Bernie Grundman Remasters Steely Dan's Aja
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- Опубліковано 4 лют 2024
- Bernie Grundman remasters Steely Dan's landmark sixth studio album, who mastered the original release in 1977 and now once again for the Analogue Productions definitive release on Ultra High-Quality Record 200-gram Clarity Vinyl®
Interview by Ben Williams for Analogue Productions.
Mr Grundman's knowledge condensed into 19 minutes. All audiophiles need to watch this, please protect & safeguard this interview.
Ben, how about a tour of the mastering studio and the equipment. Berrnie Grundman is a legend; lets dive deeper.
exactly. we need to document this information for posterity.
This is incredible!!! Bernie is the GOAT!!! Aja is one of my all-time favorite recordings featuring some of the most accomplished and respected musicians in history!!!
Him and Bob Ludwig.
@@UFO314159 I agree!!!
Had fun interviewing Bernie back in the 80s at his studio for Mix!
Wow love this. At first i was thinking.. nooooo not another 'remaster' = destroy. But im looking forward to hearing this now. What a guy
A lot of current vinyl remasters are an improvement over the original pressings.
@@SPAZZOID100 Or so they want you to believe so you spend a lot of money on music that you already own. It's like beanie babies... collect them all. :-)
CDs sound better than vinyl period. Citizen Steely Dan box is world class
I have the original US AB1006 AJA pressing and borowed a friend's copy of the QRP UHQR. Firstly, I think it's awesome that Bernie got another kick at the can mastering and in this case, cutting AJA. The AB1006 does sound excellent, always did. The UHQR Clarity vinyl improves on the original pressing mainly in sound stage, fuller detailed range without changing the original tonal characteristics. An example, the piano on Home At Last is more up front and the detail helps to create that image as orig intended, but better than the AB1006. The QRP vinyl is excellent and the packaging is befitting a great classic like AJA. Bernie is one of the best at what he does and I can think of so many albums he has mastered that are some of the best I have, like a go to demo LP .
All the supposed A-list players, fancy studios, pedigree engineer,yada yada. I wrote and recorded this track at my house. Played everything,sang it. One afternoon, mixed that evening. You would think these cats walked on water, by some of comments. It's just recording and playing. aybe the emperors need more clothes... ua-cam.com/video/87rcYNmNZyc/v-deo.htmlsi=nwFq-gt7vDBpN0XF
Similar hear, fantastic AB1006, and I bought the UHQR. UHQR takes it by a bit.
I bought the UHQR and the sonics were amazing, but it seemed Fagan’s vocals had a significant change I didn’t care for. The vocal reverb was more pronounced than my original copy (I don’t have an AB but an AA pressing). I’m going to try a different playback system.
I sold a few albums on Discogs and I bought this new 45 RPM 2 LP Aja. I also own an original 1977 pressing. The difference is amazing.
So many great insights that Bernie reels of nonchalantly you could almost miss them. The limitations of vinyl forcing humans to make judgments in mastering, to test and above all to use their ears - that’s the reason good vinyl sounds good to people, not any inherent strength of vinyl. The impact of playback equipment on what you are hearing - vinyl mastering engineers design records to be played well by average cartridges, not $12K catridges. And most of all, the recognition that too much in the signal chain subtly degrades the music, even if you can’t hear each individual impact - and the need to keep the signal chain minimal and uncomplicated. You cannot just conjure up this knowledge and experience, you must live it. Bravo.
The reason vinyl sounds good to people is because it had the all the dynamic range compressed out of it. Read up on "loudness wars". It's a trivial physiological effect that you can exploit with a $99 compressor. The remainder is just sales and marketing. ;-)
I bought this record way back in 78 as one of my 13 first record order form Columbia House, as a kid, in like fifth grade. You got the offer in TV Guide and we kids would order all these records of the day. They would eventually send you another record in a month that I think was a marked up price, so you had to cancel or send it back. needless to say, Mom and Dad were NOT happy when they ended up getting the bills. I held onto AJA for years. I'll be buying this copy for certain. Masterpiece.
I guess the german bookshelf speakers he is referring to were the 3-way Visonik David 100 from the early 1970s. They tended to sound very bright and open.
It would be interesting to hear his thoughts on how his hearing and listening has changed since that first master of Aja in 77.
This is an awesome interview, to put it extremely lightly. Please get the word out to others that this fantastic (again an extreme understatement), interview exists!
Thank you Ben and Bernie for a very interesting interview. Bravo!
Priceless! Thanks for the upload!
Impressive- of course there are a million questions that I myself would like to ask- I have two questions
- is it possible to see this unedited?
- can you arrange another interview with this busy man as a Q&A livestream?
Thanks for this!!!
Thank you Mr Grundman.
Legend. Thanks for taking the time to make this video. I decided I would buy just one UHQR album and managed to find a copy of Kind of Blue. Then I heard about Aja a week after I’d shelled out for a near mint first pressing. The original is great but the UHQR is next level.
I would like to listed to his remastering...that album AJA is perfection.
Exactly...so why "re-master" it?
