Bad recording/master: it is a crime!!!

[garbulky]

Often on their websites. Often in person at concerts.

What do you tell them and how do they react?
Do they tell you things like "It sounded fine in my car!" or "I don't really mess with all that techy stuff"?

 

[Dimitri]

and it was wrecked by ass-clowns on the mixing desk

It goes like this.
There is no ass clown name on the CD. Only Hers.
I don't have the CD but somewhere in the booklet they might have disclosed the location (aka studio) where this disaster took place
In the meantime here is the link to the DR database for "Ingrid Michaelson" "It Doesn't Have To Make Sense" so we can put some numbers on the subject :
http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/view/116448

 

[amirm]

Thanks for that info:

Glad (or sad) to see that the objective data matches the subjective experience of listening to it.

 

[NorthSky]

There should be laws stopping the sales of bad music recordings. The artists and the people around them producing crap like that should be sentenced to pay fines. We have to protect our society, our younger generations.
That crap gets into their ears and totally screwed up what's beautiful sounding in life.

What about free speech and the first amendment, and other amendments from hundreds of years ago!

The best we can do for now is to never ever buy anything from her and from all the people who contributed to that album.

 

[Dimitri]

Glad (or sad) to see that the objective data matches the subjective experience of listening to it.

I still would like to know where this "masterpiece" was "mastered". What is missing from the DR database is a field to keep track of the studio. So far I've stumbled on at leas one that is not ashamed to advertize their boneheaded-ness. It's "Loud Recording Studio" in good 'ol Nashville.
Perhpas arttist either lack the slef respect or their incompetent legal councel is deaf so they allow them to sign off "no-matter-what-the-end-product-sounds-like".

I guess in the end it's about $$$$. As long as it's rolling in ....the rest are just details.

Venting here is better than keeping it bottled up , but it would be soooo much better if we could figuratively "slap someone upside the head".

...and here is a video to put a face and a name o the disaster:

 

[NorthSky]

Thank you for the face. Even without the face my ears can tell how disastrous that tune was from Amir's first video.

 

[RayDunzl]

I still would like to know where this "masterpiece" was "mastered".

https://www.allmusic.com/album/it-doesnt-have-to-make-sense-mw0002966555/credits

Recording Location

• Atomic Matter Studios, Brooklyn, NY
• Casonic Lodge, Nashville, TN
• Grand Street Recording, Brooklyn, NY

Credits
Artist Credit
Chris Athens Mastering -- http://chrisathensmasters.com/
David Boman Engineer
Michaela Bosch Paintings
Butterfly Boucher Bass
Tyler Burkum Guitar (Electric)
Busbee Composer
Cason Cooley Composer, Guitar (Electric), Keyboards, Piano, Producer, Programming
Trent Dabbs Composer
Barry Dean Composer, Vocal Producer
Jonathan Dinklage Viola, Violin
Larrance Dopson Composer
Dave Eggar Cello
Serban Ghenea Mixing
Ryan Gore Vocal Engineer
Lynn Grossman A&R
John Hanes Engineer
Katie Herzig Composer, Keyboards, Producer, Programming, Vocals (Background)
Mary Hooper Package Design
Chris Kuffner Bass, Engineer, Guitar, Producer, Programming, Synthesizer
Shervin Lainez Photography
Luke Laird Composer, Producer, Programming
Billy Libby Guitar
Nick Lobel Mixing Assistant
Tony Lucido Bass
Jeremy Lutito Drums
Saul Simon MacWilliams Drums, Engineer, Synthesizer
Ingrid Michaelson Composer, Piano, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Buckley Miller Bass Engineer, Drum Engineering
Sean Moffitt Mixing
Ken Rich Engineer, Piano Engineer
Bess Rogers Engineer
Dan Romer Drums, Engineer, Producer
F. Reid Shippen Mixing
Adele Stein Cello
Ryan Stockbridge Composer
Ben Thornewill Piano
Jenny Owen Youngs Composer

 

[captain paranoia]

In the meantime here is the link to the DR database for "Ingrid Michaelson"

I think I will be downloading the DR-Meter tool...

It's interesting to sort DR ratings by date...

 

[restorer-john]

As far as I am concerned, recordings like these are faulty.

Straight up faulty products that are not fit for distribution and don't live up to the standard expected and paid for by the consumer. As such, in this country (Australia), it is a pretty straightforward cause for full refund. One that a retailer cannot argue with.

All it would take is people buying the CD or files and returning them as faulty for the industry to wake up. In the very early days of CD (I'm talking 1983/4) my father had to return a number of faulty CDs (classical) due to manufacturing issues and mastering issues and things rapidly improved in terms of yields and perfection.

It was the classical audiophiles who drove the format in the first few years and they didn't take faulty discs kindly- they were also buying into the format for the dynamic range.

