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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
2,877 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.
daveyf's avatar
daveyf OP
2,877 posts
 
@folkfreak   Some of the oldest recordings are indeed superb. i don't think that they are actually a good representative of a marginal or poor recording, generally. Main reason that I think some of the older recordings are superb, is because they were recorded using simple tube gear and not much in the chain to disrupt the signal. Same goes for golden era mono. BUT, I am mostly talking about poorly recorded and mastered pieces ( contemporary or otherwise) that just don't sound good regardless of the gear you play it back on.
tomcy6's avatar
tomcy6
2,597 posts
 
Just FYI, the record producer and recording engineer(s) are primarily responsible for getting the music onto the tape or drive, then there is often a separate mixing engineer and finally the mastering engineer who gets the final mix of the tape or file ready to press onto LP or CD.

onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,235 posts
 
In my experience poorly recorded great music makes for a far better listening experience than audiophile quality recordings of mediocre music.
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