They do the same to classical music killing it in the process. The greatest thing about classical music is the extreme differences in volume going from inaudibly soft to eardrum shattering loud. Well, remastering also applies volume equalization turning the whole thing into cr**!
You're absolutely right. Classical production is pretty weird nowadays. It's like the loudness wars decided to do a classical crossover haha. What you said is correct about classical production: processing should essentially be invisible and retain as close to the original recorded sound as possible, particularly when it comes to dynamics. It's not like the old days when you needed to beat the noise floor with vinyl, either
I completely agree. Remastering is not necessary on most classic metal albums, or any classic album for that matter. Not only is not necessary, but sometimes it even takes away from the sound a band was recognized for back in the day. The most annoying thing is that they send all vocals through autotune, even great singers. NO exceptions. They just can't not do it, it seems. Which really is a shame.
I remember Spotify listing both versions a while back and at some point they made it hard to listen to originals by tucking it away in some drop-down option until it's gone now. One thing about remasters though is that it makes the songs easier to learn by ear though I wish that was a thing before HD videos of bands playing existed. Outside of metal there's a very interesting split in the prog community regarding Steven Wilson's remixes of Jethro Tull, KC and Yes records. I personally like those but I still listen to the originals from time to time.
If you're talking music made in the 80's, or earlier, those "original" masters are mostly not actually the original masters, because they were originally mastered fully analog for vinyl. So, to get a digital song file you have to create a new master. This would include when you release an album on CD that had previously been available only on vinyl. So your "original" masters were likely based on a CD version from back when the music industry was transferring from vinyl to CD. And digital mastering has gotten better from when the format was new. New masters are not guaranteed to be better. Like any craft, mastering can be done poorly. Audiophiles often complain about the "loudness wars" that resulted in less dynamic range in the early 2000's. But when done right, a new master can be a significant improvement over a 90's era master. They can offer a lot more clarity and balance. 90's eras CDs often sound a bit muddy. Mastering also isn't something most people, me included, would consider to be revisionism. It doesn't typically involve any editing or remixing of the record at all. It's just the final stage of finely polishing a record after it's been mixed. This means all the work of the people who recorded and engineered the record is preserved. It's more akin to making a Blu-ray version of a movie that had only been available on DVD than the sorts of changes George Lucas made
these are good points! i think there’s a balance here tho as even when the mix is untouched, there can often be a difference in the sonic character of the two masters, which listeners pick up on
The reason why artists remaster their albums is because after a period of time label loses the right to own the music giving the original artist their music rights. Now that the artist has ownership to their music when they remaster it they get full compensation. It's their art they should be getting the money anyways
This. This totally slipped my mind and is completely correct. This is one of the best reasons to put out a remaster. Thank you for commenting and I may even make a companion video explaining that concept. What do you think?
I can see your point and I am not happy about it either. But it hasn't been wiped of the earth. If you still have the albums or other forms of originally made music in your collection, it is right there. Though no one can have all the music of an era, my point is your favorite stuff is still out there. You might have to buy it but its out there. The methods you are talking about are places where music is just given away with no way for artists to have a real way to make money off of these streaming services. Portions of a penny every million plays or something equally crazy. So with the remastering process we consumers, especially the ones without a big budget, get the music at a touch of a finger. For nothing, except in this remastered form. A form probably at least 70% of people couldn't tell it wasn't the original song. There is a version of the song that but for a few tweaks here and there and usually not too egregious for us out there. But likewise if you want the original as we remember the track. The version most of us believe is the correct version. We have to go a bit farther to get this. Either from our own collections or to a used or new record store or find a cassette or even CD versions with the original tracks on along with the remastered versions. You can get them at local record stores or places selling used music. They are there and hopefully the artist makes a couple of bucks if you get it new. Its a win win situation artist and consumer. Though record companies still get the most out of everyone so its not totally a victory for artists but it gives them a chance to release new stuff and have people check it out along with the old stuff. I was just thinking and talking with a friend about this issue recently. I hate remastered versions. But I only see them on Spotify or You Tube and there its free so whats to complain about. I usually can get any song and version available in within 3 minutes usually. But look at the music we have currently and realize what has been done to a crazy industry already. We have everything but at the same time we lost it all. Just another opinion. Sorry for the wall of text. Got me on this subject at the right time.
Have tunes of your own to kill in remastering 😆►► justwritemusic.com/songstarter
They do the same to classical music killing it in the process. The greatest thing about classical music is the extreme differences in volume going from inaudibly soft to eardrum shattering loud. Well, remastering also applies volume equalization turning the whole thing into cr**!
