Vic Anesini: Any Love?

Have you compared the original Byrds CDs done from the available master tapes, to Vic's new mixes ...? Not only do they sound much better generally, but Vic paid close attention to duplicating the old mixes, even down to types of reverb/echo used and style of placement of tracks in the stereo picture.

Note: I'm only talking about the first four albums, haven't really listened to the ones after Younger Than Yesterday.

 

Yeah, I was getting all excited. Had to double check the Iconnoclassic website.

 

I'll have to get this.

 

No, I haven't. I mostly listen to LPs, but like to have digital copies of everything for driving/working/exercising. I have the two mono MFSLs, the mono AF and mono needle drops for the rest, and I'm a happy camper. Plus I have mono first LP pressings of everything through NBB. I don't doubt the Anesini remixed CDs are an improvement over the old CDs, because I think they do sound good. I'm just generally not into remixes, and especially not for anything on Columbia because I love that built-in 60's distortion, that's all.

 

Vic Anesini:
One of the best IMHO
I’ve never been disappointed with his work

 

your argument is based more on principles then observations. that's not a bad thing. but it doesn't seem fair to attach your opinion that re-mixes are always inferior to a thread celebrating a mastering engineer. the re-mixes never had a chance to you. and that's not wrong/bad. but it is also not objective.

 

Fair enough

 

I will vote for Bob because he's such a nice guy.

 

I am a big fan of Vic's sound, which always strikes the right balance between revealing clarity, separation and tonality without forgetting we buy these albums for the music. He doesn't master his CDs to sound like LPs, which often works out better if the mastertapes are in great condition. His work on the catalogs of the Byrds, Elvis, Johnny Cash and Simon & Garfunkel have almost a machine-like consistency considering the volume of material covered in them. Truly one of the quintessential mastering engineers of the CD era.

 

"Hot Fun In The Summertime" has been mixed to stereo at least two times over the years. Vic's comes closest to the single, but still no dice. I just wish he'd raised the drums a tad more, and taken the electric organ down a bit more to match the single.

 

I can't help but add a few precisions here:
The London guys who did most of the SHM-SACDs are FX Copyroom, they were hired to do flat transfers of master tapes, so no mastering.
Steven Wilson is a remix engineer and very rarely does any mastering, except at times on his own work.

 

I just don't like his Lou Reed Transformer. Other people always say it's good but I find it too bright. There are better masterings of the album.

 

We disagree. Mastering work that is great is just that. "Flat transfer" is phrase which has no meaning to me. And no, I wasn't only referring to the staff at FX Copyroom.

 

^Hey, if you want go on denigrating or otherwise understating the fine work of great mastering engineers, then have at it. Analog tape, whether master or multi track, doesn't convert itself to digital and sound fantastic by accident.

 

I really don't know how you could infer this from what I wrote.

I just meant that the couple of guys at FX Copyroom you seem to refer to were hired AFAIK for the SHM-SACD series to do flat transfers of the tapes (as is noted in their packaging, on CDJapan, etc...), not do additional mastering on the tapes like EQ, compression, etc.... I never said they weren't good at what they do. In fact I think they are the best in the business and routinely recommend them.

And Steven Wilson is mainly a remix engineer, not a mastering engineer. Again I don't know how you could think I want to denigrate him, as we sometimes work together.

 

I think that "flat transfer" is well understood and pretty much universal.

 

Really Kevin Reeves who has remastered many Motown albums?

 

Yup. He also did a splendid job on the recent Barry White comps.

 

Loving the Jayhawks cd that was just released!

 

When I read the name Kevin Reeves I always think of the post by Steve Hoffman:

Singles Collections that present actual single mixes and edits?

Especially for the album "Four Tops - Ultimate Collection" from 1997 the statement was true:

Album details - Dynamic Range Database

The cd-set "Four Tops - 50th Anniversary: The Singles Collection 1964-1972" from 2013 was also remastered by him which was better but could habe been much better because its too loud and too compressed:

Album list - Dynamic Range Database

 

I wholeheartedly agree, I love the work he's done with Canned Heat's catalog, it completely blows the BGO CD's that came before his remasters right out of the ballpark. I was mostly listening to the remixes Ron Furmanek did of their songs on the Uncanned! compilation before his remasters of the original mixes came out. I am quite happy with his remaster of Future Blues as well as the Cookbook compilation, I was never happy with how the original mixes of Going Up the Country or Time Was sounded on any Canned Heat CD until his remaster of Cookbook came out. I sure hope he does more of their catalog, particularly the Live in Europe '70 album. I also love the work he's done with Elvis's music.

 

You are going to base one's entire output based on a few CDs he did under a certain producer?

 

Did Vic master this one?

 

Yes !