2. music
  3. 150138-976

Does it come down to the mastering quality only??

Listing to some of the Rudy Van Gelder Blue Note reissues and some of the original Blue Note releases, i am beginning to wonder if the quality of the recording...and therefore the overall SQ that one is going to get through your system is more dependent on the quality of the mastering than any other aspect! If the mastering engineer nails the recording and is able to record onto the tape the most 'live' sounding instruments and voices, then you will get a superb recording that will do almost ANY system proud ( IMO Rudy's recordings onto the master tape are incredible ( most) ). OTOH, if the mastering engineer somehow screws up, then the result will be nothing special...regardless of how great the system playing it back is...or for that matter ALL future reissues and techniques of re-mastering the original tape..'One Step' Direct to Disc etc. 
To sum up, if the original master tape is recorded poorly, ( due to the electronics used, or to any number of other variables) then all subsequent releases will simply be a polishing of a turd!
Thoughts???
128x128daveyf
daveyf's avatar
daveyf OP
2,871 posts
 
@onhwy61 @folkfreak

I tend to disagree with the statement that a mediocre to bad recording on a decent system will sound anything BUT mediocre or poor. IMHO, the more warts that are exposed, the worse the listening session becomes...if we are talking about a bad recording.Since the best systems are more resolving and therefore more able to expose the warts, then the negative aspects of the recording are clearer...which to me is less satisfying. Obviously, on a better recording, that is where your great system shines.YMMV.
roberjerman
4,319 posts
 
I prefer original LP pressings (even in fair condition) over new reissues cut from digital files! There just seems to be more "there" there! And music recorded digitally seems to sound best on a digital format.
roberjerman
4,319 posts
 
I am awaiting the arrival of a digitally-recorded RCA Red Seal LP - Mata and the Dallas SO doing The Firebird and The Rite Of Spring. This I will compare to a CD to note the differences. Should be an interesting test!
daveyf's avatar
daveyf OP
2,871 posts
 
I am no fan of digitally recorded vinyl reissues; with the possible exception of the MFSL Box set Allison Kraus + Union Station Live.
I think it is a safer bet to get the download or the SACD of a digital recording.
folkfreak's avatar
folkfreak
1,349 posts
 
@daveyf the operative word is not good/bad but "honest" -- a lousy studio manipulated over processed recording can never sound anything other than fake but a "mediocre" honest recording of real musicians in real space can yield surprisingly evocative and attractive results -- I for one love to listen to 78 era recordings, and golden era mono -- no one is going to think that these are "state of the art" reproduction but a better system will dig out amazing amounts of real world performance information even from these limited sources.
More to discover