Maybe if people based their buying decisions on how much 'green' there was in the dynamic range database, recording studios would start to listen and give us, once more, what the digital format is capable of.

 

[restorer-john]

What I also notice in the above list, is the extensive use of the term 'engineer'. I think it would be a fair question to ask this sh#tfight studio (Atomic Matter?- should be 'doesn't matter') about the actual qualifications of these 'engineers' and where they received them...

 

[Dimitri]

DR ratings by date...

Instead of interesting I'd call it predictably depressing. As technolgy advances in some cases it seems we are taking steps back.

 

[Wombat]

https://www.allmusic.com/album/it-doesnt-have-to-make-sense-mw0002966555/credits

Recording Location

• Atomic Matter Studios, Brooklyn, NY
• Casonic Lodge, Nashville, TN
• Grand Street Recording, Brooklyn, NY

Credits
Artist Credit
Chris Athens Mastering -- http://chrisathensmasters.com/
David Boman Engineer
Michaela Bosch Paintings
Butterfly Boucher Bass
Tyler Burkum Guitar (Electric)
Busbee Composer
Cason Cooley Composer, Guitar (Electric), Keyboards, Piano, Producer, Programming
Trent Dabbs Composer
Barry Dean Composer, Vocal Producer
Jonathan Dinklage Viola, Violin
Larrance Dopson Composer
Dave Eggar Cello
Serban Ghenea Mixing
Ryan Gore Vocal Engineer
Lynn Grossman A&R
John Hanes Engineer
Katie Herzig Composer, Keyboards, Producer, Programming, Vocals (Background)
Mary Hooper Package Design
Chris Kuffner Bass, Engineer, Guitar, Producer, Programming, Synthesizer
Shervin Lainez Photography
Luke Laird Composer, Producer, Programming
Billy Libby Guitar
Nick Lobel Mixing Assistant
Tony Lucido Bass
Jeremy Lutito Drums
Saul Simon MacWilliams Drums, Engineer, Synthesizer
Ingrid Michaelson Composer, Piano, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Buckley Miller Bass Engineer, Drum Engineering
Sean Moffitt Mixing
Ken Rich Engineer, Piano Engineer
Bess Rogers Engineer
Dan Romer Drums, Engineer, Producer
F. Reid Shippen Mixing
Adele Stein Cello
Ryan Stockbridge Composer
Ben Thornewill Piano
Jenny Owen Youngs Composer

Too many cooks?

 

[restorer-john]

There is also the issue of the so-called 'HD tracks' being in many cases, dynamic range enhanced through various means, to give bigger numbers (to justify people buying them again), although the recording came from 16/44 or 16/48, 16/50 in the first place.

 

[captain paranoia]

I think it would be a fair question to ask this sh#tfight studio (Atomic Matter?- should be 'doesn't matter') about the actual qualifications of these 'engineers' and where they received them...

Possibly the same 'engineering' school that washing machine repairers attend. I'm guessing it's not the University of Surrey Tonmeister course. Or I hope not...

 

[captain paranoia]

Instead of interesting I'd call it predictably depressing

Think of 'interesting' as meaning 'revealing'.

 

[NorthSky]

I was curious so I listened to this new video:

I was looking for audio sound quality and artistic talent with high musical emotion. I found none, zero. Then it crossed my mind that it's probably because I need to upgrade my hi-fi stereo sound system.

How is your hi-fi system, that tune sounds good through it, you feel the emotional connection, the artistic talent from the artist singer, the quality music recording...all that jazz?

It doesn't seem to sound natural in my setup, the vocals seem mechanical, prefabricated, cardboard caricatures, manipulated, antiseptic, green psychiatric hospital walls, mint Listerine, Fisher toy radio for newborn babies you suspend above their cribs...

Do I need a new system setup, or maybe change my music style?

 

[Jorj]

You just need better material. No matter what you think of TayTay, this is an abomination, and no, the loudness war is not over. No system will resurrect the missing headroom in this dumpster fire.

 

[Dimitri]

Fisher toy radio for newborn babies you suspend above their cribs...

Maybe you need balanced headphones ( sorry I couldn't help it )

 

[NorthSky]

Thank you.

And Taylor she's very pretty, no negative opinion of this young pop star, none @ all. Also, I'm not 10-years old any more, plus I live in the year 2018.

You just need better material. No matter what you think of TayTay, this is an abomination, and no, the loudness war is not over. No system will resurrect the missing headroom in this dumpster fire.

 

[NorthSky]

Maybe you need balanced headphones ( sorry I couldn't help it )

Dimitri, very good point; headphones are best to monitor our music recordings...micro and macro dynamics, frequency responses, attacks, bass, midrange, imaging, emotion.

* Balanced, as swinging in a balançoire?