| Adam Baboolal 25.11.2014 17:54 |
Over the last week or so, I've been heavily adjusting my project studio. So, today, I wanted to listen to some tracks from various artists. Anyway, at some point, I realised I had the Hungarian Rhapsody CDs that came with the bluray. So, I decided to have a listen. Well...I'm baffled. Compared to every other Queen release (including Rainbow), it sounds so...shit. I haven't heard another CD/FLAC file tonight that seemed as bad (not counting bootlegs!). Am I alone on this feeling? I'm genuinely curious to hear what people thought of the CD release. |
| The Real Wizard 25.11.2014 18:12 |
There's a bit of the loudness war thing going on, but I still think it sounds phenomenal overall. My only beef with it is the added delay effects in Dust. That's not how it sounded at the show. Other than that it's fantastic. It sounds way better than the Wembley shows - and there are just about no overdubs. It's probably as close to the real thing an official release of a complete Queen concert will sound. Bri's guitar tone off the top of One Vision is just massive ! |
| Doga 25.11.2014 18:14 |
^ Agree. Hungarian Rhapsody sounds great, much better than Wembley. And the band was in top form that night, so everything is perfect. |
| Adam Baboolal 25.11.2014 19:16 |
Hmm...interesting. Here's what I'm hearing: (Note: using One Vision as the basis) Fairly low volume overall, lacking in high-end detail, Freddie was fairly compressed (low dynamics), Brian's guitar seemed pretty flat (lacking high-end detail), drums during middle part sound very boomy and Deacon's bass sounds weird/weak (perhaps lacking some high-mids??). Honestly, I wouldn't start a topic if I didn't think this was easily explainable, i.e. my room is the problem. However, I've listened to loads of different albums, modern and old, and they all sound very good. HR 86 is the one that stands out. As a test, I stuck a basic EQ on it and did think it was better. I checked it on my headphone monitoring stuff, too. Mind you, it didn't sound quite as bad on there. But again, I added the same EQ and it made things a little more defined overall. Although, I should say, there's some serious low-end on the HR release, so maybe that's the problem. I should probably finish my bass trapping before judging it too harshly. Still, it is the only album I've heard today that sounded weird. Heck, even some bassy electronica was good in here! lol |
| The Real Wizard 25.11.2014 19:57 |
If everything's missing highs to mids, maybe it's just your setup. Fiddle with the EQ a bit, tis all. |
| winterspelt 25.11.2014 22:44 |
Could it be possible that the mix/eq on the CD is different than the mix/eq in another version...? I remember people in Mexico used to buy CD's from the USA as they had better sound and overall quality. And you have to believe me, the sound was flat and horrible in mexican cd's while the imported ones had an amazing sound! I dont know if that happened in another countries... |
| Viper 26.11.2014 03:13 |
IMHO Budapest release is very nice. It's no Rainbow but better than Wembley. The guitar is not so loud and they manage a great performance with few overdubs. The overall volume is very low though. |
| cmsdrums 26.11.2014 04:59 |
I'm with the majority here in thinking that the Budapest mix is pretty good - far better than the original release on VHS, and far better than the Wembley audio. MK Bowl all sounds ok apart from the drums, but the appalling drum sound and clarity on that brings the whole mix down for me. Montreal and Rainbow audio mixes still rule for me, but I don't really have an issue with Budapest. Now if they can just sort out a decent Rio or Japan 85 audio mix then I'll be happy!! |
| jondickens1 26.11.2014 07:29 |
I'm not too sure about the mix. Yes it's better than the vhs but for me it's a bit bassy and I feel Brian's guitar is a bit too low in the mix. Brian's guitar sounds quite thin and tinny at the beginning of Tie your mother down to compared to say Wembley. I'd love a mix like Under pressure was done on the Knebworth mix of Under Pressure rah mix single release. That for me is spot on. |
