Recovering not so well mastered retail CDs

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Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

Is there a way to get the audio files of those not well mastered CDs
into your DAW, tweak them with EQ etc, and get rid of the harshness in
their sound? For example, I re-discovered an old favorite CD,
SuperTramp's Brother Where You Bound. I used to listen to it allot on my
cassette made from the CD. Obviously, recording to cassette did allot to
qwell it's high end harshness. My cassette deck has long since been
retired and I'd like to listen to and enjoy the CD now. When listening,
there's that high-midrange sound, I guess you might describe it as some
digital filter used in the mastering process that produced allot of
audible ringing.

I've transferred the audio data to my DAW and I'm ready to fire up Cool
Edit to tweak the files. Any suggestions?

TIA

CD

 

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Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

"Codifus" <codifus@optonline.net> wrote in message
news:cj6hjr$2upc$3@news.interpublic.com...
> Is there a way to get the audio files of those not well mastered CDs
> into your DAW, tweak them with EQ etc, and get rid of the harshness in
> their sound? For example, I re-discovered an old favorite CD,
> SuperTramp's Brother Where You Bound. I used to listen to it allot on my
> cassette made from the CD. Obviously, recording to cassette did allot to
> qwell it's high end harshness. My cassette deck has long since been
> retired and I'd like to listen to and enjoy the CD now. When listening,
> there's that high-midrange sound, I guess you might describe it as some
> digital filter used in the mastering process that produced allot of
> audible ringing.
>
> I've transferred the audio data to my DAW and I'm ready to fire up Cool
> Edit to tweak the files. Any suggestions?

Fiddle, sure. Maybe it will satisfy you more to send it out thru a
cassette loop ! It could be that you a just accustomed to heaing the
'filtered' vesion.

However, many of the early digital recodings were somewhat harsh and glary,
probably due to the poor anti-alias filtering. I don't think tonal
correction can fix this.

I also have BWYB (plus ALL other supertramp CDs and most of the LPs)

geoff

PS - Two words ; " a lot".

 

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Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

Geoff Wood wrote:
> "Codifus" <codifus@optonline.net> wrote in message
> news:cj6hjr$2upc$3@news.interpublic.com...
>
>>Is there a way to get the audio files of those not well mastered CDs
>>into your DAW, tweak them with EQ etc, and get rid of the harshness in
>>their sound? For example, I re-discovered an old favorite CD,
>>SuperTramp's Brother Where You Bound. I used to listen to it allot on my
>>cassette made from the CD. Obviously, recording to cassette did allot to
>>qwell it's high end harshness. My cassette deck has long since been
>>retired and I'd like to listen to and enjoy the CD now. When listening,
>>there's that high-midrange sound, I guess you might describe it as some
>>digital filter used in the mastering process that produced allot of
>>audible ringing.
>>
>>I've transferred the audio data to my DAW and I'm ready to fire up Cool
>>Edit to tweak the files. Any suggestions?
>
>
> Fiddle, sure. Maybe it will satisfy you more to send it out thru a
> cassette loop ! It could be that you a just accustomed to heaing the
> 'filtered' vesion.
>
> However, many of the early digital recodings were somewhat harsh and glary,
> probably due to the poor anti-alias filtering. I don't think tonal
> correction can fix this.
>
> I also have BWYB (plus ALL other supertramp CDs and most of the LPs)
>
> geoff
>
> PS - Two words ; " a lot".
>
>
It would be nice if BWYB was released on vinyl. That's a shame, really.
CD

 

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Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

"Codifus" <codifus@optonline.net> wrote in message
news:cj6hjr$2upc$3@news.interpublic.com

> Is there a way to get the audio files of those not well mastered CDs
> into your DAW, tweak them with EQ etc, and get rid of the harshness in
> their sound?

To some degree.

>For example, I re-discovered an old favorite CD,
> SuperTramp's Brother Where You Bound. I used to listen to it allot on
> my cassette made from the CD. Obviously, recording to cassette did
> allot to qwell it's high end harshness. My cassette deck has long
> since been retired and I'd like to listen to and enjoy the CD now.

> When listening, there's that high-midrange sound, I guess you might
> describe it as some digital filter used in the mastering process that
> produced allot of audible ringing.

So fire up one of the graphic equalizers in CoolEdit and put a dip where
there is now a peak in the high-midrange sound. Or better yet, use a
parametric and tune its frequency, Q, and amplitude until things sound
better?

> I've transferred the audio data to my DAW and I'm ready to fire up
> Cool Edit to tweak the files. Any suggestions?

First, learn about the connection between certain kinds of equalization and
certain sounds. You might start out with CE's simplest equalizer, and just
adjust the sliders and see which kinds of audible changes the various bands
make. As your ears and fingers get more and more in synch, progress to the
other equalizers that have more sliders.

 

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Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

"Codifus" <codifus@optonline.net> wrote in message > >
> It would be nice if BWYB was released on vinyl. That's a shame, really.
> CD

I'm sure that I have it on vinyl (somewhere in a carton in my garage) and
CD.

geoff

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

In article <cj6hjr$2upc$3@news.interpublic.com>, codifus@optonline.net
says...
>
>
>Is there a way to get the audio files of those not well mastered CDs
>into your DAW, tweak them with EQ etc, and get rid of the harshness in
>their sound? For example, I re-discovered an old favorite CD,
>SuperTramp's Brother Where You Bound. I used to listen to it allot on my
>cassette made from the CD. Obviously, recording to cassette did allot to
>qwell it's high end harshness. My cassette deck has long since been
>retired and I'd like to listen to and enjoy the CD now. When listening,
>there's that high-midrange sound, I guess you might describe it as some
>digital filter used in the mastering process that produced allot of
>audible ringing.
>
>I've transferred the audio data to my DAW and I'm ready to fire up Cool
>Edit to tweak the files. Any suggestions?

I use a bit of multiband upward expansion to alleviate excessive
compression and peak limiting -- it can really put some life back into
the sound. Depending on where you set the thresholds of the compresors,
you can also affect the spectral balance.

Of course, static EQ can also be helpful when CDs have "chalk on the
blackboard" highs.

I use DC6 for resotrations.

http/www.tracertek.com/dc6.htm