Daghouse.com

by **version sound** » Fri Feb 26, 2021 3:22 pm

Thanks to this thread, I’m revisiting the Sammich LP for the first time in a while. Although I probably wouldn’t draw the Ozzy comparison these days, I can still hear why I though that. Part of it is the way it was recorded, but there is definitely a certain tonality here and there that is similar to Ozzy. It’s definitely solo Ozzy, not Sabbath Ozzy. Anyway, this record is much better than I remembered. The only thing inferior to the Dischord years is that horrendous cover art.

by **version sound** » Fri Feb 26, 2021 3:22 pm

FLIP!

by **pedro** » Fri Feb 26, 2021 3:30 pm

patient_ot wrote:
version sound wrote:STICK WITH THE EARLIER CD! It’s only “quiet” compared to other CDs that are overly loud and compressed. Quieter frequently translates to greater dynamic range:

1991 CD

http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/view/65001

2001 CD

http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/view/65001

Lower numbers mean lower dynamic range and more compression. They squashed it quite a bit on the remaster.

I think you accidentally posted the same link twice there.

Here is the remaster log:

http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/view/65000

I don't have the remaster, just the older CD. However, looking at those number it doesn't look too bad. I often see remasters with far worse numbers, usually in the DR5-7 range. I will say that even if the numbers look good, it doesn't say anything about the source or EQ. Some engineers will boost certain frequencies to try to make it sound "punchier" on the EQ front. That can often have an annoying effect.

If people are having trouble with CDs being "too quiet" or "too low in volume" they need to learn how to use replay gain tags or their volume control. If the volume control won't go loud enough with a particular disc, that usually means you need better equipment or playback software.

Another way to make an older CD louder is audio editing software like Audacity. Some ripping/conversion programs like dBpoweramp also have a function for this. However, you need to be careful because you can overdo it and induce digitally clipping on playback.

Yeah. I would prefer to never listen to the CD again than do any of that.

I don't give a shit about compressed this or that. I just want to add songs from Ten Spot and Funeral at the Movies to a play list without having to get up to raise the volume when those songs come up. And then get up to lower the volume when they end. I have the original records to cover the sentimentality factor.

I'm a simple man.

by **version sound** » Fri Feb 26, 2021 3:33 pm

Where is this playlist hosted? Back in the old daze when I would put together tracks to rip to CD, there was a “normalize” feature that would more or less make everything the same volume. Maybe whatever you’re listening with has that option?

by **pedro** » Fri Feb 26, 2021 3:36 pm

version sound wrote:Thanks to this thread, I’m revisiting the Sammich LP for the first time in a while. Although I probably wouldn’t draw the Ozzy comparison these days, I can still hear why I though that. Part of it is the way it was recorded, but there is definitely a certain tonality here and there that is similar to Ozzy. It’s definitely solo Ozzy, not Sabbath Ozzy. Anyway, this record is much better than I remembered. The only thing inferior to the Dischord years is that horrendous cover art.

I am sure part of it is sentimentality, but Curses, Spells, Voodoo, Mooses and It Was Arson will always be my favorite STT Records. Always.

by **drew** » Fri Feb 26, 2021 3:58 pm

lewdd wrote:
drew wrote:First time I saw STT I only had heard the song from "State of The Union" but they were just great. After getting the first album & Ten Spot they played with JAWBOX at CBGB it was the album release for "Novelty" Both bands bands were smokin' that night. I remember being right up front and really impressed with Craig's voice. Saw them open for Fugazi at The Ritz but the crowd wasn't too into it. Just moshing to mosh.

Cool show was STT/Sunny Day Real Estate & Le Tigre' at Irving Plaza I think it was a CMJ night. The cast from THE STATE were there. Very 90's

Did they dip their balls in it?

I was in the restroom the same time as a couple of them so......maybe?

by **drew** » Fri Feb 26, 2021 4:02 pm

JGJR wrote:
drew wrote:First time I saw STT I only had heard the song from "State of The Union" but they were just great. After getting the first album & Ten Spot they played with JAWBOX at CBGB it was the album release for "Novelty" Both bands bands were smokin' that night. I remember being right up front and really impressed with Craig's voice. Saw them open for Fugazi at The Ritz but the crowd wasn't too into it. Just moshing to mosh.

