Welcome Ex-Atlantic mastering engineer Barry Diament to the SH Forums

Hi John,

If memory serves (a big IF), the tapes were played back on a Studer tape machine. I used to carry my own cables and bypass most of the room, connecting directly from the output of the Studer to the inputs of the Sony 1630 (analog to digital converter).

Editing and master assembly were performed using Sony's DAE 1100 editor. Monitoring in those days was via a pair of Dahlquist DQ-10s, placed well out into the room, to avoid reflections from the rear and sidewalls, which were damped.

That's a basic picture of the set up in the early days at Atlantic.

Barry

 

Hi Roland,

I remember seeing a post somewhere where someone found a web page that listed (some of) my credits by album. I'm hoping they see this and provide the link again.

There is a credit listing (by artist) on the "Credits" page of my web site at:
http://www.barrydiamentaudio.com/credits.htm

Barry

 

Welcome Barry..

Thanks for the nice mastering of the original 1989 Geffen CD version of Tommy Keene's "Based On Happy Times". The Sterling LP of this digital recording sounds a bit bright and harsh but you managed to give it more of an analog-like warmth. Makes a big difference.

 

Thank you

Hi everyone,

I must say I'm honored and humbled by all the kindness coming at me here.

I'll do my best to answer questions but my current schedule being what it is, it may take me some time. (I just did a short marathon as you can see from the previous posts in this thread.)

Thank you again for all the feedback.

Barry

 

Hi Barry,

I have the original 1985 CD of Twisted Sister's "Come Out And Play" album which you apparently mastered. It says in the album credits that the LP was mastered by Bob Ludwig and Dieter Dirks at Masterdisk and that the CD was mastered by you. This CD unfortunately smells of a flat transfer from an LP dub tape. Is that in fact what it is? The sound is very flat, sterile and compressed and the LP only sounds slightly better. Maybe the original mix was not that great to begin with. Did you use the original tapes for this album? Do you remember anything about how you mastered it?

 

Hi Darles,

(Darles?)
I've searched my memory but that part of my brain is dark and fatigued and I came back with no answer. As I said in an earlier post in this thread, in the early days of CD at Atlantic, I was often instructed to use the "EQd limited master" created during vinyl mastering. This in spite of my protests and strong suggestions to use only original masters. I just don't remember this particular case so it is entirely possible that the CD was made from an EQd tape created at Masterdisk.

Also, as CD rapidly grew in popularity, many of the CD mastering jobs were farmed out because there was too much for the one-man CD mastering department of the time (guess who) to handle. Unfortunately, the art department was used to crediting me with mastering (since I was the CD "department" for a long while). I'm not sure about the Twisted Sister CD; I could have done it, perhaps from an EQ'd tape. I know I am credited with more than one CD (such as the live Yes set that sounds like it was recorded under water) where I never touched the album. (I did do other Yes CDs, just not that one.)

Hope this helps,
Barry

 

Howdy Barry,

Welcome. I'm a new guy around here myself and am pleased to be in such good company.

 

Welcome Barry Those are great ideas you're undertaking. Keep us, er, posted. Best of all luck to your efforts

 

Barry! Thanks for visiting. I love your mastering on the Led Zep CDs and prefer them greatly over the remasters. Question: I have two different versions of your early CD mastering of Physical Graffiti: one, made in the US, has the cough and noises after In the Time of My Dying, and the other, made in Japan, doesn't. My question is that disc TWO of these sets also has different timings but I didn't notice anything added or subtracted from the second CD. Did you remaster both discs when you added the version with the cough? The two sets sound slightly different to me, with the Japan version sounding flatter (not a bad thing).

Thanks also for your mastering philosophy, which sounds very much in line with Steve's in terms of not using maximization, compression, NR, and other horrors. I hear you shooting for a more natural sound, staying faithful to the tapes.

 

Hi 22dRow,

I vaguely remember the coughs on the "Physical Graffiti" master tape. I don't recall making a version without them so if my name is on such a version, it is most likely because Atlantic's art department sent cover art with my name. (They did this for a number of CDs I had nothing to do with because early on, I *was* the "CD mastering department".)

Perhaps the Japanese version was made from a CD master I'd worked on for US release and someone removed the coughs? Can't say for sure. That was long ago and those memory cells have long since left town. ;-}

Happy Listening!
Barry

 

Thanks apileocole, I will.
You might also want to sign up for email announcements at the site:
http://www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
or directly to
http://www.soundkeeperrecordings.com/subscribe.htm

Happy Listening!
Barry

 

I second that. Thanks Barry!

I got a couple of questions.
Steve said that once he masters an album, he doesn't go back and listen to them again....not even for pleasure.
Is that the same with you?

Second question:
For October by u2.....Is your mastering the best its going to be? I remember reading that MFSL wanted to do both Boy and October, but the group said the quality of the masters wasn't good enough to bother. So my question is did you have the best available tapes?

 

Barry, for the Led Zep CDs, did you use the actual "do not use" masters for all the titles or did you have to use some of the vinyl EQd limited tapes for some of them? What shape were the masters in? Was everything transferred flat?