| cmsdrums 26.11.2014 07:32 |
That's strange, as I've always found Brian's guitar on Wembley to be at its worst, and very 'thin' compared to other mixes! |
| ColMan 26.11.2014 07:59 |
Hungary sound so low and Wembley is so high. |
| Adam Baboolal 26.11.2014 08:27 |
cmsdrums wrote: That's strange, as I've always found Brian's guitar on Wembley to be at its worst, and very 'thin' compared to other mixes!The reason you think that is due to Brian's guitar set-up on that particular gig. He used a line driver which altered his sound. It's not a mixing alteration - That's just how his guitar sounded on the day. Back to HR... I'm listening again and it seems better than yesterday. That makes me think one of two things; 1. I may have had ear fatigue after listening through other material or 2. I did feel a little ill later (maybe flu), so maybe it was clouding things. That middle drum bit in One Vision still sounds very messy, but I think I can say with some confidence that that's probably my room. It's not fully treated with bass trapping yet. Anyway, my bad! Seems it's a lot better than I gave it credit for, so I'll be listening through it today :) |
| Oscar J 26.11.2014 08:32 |
cmsdrums wrote: I'm with the majority here in thinking that the Budapest mix is pretty good - far better than the original release on VHS, and far better than the Wembley audio. MK Bowl all sounds ok apart from the drums, but the appalling drum sound and clarity on that brings the whole mix down for me. Montreal and Rainbow audio mixes still rule for me, but I don't really have an issue with Budapest. Now if they can just sort out a decent Rio or Japan 85 audio mix then I'll be happy!! Not particularly fond of the hi-hat sound in Montreal - not sure what it is, but its sound is very sharp and hasn't got much body to it. |
| The Real Wizard 26.11.2014 10:19 |
Adam Baboolal wrote: The reason you think that is due to Brian's guitar set-up on that particular gig. He used a line driver which altered his sound.Yeah, I always thought his tone is thinner on that one particular day than not only the rest of the Magic shows, but any other show he's ever played. Can you elaborate any more on the techie details? (what in the world was he thinking!?) |
| The Real Wizard 26.11.2014 10:20 |
cmsdrums wrote: Now if they can just sort out a decent Rio or Japan 85 audio mix then I'll be happy!!Nah, I'd still pass. Anything 1976-79 for me, please. Unless they miraculously find the Brussels 84 audio to go with that newly discovered video footage. |
| The Real Wizard 26.11.2014 10:39 |
jondickens1 wrote: I'm not too sure about the mix. Yes it's better than the vhs but for me it's a bit bassy and I feel Brian's guitar is a bit too low in the mix. Brian's guitar sounds quite thin and tinny at the beginning of Tie your mother down to compared to say Wembley. I'd love a mix like Under pressure was done on the Knebworth mix of Under Pressure rah mix single release. That for me is spot on.I wasn't crazy about the drum sound, like with the Bowl release. The snare was way too big and compressed. But indeed, it otherwise sounded great. |
| Adam Baboolal 26.11.2014 12:52 |
The Real Wizard wrote:lol I see we've been here before - linkAdam Baboolal wrote: The reason you think that is due to Brian's guitar set-up on that particular gig. He used a line driver which altered his sound.Yeah, I always thought his tone is thinner on that one particular day than not only the rest of the Magic shows, but any other show he's ever played. Can you elaborate any more on the techie details? (what in the world was he thinking!?) I'll try to keep my eye out for a better explanation on the Line Driver thingy. It may have been a Pete Cornish type. I'll reply again if I find out. |
| freddies bell end 26.11.2014 15:00 |
The Real Wizard wrote:cmsdrums wrote: Now if they can just sort out a decent Rio or Japan 85 audio mix then I'll be happy!!Nah, I'd still pass. Anything 1976-79 for me, please. Unless they miraculously find the Brussels 84 audio to go with that newly discovered video footage. |
