Mastering BEACH BOYS "Pet Sounds" again, leaving the "2 db step fades" intact...

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Steve Hoffman, Jan 15, 2009.

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  1. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Why? We have spent years talking about this over and over. October, 1992, the original tape of PET SOUNDS brought over to LRS and dubbed. First, to 30 ips, with a split to digital using full track headstack. Then, two track stack, left only. Then two track headstack right only. Second, tube playback to 30 ips, with a split to digital. Took about two and one-half hours and back to warehouse. A week later the safety came over. Same thing (not taking any chances). Since the safety was on Scotch 111 it played fine but we only used one song and a few tiny bits to fix missing parts, etc., also the train ending. Yes, this is as boring as it sounds, dudes. One reason why I stopped listening to the album. Overkill.

    So, back to 1992. My girlfriend dumped me at the end of October ("you're working too much, you have no time for me!") A week later, in a mood just right to hear the album: PET SOUNDS Edited together by me to make complete songs without oxide loss, major dropouts, etc. Minor dropouts I left alone. All those little console noises and buzzing sounds on the original we just left on there (the 1990 CD "No-Noised" EVERYTHING out, even some of the music percussive bits!) Our new restored masters were used to make the DCC Gold CD and the DCC LP. Most of the songs on the old original tape were totally shot, I mean the tape had curled to the point of disaster and parts of the intros and outros of some of the songs were just clear tape, the oxide had fallen off. Why? Not from overuse but just faulty storage and careless rewinding when the reels should have been slow wound. We had to pick parts of the song that would still play using the left or right channel of a two track machine and splice the segments together in mono to get one usable track. A pain. Nothing could have been cut from the original tape. Besides the drop outs it had the wrong version of the first song and no ending of the last song. We fixed it up and this week I breezed right through it in order, in real time. Got the test today and it's perfect (for me).

    So, what do we need to know? You don't care about the fades, great. You do care but like that we left them intact, great. You are mad that we didn't fade all the songs out sooner to avoid the rough fades, oh well. At least we didn't do what they did on the old 1990 version, remix the intros and fades of all the songs to avoid the tape hiss and drop fades. That was just silly..

    You want more about this sort of stuff? Do a search! Volumes have been written here about this. Really no new info here except that I didn't help the fades at all and that the playback deck is different, the wiring is different and the A/D is different. This version will sound, er, different. Could be fun to compare but if you already have the DCC PET SOUNDS no one is asking you to run out and buy another one. But let's give the people who don't have the DCC and want to hear the original mix that Brian made A CHANCE to hear it as he heard it in the studio.
     
  2. Matthew

    Matthew Senior Member

    How were the fades done on the DCC?
     
  3. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    I don't have the DCC.

    I want to hear like Brian did in 1966 !

    Looking forward to this release !!!
     
  4. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    Where did those come from?
     
  5. Gary

    Gary Nauga Gort! Staff

    Location:
    Toronto
    I have the DCC. I want to hear like Brian did in 1966! Looking forward to this release!!

    :)

    PS And I don't think I'll give up either version!
     
  6. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Your the lucky one Gary !
     
  7. gsmile

    gsmile Forum Resident

    Steve, thanks for your above post. This is one of my favorite albums of all time, so I love reading extra information about it. I've researched the actual recording endlessly, so it's rather exciting to hear about it's evolution beyond 1966; it's almost as if the record is still a work in progress, getting some work done in 1992 and 2009. Let's forget about the horrible facelifts that it received from Capitol in the early and late nineties. Glad to hear that Steve has given it spa treatments in 92 and 09. I'm excited for the fades! I've owned a few versions of Pet Sounds, but felt that the 40th Anniversary edition was overkill. It's nice to be excited for a new version coming out that can really cut the mustard!
     
  8. dprokopy

    dprokopy Senior Member

    Location:
    Near Seattle, WA
    First person on your block? You won't even be the first person in your building to get one! :wave:
     
  9. Laservampire

    Laservampire Down with this sort of thing

    The first track and the train noises came from the safety copy, everything else came from the master.