@@jupiterlegrand4817 Agree, If it's perfect, leave it alone.
Meaning the one that will be on sale as remastered..as in all the new remastered collection you see on in the catalogs.
To match the format, you have to master for each type of distribution, the capabilities of the media currently in use. This even includes weight of vinyl and process, which is very different than back then.
Agreed
Aja was fine,
Katy Lied was the album with all the issues. That’s the album that needs the most attention.
He's absolutley right about how long tape lasts. I started working in the seismic business in the early 70s and we are still able to read 1/2" mag tape recorded in the late 60s onwards as long as the tape has been stored correctly and you can still get hold of the playback hardware. All current seismic data is recorded on tape ( a lot more sophisticated these days) and is archived on tape. Little known fact
thanks for sharing!
Great video. Thanks for sharing. Really enjoyed it.
This is awesome! Thank you!
I think as aja as the gold standard for mastering. It’s just so good
So good..excellent material bro..
Fascinating! Thanks for the post and the insights.
Listened to the album yesterday! WOW. Incredible quality
Wonderful! Thank you!
I don’t know who did the thriller album but that was the best thing I’ve ever heard. My Sony Walkman cassette player and headphones. The sound was so sweet
Yes, Bernie Grundman mastered that as well.
@@UFO314159 lol nice!
I have a Mobile Fidelity OMR of Aja from around 1980. Still insanely great!
Back in the early 80s, at a major studio where I worked, Aja was a favorite listening test for new monitors, amps, control room acoustic tweaks
Amazing!!
I’m always curious as to why separate releases for tape aren’t made. Isn’t tape the ultimate format for audiophile enthusiasts? Reel to reel, isn’t that the best?
Cool!! So understated with his words..
outstanding
10:35
Sweet Mother of...
A test pressing of the UHQR Aja.
Collector's dream.
Amazing to think about how in the vinyl era, the mastering process was so dependent on the physical properties of the vinyl and the shape/spacing of the groove.
Why is that amazing? Vinyl is a horrible medium. They would have gotten rid of it much sooner if they could have.
@@lepidoptera9337 agreed. But in these parts, our opinion is sacrilege. Whatever.
Brilliant !
ISTR a digital release that used the remnant bias signal on the tapes to normalize the speed, does anyone else remember this?
Fantastic.
The SACD is incredible
SACD? I thought they didn't go through with it because the multitrack tapes for Black Cow and Aja were missing?
@@andriealinsangao613They used a 1/2 stereo master for the SACD so it’s stereo only. Probably the same source that they used here. While it wasn’t remixed the SACD reveals a lot of detail.
@@hostrow Shit, sweet! Think I might have to get one!
@@andriealinsangao613 Get it. It will reveal things that you really can’t hear very well on the original vinyl release. I play it regularly.
Yes, a well mastered cd offers better separation, S/N ratio, less distortion, etc. But sadly they don't sell well anymore, especially since vinyl has made such a strong comeback. @@thetimewave
What a class act!
Wow just wow
Great interview. What are the Qtips for? 😂 Also seconded on request for a Grundman gear overview
When is the SACD coming? I've had it on pre-order for well over a year.
Could you please explain what brand of speakers you use and what Fagan and Walter used and also the brand of cartridge? Oh, really like to hear more about the specific year use
It sounded fine the way it was.
The last bit is key for people mixing - listen to a lot of music where you mix.
Walter really liked those German speakers.
'Actually, yes' - brilliant
This is facinating. I just assumed re-releasing an album to vinyl in this day and age was just a simple method of converting a CD to analog.
I hope to get a chance to this.
I was a club DJ in the late 70's. Some of those records sounded amazing, and some were terrible.
It was never that simple and what you are hearing on the CD is never what you are hearing on the vinyl. The CD is, ideally, much closer to the original mix. The vinyl is, if you want, a technical compromise. It just happens that people often like the technical compromise better. That's an effect of human physiology. It kind of goes away, or is at least greatly suppressed if you listen to recordings on electrostatic earphones. What never goes away is the naive consumer's expectation that there has to be a "best version" of a recording. Such a thing does not exist. Even with everything else being equal the same person may like to tweak their EQ differently depending on time of day and mood. And that is perfectly fine. What is not fine is the assumption that salting your food and equalizing your music is a sacrilege. That's an invention of poor chefs and the high fidelity salesman crowd.
mr Grundman ,i had seen his name in many albums, like Rick Pekkonen
can you get Bernie to talk about the Hendrix Mono albums
When you let Bernie master any of tracks you'll end up with a MUSICAL PUZZLE 🎼 🎶!!! HE'S THE MAN
Those drums are so thick
This is great, thanks for all the stories connected to Aja; my original vinyl copy of Aja unfortunately never sounded that good, a bit tinny and boxy. Maybe a poor quality pressing (Europe?)..Gaucho on the other hand sounded markedly different and more dynamic and punchy.
Now re-do Ride like the wind by Christopher Cross and bring the awesome guitar solo to fore like it should be
Yes, but that would require a re-MIX, not simply a re-master. Have you seen Rick Beato's interview with Michael Omartian? They discuss exactly this. :)
@@erajad I did watch that. It was amazing.
