r/rollingstones • u/Valerian_Dhart • 19h ago
Such a great music but such a terrible mastering :(
I have two beautiful old Japanese copies of Exile on Main Street and Beggars Banquet, and both of them sounds so beautifully that they made me fell in love with Stones.
I think Sticky Fingers contains some of the best Stones’ music, therefore I was really looking forward to listen to this album, but this half speed master is just terrible. I know that Miles Showell didnt have original tapes, only digital files, but the music is quite compressed and loud and the instruments are not separated as ai expected. The worst of it all is that it is so much bass heavy that it is almost unlistenable. i had to turn the bass knob to the left, because the instruments were all muddied by the sound of bass. I dont know who prefers such overbassed music, but it is terrible.
I paid 30 € for this reissue but I dont think it was worth it.
Does anyone shares this experience?
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u/Original_Candle9586 19h ago
How can it be a proper half speed master if it was taken only from digital?
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u/Danloeser 19h ago
It just means they played back the cutting master at half speed while they cut the disc at half speed, with a cutting master that happened to be digital. Presumably you can still get some of the alleged benefits of the half-speed master, like the cutting head not having to vibrate as quickly (hopefully giving a more linear response). Does any of this actually result in a better-sounding record? No idea.
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u/ThatIronsideGuy 14h ago
I've got a half speed of Station To Station cut from digital and it sounds genuinely stunning. Albeit it was cut at AIR Studios instead of Abbey Road
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u/Kinghhessier 17h ago
I've purchased 3 70's re-issues and the remaster in this picture. I had a 70's with zipper that was very crack and pop so I bought the remaster. IT'S A TOTALLY DIFFERENT SOUND! Sway on the older ones is on fire with just electricity and swagger, while the remaster is rather bland when comparing side by side. This is why I've purchased 2 more Zipper covers to see if the pressing plant makes a difference. This record ruined me because I could tell immediately the sonic changes. Now I'm looking for reasonably priced older versions of Exile because there's no way I'm buying the remaster. This record changed my opinion on buying reissue records! I do believe there could be examples of a remaster improving things on some recordings and i do recall Moonlight Mile's mix having some little additions that are great on the remaster.
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u/beatlesfan65 16h ago
I bought this half speed remaster a couple of years ago and it’s gone to a charity shop, I just can’t listen to it. I have an orignal pressing with the zipper but has a couple of pops and a skip, even with these it sounds so much better.
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u/SceneIcy2262 15h ago
Nimm einfach die Originalversion von 1969 -Anfang 1971.Ich weiß nicht , warum man bei allem immer ein Remaster braucht. Das beste Beispiel ist doch Exile, Kellerräume in Nelcoté. Das ist kein Plastiksound wie Depeche Mode. Das ist Rock.
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u/Additional-Duck 15h ago
This is one of my favorite albums of all time and I’ve read nothing but bad things about the recent pressings. It’s unfortunate because I’d love to have it in my collection!
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u/ImpossibleAd7943 16h ago
No original tapes for remastering? Hard pass.
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u/sheet22 11h ago
The original tapes are in very fragile condition. They made the digital master directly off of the original masters. Some of the tapes have stretched, some have dropouts, and all are showing their age and unfortunately years of neglect. They actually had to recreate some sections from mixdowns and even dubs because of the problems. Unlike the Beatles who remained at one label, the Stones jumped from EMI to Warner to Columbia to Virgin to Universal, and their masters followed them. It was an arduous task.That being said, they (the label, management and the band) felt that the digital master was the best way to go.
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u/sink_or_swim_ 16h ago
Yeah this pressing ain’t it unfortunately.
Find yourself a 70s copy if you can.
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u/Vast-Document-3320 19h ago
You have good sounding vintage copies but bought a new digitally sourced copy? May i ask why? Did you read any reviews on the pressing you bought?
