My Review of SPLAT!

Deep Purple and family
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21

I believe that Bob has no hearing problem, and that he consciously mixed the album that way.

It is a fact that modern records have lost dynamics in favor of volume, with compression, but keep in mind that the compression of the final Master is done by the mastering engineer, and not the sound engineer.

So the ultimate responsibility for the sound of a record lies with the mastering engineer, whether he worked according to Bob’s instructions is another matter entirely, but we can never know, we can only speculate.

maybe Bob’s final mix had a lot more dynamics than the final product!
indeed, it certainly is!

22

Flavio,

Have no doubt that if we were allowed presence in that magnificent Nashville studio, we would have heard an excellent sound quality with dynamics and crispness to spare. And Bob is of course no fool. The (very real) “tired ears” issue is solved by having a dedicated mix engineer in the team.

It is indeed the mastering stage that squashes all previous work on commission by the record label (in this case EDEL) and not the band, who couldn’t care less about the technical side and usually never listens to the released product.

In this world of multi format [fun and games] galore, I don’t understand why they don’t just release an unmastered or high DR version, even if its just a download, but who the hell knows…

As it stands, that’s what we have (unless someone leaks the multitracks one day).

Regards, J.-

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23

It would be a medical miracle if a 77 year old man who has worked in the music business all of his life had no hearing problems at all. :slight_smile:

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This is also true!
of course it is one thing to have lost high frequencies on the equal-tone curve of the ear, another thing is to be deaf!
I would like to hope that a sound engineer with severe hearing problems retires, just as much as an airplane pilot with vision problems!

25

Again off-topic-ish,

People like Bob Ezrin and Tony Visconti (to mention two star producers) usually “design” or “direct” the mix, leaving the implementation mechanics (i.e. the boring stuff) to their trusted assistant or staff engineer (fresh ears).

Whatever high concept Ezrin designed for the mix, is at mercy of the following steps like mastering and streaming platform compression.

The audio industry aims for the lowest common denominator which apparently is “people now listen to music on their phones”.

You can hear it on the new Iommi single too…And the new Dan Byrne…And on and on…

My [compressed-into-one-coin] two cents.

J.-

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26

This means nothing because the headphones through which people are listening can be literally anything – from disposable $5 pair, to $1000 open-air studio cans.

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27

Exactly,

You are right.

Secret

By the way, the album sounds great to me, not complaining :slight_smile:

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28

I don’t agree that the compression put on in mastering is the sole issue - having been involved in the mixing of three of my own projects, and being about to be involved mix my fourth project starting this week, how you mix actually affects the sound of the master. While putting brick wall limiting and tons of compression on masters certainly doesn’t help, mastering can only accentuate what’s already there. How you mix a song, and how much compression you use in a mix, greatly affects the master - once it’s baked into the cake so to speak, there’s only so much a mastering engineer can do with the mix that’s given to them.

With that in mind, Bob has likely made some conscious choices to make things louder and more compressed in the mix on purpose - he’s following modern mixing trends, not just modern mastering trends. Mastering is like putting icing on the cake - sure, if there’s too much icing, it can be overly sweet, but if the cake’s not baked right, not even a heaping amount of icing can save that cake.

The problems start with how the album is mixed, the amount of compression used in mixing, and they only compound from there if you use brick wall limiting and even more compression in mastering. This idea that it’s mastering alone that’s ruining the sound of records is only a half truth - mix engineers are also to blame for following loudness trends.

Sorry, but for me it starts with Bob and his choices and ends with them. It ain’t just on the mastering engineer!

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29

I disagree Mike:

You can have a very dynamic mix, but if the mastering engineer compresses and maximizes everything too much, the waveform that was once airy will become absolutely squashed afterwards.

Sure, the mix may already be compressed, but mastering can be disastrous.
which then depends on the point of view, I’m not shocked by overly compressed waveforms, it’s a trend that has been going on for 30 years now

30

Flavio, I agree this can happen, it happens alot, and I didn’t deny that it was or might be happening here - I think it’s a case of too much compression in both the mix and the master. You think it’s a case of a good mix being ruined by a terrible mastering job.