@@erajadyup, mix not master….
Bernie remasters, not remixes.
WHY NO SUBTITLES FOR THIS VIDEO?
My friend Glenn Meadows (RIP) remastered (from digital) a compilation album called “Citizen Steely Dan” in 1993. As I recall, the analog tapes were in bad shape.
Anything to do with Aja is of interest. Thanks
Were the German speakers Canton?
The reason vinal sounds different than digital to me is vinal flexes, it ages, digital is too electronic. I liked records because every time I played them they sound slightly different.
Hello my fellow music lovers and hi-fi enthusiasts. What Mr. Grundman said about hi-fi speakers and amplifiers was revelatory! Especially when he said amplifiers with 20 or more output transistors, you are hearing electrics and not music! He also said hi-fi home speakers sound better than studio monitors and the less circuitry the better the sound. Being a hi-fi music enthusiast this is the epitome of high end audio to me. No bass and treble controls, equalizers, compression and other signal processing (so much for recievers and mid-fi).I agree with everything he said, but I wonder how those who have massive amplifiers that have 20 or more output transistors feel about what he said about those amps! This is just mind blowing to this 64 year old black man O.G music collector and hi-fi enthusiast. I would like to see as many opinions and thoughts about this as possible. This I believe has already rocked the professional and consumer audio worlds!
Given Bernie's description of tracking issues related to encoding high frequencies and actual degradation in the lacquers, I'd like to know his opinion on the best playback media. Sure, he might have some bias toward vinyl given his role in mastering for vinyl, but he should also have deep insight in reproduction overall.
Where is the remastering?
Remaster this, remaster that. It sounded fine and SD we’re already obsessed about production values
Hang on. Did somebody return the stolen master tapes of Aja to Donald? Last I heard they were still lost, so how can you remaster something from non-master material?
Is the interviewer listening to him?
If they’re going to put this much time and effort in re-mastering a Steely Dan album why wouldn’t they work on Katy Lied?
That was the album they had all the issues with in 1975.
Maybe they will .. ❓️🤔
I watched this exact video on UA-cam well before the publication date on this video. What’s up with that?
i'm not getting the timeline in the correct order here...or maybe he's accidentaly confusing present and past tenses in the same sentence ....computer driven disc cutting lathe back in 1977 ? what computer ? the way Bernie is talking ...he's not talking about those computers in the present tense...he's making a clear reference to the past : 2:07... and the 2:55...and it doesn't make any sense to me. Someone ? ...
Why?
A video dedicated to the art of audio reproduction “Presented in Mono” 😐
Maybe it was re-mastered.
Does he actually remaster it?
Yes, for Analog Productions. On 2 discs @45rpm.
@@SPAZZOID100 That's a good way to spend a lot of money for music you already have and that you can listen to on the internet for free. ;-)
Why? It was gold the way it is.
You don't know what it was like when it came through the door. All you know is the final mastered result. Oh, wait, you didn't watch the video. ;-)
Because Bernie has taken a fantastic sounding record from 1977 and made a new version that sounds astonishing. I have the original and I have this new 45rpm. No contest. It’s the best sounding record I own.
@@Bizzle65 Why are you telling us that you only own crappy records? ;-)
@@lepidoptera9337 Your reply to @Bizzle65 is senseless. Just sayin'...
@@thomassicard3733 He said it's the best he owns, which means that everything else he owns is crap. It's just logic at work. ;-)
Citizen Steely Dan box set already sounds stunning not sure how much better you could do it really. Once it’s been done well it seems these are cash grabs by people with the rights that pay to remaster it.
...because they just didn't spend enough time and effort mixing it the first time around...right?
What the musicians are hearing is not what the producer is hearing is not what the sound engineer is hearing is not what the mastering engineering is hearing is not what the consumers will be hearing. These are facts of life and as a person in the production chain you have to be aware of that and be an adult about it. You seem to lack the latter part. ;-)
Mixing has nothing to do with MASTERING.
@@SPAZZOID100 He doesn't know that.
Wow, justas fun as listning to the government
Clearly you did better in asshole class than spelling class in high school
Wow, that was so super smart and funny
Seriously - why worry about a $12k cartridge? Who the hell do you think is spending $150 for a single album (2LP)? Probably the same people that have a $12k cartridge.
The original was near pristine. Remastering isnt needed
Lots of disturbing treble distortion on that album.
Regardless of whether it stems from transient intermodulation or just clipping, it's not very nice listen to.
What if Aja doesn't need remastering?
I see no reason to remaster AJA. It's so close to perfect as it is. At least, don't remix it. Too many times, remastering also involves remixing and that's rarely BETTER than the original mix. Usually it's worse. I don't even bother to listen to the remastered Beatles catalog. Only the original versions.
I think the reason it sounds great on a shit system or Magnaplayners is the spread of harmonic range. This is also the reason I detest grunge and punk. Everything is in one dynamic and harmonic range. You must place the notes carefully like a chef places carrots on a fine dish😂
I don't get it. Music has been around for 6000 years. I like classical and acoustic music. These folks are doing way too much with all of this gear.