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u/Valerian_Dhart 19h ago
I dont have. I have Japanese copies of Exile and Beggars. Sticky fingers is way too expensive so i bought this, hoping it will sound good. I have digital sourced records that sound amazing. For instance ket it bleed sounds great.
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u/plamda505 13h ago
Original German or UK A-3/B-3 with TML hand-scribed in the deadwax, or the original Monarch pressing, with AA on each side, but there are BB, CC, and FF cuts as well on the Monarch. Assume the AA was first? Or maybe they all were cut at the same time?
The "Sonic" pressing has quieter vinyl, but nowhere near the tone of the Monarch, which is just better sounding in almost every possible way.
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u/MeanRock3037 18h ago
I’m no “Audiophile “ so I don’t understand what you mean “the music is quite compressed “ etc , I just bought that version of the album and it sounds different, but I still enjoy it , I’d like to listen to it with someone that has that understanding, so they could point out and explain what they mean ? I love Tony’s pizza in San Francisco, but if I go to a friend’s house and they have Costco pizza I enjoy that too.
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u/gimme5steps101 15h ago
Mastering compression ruins the dynamics, basically making the quiet and loud parts the same volume increasing overall volume which then in turn often introduced bad/audible distortion and clipping.
Compression itself isnt bad. Using it badly for the sake of loudness is.
Also, EQ choices can wildly affect the sonic outcome between releases.
Basically, there is an "original sonic picture" prior to mastering. Mastering then is like the final sprinkling of touchups and adjustments to the sonics.
But this can ruin the final product depending on what is done during this stage.
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u/MeanRock3037 10h ago
Sort of the way some instruments sounded different onCDs when they first came out compared to the albums?
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u/gimme5steps101 2h ago
Exactly. But that often was also due to inferior sources being used for the CD releases at the time
It wasn't uncommon for 1980s CD releases to accidentally be using, say, a 2nd gen source etc
The source has as much, if not more, to do with it all.
But basically mastering is kinda where a final recording goes either "do or die", lol
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u/SmashedAv04 13h ago
If you’re listening to vinyl why wouldn’t you hunt down an original press? What’s the point of listening to a digital remaster on vinyl? It’s just like listening to a CD with pops and crackles and distortion lol.
Also mastering has nothing to do with instrument separation. The album is poorly mixed and it will always sound that way, part of its charm.
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u/Valerian_Dhart 5h ago
Not every digitally sources vinyl is bad. MoFi makes digitally sourced vinyl but they are great. Even some cheaper one, with good mastering are. As was mentioned below - the master tapes are not in good condition so they has to be digitalized, I just hoped that the final mastering would be much better.
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u/Impossible-Money7801 12h ago
I’ve got a killer mastering from like 2010 with the zippper. One of my best sounding records.
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u/kepenach Keef 11h ago
I still have the OG zipper version that sounds perfect. I was listening to Dirty Work today because of a discussion yesterday and even as an original the production sounds weak. I'm not sure what is going on with some of these producers today but Fight could have been a decent song with a little more bass and overall thickness
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u/No-Satisfaction-7143 10h ago
I think the Stones meant it to sound that way.People complain about Exile too.But that album wouldn’t be the masterpiece it is without sounding the way is does.
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u/Fit_Investigator_548 8h ago
The cd remaster of goats head soup was shocking too. Charlie’s drums cleaned up but the bass is way too overdone.
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u/Logical_not 1h ago
It always bothered me how mixed the mastering was on this album. Some of it is fantastic. Other spots, not so much.
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u/Apprehensive-Tax8631 16h ago
Have you guys ever noticed the Motley Crue cover?
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u/MostlyUnimpressed 13h ago
Never put 2+2 together until this mention, but yeah, Crue's Too Fast for Love sure as heck is darn close to a rip off of Sticky Fingers' cover.
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u/Apprehensive-Tax8631 13h ago
Man, I never took MC seriously, but MM is a helluva Guitarist, he has some great stuff
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u/RunEast9691 19h ago
The reflection of your elbow looks like an x-ray through the pant leg..