| GinjaNinja 26.11.2014 15:01 |
The Real Wizard wrote:Doesn't seem likely, here are some quotes on the Hammer To Fall video from Rhys Thomas' AMA on reddit a few years ago:cmsdrums wrote: Now if they can just sort out a decent Rio or Japan 85 audio mix then I'll be happy!!Nah, I'd still pass. Anything 1976-79 for me, please. Unless they miraculously find the Brussels 84 audio to go with that newly discovered video footage. "Lots of audience shots but no audio. It is a fabulous video, one of the best and looks stunning. Lots of amazing unused shots" "The full concert does not exist. Shooting on film was very expensive." link |
| freddies bell end 26.11.2014 15:01 |
freddies bell end wrote:The Real Wizard wrote:What exists of Brussels 1984?cmsdrums wrote: Now if they can just sort out a decent Rio or Japan 85 audio mix then I'll be happy!!Nah, I'd still pass. Anything 1976-79 for me, please. Unless they miraculously find the Brussels 84 audio to go with that newly discovered video footage. |
| Adam Baboolal 26.11.2014 15:16 |
Just heard Brian's solo on Crazy Little Thing - wow, his timing was a weeeee bit off, wasn't it! |
| MercurialFreddie 26.11.2014 15:22 |
GinjaNinja wrote:/QUOTEThe Real Wizard wrote:Doesn't seem likely, here are some quotes on the Hammer To Fall video from Rhys Thomas' AMA on reddit a few years ago: "Lots of audience shots but no audio. It is a fabulous video, one of the best and looks stunning. Lots of amazing unused shots" "The full concert does not exist. Shooting on film was very expensive." http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/yywu6/iama_rhys_thomas_freddie_mercury_documentarycmsdrums wrote: Now if they can just sort out a decent Rio or Japan 85 audio mix then I'll be happy!!Nah, I'd still pass. Anything 1976-79 for me, please. Unless they miraculously find the Brussels 84 audio to go with that newly discovered video footage. If it's true what they claim (that every show was recorded from 74 onwards [audio-only]) then they only have to dig into their audio live archive, and synch the tape with those shots. |
| The Real Wizard 27.11.2014 11:13 |
Ha, I knew this chat had happened, but I'd like to know more about that awful device !! |
| The Real Wizard 27.11.2014 12:14 |
MercurialFreddie wrote:Exactly what I was thinking. If any of the songs on the film are complete, then surely their two-track board tape could be good enough to include some of it in a box set some day.GinjaNinja wrote:If it's true what they claim (that every show was recorded from 74 onwards [audio-only]) then they only have to dig into their audio live archive, and synch the tape with those shots.The Real Wizard wrote:Doesn't seem likely, here are some quotes on the Hammer To Fall video from Rhys Thomas' AMA on reddit a few years ago: "Lots of audience shots but no audio. It is a fabulous video, one of the best and looks stunning. Lots of amazing unused shots" "The full concert does not exist. Shooting on film was very expensive." http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/yywu6/iama_rhys_thomas_freddie_mercury_documentarycmsdrums wrote: Now if they can just sort out a decent Rio or Japan 85 audio mix then I'll be happy!!Nah, I'd still pass. Anything 1976-79 for me, please. Unless they miraculously find the Brussels 84 audio to go with that newly discovered video footage. Oh, sweet optimism... |
| The Real Wizard 27.11.2014 12:18 |
Adam Baboolal wrote: Just heard Brian's solo on Crazy Little Thing - wow, his timing was a weeeee bit off, wasn't it!Ha, wow ... good catch. An extreme rarity for Brian. Everyone has their flaws, but his timing is not one of them. |
| Adam Baboolal 27.11.2014 12:48 |
Yeah, Brian's usually one of those players that is either pretty dead-on or quite relaxed. But dang, I must've missed that solo when I saw it at the cinema. |
| Doga 27.11.2014 13:46 |