What about Gaucho ? It’s a much better album !?
His description about why you should use amplifiers with the least of amount of electronics is similar to the same reason why the PCR test was a joke for covid
Vinyl is massively overrated. The playback system for vinyl is inherently flawed. Everytime you play ANY LP it degrades…. SACD is the way to go. You can get the full frequency spectrum of audio upon playback unlike the upper and lower frequencies of ALL LP’s. No surface noise, no clicks, no pops, no degradation upon playback…. THAT is a superior audio format!
Superior in what sense? Does it make the music better? No. Does it enlarge your nether regions by owning one? No. Does it make a fool out of you by saying bullshit like that about it? Absolutely. ;-)
@@thetimewave I am a guy who appreciates music rather than devices. Music, that's the emotions the artists' work produces in your brain. Vinyl, CDs, digital formats etc., those are all just sales tools for those emotions. They mostly exist to make somebody rich who is not you. ;-)
Superior sonically. It's basic physics. @@lepidoptera9337
Regular redbook cd's are good enough for me. I cannot hear any extra resolution from SACD/DSD. However, vinyl rules with physicality and FUN factor.
@@SPAZZOID100 I am going to inherit a vinyl collection. It weighs approx. 400lbs. The music on that heap of plastic fits on a USB thumb drive with enough room to spare to include the catalog of the Library of Congress. Where, exactly, is the "fun" in having to somehow dispose of 400lbs. of plastic? You got to be kidding, right?
Why bother? That album sucks. As do all Steely Dan albums. Insipid music played by coked-up session hacks without an ounce of artistic vision between them.
If you can do better let’s hear your music…
"Never Mind Steely Dan, Here's The Bollocks"
Mr. Nugent? Is that you? If you have confidence in your opinion you would reveal who you are….
Is this Steve Albini? You ruined that Nirvana album pal.
@@tomcoryellI'm Donald Fagen.
I love Mastering Engineers like, Bernie. And I discovered we had something in common.. Many years ago.
As a young, Audio Engineer. When I designed my first big, brick-and-mortar Recording Studio. I approached the wiring in my control room. Much differently. From that of other, recording and broadcast, studios.
Where most of the audio wiring is, Balanced, wiring. That prevents a lot of, interference, buzzing, humming, radio station interference and other electrical interference. Balanced audio wiring generally prevents that from happening. But I knew something more.
I knew. While that can prevent those artifacts from being heard. It does not prevent those artifacts. From modulating the audio. Causing other audio aberrations to occur. Because you don't know your audio is being modulated. When it is quietly, balanced.
And so I went the more difficult route. To make all of my wiring, Unbalanced. And by doing so. You make absolutely certain. Your grounding scheme is impeccable. So as not to cause, ground loops. And by doing so. You prevent your audio from being modulated. And it remains more pure more pristine sounding. Because I carefully worked out all of the grounding. Without causing ground loops.
And so my recording studio sounded particularly great. As I had designed and built the 24 x 8 x 2 x 4, Audio Console from scratch. An undertaking. Only attempted by actual, college grad, Electrical Engineers. Which I was nothing of the sort. I was a dummy. I was a bona fide high school dropout with nothing more than a GED. But I spent some time at the library. I had a wonderful mentor. And I got by.
I later found. That Bernie''s custom audio transfer console. Was also Unbalanced, like mine. Great Minds Think Alike. And we also might hear, alike?
But I am not a Mastering Engineer. I don't do what Bernie does. I do not cut discs for vinyl. I leave it up to guys like Bernie. And numerous others I've used through the years. Since I don't cut discs. I cut tape. And literally did that also. With razor blades, grease pencils, splicing tape. At you would never hear any of my edits.. People would marvel and tell me. We couldn't hear your edit! I said you're not supposed to. If you could? That would not be a good edit..
And one day. I was cutting a, Violinist Virtuoso College Professor and his fine accompanist. He was playing, Paganini violin, concertos. That are very difficult.
And in this piece. He had a run of 32, second notes. That he goofed up in. And needed to do that take again.. I told him I could do an edit. He told me that was impossible. I said no it's not. He said yes it is. It's not possible.
So I did the edit. In mere seconds.. And hit the playback button. They both came back into the control room. How did you do that? I told them I was good like they were. He told me nobody had been able to do that before. I told him they didn't know what they were doing. He said obviously. The accompanist was amazed and giggling. I know how to do edits you can't hear. The way they are supposed to be.
And so we are all accomplished in what we do. Just like Bernie. And just like my other favorite engineers like, George Massenburg, Bob Clearmountain, Bruce Swedien, Geoff Emerick. Pillars of Audio Engineering. I have enjoyed knowing and/or working with. Not that I followed them nor learned much from them directly. But I was in the same control rooms. At the same studios. I would tweak control rooms before recording sessions. For other engineers. Occasionally called back in due to a, some audible anomaly. And I would have to instantly solve that. For someone like Bob Clearmountain. Or another audio engineer at NBC-TV in Washington DC. When you know enough to fix the gear that has been purchased. Or design your own. And fabricate and build it. That's what folks like Bernie and I both do. He may have somebody build his stuff for him? Perhaps he does it, himself? I don't think so? But I do.. Some of us wear multiple hats and have multiple talents. All within the Industry. Because we were really good.
