Re: [ARSCLIST] Pristine Audio (?!)

[Marcos Sueiro Bal <mls2137@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Tom & Doug,

A-men.

It amazes me how professional mastering engineers can be lured into 
over-processing. A couple of years ago I consulted for a major box-set 
re-issue and the original mastering (from a reputable house) on Cedar 
was full of digi-swish. I believe that they had just gotten the system 
and were a little knob-happy (something that I admit to be susceptible 
of when using a new piece of gear). I convinced them to back off a bit 
(although, alas, they never fixed the pitch drift).

As these tools become more commonplace and we learn to use them, we can 
only hope that these artifacts will be a thing of the past.

Marcos

Doug Pomeroy wrote:
> > Date:    Mon, 3 Dec 2007 06:02:58 -0500
> > From:    Tom Fine <tflists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Subject: Re: Pristine Audio (?!)
> >
> > That sample track of Robert Johnson is full of digital hash in the 
> > treble, especially around the
> > slide guitar but also the upper notes of the voice. It sounds very 
> > bad, to my ears. I'll take the
> > record surface noise in the early 90's Sony reissue set over the 
> > digital hash any day. One man's
> > opinion ...
> >
> > -- Tom Fine
>
> Indeed.  And the 5 minute MP3 file which contains excerpts from 8 
> tracks is even worse,
> with painfully obvious misrepresentation of the timbre of the voice 
> and guitar.  It's is not
> the result of MP3 compression, but an artifact of heavy-handed noise 
> removal processing.
> How could any engineer, who claims to work with classical music, 
> possibly accept such
> degraded audio?
>
> More emperor's new clothes.
>
> Doug Pomeroy
> POMEROY AUDIO
> Audio Restoration & Mastering Services
> Transfers of metal masters, lacquers,
> shellac and vinyl discs & tapes.