I saw the same show, but at City Gardens; that must've been the same tour. The same goes for Fugazi at the Ritz (saw the same bill at CG) a few months before that unless that was a different Fugazi/STT tour?

I'm not sure about City Gardens. The Ritz show was funny because I saw Fugazi the night before at Maxwells. LOL A couple of hundred ppl to three-thousand in 24 hours.
STT didn't play the Maxwells show. I forget who opened......

I saw Fugazi four times at City Gardens:
w/ Ween
w/Lunachicks
w/GVSB two nights in a row. IOTKT tour

by **fiestaware** » Fri Feb 26, 2021 10:24 pm

The early years had Craig singing songs he didn't write (ex: Let it Ring) and playing covers he wasn't necessarily into. I wonder if this was one.

by **xxxMidgexxx** » Sat Feb 27, 2021 3:18 am

SamDBL wrote:Where the fuck was this band coming from? The first few releases were very easy to listen to. I listened to ten spot, funeral at the movies, and that 7” non-stop when they came out. Then they went total Alterna prog.

Simple answer. When Chris (guitarist) left the band, it went down the toilet.

by **SamDBL** » Sat Feb 27, 2021 10:58 am

xxxMidgexxx wrote:
SamDBL wrote:Where the fuck was this band coming from? The first few releases were very easy to listen to. I listened to ten spot, funeral at the movies, and that 7” non-stop when they came out. Then they went total Alterna prog.

Simple answer. When Chris (guitarist) left the band, it went down the toilet.

I do remember that being a big change in the sound.

Website · by **JGJR** » Sat Feb 27, 2021 11:23 am

patient_ot wrote:
version sound wrote:STICK WITH THE EARLIER CD! It’s only “quiet” compared to other CDs that are overly loud and compressed. Quieter frequently translates to greater dynamic range:

1991 CD

http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/view/65001

2001 CD

http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/view/65001

Lower numbers mean lower dynamic range and more compression. They squashed it quite a bit on the remaster.

I think you accidentally posted the same link twice there.

Here is the remaster log:

http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/view/65000

I don't have the remaster, just the older CD. However, looking at those number it doesn't look too bad. I often see remasters with far worse numbers, usually in the DR5-7 range. I will say that even if the numbers look good, it doesn't say anything about the source or EQ. Some engineers will boost certain frequencies to try to make it sound "punchier" on the EQ front. That can often have an annoying effect.

If people are having trouble with CDs being "too quiet" or "too low in volume" they need to learn how to use replay gain tags or their volume control. If the volume control won't go loud enough with a particular disc, that usually means you need better equipment or playback software.

Another way to make an older CD louder is audio editing software like Audacity. Some ripping/conversion programs like dBpoweramp also have a function for this. However, you need to be careful because you can overdo it and induce digitally clipping on playback.

I had a feeling one of you would post something like this. Here's what I think. With the equipment I have now (an Onkyo CD player from the late '80s that I have to replace the belt on and a proper receiver and speakers; thus it's been 100% vinyl and digital here for the past few months), I'd bet that those Shudder to Think, Shades Apart and whatever other super-quiet CDs would probably sound good with the volume turned up, but on a CD boombox or Discman or car CD player (what I was listening to this stuff on back in the '90s), I just remember having to turn it way up and having trouble hearing important parts, et al.

All that said, I've owned the Embrace and I think 1 or both of the Dag Nasty remaster CDs (unless I am misremembering but I definitely had the Embrace disc) from that Silver Sonya remaster series and I don't recall it/them being brickwalled at all.

Website · by **JGJR** » Sat Feb 27, 2021 11:25 am

version sound wrote:Thanks to this thread, I’m revisiting the Sammich LP for the first time in a while. Although I probably wouldn’t draw the Ozzy comparison these days, I can still hear why I though that. Part of it is the way it was recorded, but there is definitely a certain tonality here and there that is similar to Ozzy. It’s definitely solo Ozzy, not Sabbath Ozzy. Anyway, this record is much better than I remembered. The only thing inferior to the Dischord years is that horrendous cover art.

I'm with Sam on this one, too. I've never really been able to hear the Ozzy comparison tbh. That said, I've underrated this Lp a lot (listened to it yesterday for the first time in a while); wish I still had the early '00s CD, so I had a very similar reaction to you.

