.8 [4C407913] [D5660DB2]
08 100.0 [17FFF6BF] [9A24418E]
09 95.1 [C3EB8648] [1C2BB492]
10 100.0 [253A9E68] [0EF8E207]
11 100.0 [B2A77C59] [2097966A]
12 83.9 [D5990ED0] [A22935CA]

 

Here's what I've found with A Farewell to Kings when comparing the AMCY with the Atomic after level matching them:

A Farewell to Kings - AMCY is 0.1 dB louder than the Atomic until 3:47. It's 0.3 dB quieter after this point.
Closer to the Heart - AMCY is 0.2 dB quieter up until 1 minute in. After the 1 minute mark, they're both at the same volume.
If you use ReplayGain on each section of these tracks, then they'll cancel out with each other. All of the other tracks are identical on both CDs and also cancel out.

The AMCY/25-8P is a level-shift of the Anthem mastering, right? If so, then all of the pre-1997 CDs are basically identical. @Robinator, you should note in the CD chart that the Atomic/silverface is also a level-shift of the Anthem if that's the case. This should save the strain of trying to find an expensive Canadian or Japanese import to get better sound.

 

Updated the A Farewell To Kings chart to...
Preferred mastering is any of the pre-1997 versions
All the pre-1997 versions are re-levelled Anthem ANC-1-1010

-Rob

 

There's a BMG Direct version of A Show of Hands that was pressed in Canada for the US. It even has the Anthem CD's catalog number in the matrix. Is it safe to assume that this BMG CD has the Anthem version's track indexing as opposed to the US one?

 

Got a clear hub Fly by Night today. It has the same matrix as the CRC CD, though mine is a standard release and not a record club edition. It also carries the CRC's peaks. I gave the clear hub disc a listen and it sounds very similar to the Atomic. Too similar. In fact, I couldn't tell a difference. Loading them up in Audacity showed that they both use the same digital transfer, but I heard some faint low-bass after level-matching them. Turns out that the Atomic is the one that has more bass, but again, they practically sound the same to me. The bass drop on my clear hub may give the inpression of a somewhat cleaner sound on more revealing equipment, so I'd like to listen to it again. Here's the Discogs link:
Rush - Fly By Night

If the Rush Masterings site is still being updated, this FBN CD should be noted to carry the CRC mastering. Incidentally, my old Disctronics FBN had the more common mastering from the Atomic/Anthem.

 

I'm thinking that club is for the Canadian market, not US. BMG had a Canadian branch as well.
Tracks match my US PDO Silver.

 

I noticed an issue during What You're Doing on the WG Atomic version of the debut. At the very end of the song (4:10 give or take), the first drum hit on that final part is not only slightly cut-off, but it sorta fades in as well. This issue is not present on the Anthem/US silver-face CD, but when you line it up with the Atomic, the drum hit starts slightly later (roughly .13 seconds afterward). This means that the Atomic is actually missing a small section of audio info there. Granted, it's just some hum and the decay of the guitar, but it still throws off the rhythm of the song.

 

I have the 2015 24/192 Moving Pictures from 7digital U.S., absolutely not watermarked.

 

I love the 25.8p of Hemispheres. I find the 25.8p AFTK too bright for me. I love the W Germany Atomic. The ANC cds are getting harder to find and can be pricey.

 

I am compiling a list of mix differences among the various masterings and I need a bit of help. Because the below tracks were merely supposed to be remasterings, I can only assume that the wrong tapes were pulled for the jobs. Are there any LP mix differences I am missing (other than the Vapor Trails remix and the few different single mixes) from the list below?

The Weapon, Signals, MFSL Ultradisc CD mastering, “And the things that he fears/Are a weapon to be held against him” lyric missing from bridge

Carve Away the Stone, Test for Echo, Rush Remasters CD mastering, “Sisyphus” background vocals missing

Mystic Rhythms, Power Windows, Sector 3 CD and hi-res mastering, extra synthesizer notes towards end

Force Ten, Hold Your Fire, Sector 3 CD and hi-res mastering, “Rising falling at force ten" lyrics channels reversed and narrowed; reversed channels on solo guitar towards middle of song

Time Stand Still, Hold Your Fire, Sector 3 CD and hi-res mastering, additional Simmons electronic drum hits

Second Nature, Hold Your Fire, Sector 3 CD and hi-res mastering, keyboard and sound effects channels reversed in multiple places

Mission, Hold Your Fire, Sector 3 CD and hi-res mastering, strings added during second chorus

Turn The Page, Hold Your Fire, Sector 3 CD and hi-res mastering, main vocal panning during chorus

Tai Shan, Hold Your Fire, Sector 3 CD and hi-res mastering, wind chimes added during intro

High Water, Hold Your Fire, Sector 3 CD and hi-res mastering, additional guitar lick towards end of song

Limbo, Test for Echo, Sean Magee LP and hi-res mastering, Monster Mash samples (sound effects and vocals) missing

The above are reason enough to add these masterings to your collections.