And so Bernie just played back recordings on tape recorders. He didn't build the tape recorders. But I did. For a very famous American company. While also being trained. By the other famous American companies. To be an authorized warranty service technician. For their tape recorders. Also.
(More Real Audio in following post)
Try writing in complete sentences, please, this is difficult to read.
James B. Lansing. Was cofounder of Altec Lansing. That also made fabulous speakers. And I had a pair of those also. The Famed 604E's. With the Doug Sachs Mastering Lab, crossovers and speaker box called the Big Reds. And they were backwards! To his later, JBL Speaker Company of Los Angeles, California. Both were in Los Angeles. And I think he had a difference with his other business partners at Altec Lansing? And he split off to start,, JBL in 1948. But then quickly died shortly thereafter. Though his company continued on with his name, JBL.
I find this a very fascinating piece of American History of Pro Audio Manufacturers. As I heard these JBL speakers when I was only 12 in 1968. And I knew I had just heard something different. Something that spoke to me. Something I knew at age 12. I would have to obtain one day. A pair of these for myself. And 10 years later. At 22. I did! I got a pair of those.. And they would change my life forever! I now knew something others didn't! I could hear this difference. It was obvious. It was right! It was solid.
So you can fix your own speakers for free. You merely need to reverse the connections on both your left and right channel speakers. As you have them in phase together. Which is important. But they are both in, Negative Absolute Polarity. And you fix that by reversing both connections. It's really that simple.
Now, for those of you. That have those Active Powered Speakers. That you also have to plug into the electrical wall outlet each. You will have to be good with a screwdriver and a soldering iron. You must remove both the tweeter and the woofer speakers. At you must reversed the connections on both the tweeters and the woofers. With your soldering iron. Then reinstall the speakers. Do not over torque them down. You can warp the speaker frame. So be gentle. Just make it snug. No death grip tightening. And take another listen. You'll thank me later. It's a game changer. It'll change your life also.
Yes I have fixed a multitude of both high-end and home recording studios. At both radio stations and television broadcast networks. More than just NBC-TV, alone. I've had influences with PBS and CBS-TV. And also ABC, Fox, CBC, BBC, Deutsche Welle, France--24, Japan NHK and others. I never knew I would become a World Authority? But I did. I am. And I'm now retired at 68. And sharing my knowledge with you. Because I want you to hear things better. I want you to hear things right. And you will discover something interesting.
There is a number of psycho acoustic effects. You will experience. Once you have your speakers wired in Absolute Positive Polarity. And you will discover. You will have Surround Sound. From just 2 speakers. You will be Enveloped in the sound in your room. Like never before. It won't matter where you sit or stand. You will hear glorious stereo wherever you are in your room. You don't have to be rigidly in the center between the left and right channel speakers anymore. And you will also notice. The sound is no longer coming from your speakers. No. The sound is coming from somewhere,, in front of your speakers! It's weird! Because now. The sound envelope can bloom. As it is being pushed out the front of the speaker. You won't hear that sound from the speaker. Until it blooms and propagates into the room toward you. And you will be completely Immersed! And you won't need, 14 Speakers and Dolby ATMOS at all! You'll be getting it from just 2 speakers.
And so Dolby ATMOS is just another marketing ploy. From there failed, Dolby 5.1 Surround bullshit from a couple of years ago. That failed! And so they came up with Dolby ATMOS. That requires 14 speakers! It's Madness! It's advertising and marketing bullshit only! Because the speakers are all wired in Negative Absolute Polarity! It's Insane! It's only to get you to purchase more junk to keep them in business longer. Because they are now Failing. They are no longer needed. Everything has gone Digital Clarity. They are no longer necessary. They are effectively out of business.
And you get this just by wiring your 2 speakers correctly in Absolute Positive Polarity! Which can only be done. Where the audio amplifier connects to the actual speaker. Nowhere further upstream can that be done! It can only be done at the amplifier output to the speaker inputs! That is where Absolute Polarity is Established! That's the only place! Because flipping the phase at the input merely inverts the waveform. It does not change the Absolute Polarity at the output.
And none of these dumb ass electrical engineers have understood this? Until I explained it to them. And I wish I had a camera. To take their pictures. Every time I have educated them about this. Because you get the weirdest faces. They suddenly realize. I am absolutely right! And they have told me they never thought about it this way before? That's right! They've never been able to think this through for themselves correctly. Why? Because they are not Recording Engineers. They are electrical engineers. The only deal in mathematics and textbooks. They don't know what they are listening to? They are simply engineers. Dealing in mathematics. And they don't know what they are listening to? They don't know what it's supposed to sound like? They don't know how to listen? They only know the math and the textbooks. And those don't listen or evaluate anything.. They are inanimate. Only we can do that. Only we can make these decisions by what we are hearing. That's how Bernie has made his living also. Make certain your needle doesn't jump to the next groove when it's not supposed to. That's his job.. And trying not to Scrabble the sound much. That's what Bernie does.