Website · by **JGJR** » Sat Feb 27, 2021 11:27 am

drew wrote:
JGJR wrote:
drew wrote:First time I saw STT I only had heard the song from "State of The Union" but they were just great. After getting the first album & Ten Spot they played with JAWBOX at CBGB it was the album release for "Novelty" Both bands bands were smokin' that night. I remember being right up front and really impressed with Craig's voice. Saw them open for Fugazi at The Ritz but the crowd wasn't too into it. Just moshing to mosh.

I saw the same show, but at City Gardens; that must've been the same tour. The same goes for Fugazi at the Ritz (saw the same bill at CG) a few months before that unless that was a different Fugazi/STT tour?

I'm not sure about City Gardens. The Ritz show was funny because I saw Fugazi the night before at Maxwells. LOL A couple of hundred ppl to three-thousand in 24 hours.
STT didn't play the Maxwells show. I forget who opened......

I saw Fugazi four times at City Gardens:
w/ Ween
w/Lunachicks
w/GVSB two nights in a row. IOTKT tour

I was at the last 2 of those (both nights of the IOKT tour) but unfortunately missed the openers, both of whom I would've loved to see (I ended up seeing GVSB a few times later on in the '90s but have still never seen the Lunachicks). I didn't have an advance ticket and it was sold out, but I drove up the first night and they made us wait until Fugazi got on and then let us all in. I came back the next night because well, they were great, of course.

by **version sound** » Sat Feb 27, 2021 12:09 pm

JGJR wrote:I'm with Sam on this one, too. I've never really been able to hear the Ozzy comparison tbh. That said, I've underrated this Lp a lot (listened to it yesterday for the first time in a while); wish I still had the early '00s CD, so I had a very similar reaction to you.

Like I said, it’s probably not a comparison I would make if I heard it for the first time today, but the fact that others thought that too makes me think I wasn’t completely crazy.

The CD is still available from Dischord for $10. I ordered one the other day.

by **patient_ot** » Sat Feb 27, 2021 12:35 pm

JGJR wrote:I had a feeling one of you would post something like this. Here's what I think. With the equipment I have now (an Onkyo CD player from the late '80s that I have to replace the belt on and a proper receiver and speakers; thus it's been 100% vinyl and digital here for the past few months), I'd bet that those Shudder to Think, Shades Apart and whatever other super-quiet CDs would probably sound good with the volume turned up, but on a CD boombox or Discman or car CD player (what I was listening to this stuff on back in the '90s), I just remember having to turn it way up and having trouble hearing important parts, et al.

All that said, I've owned the Embrace and I think 1 or both of the Dag Nasty remaster CDs (unless I am misremembering but I definitely had the Embrace disc) from that Silver Sonya remaster series and I don't recall it/them being brickwalled at all.

I was initially impressed with some "loud" remasters in the mid/late 90s when I primarily used a portable CD player and boombox. The headphone amp in the portable could only give so much juice and the boombox had serious limitations as well. Overtime those discs got fatiguing, and I got rid of a lot of them and replaced them with older discs. The Bad Religion and Slayer remasters are prime examples of that.

Part of the problem is that people do a lot of listening on cell phones now, and most of those are very weak on the audio side, but they are getting better. I always recommend the LG V series as it's much better for people that actually listen to music. Typically when the latest and greatest model comes out the old ones are discounted, so that's a way to save some $.

If people are listening at their desk through a computer, it's not that hard to put together a decent desktop headphone system either. Desktop headphone amps and DACs are pretty cheap now, like $100 for performance that was unthinkable 10 years ago.

And if you are using a computer any playback software that isn't total shit should support replay gain tags. Lots of free software available like Foobar and such, so no real excuse.

RE: those Silver Sonya remasters, I do have a few of them I bought several years ago but I usually hunt for the old copies now if I'm filling in Dischord collection holes. They aren't the worst remasters I've ever heard but some of them are more compressed than others. The DAG discs do have bonus material not on the old 2 for 1 Can I Say/Wig Out CD. I picked up a copy of of the old Embrace disc last year in a used record shop. I think I had the remaster at some point but don't remember.

by **xxxMidgexxx** » Sat Feb 27, 2021 2:37 pm

SamDBL wrote:
xxxMidgexxx wrote:
SamDBL wrote:Where the fuck was this band coming from? The first few releases were very easy to listen to. I listened to ten spot, funeral at the movies, and that 7” non-stop when they came out. Then they went total Alterna prog.

