Killer next for Hoffman

[Toronto Bob]

Well after spending a bit of time with this new Killer (just got it today), my early verdict is it's good but truthfully, aside from fixing that little crackle in BML and being about 6db louder than the original cd, the differences are so minimal, I can't say this is a major upgrade. I'd have to listen to the original Killer cd to detect all the drop out, but I haven't the time right now.

Good:
Made louder without brickwalling
minor fixes in BML and the drop out in Yeah Yeah Yeah (@2:37)
booklet is nice
gold cd looks nice

Bad:
I actually detect a hum at the very beginning of every track on Killer and SO with these SH re-masters. I ripped wavs and looked at the SA in Audition and there's something there - it was not just my imagination. Mind you it is brief and entirely inaudible once any music starts but I find it odd nonetheless

early conclusion:

If you are on a budget or cost-conscious you can easily take a pass. The original SO and Killer cds can be had for $7.99 brand new. If you weigh the nominal improvements of both titles against the cost, the original discs are a bargain.

Makes me not so excited about the possiblitly of a LITD re-master. Invaribly if it does come out I will buy it and since I feel that title, moreso than any other from the original band, could use a SQ improvement, it could be the best of the lot. We'll see.

And at the risk of beat a dead horse - these new re-masters and re-packaging would be totally worth the $25-$30 purchase price with a bonus cd of a live show from that tour with alt takes/demos, perhaps even an interview or two from the various participants.

[A_MichaelUK]

> the differences are so minimal, I can't say this is a major upgrade.

That's pretty funny considering how desperate you were for these re - mastered CDs to come out.

[Gunner]

I would like Alice to actually consider re-recording some of the ACG stuff you know. I just think that some of that stuff would sound awesome with modern treatment and modern technology. Also, what about an accoustic version of Dwight Fry for one??

[Dannorama]

I actually detect a hum at the very beginning of every track on Killer and SO with these SH re-masters. I ripped wavs and looked at the SA in Audition and there's something there - it was not just my imagination. Mind you it is brief and entirely inaudible once any music starts but I find it odd nonetheless

May I suggest that the sound you detect is inherent tape noise, unavoidable considering the analog setting they were recording in. It could be an emanation from the machinery in 1971. It could be modern aging. Either way, I think the best manner to present these flaws is to not gloss over them with fades. Just serve the clip as is. You are hearing EVERYTHING from the tape as mastered in 1971, with modern digital silence between.

Conjecture!

[Toronto Bob]

I actually detect a hum at the very beginning of every track on Killer and SO with these SH re-masters. I ripped wavs and looked at the SA in Audition and there's something there - it was not just my imagination. Mind you it is brief and entirely inaudible once any music starts but I find it odd nonetheless

May I suggest that the sound you detect is inherent tape noise, unavoidable considering the analog setting they were recording in. It could be an emanation from the machinery in 1971. It could be modern aging. Either way, I think the best manner to present these flaws is to not gloss over them with fades. Just serve the clip as is. You are hearing EVERYTHING from the tape as mastered in 1971, with modern digital silence between.

Conjecture!

Not sure what it is but it's not there on the original WB cds.

That's pretty funny considering how desperate you were for these re - mastered CDs to come out.

It wasn't desperation more like anticipation and that's simply because Steve Hoffman has a reputation that proceeds him and reading those SH forums leads one to believe that something quite special would be the end result. Overall Killer and SO are a bit better, and I like the fact that SH doesn't go along with the decade old loudness approach when it comes to re-mastering cds.

[RemarkablyInsincere]

May I suggest that the sound you detect is inherent tape noise, unavoidable considering the analog setting they were recording in. It could be an emanation from the machinery in 1971. It could be modern aging. Either way, I think the best manner to present these flaws is to not gloss over them with fades. Just serve the clip as is. You are hearing EVERYTHING from the tape as mastered in 1971, with modern digital silence between.

Conjecture!

You're probably right. Hoffman dumps the tape as is. He won't do any sort of digital editing as that would involve an additional step in the mastering process what could potentially degrade the quality (so he says).

[RemarkablyInsincere]

I went back and listened with the volume tuned up all the way on headphones at the fade... to be honest I had a hard time finding what you were talking about but eventually did hear it.

One thing that's not been mentioned is that these CDs are HDCD encoded for higher resolution than a normal regular CD. I know this won't matter to most of you but it is worth mentioning.

[Rocketdog]

I've been wondering if these were going to be worth picking up, or not, so I appreciate everyone's input.

Billion Dollar Baby - I get where you are coming from. To me, if you are going to go to the trouble of re-mastering something, then there should be a noticeable difference in audio quality/clarity/definition, or what's the point? And you don't need to fall victim to bad aspects of the "loudness wars" to do so, either. A good example is the new Beatles re-masters, which sound amazing compared to the original CD releases, and don't use any of the processes that compromise the audio quality.

Another company that's been doing a pretty fantastic job with re-masters is Rock Candy (mainly the work of Jon Astley). Their recent re-masters of the UFO catalog sound exactly like what you're looking for in a re-issue - great overall sound improvement, bonus tracks of live & unreleased material, and expanded booklets that also feature the original album artwork, too.

So, aside from a slightly cleaner sound, and the "Gold disc" aspect, I'm not so sure what makes these worth checking out. The main thing you're paying extra for is the "gold disc", which automatically adds another $5 to $10 to the price. Otherwise, I'm sure these would be the same price as any standard CD. That and the fact that they have to license the music from WEA/Rhino, so they need to recoup some of that money, too. I wish I could actually hear them side by side, myself, before I decided to buy, but there's not really an easy (or legal) way to do that.

I'll probably end up getting them anyway, but money is tight these days. That's four other CD's worth of music I could be buying instead of two, that really, I already own anyway.