What are some of the most "poorly engineered" albu

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vatoben
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Post by vatoben » Fri Nov 20, 2009 10:38 am

Aquaman wrote:
Jitters wrote:If I had a time machine I would go to Jamaca in the 70s and take a couple hundred packs of fresh bass strings.
Don't even joke about killing reggae like that.

That James Jamerson had an awful bass sound, too. Maybe you'd like to fix that as well?
Hehe. I was thinking the same thing. While you're at it, bring down a six string bass with active pickups and a Korg Triton to seal the deal. Wa-la: smooth jazz!

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Post by Marlowe » Sat Nov 21, 2009 8:13 am

Lots of John Lennon's 70s recordings we're crappy recordings... Instant Karma, Walls & Bridges, Mind Games, etc.

Also, although there are great things about Queen's productions, there's also a lot of crap sounds on there. Horrible snare sounds. The engineering on the Jazz LP is pretty lame generally. Come to think of it, although the toms on those classic records sound great, all the other drums sound like ass.

I agree about much of the Hendrix catalog. Those records are classic despite the engineering .

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Post by ;ivlunsdystf » Sat Nov 21, 2009 10:56 am

+1 to 'Boxing Mirror' generally. Those songs kill on live recordings with the same lineup (eg Austin City Limits, even with the awful broadcast compression) but the official Cale versions sound like Menudo recordings or something.

Also: Bad Brains' 1st album has always come to mind as example of 'this could be so much more awesome if it sounded better'

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Post by thegeek » Sun Nov 22, 2009 7:52 pm

Pearl Jam - Ten was just a horribly mixed album... to much reverb and the stereo image was just not there. A lot of parts sounded like a garbled mess of mono tracks.

The remixed versions are, however, a vast improvement.

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Post by ThePitz » Sun Nov 22, 2009 9:56 pm

I looooooove the sound of Kid A. It's one of my main reference albums.

Though it's one of my favorite albums - Bowie's Hunky Dory has some extremely harsh brightness in it - makes it tough to listen to at higher volumes.
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Post by suppositron » Mon Nov 23, 2009 9:51 am

ThePitz wrote:I looooooove the sound of Kid A. It's one of my main reference albums.
I thought In Rainbows was kind of a step back sonically for them. Good album. Just thought it could have been recorded a little better. But definately not "bad" sounding.

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Post by tonewoods » Mon Nov 23, 2009 10:04 am

Marlowe wrote:
I agree about much of the Hendrix catalog.
Man, go here, and sample "Bold as Love" on disc 2, track 7...

Even on that crappy MP3 (or whatever the hell it is), the instruments just jump out of the mix...
In a nice way...

They had the raw material, and just muddied it up...

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Post by woodhenge » Mon Nov 23, 2009 12:40 pm

A BUNCH of the Zeppelin stuff is really rough from a technical standpoint. "The Rover" on Physical Graffiti instantly comes to mind. That mix gets crunchier and crunchier as the song plays!

FWIW, I absolutely love Zeppelin and really couldn't hear the stuff any other way now. But, it's far from pristine! :)
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Post by sad iron » Mon Nov 23, 2009 2:13 pm

Almost every Husker Du record, which makes me sad. I still love the songs but have a really hard time listening to those records anymore.
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Post by emrr » Mon Nov 23, 2009 2:32 pm

sad iron wrote:Almost every Husker Du record, which makes me sad. I still love the songs but have a really hard time listening to those records anymore.
I can't listen to those at all. I think if someone came to me and wanted that guitar sound, I'd have to turn them down.

And all that shit Edison recorded; man, it could sound so much better.
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Post by Bro Shark » Mon Nov 23, 2009 4:48 pm

I hate most stuff that sounds "too good." An example would be the Soundgarden hits that I hear on the radio. They have that "slamming" unreal sound where everything is larger than life and right in your face and hyped. Annoying.

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Post by vvv » Tue Nov 24, 2009 1:44 pm

The live Black Crows CD from a cuppla years ago - the vocal on it is like from a 25' tall Chris Robinson, what is scary indeed.

I mean, imagine the bag of weed he'd have to carry around, much less roll up ...

And yeah, re the Smashing Pumpkins; Zeitgeist's backing vocals are just ridiculously loud. And the Zwan record, ugh.

And re Soundgarden, that first Audioslave record is about unlistenable, and I really like the music ...

Could the last Foo Fighters' record be any more boring in production or performance? Not poor engineering, mebbe, but poor production harming a decent band.

I swear I heard a punch in the latest Govt. Mule record ...
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Post by saintcarquinez » Tue Nov 24, 2009 2:23 pm

i can
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Post by emrr » Tue Nov 24, 2009 3:54 pm

saintcarquinez wrote:
emrr wrote:
sad iron wrote:Almost every Husker Du record, which makes me sad. I still love the songs but have a really hard time listening to those records anymore.
I can't listen to those at all .
i can

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Post by Jarvis » Tue Nov 24, 2009 7:06 pm

Also: Bad Brains' 1st album has always come to mind as example of 'this could be so much more awesome if it sounded better'

If you're talking about the ROIR "lightning over the capital building" album, have a little respect. It's four track 1/4" tape and the best mic on the session was a borrowed, beat up 421, used on kick and vocal OD's. More of an Albini "capture the moment scenario". Jerry Williams, the engineer, rocks. Now there's an interview for TapeOp.
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