Simple answer. When Chris (guitarist) left the band, it went down the toilet.

I do remember that being a big change in the sound.

Waaay too big of a change. The songs didn't "rock" or flow anymore and for them the departure was not good. Their interpretation of 'art rock' or 'neo prog' or Avant-garde...was just flat out annoyingly awful.
Too herky jerky and the sound was all over the map in a bad way.

They were my favorite band for a LONG time. I also listened to them non stop. And then....

by **xxxMidgexxx** » Sat Feb 27, 2021 2:43 pm

JGJR wrote:I'm with Sam on this one, too. I've never really been able to hear the Ozzy comparison tbh. That said, I've underrated this Lp a lot (listened to it yesterday for the first time in a while); wish I still had the early '00s CD, so I had a very similar reaction to you.

Oh I TOTALLY heard Ozzy in the vocals in their very early days. Unintentionally of course.

Website · by **JGJR** » Sun Feb 28, 2021 12:52 pm

version sound wrote:
JGJR wrote:I'm with Sam on this one, too. I've never really been able to hear the Ozzy comparison tbh. That said, I've underrated this Lp a lot (listened to it yesterday for the first time in a while); wish I still had the early '00s CD, so I had a very similar reaction to you.

Like I said, it’s probably not a comparison I would make if I heard it for the first time today, but the fact that others thought that too makes me think I wasn’t completely crazy.

The CD is still available from Dischord for $10. I ordered one the other day.

I just got a new/old CD player (actually just a Sony DVD player that I hooked up to my system; haven't tested it out yet; my Onkyo needs its belt replaced for the tray), so this is really good to know. Thanks!

EDIT/UPDATE: works like a dream; I have a feeling I'll be ordering this thing soon.

Website · by **JGJR** » Sun Feb 28, 2021 1:04 pm

patient_ot wrote:I was initially impressed with some "loud" remasters in the mid/late 90s when I primarily used a portable CD player and boombox. The headphone amp in the portable could only give so much juice and the boombox had serious limitations as well. Overtime those discs got fatiguing, and I got rid of a lot of them and replaced them with older discs. The Bad Religion and Slayer remasters are prime examples of that.

I bought a used copy of Suffer at some point on CD (the original master) and thought it sounded like crud. I don't think I've ever heard the more recent masters.

by **gregpolard** » Mon Mar 01, 2021 8:17 am

xxxMidgexxx wrote:
SamDBL wrote:
xxxMidgexxx wrote:
SamDBL wrote:Where the fuck was this band coming from? The first few releases were very easy to listen to. I listened to ten spot, funeral at the movies, and that 7” non-stop when they came out. Then they went total Alterna prog.

Simple answer. When Chris (guitarist) left the band, it went down the toilet.

I do remember that being a big change in the sound.

Waaay too big of a change. The songs didn't "rock" or flow anymore and for them the departure was not good. Their interpretation of 'art rock' or 'neo prog' or Avant-garde...was just flat out annoyingly awful.
Too herky jerky and the sound was all over the map in a bad way.

They were my favorite band for a LONG time. I also listened to them non stop. And then....

When's the last time you tried "Pony Express Record"?

by **drew** » Mon Mar 01, 2021 8:20 am

gregpolard wrote:
xxxMidgexxx wrote:
SamDBL wrote:
xxxMidgexxx wrote:
SamDBL wrote:Where the fuck was this band coming from? The first few releases were very easy to listen to. I listened to ten spot, funeral at the movies, and that 7” non-stop when they came out. Then they went total Alterna prog.

Simple answer. When Chris (guitarist) left the band, it went down the toilet.

I do remember that being a big change in the sound.

Waaay too big of a change. The songs didn't "rock" or flow anymore and for them the departure was not good. Their interpretation of 'art rock' or 'neo prog' or Avant-garde...was just flat out annoyingly awful.
Too herky jerky and the sound was all over the map in a bad way.

They were my favorite band for a LONG time. I also listened to them non stop. And then....

When's the last time you tried "Pony Express Record"?