And so when one knows all this stuff. One can make proper decisions. But if you can't hear it right? You'll never really know what the hell you are listening to? Because your speakers are sucking away from you. And you think they are not. Because you follow the instructions. And you had a little test you did with the battery. To prove you are right! But you are not. You are backwards. And it takes me only 2 minutes. To change your life. But I can't make any money doing that when charging by the hour. Because it only takes two minutes to do. 10 minutes with powered speakers. And I can't make any money like that.. I have to charge by the day. Then it only takes me 2 minutes. And they get angry. I paid you for an entire day! Yeah but I already fixed it. But you only took 2 minutes! But this is going to change your life. They don't care! They feel ripped off. Because it only took me 2 minutes. It's very funny. Technically speaking.
So try it for yourselves. It's an absolute game changer. Even those of you with a very cheap Taiwanese stereo at ultra cheap speakers. It's going to make an enormous difference. It's very funny. I've turned a lot of people onto this. They've all come back to me totally giddy. They couldn't believe it! That, their, $350 Taiwanese stereo system. Now sounds better. Then their friend's, $1500 system. And their friend doesn't know why? It's very funny. It's a game changer. And now you know what to do. For yourselves. Give it a try. It only takes 2 minutes to do. And 2 minutes to change back if you don't like it.. You're going to like it a lot. It's a game changer. And it's free!
It's my New Year's gift to you all!
RemyRAD
Mistakes were even made at NBC.. When I found out. They had replaced the heads. In all of these cartridge recorders they had. With a better performing longer life head. But they didn't make the necessary circuit modifications. What? Oh no? I had to modify all of them! And then suddenly everything sounded better! It was, Fuller sounding. It was lacking low-end. They were a different inductance. DUH! And I had to modify about 30 machines.
And so I ended up one of those Studio Fixers. When anything doesn't sound right? And nobody can get it right? That's when I'll get the call. Can you come down and take a listen Remy? Sure. No Problem'o. And they will play me, 60 seconds of something they recorded and mixed. And I'll go, okay. This is the problem. That fast. I don't need test equipment. I was born with it. They are on either side of my head. And I have not damaged them through the years. I did not play in a rock 'n' roll band. I did not do PA for rock 'n' roll bands. I stayed in the control room. And I did not use giant speakers. I used JBL 4311's. Those are the ones to have. And bigger or smaller really doesn't matter. They all sound similar. They are consistent.
Other speakers can initially sound better. You will discover. But after working on them for, 4-6-8 or more hours. You might start to lose your mind? You might start getting very irritated? Because you are getting, ear fatigue. You won't get that kind of ear fatigue. Working on JBL Speakers. I can engineer on those for, 16+ hours. And I have. And I feel as good. As when I first sat down. Not so with other brands of speakers. That might sound better, initially. But they come with huge ear fatigue. In just a few hours time.. And then you need to take a break. For a few hours. Not so with JBL Speakers.
I've done those, 12 hour long, rock 'n' roll Festivals at NFL Stadiums. With 65,000 screaming fans. And PA speaker systems. As loud as a, NASA Launch. I never subjected myself to. Because my hearing was very important to my career. And I would be sitting there all day recording and mixing. And of course letting my, Associate Engineers also have at it. So I can go out to the audience for a few minutes and have some fun. But then it starts to get rather loud. And I had back into the truck. That has been largely soundproofed. Except for the lowest frequencies. Of earth shattering rumble. That can make mixing a little more challenging. Because if you hear enough low-end coming out of your speakers. It might actually be too much? Because it was drowned out by the background. I cannot fully escape. And so that presents a greater challenge. I love a challenge.
I really don't get to hear my broadcasts. Until I'm done and get home. When I can then play back the show. And take a listen as to what I did? And how it came out. When I am away from the NFL stadium. And in the comfort of my own environment..
So I don't know what your Absolute Speaker Polarity is Bernie? I would like to think you got yours right? But probably not? Few have. Very few. And I think I've blown George Massenburg's mind. We've never really talked much. I'm not certain why I think he's afraid of me? He's not afraid of me. I am nothing. He's accomplished a great deal. He changed the way recordings are made and mixed.. It's pretty much his technique that is taught at the university level.
Unfortunately one cannot really utilize George Massenburg's technique. Without having Parametric Equalization.. As a key factor in your recording and mixing.
And so those of us that had those, nasty old, original, Rupert Neve, recording consoles. My 1073 equalizers couldn't do any of that fancy stuff. At all. And so we had to use those, differently.. Since they are so limited in their operation of what they can do or not do.. And so those sound really good. When you boost stuff. It starts to do funky stuff. That seems to enhance the sound rather than detract from the sound. As it adds its own coloration. Of whatever flavor op amp you wanted? And Voilà! You get something really special sounding. On occasion.
Making musical recordings is kind of like being a photographer. A Professional Photographer will take, 100 pictures of the subject. At maybe get, one or two, exceptional pictures. Out of 100. Only Michael Jackson can do 100 takes of a song. I don't let bands go that many times. I tell them. If you can't get your solo down in 3 takes. We shall move on and come back to that song, later. Because I don't want everybody getting stale. I want things to remain fresh and exuberant sounding.
