I love Wolfmother's music but...

[dennilfloss]

Is it just me or does the mastering of their CD suck ginormous donkey balls?

At least the cover and booklet art(Frank Frazetta?) is excellent.

Seems to really exemplify the 'loud CD' compression problem.

http://www.cdmasteringservices.com/dynamicrange.htm
http://www.austin360.com/music...l/2006/09/28cover.html

That CD could sound absolutely awesome with old-style dynamic range. Right now it gives me a headache even at low volume. So much distortion.

I know I'm 'old' but it's not the loudness and rawness that bother me. I can handle loudness and rawness. It's the distortion and clipping that are the worst I've ever encountered.:|

 

[Anubis]

CD mastering has taken a dive in the toilet lately for basicially everyone

 

[dennilfloss]

But mastering of the White Stripes CDs sounds 'fantastic' compared to this flattened silvery turd I bought.

 

[Platypus]

Pop in a black sabbath cd, problem solved.

 

[dennilfloss]

Make that a Black Sabbath LP. I have no BS CD.:laugh:

 

[frostedflakes]

Unfortunately it seems to be a pretty common issue. If you want to hear a good example of hot mastering go out and pick up Icky Thump, the CD sounds horrible. I don't even know why artists let stuff like this leave the studio, the distortion is horrible, I'd be ticked if producers were ruining my music like that.

I would buy more vinyl, but generally it's a bit more expensive, plus I only really listen to music on my PC/iPod so I'd have to set up a system to transfer it to my computer. Just more hassle/trouble than it's worth considering you can probably find the vinyl rip you're looking for online.

EDIT: Damn, worse than Icky Thump? Must be bad. :Q

 

[ethebubbeth]

I agree on the mastering issue. Even Dream Theater's latest album, Systematic Chaos, suffers from the loudness wars after switching to Roadrunner Records. They are a niche group that isn't trying to gain broad appeal with a mainstream demographic... and their album was still torched.

I hate it when I look at CD reviews on amazon.com and someone states that they bought the remaster to have a "louder" version :|

 

[Fritzo]

They're trying to emulate the late 60's early 70's rock bands. The problem is their recording techniques don't translate very well.

I think they're one of the most innovative bands out there today myself.

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: ethebubbeth
I agree on the mastering issue. Even Dream Theater's latest album, Systematic Chaos, suffers from the loudness wars after switching to Roadrunner Records. They are a niche group that isn't trying to gain broad appeal with a mainstream demographic... and their album was still torched.

I hate it when I look at CD reviews on amazon.com and someone states that they bought the remaster to have a "louder" version :|

its why i didnt get DTs new CD, i also dont really like the new singer

 

[Platypus]

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: ethebubbeth
I agree on the mastering issue. Even Dream Theater's latest album, Systematic Chaos, suffers from the loudness wars after switching to Roadrunner Records. They are a niche group that isn't trying to gain broad appeal with a mainstream demographic... and their album was still torched.

I hate it when I look at CD reviews on amazon.com and someone states that they bought the remaster to have a "louder" version :|

its why i didnt get DTs new CD, i also dont really like the new singer

What new singer?

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Platypus

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: ethebubbeth
I agree on the mastering issue. Even Dream Theater's latest album, Systematic Chaos, suffers from the loudness wars after switching to Roadrunner Records. They are a niche group that isn't trying to gain broad appeal with a mainstream demographic... and their album was still torched.

I hate it when I look at CD reviews on amazon.com and someone states that they bought the remaster to have a "louder" version :|

its why i didnt get DTs new CD, i also dont really like the new singer

What new singer?

As far as I know James Labrie is still the singer.

 

[SludgeFactory]

Originally posted by: frostedflakes
I don't even know why artists let stuff like this leave the studio, the distortion is horrible, I'd be ticked if producers were ruining my music like that.

Technically it doesn't sound like that after it leaves the studio, the artist and producer deliver their final mix to a mastering house where it gets the life hammered out of it. The labels get blamed for directing the mastering engineer to do that, but the producers & most artists seem to be right on board with it. You hardly hear any artists complain that the retail CD sounds like crap -- I suspect many of them are half-deaf.

Another problem that's going to start cropping up more and more is that with the accessibility of home "studios" (aka a computer in the spare bedroom), DIY-minded artists who know just enough to make a mess of all the engineering are going to put out recordings that are distorted and too hot before they've ever gotten to the mastering engineer, with no way to fix it. I remember people on an audiophile forum claiming that Matthew Sweet did this to the album he did with Susanna Hoffs a couple years ago.

 

[Gibsons]

Originally posted by: Fritzo
They're trying to emulate the late 60's early 70's rock bands. The problem is their recording techniques don't translate very well.

I think they're one of the most innovative bands out there today myself.

I tend to agree even though they're almost a Sabbath/Zep tribute band. Kinda paradoxical... I like the music lot in any case.

 

[dennilfloss]

Their guitar also sounds a bit like a late 60s Status Quo.

 

[Homerboy]

It's called fuzz-rock or stoner-rock
its supposed to sound "crappy" like that.
There's many bands that pull the exact same sound-style.