PER is terrible. They threw themselves in to the Loud-Quiet-Loud sweepstakes and tried to be different by adding extra weirdness. Not a shocker they only had a minor hit.

by **gregpolard** » Mon Mar 01, 2021 8:25 am

I'll say that time has been pretty kind to that record. It seems like a lot of people who hated it at the time love it now. I think there's no bad Shudder To Think albums, but I'll say that PER is my favorite. It's not even the first one I heard (that would be the final 7" on Dischord and the Funeral/Ten Spot cd) but it just really hits me.

At least thanks to WIW Pod I know Alan Cage agrees with me :lol:

by **patient_ot** » Wed Mar 03, 2021 10:38 am

JGJR wrote:
patient_ot wrote:I was initially impressed with some "loud" remasters in the mid/late 90s when I primarily used a portable CD player and boombox. The headphone amp in the portable could only give so much juice and the boombox had serious limitations as well. Overtime those discs got fatiguing, and I got rid of a lot of them and replaced them with older discs. The Bad Religion and Slayer remasters are prime examples of that.

I bought a used copy of Suffer at some point on CD (the original master) and thought it sounded like crud. I don't think I've ever heard the more recent masters.

I don't know what old CD you had, but the old BR CDs from the Epitaph era do need to be cranked to sound right. I've never had any issue with them and I've been listening to them for decades.

I still have the Suffer remaster somewhere but never listen to it because it's an over-compressed dog log.

See here:

http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/view/173736

All the tracks are DR5-6.

The CD remaster for "How Could Hell" is just as bad. Never bought any of the others.

by **patient_ot** » Wed Mar 03, 2021 10:40 am

I think it's funny how divided opinions are on PER. I've always liked it and most people I knew liked it. Not one for the purists I suppose.

I've heard similar comments in the last couple of years about Jawbox's FYOSS. I like that one also.

by **gregpolard** » Wed Mar 03, 2021 10:50 am

patient_ot wrote:I think it's funny how divided opinions are on PER. I've always liked it and most people I knew liked it. Not one for the purists I suppose.

I've heard similar comments in the last couple of years about Jawbox's FYOSS. I like that one also.

FYOSS (and sometimes the S/T) are my favorite Jawbox.
Maybe it's because I never cared about bands going to major labels but I think most of the hate comes from angry old dudes who were mad in the 90's that these bands signed. If those albums came out on Dischord people would most likely love them. They both used Ted Niceley for Production on their major label debuts. It's not like they went to Mutt Lange.

Personally, I loathe my job and if someone in a band can make a living from it and still make great music, IDGAF.

Website · by **JGJR** » Wed Mar 03, 2021 11:18 am

patient_ot wrote:I think it's funny how divided opinions are on PER. I've always liked it and most people I knew liked it. Not one for the purists I suppose.

I've heard similar comments in the last couple of years about Jawbox's FYOSS. I like that one also.

In recent years, I've come to really like that one and the s/t 4th album, which I think is the best thing they ever did. It used to be my least favorite, too, but anyway I think I'm most partial to the 1st 2 because of hearing them in HS in real time (well Novelty at least; Grippe was already out for over a year before I heard it, but it's the first one I bought) and just how much I played them, etc.

Overall, I think Jawbox were less experimental than STT, so their later major label stuff wasn't as "controversial" and most I know dug it back then, etc.

Website · by **JGJR** » Thu Mar 25, 2021 1:46 pm

I don't think that this has been posted here.

https://music.mxdwn.com/2021/03/24/news ... tVd-Apv8T8

by **drew** » Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:06 pm

gregpolard wrote:
patient_ot wrote:I think it's funny how divided opinions are on PER. I've always liked it and most people I knew liked it. Not one for the purists I suppose.

I've heard similar comments in the last couple of years about Jawbox's FYOSS. I like that one also.

FYOSS (and sometimes the S/T) are my favorite Jawbox.
Maybe it's because I never cared about bands going to major labels but I think most of the hate comes from angry old dudes who were mad in the 90's that these bands signed. If those albums came out on Dischord people would most likely love them. They both used Ted Niceley for Production on their major label debuts. It's not like they went to Mutt Lange.

Personally, I loathe my job and if someone in a band can make a living from it and still make great music, IDGAF.

I saw Jawbox/Jawbreaker in '98(??)on that last tour for both, I guess. Jawbreaker were only playing two songs from DEAR YOU, they heard the word on the street and set was mostly 24 Hour....S/T Jawbox wasn't quite out yet but they played maybe 4-5 songs from it. Including "Chines Fork Tie" for the opener. They are great but the new tunes lacked that visceral punch and were more arty. I dig bands trying to expand out but you are gonna lose some of that live energy.

