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REMASTERING

Am I the only person who finds the remastered version of songs that I know well an irritation to the point where they are just not worth listening to?

 

Who decides that the original version needs improvement - is it the record company or who? If its and additional version that the record company puts out why does Spotify seemingly always choose the remastered version over the well-known original. With George Martin just dying  I decided to listen to some old Beatles tracks only to find that they were all remastered to the point where they sounded like a tribute band. Some of the tracks were actually flat. 

 

The whole point of putting something like Sgt Peppers on Spotify is that people want to be reminded of what it sounded like at the time. Does the remasterer think they can do a better job than Geo Martin?

50 Replies

Simple reason...money they are changing the lyrics to make them more politically correct.  None of these bands have any **bleep** anymore to say this is rock this is who we are.  If you dont like it simply Don't listen to it how hard is it to understand?  All these record producers see dollar signs thats all that mayters to them!  I do not now or in the future want to listen to this remastered **bleep**!  Just give me the original.  They edit a song or lyric they change the whole song!  Come on music makers! 

As a professional recording engineer/producer, I am pretty appalled by the lack of original mixes on Spotify. I just won't listen to most of the remastered versions because they simply ARE NOT THE ORIGINAL MIX OF THE SONG. They are different. It is fine that you have them, but a well-designed normalizer would make the original mixes as loud as possible without actually changing the mixes. Please show the original artists, producers and engineers the respect they deserve by hosting the real versions of all their material.

I'd assumed it was a rights thing, something along the lines of:

 

remaster a beloved track = ability to siphon more cash way from the original rights holder and more cash towards label/platform 

 

Or am I just being too cyncical...?

 

 

I couldn't work out why all the old greats sounded like shopping mall covers bands I'd guessed it was a rights thing, something along the lines of:

 

remaster a beloved track = ability to siphon more cash away from the original rights holder and more cash towards label/platform 

 

Whatever the actual reason, it's a great shame.

 

 

 

Yes , I hadn't thought of that - it sounds very plausible.

##- Please type your reply above this line -#

I don’t have a problem with a song being remastered, I just wish it didn’t need to stay remastered for every old song. 

??

There is one more thing that can be super irritating for me as a last.fm user.

You're listening to a song from your local library, it gets scrobbled as Artist - Album - Track.

You're listening to the same tune on Spotify: Artist - Album (Remastered) - Track-Remastered.

And seemingly the next day it is Artist - Album (2015 Remaster) - Track-2015 Remastered

 

Can't blame Spotify for this. Metadata is handled by the uploaders (labels/distributors/rightsholders). But man is it bothersome. I would edit out the "Remastered" from song names and leave it in the comments, or under credits.

 

As for remastering itself.. There are engineers that do sacred work of remastering the record to really make it shine. Most just increase the volume to make it work 'better' on bad speakers and headphones.

But really, I don't think I have seen a CD on sale at the store named as 'Album (Remastered)'.

SebastySpotify Star
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Sebasty- The issue is of course added volume and often debilitating
compression. And yes, I blame Spotify. I prefer to hear the mix/master as
originally intended. Don’t mind a bit of volume raise but they should
otherwise leave the track alone. I can’t answer to the metadata and name
convention.

One of the funnier things I've seen on Last.fm in an artist's shoutbox: "Iron Maiden are a 2015 Remastered heavy metal band formed in Leyton, east London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris" lol

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@Barnesypoo 

 

Well, true.

 

I read about the remastering hype very briefly and it was originally coming from the rise of CD's. They were not created with original master tapes of the audio, but from duplicates. That lead to reduced audio quality, also making things more quiet.

Now, the remastering engineers stepped in to increase the volume, leading to another problem - the remastered record is loud, but also distorting...

 

Many respected engineers have recognised it and gone against the flow, but many continue this. Making it sound 'better' on your phone speakers or Aliexpress earbuds. For many people, louder sounds better.. because it's loud. Many people swoon over "super bassy" songs and when I listen to the track, it's pretty much just mid-bass and nowhere near as exciting as physically present sub-bass (which you need proper audio equipment for, true). It is loud though, yes. Can make tin speakers rattle. Can set off car alarms as you drive by in your car subwoofer.

 

It is not enjoyable to listen to a track with any and all dynamics squeezed out of it with limiting and compression, but Spotify is not entirely to blame for it. In fact, when they receive music from the uploaders, they do convert the tracks into the required formats (AAC and ogg) and add normalization information, but they don't do it with the intent of destroying the track. They have outlined all information necessary for mastering engineers and artists to ensure the best quality music playback on the service.

(normalization can be turned off in app settings so you have music as it was supplied)

 

This issue is a combination of poor choices and trends by various parts, not just one.

SebastySpotify Star
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Agreed! I really wish there was a not-remastered option!

I've noticed more than just volume boosting or compression issues, I've noticed that the actual "sound" of the track is different like the arrangement was changed by emphasizing certain sounds that were just a nuance before and now it sounds garish. That's my biggest problem because I associate these songs with pleasant memories and when it sounds completely different it ruins the good time I was having because I'm no longer lost in the music, I'm focusing on the changes.  Not cool.

Completely agree! EQ as well as freq-dependent compression, I assume.

I cannot stand the remastered songs. I am also considering leaving Spotify over it.

Black Sabbath Dio Recordings were in BAD need of remastering before "The Dio Years" finally hit. The EQ on the drums was an insult to the ears. After they revisited the Dio recordings, the drums sounded 100% better.

 

Sometimes an album legit needs it.

Are you sure that wasn’t a remix? Most Spotify “remastered” tracks
just get compressed, normalized, and have added low end.

Well, it SAID "Remastered" on the CD.

 

When I compared "Lady Evil" pre and post mastering, I noticed a HUGE difference in bottom end for the drums and bass. They were nearly non-existent before "Dio Years" was released.

 

When they first started remastering things in the 90s it was to make the sound more compatible with modern tech. 

 

To ME a "Remix" is when some DJ recuts the entire "Dark Side of the Moon" record with a Trip-Hop beat. A REMASTER is when an entire album's overall sound is re-produced adjusting highs, lows, mids, and trying to eliminate source tape hiss.

seems like almost every Led Zep song on Spotify is remastered. I prefer the originals. Take a look at this. Ridiculous!ledzep remaster.png

They are truly, truly, horrible. Unlistenable. PLEASE, Spotify, stream the originals.

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