[Rob Babcock]

Truthfully I can't say I've noticed much.  I buy very, very little new pop music; when I buy something, it's usually classical or older rock recordings.  Certainly I've got some new recordings; Satriani particularly has some superb sounding discs.  Are there any in particular that sound really bad?

[nathanm]

I'll give you some of my favorites off the top of my head for what I feel are exceptionally good sounding recordings.

Primus\Les Claypool - While none of their stuff sounds bad by any means, anything recorded at Les' "Rancho Relaxo" studio sounds awesome. The BROWN album indeed!

Metallica - Garage Days Re-Revisted  Raw, natural and heavy as hell.  Newsted's bass tone is to die for on some of these tracks.  This recording captures the sound of the guitar cabinet better than the overly polished studio recordings.

Heathen - Victims Of Deception.  Here's an example of a very processed sound, but it really works in this instance.  Very full and rich sounding crunch guitars.

Led Zeppelin - "When The Leeve Breaks" - The heaviest, most weighty, earthy kick drum ever recorded. When the guitars and harmonica kicks in it can be a bit harsh, but I can't get enough of that kit!

Melvins - Gluey Porch Treatments\Ozma.  It's pretty raw and primitive, but the Melvins come closer to sounding like what a band playing in a room sounds like.  Excellent naturual ambience, especially noticeable on the drumkit.

Kyuss - anything.  Kyuss practical exudes "analog tone" from its collective pores.  Warm, punchy, very excellent recordings I think.

Trouble - Self-titled 1990  Rick Rubin did a nice job on this one. It has a very warm, pleasant tone while still kicking ass.  Trouble doesn't need to be extreme to get the point across, it just sounds plain HEAVY and MEAN.

Sinister - Cross The Styx.  Extremely technical and grinding death metal.  But the difference is that the engineer was able to keep it all under control even though there's 5000 notes per minute!  This one sounds MUCH better than any of the later releases I've heard. Maintains detail without obfuscation.

Rush - Caress Of Steel.  I would say most of their albums are great, but I especially am in love with the almost palpable, feel-the-drumskins sound of the toms on this album.  Warm and woody.

Overkill - The Years Of Decay.  Humongous wall of guitar comes to knock your walls down. Thick, controlled crunch.  Very nice. Drums are a bit clicky, but there's much worse!

[Brad]

Great post Nathan.      

Added about 4 items to my "buy" list.

I would have to say the Metallica albums produced by Flemming Rasmussen had a much better sound than the last 3-4 that they self-produced.   Justice is my fave - I'm on my 3rd copy of the Cd and have 1 opened copy of the LP with 2 unopened spares.  I love the raw, angry sound of Garage Days, too.

Thanks!

[nathanm]

Yeah, Flemming Rasmussen rules!  He also did a bang up job on Artillery.  Ever hear of them?  Excellent Danish thrash band.  He also did Pestilence's first album, but as a recording I can't say it's exceptional - great music though.  

"And Justice For All" is one of those love\hate albums.  There is really and truly, technically NO bass guitar on this album!  But it just works!  I do have a special love affair with that sound, but I didn't include it because many think it's really dry and lifeless.  Personally I theorize that the lack of bass on the record was simply a tribute to Cliff or perhaps part of the "hazing ritual" Newsted endured.  Who knows?  In my own recording projects I've come to understand why the bass guitar is difficult to mix right in heavy metal music.  Because the guitars are covering such a wide bandwidth of the spectrum the bass tends to get lost. But Garage Days is an example of maximum slammin' integration. (Crash Course In Brain Surgery)  Don't hear much bass on Slayer albums either, but it isn't exactly missed. Araya could probably drop the bass on the stage and no one would notice!  

[Rob Babcock]

I never did like them as much after Burton died.  It seemed like they were pissed at the world back then; after he died, they just sounded depressed about the world.  To me, Master was their magnum opus, although Ride was exceptional, too.

The Gold Disc remasters of those albums sound fantastic, they're almost $60 for the both, but I consider it money well spent.  Remastered, the sound is even rawer, punchier and more powerful.  The energy of the recording just comes thru like a punch in the face.

Incidently, Justice had a lot of songs I like, but there's such a sameness to them that I can't take more than three of 'em at any given listening session.  The Black album (s/t) is better.  I have that on DVD-a, and while it isn't reference material, it does beat the CD version.  I like about half of Load, but I think they should all be shot for Reload.

[DVV]

Anyone wanting to reread Dan's text can download it as a PDF file on http://www.zero-distortion.com in the download area.

I suggest you keep it on record.

Cheers,
DVV

[jqp]

Recording Engineers have told the producers to archive a copy that's 10 db down in level for the "Best of" series that they will want to release 5 years from now.

Yes, that is truly disgusting

[nathanm]

Give the masses a "Loudness" button if that's what they want, before audiophiles sink to tinkering with new forms of dynamic range expanders. Please.  

I guess I never saw an amp with a "Loudness" button on it.  Or if I did I don't remember it.  What does\did a Loudness button do exactly?

[Dan Banquer]

The old NAD pre amps had this. It boosted both bass and treble.

[Jack Keck]

I have not been buying many CDs lately because there has been little that I can justify the expense for given the amount of time I have to listen to music.  I'm more likely to buy a DVD than a CD.

However, as much as I prefer a CD to an LP for several reasons, I can certainly see why many of you prefer your old LPs and turntables.

[JohnR]

Nathan, the loudness button is supposed to compensate for the Fletcher-Munson curve -- at lower volumes the ear is less sensitive to high and low frequencies.

Some preamps had one that boosted by a variable amount, more at lower volumes, less at higher volumes. This is accomplished by using an additional tap on the volume pot track.

[nathanm]

I think I need one! Lower volumes -  a necessary evil.  My NAD has a "Low Level" button which is pretty handy, cuts the volume in half so you can like, reply to some asshole telling you to turn it down, or you've got a phone call or something; or you can get more range on the knob.