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I just realized why people think "Death Magnetic" sounds bad

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mr_bigmouth_502
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14 Feb 2015, 4:04 am

bungleton wrote:
I'm not going to comment on that particular band and/or the quality of their output :lol:

As far as your S3 having some kind of EQ/compressor built-in, it is highly likely. Manufacturers often push cheap electronics as far as they can with gimmicks such as that to improve the percieved audio quality and make a quick sale. For example, you're at the store and listen to an S3 and a competitor's phone, and go for the S3 because it seems like you can play your music louder and therefore rock harder.

I had a quick look and found this info on the audio processor in the S3: http://www.androidauthority.com/samsung ... hip-97729/

Whether this is a good or bad thing is up to you :)

EDIT: This could be handy for finding that nice spot between loud and distorted:
http://gs3.wonderhowto.com/how-to/get-f ... 3-0150779/

EDIT EDIT: From that press release:
"the WM1811 provides crystal-clear voice quality and enriched audio playback for music"

So yes, it has some kind of 'audio enhancement' stage which is likely a dodgy compressor/eq :)


It sounds like that only applies to non-North American models. I know there are two distinct models of the S3; the i9300 which has a quad core CPU but only 1GB of RAM and 3G support, and the I747m, which only has a dual core CPU, but just under 2GB of RAM and support for 4G/LTE. The I747 is the North American version, and the i9300 is the international version. Mine is an I747, so it lacks the WM1811.



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19 Feb 2015, 9:11 am

Jory wrote:
This has nothing to do with the quality of the music, nor is it limited to Metallica.


I've heard Metallica attempted to get the loudest CD ever produced.

At university, I compared the Probability Density Functions will a recording from the 70s and that of modern Metallica. If I remember correctly, Metallica had an extremely low and even PDF, meaning from sample to sample, there was very little change in content. Imagine a bell curve vs a horizontal line: the horizontal line does not change much over time, but the bell curve does (a simple analogy).



mr_bigmouth_502
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19 Feb 2015, 3:57 pm

MisterSpock wrote:
Jory wrote:
This has nothing to do with the quality of the music, nor is it limited to Metallica.


I've heard Metallica attempted to get the loudest CD ever produced.

At university, I compared the Probability Density Functions will a recording from the 70s and that of modern Metallica. If I remember correctly, Metallica had an extremely low and even PDF, meaning from sample to sample, there was very little change in content. Imagine a bell curve vs a horizontal line: the horizontal line does not change much over time, but the bell curve does (a simple analogy).


Merzbow's album "Venereology" is still the loudest CD ever to be produced, and the 1997 remaster of "Raw Power" by Iggy and the Stooges has a lower dynamic range than Death Magnetic as well, which was done intentionally as Iggy Pop wanted it to sound "like a worn-out record".



Uprising
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20 Feb 2015, 6:36 am

I don't think I've ever heard a well produced metallica track, whether it be old or new.



mr_bigmouth_502
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20 Feb 2015, 1:11 pm

Uprising wrote:
I don't think I've ever heard a well produced metallica track, whether it be old or new.


I wouldn't say Metallica has ever hired the best producers, but the tracks off their self-titled album, produced by Bob Rock, sound pretty well polished, as did Load and ReLoad.



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21 Feb 2015, 4:39 pm

I've always felt like they were lacking in the "sparkle" aspect of sound quality, something that bands like sepultura and pantera for example did have at that time, but then again this is just my tastes, since I'm an audio production fiend myself. :|



mr_bigmouth_502
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22 Feb 2015, 2:04 am

Having listened to a fair amount of Pantera myself, I don't ever remember being particularly astounded by their production techniques, but they've always been adequate enough to convey the music and not "color" it in any particular manner. The one exception I can think of is the song "Cemetary Gates", somehow it sounds somewhat fatter and richer than most of their other songs.

Metallica have done all sorts of things with how they've produced their music, some good, others bad. On the album "Master of Puppets", they merely had a sound engineer instead of an actual producer, though it still managed to sound pretty damn good, albeit without some of the "polish" that a producer would have introduced. Of course, given typical music production techniques in the mid-80s, I think this was a good thing. With "...And Justice For All" on the other hand, the production seems clear, albeit dry, BUT with one real glaring issue... the near lack of bass guitar. Apparently this was a prank they pulled on Jason Newstead, as they were unimpressed with his playing after they got him to replace Cliff Burton when he died in a bus accident. Jason was a good bass player, but not as technically proficient as Cliff, though fortunately they finally gave him a moment in the sun on their self-titled record, which placed a major emphasis on the bass guitar in its production.