 

Also, the Sector 3 mixes are also present on The Complete Mercury Years set available on Apple Music and perhaps other streaming services.

 

The reason why you can’t hear the one sample offset is that *nobody* can hear a 1/44100 of a second difference between channels.

 

Although it’s not a mix difference, I might as well add this:

By-Tor and the Snow Dog, Fly By Night, HDTracks hi-res mastering and Archives vinyl LP mastering, extra 28 seconds of repeating chimes

 

Correction: the HD Tracks mastering has an extra 53 seconds, and is the 2015 24/96 and 24/192 Mercury Records mastering. The extra chimes are not present on the 2012 24/96 Anthem Records mastering.

The Archives LP has the extra 28 seconds indicated above.

Both variations were created to emulate/approximate the chimes infinitely playing on the LP side 1 runout groove on the original vinyl.

Any more variations (of any song) out there?

 

Can't think of any more off hand unless you want to count the "Vault" releases of Working Man and The Trees.

 

I looked into Power Windows a little further and found out that Big Money and Territories aren't unique transfers on the Atomic. What happened here is that during the sections mentioned above, the Atomic is either 0.2db quieter (BM) or 0.2db louder (Territories) than the Anthem and Japan CDs. Using ReplayGain on those parts will make all of the masterings cancel out properly. In addition to this, Grand Designs cancels out across each mastering when level-matched. The info posted about Marathon and Mystic Rhythms is correct.

 

Is the 32.8p/25.8p still the preferred pressing (some here have recommended it)? And what if any pluses does it have (albeit small) over the WG Atomic?

 

From a sound quality standpoint, I would say no since I cannot hear any differences between it and the Atomic on the unique songs. However, I'd still say it's worth picking up if one can find it for $20 or less just for collector's purposes.

 

@Diablo Griffin , at this point, I'd love a recap of your recommended versions (any format) for each and every Rush album.

 

Aside from Permanent Waves, I think my list is finished. I might change my preference for an album or two someday, but this seems pretty definitive.

Rush - Anthem/US silver-face with clear hub (I like the Atomic's EQ better, but as I noted earlier on this page, What You're Doing has an error)
Fly by Night - Original CD
Caress of Steel - Sean Magee hi-res remaster
2112 - Anthem
All the World's a Stage - US vinyl (original CD is just as good, but What You're Doing is missing)
A Farewell to Kings - Sean Magee remaster from anniversary edition
Hemispheres - Sean Magee remaster from anniversary edition
Permanent Waves - 25.8P/AMCY/SHM for now (still need to compare this with the Magee remaster once the anniversary set comes out)
Moving Pictures - 25.8P
Exit Stage Left - Canadian RL vinyl (original CD is just as good, but Passage to Bangkok is missing)
Signals - AMCY/SHM or US BK vinyl (for EQ), MFSL (best tape source)
Grace Under Pressure - Sean Magee vinyl or Sector 3 remaster
Power Windows - Sean Magee hi-res remaster
Hold Your Fire - Original CD (but I like the alternate mixes on the Sector remaster too)
A Show of Hands - Original CD
Presto - AF SACD
Roll the Bones - Sean Magee hi-res remaster
Counterparts - AF SACD
Test for Echo - Sean Magee hi-res remaster
Different Stages - Original (Hammersmith show sounds better on the AFTK anniversary set)
Vapor Trails - 2013 hi-res remaster or Indonesian cassette
Rush in Rio - The CD and blu ray both sound the same to me (don't have or need the vinyl)
Feedback - Sean Magee hi-res remaster
R30 - Stereo mix on blu ray
Snakes and Arrows - Sean Magee hi-res remaster
Snakes and Arrows Live - Stereo mix on DVD or blu-ray
Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland - Hi-res remaster from vinyl edition
Clockwork Angels - CD (LP is slightly more dynamic, but my copy has sibilance issues)
R40 Live - CD (haven't watched the blu ray yet )

Oh yeah, VHS all the way for the 80s concerts! Replay X3 is, IMHO, the worst sounding Rush release. The CDs versions of Vapor Trails, Rio, and R30 are pretty close though!

 

And I did a search on that song title in this thread and nothing about the error on What You’re Doing came up for me. What is the error?