I don’t have that much faith in Bob Ezrin as a mixer, but I’ll tell you what I think the truth is:

There’s no bloody way to tell from the waveform of the master if the compression issues started in the mix like I believe they do or if it was a case of a good mix being ruined by a crappy mastering job like you do.

The reason I think the issues are in the mix itself is I believe Bob has not carved out space for the instruments on purpose - he wants it louder, compressed, with most of the instruments hogging for the mid range on purpose, because that’s the sound of a modern rock record these days.

Can you completely fuck up a mix with a ton of space by squashing everything? Yeah you can, but I would suggest that the ground work has already been laid previously by Bob - he has to mix with a certain idea and an intention in mind. Because he is producing, he would instruct his engineers, as well as the mastering engineer, how he wants the record to sound, as that is his job as producer.

Even if the mastering engineer slaps on a butt ton of compression and squashes everything to high hell, it’s at Bob’s direction more than likely.

Are you suggesting that the squashed, compressed sound of recent Purple records is entirely on the mastering engineer?

Because I honestly think that ignores the fact that Bob has to be providing some direction here, it’s part of his job. At the very least, the final master wouldn’t get by Bob without final approval, and if he approves, that means the sound they’ve gone for is in line with his sonic vision for the record, which again suggests a much less dynamic mix than you give Bob credit for.

I understand where you’re coming from, and the reason I don’t agree is because Bob has to be approving stuff throughout multiple steps in the process. The master suggests his intentions in the mix, which is much less dynamic, and much more loud. Given that Bob has done similar mixing and sound concepts for the recent Alice Cooper records, that would suggest that Bob wants the audio super compressed and squashed as that is now his sound as a producer across multiple artists these days.

I know you want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but honestly the guy hasn’t produced a good, dynamic sounding record since maybe the Division Bell, and that was probably because David Gilmour put his foot down where sound quality was concerned. Even The Wall had James Guthrie at the mix desk - you’re giving Bob far too much credit, as I don’t think he’s really produced dynamic sounding mixes overall, at least not since the mid 90s, and even then I think Floyd was the exception, not the rule.

None of the old 70s Alice Cooper or Kiss records sound very good or dynamic, from what I’ve heard of them. I just don’t think the guy is very good when it comes to mixing and sound design, although he is a great producer and a stellar arranger. I rest my case.

31

A little comedy animation re Tony Visconti being ‘left out’ in the producers role in dealing with David Bowie and Brian Eno in the studio.

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The shopping list!!!

:rofl: :rofl:

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No Mike, don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t expressing an opinion on how the mixing and mastering of Splat went,
I was just pointing out that the dynamics of a mix can ALSO be lost during the mastering phase.

It was a purely technical note that does not want to speculate on how Splat was made.

What I certainly appreciate about Purple’s latest albums is the “width” of the sound, even if compared to Purpendicular the latter sounds much “narrower”.

surely with compression an already “dense” album like Splat (thanks to Don’s arrangements) becomes even denser, and this can be liked or not.

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34

And yet we failed to see the obvious…

Lars was present in the studio!!!

Maybe he gave some mix suggestions to Bob? :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

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Anyway, it looks like the thread has gone to shit :sweat_smile:

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36

It’s weird when the credits say Bob Ezrin mixed the album, and then further on in the credits two engineers as listed as mixers too.

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What also caught my eye is the mention of up and coming “Simon McBride” as an additional engineer…Surely a new talent in the audio industry? :smiley:

Let’s keep an eye on that dude…

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He mentioned that in one of the interviews. He had to do some minor overdubs at home, naturally “engineering” himself.

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39

Thanks!

Well, he clearly knows about the forum, since he avoided mixing or mastering :smiley:

40

I understand you more clearly now - I’d never noticed the narrowness of the mix in Purpendicular before, now I shall have to listen to a track from it and Splat and see what I think!