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23 Feb 2015, 1:27 am

Sweetleaf wrote:
mr_bigmouth_502 wrote:
"Loudness war"-type production, as we know it really only became possible with CDs, as they lack the physical limitations of vinyl records. They are capable of a much larger degree of dynamic range than vinyls, and that's what they were originally used for in the early 80s, but producers discovered that they could use louder, more heavily compressed masters without worrying about making unplayable CDs. If they used the same masters for vinyl, then they would end up with discs that make the needle jump out of the groove! For this reason, and vinyl's new niche as an "audiophile" format, they tend to use much more conservative masters that are quieter and have better dynamics. Ironic as it is, if they made CDs using the vinyl masters, they would probably sound even better than the vinyls!


I don't know I have a lot of CDs as well and there is still depth of music lost on CDs...In my experience vinyl sounds better every time...I think I even have a CD of one of Dio's albums that was made to preserve the sound of the vinyl it was originally recorded on as best as possible, but even that loses some depth of the music so not sure CDs using same masters as vinyls would create a CD sounding better than the vinyl, at least based on that particular CD I have.....Also with CDs I hate that they can skip and such as that can really screw up a song. But yeah annoys me in general like on car radios if someone turns the treble up high, leaves the bass low I hate how that sounds...its something my moms boyfriend insists on doing and it creates a frequency of sound that drives me crazy, luckily I am not in the car with him very often.

That does make more sense though, not as much care is needed to make CDs as vinyls...they can make a lower quality master and just print of CDs, and design it in such a way there is the illusion of a louder more intrusive sound to maybe 'hook' people into it or make it more catchy or whatever the reason is if I am understanding right.


Seconding what Mr. Bigmouth said, CDs are objectively better than vinyl in terms of record quality. The reason some people prefer the sound of vinyl rather the CDs even if the mastering is the same is because they grew up used to slight distortions vinyl makes and subconsciously notice it's missing from CDs.

mr_bigmouth_502 wrote:
Having listened to a fair amount of Pantera myself, I don't ever remember being particularly astounded by their production techniques, but they've always been adequate enough to convey the music and not "color" it in any particular manner. The one exception I can think of is the song "Cemetary Gates", somehow it sounds somewhat fatter and richer than most of their other songs.


Not sure about the mixing and mastering, but Pantera's guitar tone has always stricken me as the most horrendous ever.


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mr_bigmouth_502
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23 Feb 2015, 3:44 am

Ganondox wrote:
mr_bigmouth_502 wrote:
Having listened to a fair amount of Pantera myself, I don't ever remember being particularly astounded by their production techniques, but they've always been adequate enough to convey the music and not "color" it in any particular manner. The one exception I can think of is the song "Cemetary Gates", somehow it sounds somewhat fatter and richer than most of their other songs.


Not sure about the mixing and mastering, but Pantera's guitar tone has always stricken me as the most horrendous ever.


I wouldn't necessarily say their guitar tone is bad, but it's never been anything really special to me either. Pantera were a decent band, but there are just so many other bands out there that are better. They have one song however that gives me real chills, and that would be "Floods". For some reason, nearly every time I listen to it I feel depressed afterwards, but in the sort of way that it's because it resonates with me, not because it's a bad song. On the contrary, I'd say it's my favorite Pantera song, but I don't listen to it that often just because of its emotional intensity.



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01 Mar 2015, 3:20 pm

mr_bigmouth_502 wrote:
Ganondox wrote:
mr_bigmouth_502 wrote:
Having listened to a fair amount of Pantera myself, I don't ever remember being particularly astounded by their production techniques, but they've always been adequate enough to convey the music and not "color" it in any particular manner. The one exception I can think of is the song "Cemetary Gates", somehow it sounds somewhat fatter and richer than most of their other songs.


Not sure about the mixing and mastering, but Pantera's guitar tone has always stricken me as the most horrendous ever.


I wouldn't necessarily say their guitar tone is bad, but it's never been anything really special to me either. Pantera were a decent band, but there are just so many other bands out there that are better. They have one song however that gives me real chills, and that would be "Floods". For some reason, nearly every time I listen to it I feel depressed afterwards, but in the sort of way that it's because it resonates with me, not because it's a bad song. On the contrary, I'd say it's my favorite Pantera song, but I don't listen to it that often just because of its emotional intensity.


No, there is definitely something special about their guitar tone, it's extremely abrasive. I've heard some death metal bands with a similar guitar tone, but not any more traditional metal bands.

Anyway, Floods is one of my favorite Pantera songs. The other two I like are "I'm Broken" (that riff has so much groove it makes up for everything else) and "Cementary Gates" (the one Pantera song where I actually enjoy Phil's singing).


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mr_bigmouth_502
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01 Mar 2015, 7:55 pm

What I meant when I said that there wasn't anything special about their guitar tone, was that their guitar tone isn't exactly unique. True, it's probably somewhat unusual for a non-death metal band, but I'm sure I've heard a million other bands with the same type of guitar tone.

I actually kinda dig Phil Anselmo's vocal style, he can do everything from caveman-like grunting, to high-pitched squeals. I think he's one of the few metal vocalists who can possibly come close to Rob Halford in the latter area. Now, I know metalcore has a lot of screaming, but that's a different type than what Rob Halford and Phil Anselmo do.