You're absolutely right. Classical production is pretty weird nowadays. It's like the loudness wars decided to do a classical crossover haha. What you said is correct about classical production: processing should essentially be invisible and retain as close to the original recorded sound as possible, particularly when it comes to dynamics. It's not like the old days when you needed to beat the noise floor with vinyl, either
I completely agree. Remastering is not necessary on most classic metal albums, or any classic album for that matter. Not only is not necessary, but sometimes it even takes away from the sound a band was recognized for back in the day.
The most annoying thing is that they send all vocals through autotune, even great singers. NO exceptions. They just can't not do it, it seems. Which really is a shame.
Totally 👍 Thanks for commenting!
I remember Spotify listing both versions a while back and at some point they made it hard to listen to originals by tucking it away in some drop-down option until it's gone now.
One thing about remasters though is that it makes the songs easier to learn by ear though I wish that was a thing before HD videos of bands playing existed.
Outside of metal there's a very interesting split in the prog community regarding Steven Wilson's remixes of Jethro Tull, KC and Yes records. I personally like those but I still listen to the originals from time to time.
Well said!
Please do not use click bait lines. I really don't want to unsubscribe.
hokay :)
If you're talking music made in the 80's, or earlier, those "original" masters are mostly not actually the original masters, because they were originally mastered fully analog for vinyl. So, to get a digital song file you have to create a new master. This would include when you release an album on CD that had previously been available only on vinyl. So your "original" masters were likely based on a CD version from back when the music industry was transferring from vinyl to CD.
And digital mastering has gotten better from when the format was new. New masters are not guaranteed to be better. Like any craft, mastering can be done poorly. Audiophiles often complain about the "loudness wars" that resulted in less dynamic range in the early 2000's. But when done right, a new master can be a significant improvement over a 90's era master. They can offer a lot more clarity and balance. 90's eras CDs often sound a bit muddy.
Mastering also isn't something most people, me included, would consider to be revisionism. It doesn't typically involve any editing or remixing of the record at all. It's just the final stage of finely polishing a record after it's been mixed. This means all the work of the people who recorded and engineered the record is preserved. It's more akin to making a Blu-ray version of a movie that had only been available on DVD than the sorts of changes George Lucas made
these are good points! i think there’s a balance here tho as even when the mix is untouched, there can often be a difference in the sonic character of the two masters, which listeners pick up on
The reason why artists remaster their albums is because after a period of time label loses the right to own the music giving the original artist their music rights. Now that the artist has ownership to their music when they remaster it they get full compensation. It's their art they should be getting the money anyways
This. This totally slipped my mind and is completely correct. This is one of the best reasons to put out a remaster. Thank you for commenting and I may even make a companion video explaining that concept. What do you think?
@JustWriteMusic yeah that would be a great idea to help other fans get a more in depth understanding
I can see your point and I am not happy about it either. But it hasn't been wiped of the earth. If you still have the albums or other forms of originally made music in your collection, it is right there. Though no one can have all the music of an era, my point is your favorite stuff is still out there. You might have to buy it but its out there. The methods you are talking about are places where music is just given away with no way for artists to have a real way to make money off of these streaming services. Portions of a penny every million plays or something equally crazy. So with the remastering process we consumers, especially the ones without a big budget, get the music at a touch of a finger. For nothing, except in this remastered form. A form probably at least 70% of people couldn't tell it wasn't the original song. There is a version of the song that but for a few tweaks here and there and usually not too egregious for us out there. But likewise if you want the original as we remember the track. The version most of us believe is the correct version. We have to go a bit farther to get this. Either from our own collections or to a used or new record store or find a cassette or even CD versions with the original tracks on along with the remastered versions. You can get them at local record stores or places selling used music. They are there and hopefully the artist makes a couple of bucks if you get it new. Its a win win situation artist and consumer. Though record companies still get the most out of everyone so its not totally a victory for artists but it gives them a chance to release new stuff and have people check it out along with the old stuff. I was just thinking and talking with a friend about this issue recently. I hate remastered versions. But I only see them on Spotify or You Tube and there its free so whats to complain about. I usually can get any song and version available in within 3 minutes usually. But look at the music we have currently and realize what has been done to a crazy industry already. We have everything but at the same time we lost it all. Just another opinion. Sorry for the wall of text. Got me on this subject at the right time.
That’s true 🤘
Yup, the remastered Youthanasia Album from Megadeth is awful compared to the original and I can only seem to find the remastered one on streaming apps
That was a remix.
is that worse or better? haha
I recall passing gas in the wind
🤣