    Cool to know that the AF Pet Sounds is from the same tape as the DCC, but using a better A/D converter, I'm really looking forward to this one! :goodie:
     
  10. AvanTodd

    AvanTodd Forum Resident

    Location:
    Alabama
    The safety, aka the NY tape.

    But Steve, what about the DCC fades? Are you saying you helped them there?
     
  11. yesstiles

    yesstiles Senior Member

    I hope not.
     
  12. Laservampire

    Laservampire Down with this sort of thing

    I'm a bit of a heretic, I prefer it to "I Know There's An Answer" :hide:
     
  13. Chris M

    Chris M Senior Member

    Hang On To Your Ego > I Know There's an Answer
     
  14. yesstiles

    yesstiles Senior Member

    Well one or the other in the original sequence is fine with me, but I don't want the same song with different lyrics tacked on to the end of the album.
     
  15. PaulT

    PaulT Spuzzum

    Location:
    B.C., Canada
    I don't think the fades will bother me. Once the CD is in my player I'll let you know. :wave:

    Interesting stuff you have posted Steve, thanks.
     
  16. dprokopy

    dprokopy Senior Member

    Location:
    Near Seattle, WA
    If "Ego" is on there, I'd hope he'd pick the group version, not the solo Brian vocal version, which was clearly just meant to be a guide for the rest of the group.
     
  17. AvanTodd

    AvanTodd Forum Resident

    Location:
    Alabama
  18. Toka

    Toka Active Member

    Well I'm just thrilled I don't have to shell out for a DCC...that the fades (and everything else) are correct is pure gravy. Already have mine pre-ordered, can't wait!
     
  19. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    According to the tracklist on the Audio Fidelity website, "Hang on to Your Ego" will be on there. Since he's using the tapes he prepared 16 years ago, it's no doubt the same version that was on the DCC. I don't understand people who complain about bonus tracks, BTW.
     
  20. Batears52

    Batears52 Senior Member

    Location:
    Near Baltimore, MD
    Steve,

    I'd like you to know that I'm very grateful that you are doing Pet Sounds again. For a lot of us who weren't "at the party" when DCC was around, this is wonderful! Those DCC CDs are hard to come by & most are just way out of our price range now when they do show up...and judging from what you've written here over the years, I know you understand.

    I imagine that it's not always easy to "revisit history" when you've done an album once...so thanks for this...and for keeping it real & authentic with those fades! Count me in!

    Dexter
     
  21. jsayers

    jsayers Just Drifting....

    Location:
    Horse Shoe, NC
    Dexter said it all for me, too. I missed out on the DCC as well, but not this time! Two copies for me!
     
  22. yesstiles

    yesstiles Senior Member

    Bummer. Why is "Hang On To Your Ego" on there as opposed to "Trombone Dixie?" TD would make much more sense.

    I'll be buying it anyway of course, and happy to.
     
  23. Chris M

    Chris M Senior Member

    I was hoping this would be a chance to get the unreleased/unbooted original mono mix of Trombone Dixie.
     
  24. Togo

    Togo Same as it ever was

    Location:
    London UK
    I love "Hang on To Your Ego" personally. :)
     
  25. +1

    Seriously, what more can be said? Steve told us how he did this album. It was nice of him to do so, I think. Most engineers go home at the end of the day satisfied in their belief that they did a good job, regardless of what the fans/listeners think. Steve is one of the few people who can go home at the end of the day and know that he did a good job regardless of what the fans or listeners think and yet he still takes the times to let us know what he did so that he can know what we think. What more could you ask for? I can ask for one thing more: MORE OF THESE RELEASES! I consider any tales from the studio a major bonus which I cherish and wish were included in the liner notes. :wave:

    Actually, to tell the truth, I wish everybody would chip in and tell us what they did so that we could read it in the liner notes.
     
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