Website · by **JGJR** » Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:59 pm

drew wrote:I saw Jawbox/Jawbreaker in '98(??)on that last tour for both, I guess. Jawbreaker were only playing two songs from DEAR YOU, they heard the word on the street and set was mostly 24 Hour....S/T Jawbox wasn't quite out yet but they played maybe 4-5 songs from it. Including "Chines Fork Tie" for the opener. They are great but the new tunes lacked that visceral punch and were more arty. I dig bands trying to expand out but you are gonna lose some of that live energy.

That was September 1995 at Irving Plaza. I was there, too, but I think I got there a bit too late to catch Jawbox that night. It was the only time I ever got to see Jawbreaker before the reunion and I thought they were really good.

by **version sound** » Thu Mar 25, 2021 4:45 pm

When did this turn into a Jawbox thread?

by **captain2man** » Wed Apr 14, 2021 6:10 pm

I am just starting to prep for End on End's first StT episode - the It Was Arson 7".

I honestly couldn't be less familiar with StT but - obviously - that will be changing.

I haven't much to contribute other than to say I love - seriously - LOVE - all four songs on that first 7". Every song is just so filled with hooks - it's somehow all familiar, yet....not at the same time. And when those vocals hit you for the first time, you have to ask yourself, "does this guy know what he's doing?"....but yes - he definitely knows what he's doing.

by **gregpolard** » Sun Jan 02, 2022 11:26 am

Been on another Shudder to Think bender and want to go on record that hating Pony Express Record still is crazy.

by **captain2man** » Sun Jan 02, 2022 5:49 pm

gregpolard wrote:Been on another Shudder to Think bender and want to go on record that hating Pony Express Record still is crazy.

Good timing.....we're recording our episode on Ten Spot this week. I'm still not quite sure what to (shudder to) think.

by **SamDBL** » Sun Jan 02, 2022 7:05 pm

That shit was definitely mastered at a crazy low volume. Not just the CD. A lot of the DIschord of that time, was. But the STT catalog really stood out. I remember having to crank my stereo up about 3 or 4 notches when listening to 'funeral at the movies'' to keep up with any other thing that I happened to be listening to.

by **xxxMidgexxx** » Sun Jan 02, 2022 7:27 pm

SamDBL wrote:That shit was definitely mastered at a crazy low volume. Not just the CD. A lot of the DIschord of that time, was. But the STT catalog really stood out. I remember having to crank my stereo up about 3 or 4 notches when listening to 'funeral at the movies'' to keep up with any other thing that I happened to be listening to.

This. So much.

Early punk rock through the late 80's neglected the fine art of the mastering process.

Early 1991, me and Aquaman paid extra money to sit in at a session at Masterdisk in NYC to watch the process. The recording was made brighter and clearer through their "machinery". Expensive though.
Still, for a young band trying to get to make their first impression, its a worthy investment.

by **Mark T.** » Mon Jan 03, 2022 7:42 am

xxxMidgexxx wrote:Early 1991, me and Aquaman paid extra money to sit in at a session at Masterdisk in NYC to watch the process. The recording was made brighter and clearer through their "machinery". Expensive though. Still, for a young band trying to get to make their first impression, its a worthy investment.

That's a tough task for most bands. How did you guys come up with the funds to pull that off?

by **xxxMidgexxx** » Mon Jan 03, 2022 1:34 pm

Mark T. wrote:
xxxMidgexxx wrote:Early 1991, me and Aquaman paid extra money to sit in at a session at Masterdisk in NYC to watch the process. The recording was made brighter and clearer through their "machinery". Expensive though. Still, for a young band trying to get to make their first impression, its a worthy investment.

That's a tough task for most bands. How did you guys come up with the funds to pull that off?

We just felt like paying out of pocket to see what actually happens in that process. Compression, volume, EQ...and printed to the master lacquers.

Website · by **JGJR** » Mon Jan 03, 2022 1:35 pm

SamDBL wrote:That shit was definitely mastered at a crazy low volume. Not just the CD. A lot of the DIschord of that time, was. But the STT catalog really stood out. I remember having to crank my stereo up about 3 or 4 notches when listening to 'funeral at the movies'' to keep up with any other thing that I happened to be listening to.

