Do you know of music with really crappy bass in the recording? List and comment here please!

[GrimSurfer]

Music from the 70' 80' to late 80,s had just about no bass at all. Lots of mid bass but no really low end bass.

I suspect that had a lot to do with sound and sources of that era.

Subs weren't as widespread back then. Towers were, but the consumer level drivers and amps weren't configured to go into the low bass range. Besides, it (bass notes or groove configuration) would only make the needle skip on vinyl.

So recording engineers probably saw little value in capturing low bass. It wouldn't be used by the lathe cutting the master record and wouldn't be heard by the listener.

Things are much better today, despite recording engineers and listeners having the means to grossly over boost bass.

 

[highfigh]

Wish You Were Here, especially the title track, is very well recorded... better than anything on DSOTM.

Are you sure the difference isn't in the mastering?

 

[highfigh]

Music from the 70' 80' to late 80,s had just about no bass at all. Lots of mid bass but no really low end bass.

What speakers and format were you using- CD? If so, THOSE are probably the reason. Listen to the LP and you'll probably have all the bass you need. That's one of the reasons I still listen to vinyl.

 

[GrimSurfer]

Are you sure the difference isn't in the mastering?

Entirely possible! I guess I was using the term "recorded" to describe what was going on between the mic and end product. Loose language (staged ---> recorded --> mixed --> mastered?)

 

[Trell]

Music from the 70' 80' to late 80,s had just about no bass at all. Lots of mid bass but no really low end bass.

Unfortunately this particular exemplar is quite bass shy, even compared to other SACD I have from that era.

 

[highfigh]

Entirely possible! I guess I was using the term "recorded" to describe what was going on between the mic and end product. Loose language (staged ---> recorded --> mixed --> mastered?)

If you like Prog Rock, listen to the vinyl versions of old Genesis and King Crimson (like Court Of The Crimson King), then check out the remasters by Steven Wilson. World of difference, even with the same basic tracks. Huge difference!

I have always marveled at the differences in sound quality on various recordings. Some, even from the '50s, '60s and '70s, sound excellent and many are absolutely terrible. If my system or room didn't change, it's a problem with the medium or the mastering if the remaster sounds much better.

 

[GrimSurfer]

If you like Prog Rock, listen to the vinyl versions of old Genesis and King Crimson (like Court Of The Crimson King),then check out the remasters by Steven Wilson. World of difference, even with the same basic tracks. Huge difference!

I have always marveled at the differences in sound quality on various recordings. Some, even from the '50s, '60s and '70s, sound excellent and many are absolutely terrible. If my system or room didn't change, it's a problem with the medium or the mastering if the remaster sounds much better.

Been there, done that. CD/digital is the way to go on prog rock, provided you get a CD that was properly remastered. As much bass as vinyl, even mids, crisp highs. No hiss or pops.

I suspect tha prong rock listens very well on digital because of its dynamic range. This makes it different to metal or classic rock which, depending on the recording quality, has the range of a wet fish being pounded by a big rock (I listen to a lot of classic rock and a bit of metal too).

These days, most remasters are $hit. It's being remastered for ear buds or portable speakers. Wilson's stuff is different because he's a prog rock guy who also performs. Wilson's mix/mastering chops showed in his work Close to the Edge and Fragile, which had sonic limitations on vinyl and CD back in the day.

Mastering is part art, part science. But many mastering techs, I fear, slept through science class and focused on the artisanal and marketing bits.

The really good ones didn't.

 

[everettT]

Some of the 70s and early 80s transfer to CD was less than stellar. @TLS Guy has had some comments on re-equalization or lack thereof. I've found a lot of good recordings from speciality pressing that have great bass from Tower of Power, Guaraldis Charlie Brown Christmas to Chamber music

 

[GrimSurfer]

Some of the 70s and early 80s transfer to CD was less than stellar. @TLS Guy has had some comments on re-equalization or lack thereof. I've found a lot of good recordings from speciality pressing that have great bass from Tower of Power, Guaraldis Charlie Brown Christmas to Chamber music

Absolutely right! This was followed by wall of sound mastering in the 90s.

It takes careful shopping to find a good CD (except for just about anything from Steely Dan). But when done right, WOW.

 

[highfigh]

I suspect tha prong rock listens very well on digital because of its dynamic range. This makes it different to metal or classic rock which, depending on the recording quality, has the range of a wet fish being pounded by a big rock (I listen to a lot of classic rock and a bit of metal too).

These days, most remasters are $hit. It's being remastered for ear buds or portable speakers. Wilson's stuff is different because he's a prog rock guy who also performs. Wilson's mix/mastering chops showed in his work Close to the Edge and Fragile, which had sonic limitations on vinyl and CD back in the day.

Mastering is part art, part science. But many mastering techs, I fear, slept through science class and focused on the artisanal and marketing bits.

The really good ones didn't.

Most music has been mastered for ear buds over the last couple of decades, to the detriment of anyone who cares about sound quality- Gene had a podcast with a recording engineer who demonstrated the losses in SQ if MP3 was the format.

WRT dynamics, when Court Of The Crimson King was recorded, the engineers had no idea what to do, so they compressed the crap out of everything and IIRC, the whole album was recorded in 11 days, including some songwriting. That doesn't leave much time for "getting the sound". In contrast, Pete Townsend is getting ready to record a new album and they're taking days to get the right sound for single drums.

The British engineers who worked on a lot of the music that is considered 'classic' came from the Classical world, but they were employees of a record company, so they went where they were told, even if they had no idea what to make of the music. In the US, some people got a reputation for having great ears because of one record, some were responsible for many- it's too bad some of the better ones couldn't work on the recordings that needed them.