5150 & OU812 Boosted Help to Restore the Rock

AT · 05.15.07, 04:23 PM

The 5150 and OU812 albums have rarely seen playing time in and around my environments anymore, as I love both but am always disappointed at the quality (or lack thereof) of them on CD. The selected tracks remastered for the Best Of and Best Of Both Worlds CDs are a good representation of what could be. I still hold out hope for Hagar-era VH remasters. In the meantime, as I am both a musician and recording engineer for a living, I'd recently given thought to doing some informal remastering of 5150 and OU812 (I recall someone around the Links doing the same a while back). Last night I did just that. I loaded both albums into one of my audio programs and found some basic EQ and compression settings that would work for each album, respectively. (The settings I ended up with were not all that much different than the average "Loudness" setting in some consumer programs.) I burned both to disc, and today I was FINALLY able to rock out again in my car to "Summer Nights," "5150," "Mine All Mine," "A.F.U.," and the like. I highly recommend doing the same to these two neglected CDs!

**C5150** · 05.15.07, 04:55 PM

Please post them so that we can all enjoy them! It always sucked having to turn up the bass on the EQ just for 0u812!
Thanks!

**vhrocker** · 05.15.07, 06:01 PM

**snare812** · 05.15.07, 07:32 PM

No offense bro. Thats pretty cool that we can do that sort of thing these days but I like them just the way they are. I think "remasters" are bullshit. It's fucking with art. 5150 sounds like 1986 and OU812 sounds like 1988. I love it.

My opinion. No shitting on anyones parade...just speaking my mind. I really hope they "don't" remaster those 2...

leave em alone.

any else with me?

rock on.

AT · 05.16.07, 12:53 AM

Originally Posted by snare812

No offense bro. Thats pretty cool that we can do that sort of thing these days but I like them just the way they are. I think "remasters" are bullshit. It's fucking with art. 5150 sounds like 1986 and OU812 sounds like 1988. I love it.

My opinion. No shitting on anyones parade...just speaking my mind. I really hope they "don't" remaster those 2...

leave em alone.

any else with me?

rock on.

I like the basis of your argument, but I don't agree with it. The reason why is simple: 5150 and OU812 were mastered in 1986 and 1988, respectively, for the album and cassette format; CDs were still in their infancy and not completely understood from an engineering perspective. Thus, the final Donn Landee mixes of the songs on both albums do not reach their sonic potential on Compact Disc--and I would even argue that in their current state on CD we in fact lose the full spectrum originally created in the studio. A CD--as was touted in the early days of--has the ability to deliver a very precise sonic representation of the recording and mix if all is balanced and treated properly for the digital format in the mastering process. 5150 and OU812 were mastered for an analog format. A remaster won't change anything about the original performance, production, recording, or mix of the songs, but rather enhance them.

**Raldo** · 05.16.07, 04:09 AM

Originally Posted by AndrewThomas.net

I like the basis of your argument, but I don't agree with it. The reason why is simple: 5150 and OU812 were mastered in 1986 and 1988, respectively, for the album and cassette format; CDs were still in their infancy and not completely understood from an engineering perspective. Thus, the final Donn Landee mixes of the songs on both albums do not reach their sonic potential on Compact Disc--and I would even argue that in their current state on CD we in fact lose the full spectrum originally created in the studio. A CD--as was touted in the early days of--has the ability to deliver a very precise sonic representation of the recording and mix if all is balanced and treated properly for the digital format in the mastering process. 5150 and OU812 were mastered for an analog format. A remaster won't change anything about the original performance, production, recording, or mix of the songs, but rather enhance them.

I agree with this. If you listen to the first CD's that came out, they sound very soft. Put in Fair Warning (1981) and then the remastered Fair Warning. Huge difference. I love the way 'Dreams' sounds on Best of Both Worlds. The sound is so much bigger.

**Double Down** · 05.16.07, 04:16 AM

Originally Posted by snare812

No offense bro. Thats pretty cool that we can do that sort of thing these days but I like them just the way they are. I think "remasters" are bullshit. It's fucking with art. 5150 sounds like 1986 and OU812 sounds like 1988. I love it.

My opinion. No shitting on anyones parade...just speaking my mind. I really hope they "don't" remaster those 2...

leave em alone.

any else with me?

rock on.