It's just the early '90s CD here. I couldn't believe how low Ten Spot was mastered at compared to Funeral and I never had any issue with the vinyl or cassette. Same exact issue with Shades Apart; when their Wishing Well Lp came out on CD in '94 on their own Ultraviolet label, they tacked on the "Dude Danger" 12" and you had to turn it WAY up just to hear it just like Funeral on that early '90s STT Dischord CD. I have much better equipment now and realize it's just volume and it doesn't mean it sounds bad or whatever, though.

by **version sound** » Mon Jan 03, 2022 4:45 pm

I’ll take quiet and dynamic over loud and compressed any day. Of course, some sort of middle ground would be optimal. The old Dischord CDs could be a little quiet, and the new remasters are a little loud and compressed (though not horribly so). All in all, I prefer the OG masters (though vinyl tends to be better than either for most Dischord releases).

Website · by **JGJR** » Mon Jan 03, 2022 5:51 pm

version sound wrote:I’ll take quiet and dynamic over loud and compressed any day. Of course, some sort of middle ground would be optimal. The old Dischord CDs could be a little quiet, and the new remasters are a little loud and compressed (though not horribly so). All in all, I prefer the OG masters (though vinyl tends to be better than either for most Dischord releases).

All of this. Thanks for articulating that better than I did. This website confirms that what you said about Dischord CDs is true and it's pretty audible. I'm actually quite impressed that even their 2000s remasters aren't brickwalled even though many are digitally-sourced. Check any Dischord release in this database.

The DR (dynamic range) for the early '90s CDs is off the charts while for the 2000s reissues, it's not quite as great but still very good and better than average.

https://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list ... um=Funeral

by **gregpolard** » Tue Jan 04, 2022 4:24 pm

captain2man wrote:
gregpolard wrote:Been on another Shudder to Think bender and want to go on record that hating Pony Express Record still is crazy.

Good timing.....we're recording our episode on Ten Spot this week. I'm still not quite sure what to (shudder to) think.

Oh man, love that album! Stoked for this one.

by **scannest** » Wed Jan 05, 2022 9:50 am

Craig is the music supervisor for Showtime's YELLOWJACKETS (alongside Anna Waronker of That Dog fame). They also sing the theme song, which could almost, sorta pass for Shudder to Think if you squint hard enough:

by **matt** » Wed Jan 05, 2022 9:51 am

The first time I saw StT was at Gilman St. and the lineup was Gorilla Biscuits, Swiz (hi target!), Shudder to Think, American Standard, and Inside Out. It was a total SxE sausage fest. I was already a fan of StT from their Sammich release (fun fact: I was selling "End Racism" tshirts next to Amanda MacKaye, who was on tour with them). When StT played their set, Craig (who still had long hair at the time) took off his shirt and was writhing and undulating on stage through the whole set. The sweaty straight edge boys were polite, but totally confused. They stood around, watching this hyper-sexual set, with no idea how to react. It was beautiful.

Next time I saw them was in San Diego, when they were on tour with Jawbox. I expected the (much different) crowd to "get it", but they all stood around, once again looking totally confused, during their set. I think someone called Craig a fag, because San Diego.

by **matt** » Wed Jan 05, 2022 9:52 am

scannest wrote:Craig is the music supervisor for Showtime's YELLOWJACKETS (alongside Anna Waronker of That Dog fame). They also sing the theme song, which could almost, sorta pass for Shudder to Think if you squint hard enough:

I just looked this up the other night when watching the show. I don't really like the intro song, but it's def interesting.

by **scannest** » Wed Jan 05, 2022 9:57 am

xxxMidgexxx wrote:Early 1991, me and Aquaman paid extra money to sit in at a session at Masterdisk in NYC to watch the process. The recording was made brighter and clearer through their "machinery". Expensive though. Still, for a young band trying to get to make their first impression, its a worthy investment.

FWIW, I spent a nice chunk of change having my last record mastered by Justin Perkins at Mystery Room Mastering (he does a ton of indie/punk rock, along with higher profile stuff like all the Replacements reissues). It was money well spent. In the past I just had my recording engineers run the final mixes through some mastering software program. There's an art to the process that those programs can't duplicate.

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