There is no tried-and-true way to go about this musical art creation. It's the synergy of people coming together. That really makes it happen. It's no one person. It's all of us. It's a creative consortium effort. It's no one single person generally. Although there are those who have. Tom Scholz would be a good example with Boston.
Yes. That entire first album Boston. Was strictly him. At his home studio. As we had virtually identical studios. I had the same audio console. As Tom did. The Auditronics 501 out of Memphis, Tennessee. All American-made. And mindfully upgraded. With the latest, 5534 IC chips. You would find in, SSL consoles. Throughout. And the same input and output transformers. How about that? But it's an Auditronics not an SSL. But it's using the same integrated circuit chips. And so they would sound similar.
But I mostly vacillated between, API, Neve, Sphere, Phillips, discrete transistors circuitry. And whatever transformers they elected to use. Neve designed his own. While many others used the, Dean Jensen//Reichenbach, audio transformers. And similar ones made by other manufacturers. All based on the same design. Because those transformers sounded good. Better than the American Triad, UTC and others. And it gave them a characteristic, sound. That I've really enjoyed obtaining through the years. But it's really unimportant.
Good engineering technique is the most important.
RemyRAD
One thing Bernie did not talk about. Bernie cuts into Lacquer. But back around 1978. Europa Disc came up with cutting into, Copper plates. Not lacquer. It was known as Direct Metal Mastering. And, who boy. This sounded Way Different!
It brought out a clarity and a depth. One did not get from lacquer. And so I started having Europa Disc cut my discs. Direct to Metal Masters in copper.
Now, I do not know why Bernie never got into Direct Metal Mastering? It did have a sonic superiority to it. That was easily heard over that of lacquer cuts. I was impressed with that process. And that's what I was using. It was cleaner sounding. It didn't have anywhere near the mushy sound one would get from lacquer cuts.
And so I don't know how Bernie feels about that? Obviously not much? He doesn't do that. I don't think? Perhaps by special request? I do not know? That's a different process of cutting.. It presents different issues. And actually far less restrictions. Because it's not going into lacquer. It's going directly into metal. And then that metal is plated. And the stampers generated. And plated.
And so I do not know Bernie's concepts on that? He has his reasons. He does what he does very well. And we all love him for it. He's brought a great deal of joy to us all.
I love working with other True Professionals..
RemyRAD
Attention Bernie Grundman. I love everything you do man! I always have. We both think a lot alike. And it's my pleasure to know you. Even though we've never done any business together. I've always enjoyed your work. It always sounded Great.
But I discovered a significant issue. Everyone has with their Monitoring. And why some of your clients get OCD over it. When you really cannot interpret. What you are hearing from your monitor speakers. Because you don't know that they are sucking. They are sucking away from you. Even though you think they are not. They are. Because a fundamental error has been made. By most electrical engineers. And nobody could think this through correctly. Except for me and JBL. Which I figured out in 1978 at age, 22. And went, WTF? Until I figured it out. Thought it through. Oh yeah. Of course. JBL got it right. So did I at 22.
Some people did fine out of the gate. George Massenburg had his JBL, L-100's. The consumer version of the, 4311's. Which looked much nicer. And were mirror image. Where the 4311's were not. But that did not stop Bruce Swedien with Michael Jackson.. As those are what he used.
But after their hits. They started using other monitors. And they are all in Negative Absolute Polarity. Like Genelec''s. Like Meyer's. Like Adams. Like everyone else. All in Negative Absolute Polarity. And you really cannot evaluate what the hell you are hearing that way. Your brain does not want to accept it, that way. Because it is chasing away from you in front of you. It's sucking away from you in front of you. Hard to imagine I know. You think you have them connected correctly. They are not. This is a fundamental error everyone has made. Because it is mathematically correct. It is acoustically backwards. And there's only one way to fix that. Where the power meets the cardboard. You have to have the moving in the right initial direction. That's called Absolute Polarity. That is not phase. Though phase must be phased, together. But while they are phased together. They can either be in Negative or Positive Absolute Polarity. Depending upon whether you want them blowing or sucking? That is Absolute Polarity. That has nothing to do with phase inversion at the input.
I actually tried to describe this to Bob Orban. But he told me I was nuts. I am not nuts. JBL is not nuts. He did not understand the concept. He told me. He flipped the phase at the input. He didn't hear much of a change. I told him that is correct. You will not hear much of a change that way. Because that does not change the Absolute Polarity at the output. He didn't understand. Mr. Modulation, didn't understand? I was dumbfounded. He was one of my designer/manufacturer, heroes. I had a lot of his gear. I loved his gear. He changed FM radio and TV audio. He made it much better. But he did not understand this. And I was dumbfounded by that. How could he not understand? But he couldn't. I guess he was overly Limited? I do not know? Something was wrong there. I guess he was getting senile? It happens.