No offense, but I think you're crazy. Anything to improve the sound quality is fine by me. I happen to think OU812 is one of the worst sounding albums I've got. There's no balls to it at all. I love the album, but the quality is piss-poor.

About a year ago somebody around here remastered OU812 and posted it. Maybe he'll see this thread and do it again.

**Bad to the Bone** · 05.16.07, 04:29 AM

I never thought they sounded that bad until I found this site and everyone was bitching about them, I still don't think they sound that bad but compared to Carnal Knowledge and Balance and RHRN for that matter they do sound not so great. The remasters on BOBW do sound fantastic, black n Blue just sounds awsome on it as does FSG, I can't figure out for the life of me why they have not remastered these 2 disks, they would make a killing just from hardcore fans.

Andrew, something I was thinking about last week, I don't know anything about the programs you used but how effective could they be in cleaning up I want some action? Could you remove the "fuzz" and bring the vocals up in the mix so I can tell what the hell Sam is saying? How clean could you get that song?

**Gypsy King** · 05.16.07, 04:33 AM

Originally Posted by Double Down

I happen to think OU812 is one of the worst sounding albums I've got. There's no balls to it at all. I love the album, but the quality is piss-poor.

I have got to agree 100% with you on this. OU812 had so much potential to be a great album if it had a more ballsy sound.

I remember sitting in the back of one of my classes in high school (Spring '88) and using my headphones to listen to Metallica's Master of Puppets. Afterward, I would listen to OU812. I remember thinking that the sound on that album is just too thin.

AT · 05.16.07, 10:31 AM

Originally Posted by Bad to the Bone

Andrew, something I was thinking about last week, I don't know anything about the programs you used but how effective could they be in cleaning up I want some action? Could you remove the "fuzz" and bring the vocals up in the mix so I can tell what the hell Sam is saying? How clean could you get that song?

I don't know how significant of an improvement could actually be made. There's ways to isolate some of the frequencies of noise and/or specifically go in and doctor up each bit of it, and the general vocal frequencies can be boosted to help bring out Sam slightly. Honestly, though, I don't think it will really improve things that much. You probably got a several-generations-down boot of what was originally just a rough mix. (IWSA was never fully completed, right?) If there's someone out there with more patience than me, perhaps they could take a stab at it.

AT · 05.16.07, 10:36 AM

By the way...

Regarding the requests to post the "remasters," I purged the files from my computer right after burning the CDs. I have all the settings from what I did saved, however. So if someone can suggest a way for me to post MP3s that won't get my ass sued, let me know. After taking in 5150 and OU812 in their re-done format now for a couple of days, I think OU812 still needs some work. (Damn that album just has no MA!!) So I'll probably dig through the lower frequencies on that one a bit more if I do indeed go back and do them again.

**chefcraig** · 05.16.07, 11:35 AM

Hey Andrew, did you find evidence yet that Mike (or anyone for that matter) layed down any bass tracks on OU812?

**pancho** · 05.22.07, 11:26 AM

I'm in a grey area on this arguement cause I love progression and some things updated would be awesome,, would love to hear OU812 and 5150 with more aggressive bass and kick drum to it.. BUT they are like a time capsule also ... this is how they were presented to us and it's how Donn Landee heard the boys... so it's kind of like going back in time to enjoy something,, when u do it .. it's not what you wished for ya know? And to be honest a truely good sound system,, the master DOES NOT matter the system makes up for the lack of "balls" trust me, I have an Onkyo THX home theater system with dipole surrounds.. those albums sound DAMN GOOD through my system,, so best advice.. if you dont like what your hearing.. change the way your hearing it first or change the delivery of the sound. In my system 5150 sounds as good bass wise as balance

**pancho** · 05.22.07, 11:30 AM

And to clarify from my above post. I'm not trying to rip anyone and their tastes or sound system... just saying is all,, OU812 sounds A LOT different and less aggressive in my car then it does on my home theater that has THX and timbre matching and correction abilities to it..

**Gypsy King** · 05.22.07, 11:42 AM

Originally Posted by pancho

And to clarify from my above post. I'm not trying to rip anyone and their tastes or sound system... just saying is all,, OU812 sounds A LOT different and less aggressive in my car then it does on my home theater that has THX and timbre matching and correction abilities to it..

Agreed. However, in an earlier post I was referring to when I used to sneak listenings of OU812 during my 11th grade French classes (Spring '88). Walkman's weren't very accomodating for sound modification.