2. music
  3. 1153422845

Are there any GOOD Dylan SACD remasters?

Wow, I've bought a few SACD only and HYBRID Bob Dylan remasters, and unfortunately all but Blood On The Tracks has been a let down? Is it that the engineers doing the remaster think they need to make it clearer, and therefore add top end? To me, it would seem you would just issue the same recording, same mix, same levels, on the new medium WITHOUT SCREWING WITH IT?? Isn't getting it in SACD going to give us better sound anyway?

Am I alone in this? Correct me if I'm wrong, the original master tape offers sonic's obscured by conventional CD technology. So an SACD allows us to hear the original master tape more closely to it's actual sound. Where in this process does it say that some rookie comes in and tries to make it sound better?

Jesus! Bob is in his 60's, and even if he was present on the remaster that wouldn't make me happy. All I want is more of what was originally recorded, offered naturally by SACD. It was a good recording to start with, and Bob can't hear as well as he did 25 years ago!

Yeah, some of my favorite later Dylan needs some help, Time Out Of Mind sounds like Bob is singing through a meggaphone frequently, extremely nasal vocals, and not even well recorded to begin with in my opinion. No remaster is gonna solve this. So how does the SACD HYBRID sound? Tom
trich727
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,146 posts
 
To really find out what went into the Dylan SACDs you should contact the people involved and ask them:

Producer Steve Berkowitz, mastering engineers Greg Calbi and Darcy Proper, mixers Phil Ramone and Elliot Scheiner, and tape researchers Didier Deutch, Matt Kelly, and Debbie Smith

Here's an interview with Steve Berkowitz on how the Dylan project evolved.
ben_campbell
1,169 posts
 
I think the key comment on remastering series comes from this quote.

However, we had a commitment to go back wherever possible to the original ‘finished mix’ tapes, which we have and which we did.

Reading the interview thay had problems with JWH and BIABH but you can see their intent seems similar to everything else I've read about remastering.

Thanks for that Onhwy61
pabelson
344 posts
 
OK, the Dylan remasters weren't remixed? Then explain this one:

We first heard a recent run-of-the-mill LP pressing followed by the original CD. Then, I played for him the new stereo mix.

It's at the bottom of this page.
pabelson
344 posts
 
Haven't read the Berkowitz interview yet, but I see a lot more mixing going on than you do. "Stretching the stereo"? That would necessitate remixing-- something like changing the weight of instruments in each channel. That 8-track "master" of Miles Davis? Takes some mixing to get it down to two. You've conceded that any multichannel release has to be remixed. Do you really think they just used the old master for the stereo layer?
ben_campbell
1,169 posts
 
Pabelson with all due respect you still keep playing with semantics.

You are the guy who said there is no such thing as a Master tape yet the industry experts constantly refer to them.
I think your credibility is sunk after that.

Ludwig's quote about the fundamental difference between mixing and mastering tells you all you need to know.

As for your last question I think that's been answered with my original quote where they 100% express a commitment to sticking to the original mix and master tapes.
Yes where they could they stuck as closely as they could to the original master for the stereo layer.
It's that simple.
They didn't just use it as it was, that's just stupid.

I do agree with you that remasters can sound very like original recordings or in some cases quite different.

Our fundamental difference of opinion seems to be semantics on how the sound is changed.
I think remixing and remastering are two different things and clearly you don't.
If as in the quote from the Dylan series interview you want to define every remaster as being remixed then fine.

Guess what it doesn't really matter.

Or if you want to sort out the semantics explain the difference between remixing and remastering.
That appears to be the key question.
More to discover