And so I'm not goofing around here Bernie. This is serious. I consider this to be the biggest Technical faux pas FUCK up in Pro Audio History. And I've been wanting to present this to the, AES. Like at the New York City Conventions I attended for 41 years. Before I moved to Central, Texas. For my retirement. And that was a big mistake. But I digress.
This is something you need to look into Bernie. It's a very serious issue. And nobody knows what the heck is going on? Because they can't hear anything right. They are listening to Negative Absolute Polarity wired monitor speakers. And they don't know it. You don't know it.
Now this can really, shake a person's, psyche. When they realize. They've had this wrong their entire career lifelong. It's very embarrassing. But it was a simple naïve mistake to make. Without being able to think through. The entire process of making a recording. Because they never considered the microphone input. Or what the microphone diaphragms are doing? You don't want your speakers mimicking your microphone diaphragms. Because that's what they are all doing. That is not moving in the correct direction. That is sucking away from you. Everybody's speakers are sucking away from them. And they don't think they are? But they would be wrong.
So I write about this now in my retirement. I think it's my last Audio Mission in Life? To get everybody Polarized Positively! Because it's going to change everything. Everything! Like you are lousy acoustics in your living room. Will suddenly seem, not as lousy. Most of it will disappear. Because now.. All of the waveforms in the room. Our propagating properly. They are blending, properly together. Not causing all of these cancellations going on. With everything moving in the wrong direction. It's an amazing faux pas! A totally mindless one. Everybody has made. Because they don't know what things are supposed to sound like? I just happen to know. I learned how to listen early on in my life. How?
My mother is a former Metropolitan Opera star coloratura soprano. My father was a great violinist virtuoso and concertmaster. For some of America's finest Symphony Orchestra's. And I grew up in Motown studios. Because daddy used to play for them also. And I thought that was really cool. He hated it. He only did it for the money. And he would take me with him. Starting at 7 years of age. So I made my career decision then. In the control room. I knew I was going to do this the rest of my life and career log. I had made up my mind. Daddy corrupted me. He didn't mean to. My parents wanted me to be a musician or singer like them. To hell with that! It's a lot more fun playing with the knobs and dials. And a lot less demanding than standing on stage in front of thousands of people. I don't know how they did that? It takes a special person. They were. I would not be doing that myself. I would be behind the scenes. Where I felt safe and comfortable.
And so I've accomplished a lot. So have you Bernie. And I love your work. I always have. We both had, simple topography unbalanced wired control rooms. For obvious reasons. Because it works better that way. It sounds better. API, Op Amp Labs, Neve, Sphere and others. Made some very nice sounding op amps. Of simple topography low transistor count, circuits. And each one had their own sound. Used individually or combined together. It all works. It all sounded great.. It all had enormous headroom. And that was the real difference in the sound. All that headroom. None of this great new stuff really has anymore. They are all about 10 DB shy. And we can hear it. All the peaks lopped off. They never recorded them. They never got in. They don't know where they went? But we do. They don't understand, Gain Staging. A very important element. Because they have 24-bit! And that really don't mean much. And frequently doesn't sound like, much either. Because they are hitting them too low. They are so worried about the peaks. That they still don't get them. And they think they are. Because they adjusted everything llike the instructions told him to. So it must be right? It's right with 10 DB less headroom. They never get to hear.
But all of those old crappy recording consoles of, yore. Had gobs of headroom. Had 10-15-20 DB more headroom. And now they don't. They all go to +18 DBM. They no longer go to,, +24, +28, +30, +32 and beyond. No. That's what we used to use.
And yeah. Only on Analog Tape with about, 12 bit accuracy. 65 DB, dynamic range. And that's it. It doesn't go beyond that. It doesn't go beyond +15 over operating level. That's where analog tape stops. And gives you Saturation. Or, 3% Distortion. Of the 3rd harmonic, at 1 kHz. Not the Total Harmonic but the 3rd Harmonic. Most distortion analyzers don't do. They only do THD. That's different. And now everybody is using different standards.
I mean even Jay McKnight came up with a modified, Pre-emphasis/Deemphasis, circuit modifications. For tape recorders. Instead of the normal NAB or European CCIR, standards we've had since the beginning of time. And while his was better. No other recorder was compatible with it. And if anybody had recorded that way for archive purposes. It will never get played back properly. So that was kind of stupid. That was theoretical. And theoretical is not always practical nor a standard. We had to have Standards. There was an American Standard and the European standard. They were similar but different. And always better across the pond..
So some American studios. Felt it would be better. To use the European recording standard. And some European studios. Thought it was more bad ass. To use the American Standard. Because the grass is always greener across the pond. While it really isn't. It's just different. Ever so slightly. And some mistakes were made back in the day. Which is why some Beatles recordings of the same songs sound different on different pressings. Whoops.. Somebody decoded the European standard with the American Standard or vice versa. It happened. We all know it.. We all heard it.
(More Best in audio in following post)
In watching this informative video, I am doing penance for having been raised by the antithesis of audiophiles: audiophobes. 😶 Thanks, Ben and Thanks, Bernie!
So now you have been fully put on the leash of the audiophile sales industry. ;-)