 

If I dig the record, I listen s'more. I've still got "Simplicity" in my car, probably my most listened to record in '05. And I just finished mastering the first record for my own label and can't stop listening to that one either... I just enjoy the songs and the playing.

I can't say what the best will be for "October" or any other record. I've often felt that I can re-master older things I've done and do them better today than I did then. In fact, I could spend my life doing the same record over and over, making it (hopefully) better and better. Why? I'm not sure. Just a feeling. Some of it is better monitoring than ever before making it easier to hear "into" the recording. Also, *I'm* different than I was so that will have an effect too.
If I recall (a big IF), "October" was mastered from a U-matic tape "master". I don't believe that is the format they mixed to but who knows?

Barry

 

Hi 22dRow,

This was so long ago, I'm not sure I recall anymore. I do remember hearing there was trouble locating tapes at one point. Don't remember which I had back then.

Not every single thing was transferred flat. Although that is a wonderful ideal and one I adhere to most of the time, not every recording warrants a flat transfer. For example, if I get a master where the treble absolutely loosens your dental fillings and I can make it less painful with EQ, I don't have a problem with that. Of course the best recordings don't need EQ (or anything else) but when you consider common mic techniques, mix techniques and the "monitors" used in most studios, sometimes judicious use of EQ can make for a better final result. This is particularly true when it is clear the original engineers (apparently) couldn't hear just what they were doing. That is why honest monitoring is and always has been my number one criterion for judging a studio (or mastering room). I've found that when the engineers can hear what they're doing (unfortunately not a common thing) there is usually no need for EQ.

Audiophile trivia: In the old days (vinyl) there used to be an "audiophile" label (which will remain nameless) that claimed to do flat transfers. Having access to some of their records as well as the original tapes of their Atlantic releases, showed me their transfers were not always that. The general audiophile consensus is that EQ is bad. I would say that depends on the individual situation to which it is being applied as well as on the methods used in its application.

Hope this helps.
Barry

 

Welcome Barry. Gald to have you on board.

 

I fully agree with you about EQ. We've heard about those Altec Horn monitor speakers that were used to master music that apparently sounded good out of those speakers, but not so good from others. A good pair of ears like yours or Steve's can make a lousy mastering job sound tolerable, and a good one sound great.

Sorry for all the questions but I have more:

Do you have discography that you could share, a listing of all the CDs you mastered for Atlantic? Do you remember doing many or any "secret remasters" for them? If so, on what titles? I read your essay on Loudness Wars and wish that all the execs of all major record labels would be tied up and forced to read it. Did any of your masterings at Atlantic get rejected because they weren't loud enough, or because the client wanted NR?

 

Well now I know of two engineers who don't care for that one... if only the other one would join Barry here. WELCOME ABOARD!

 

I just listed a CD on E bay. In my description I felt I needed to mention it was mastered by Barry Diament.To me that is valuable info if I was buying.The CD was
YES -CLOSE TO THE EDGE (Japan). Excellent Sound!!
Welcome Barry

 

this is very exciting... welcome!
just steer clear of the bone threads... it gets scary in there

 

And here I have been giving you credit for that still being the best version of _Yessongs_ on CD!

I figured you had dull, higher gen tapes on that one, though I still like it and when given some volume it really comes alive. But I guess the mastering credit that appears is incorrect. I suppose we can assume someone else at Atlantic just flat transferred whatever tapes were available?

Oh well, it's still a bit better than the 1994 Gastwirt remaster and a hundred times better than the Warner-Pioneer Japan mini lp HDCD release!

 

Hi 22dRow,

Thanks for the feedback on the "Declaring An End To The Loudness Wars" article.

As to credits, there is a page on my site that lists artists and labels:
http://www.barrydiamentaudio.com/credits.htm

For particular albums, someone here once cited a link to a page with (some of) my credits by album. I hope they see this and post it again.

As to loudness in the old days, no, none were rejected because they weren't loud enough. In fact, in those early days, my CDs were considerably louder. The reason was that I was using all the room in the digital system (never compressing or limiting!) while many others were still using their VU meters as they would for analog. Using the peak meters on the digital system allowed for about 6 db more level... quite a bit.
Once folks started "the big squeeze", my CDs no longer sounded as loud. I just kept thinking of Paul Haines lyrics in that Carla Bley composition where they sang: "Better a lot, of what's wrong, than a little, of what's right."

Best regards,
Barry

 

Would love to see you have the opportunity to record and master some hybrid multi-channel SACD disks. I still have my Dahlquist DQ-10's and the best recorded SACD's sure sound sweet.

Richard.

 

Dear Barry,

once again, I would like to express my thanks to you.

First, for all the nice CD masterings we can still enjoy today, and your effort and dedication into all these projects, trying to get the best possible sound with many other people involved who probably were only in it for the fast money (why waste time on finding the right tapes when we can sell anything to the customers).

Second, for all the time you're taking to answer questions in this thread.

Simply said, you make this world a better place for many of us.

Roland

 

Hi Barry

'Yes' posts above clarity! - Did you master 'Close To The Edge' ? Your memories of this would be appreciated? Master tapes?

Thanks

- JohnN