Mr. Thomas is a gold mine, some excerpts of his little talk two years ago. (about Knebworth) There is little. Only a few songs as seen on Magic years and some TV footage of One Vision. A fan filmed the whole lot which is on youtube, filming the screens (about 70's gigs) All of these things will come out one day, I am sure. We are discussing what do do next. Probably an early years DVD - Rainbow/Hammersmith 75 and maybe Hyde Park. Just discussions. Not confirmed. (about Hammer to Fall video) Lots of audience shots but no audio. It is a fabulous video, one of the best and looks stunning. Lots of amazing unused shots. Can't wait to do a 2013 re-edit like 'Barcelona.' Same applies for 'Princes of the Universe.' Lots of takes that were great (where clips of highlander were inserted instead). The full concert does not exist. SHooting on film was very expensive. (about videos) We tried to obtain a lot of these for this documentary but many of the original rushes are lost or destroyed. Very frustrating. However, all video rushes with the exception of Scandal, Headlong, The Miracle, Hard Life, body Language and Breakthu exits in HD so will be fun to do something with those. (about Harris documentary) Basically all the filming had been completed but nothing assembled. So lots of footage of the band but it had no linking device. We found the whole thing which hadn't been touched for 30 years. We almost wet ourselves watching it through. There is still a lot more in glorious HD that one day we plan to finish of and release, perhaps to accompany some shows from that 77 US tour. (about Budapest) Sadly we wanted to remaster all of the bonus footage into HD, the filming around Budapest etc filmed by DoRO but a lot of this film no longer exists. It looks and sounds stunning though. (about Rainbow) There are two nights of the Rainbow 74 shows, November gigs (when Killer Queen was the hit of the moment). The sound is not good on one of the nights but you could cut the two shows together and make a brilliant single Rainbow show. Most shows in those days they filmed two nights and cut between the two. Earls Court exists but the sound needs a lot of work for a surround sound mix. Picture wise it's good, but only a mixing tape -ie. no rushes like Wembley for example. |
| Oscar J 27.11.2014 14:20 |
Hyde Park... do want. |
| The Real Wizard 28.11.2014 00:05 |
Rhys says: Earls Court exists but the sound needs a lot of work for a surround sound mix. Picture wise it's good, but only a mixing tape -ie. no rushes like Wembley for example.I'll take his word over a self-appointed blabbermouth buffoon from QOL. If there was a major issue with the audio, Rhys would've mentioned it. This is very encouraging. |
| tomchristie22 28.11.2014 00:34 |
We'll see what happens come 2017. Seriously though, hopefully that releasing on the 40th anniversary thing doesn't become a trend, or else we've got another 5 years to wait before Hammersmith and Paris 1979. |
| tomchristie22 28.11.2014 00:34 |
- |
| Nitroboy 28.11.2014 04:08 |
The Real Wizard wrote:Rhys says: Earls Court exists but the sound needs a lot of work for a surround sound mix. Picture wise it's good, but only a mixing tape -ie. no rushes like Wembley for example.I'll take his word over a self-appointed blabbermouth buffoon from QOL. If there was a major issue with the audio, Rhys would've mentioned it. This is very encouraging. But IF the lack of a surround mix, and difficulty of creating one, is the only thing holding an Earls Court release back, I say screw it. I don't really care about a surround sound mix for concerts. |
| The Real Wizard 28.11.2014 12:11 |
Nitroboy wrote:I'm sure most people will agree with you.The Real Wizard wrote:But IF the lack of a surround mix, and difficulty of creating one, is the only thing holding an Earls Court release back, I say screw it. I don't really care about a surround sound mix for concerts.Rhys says: Earls Court exists but the sound needs a lot of work for a surround sound mix. Picture wise it's good, but only a mixing tape -ie. no rushes like Wembley for example.I'll take his word over a self-appointed blabbermouth buffoon from QOL. If there was a major issue with the audio, Rhys would've mentioned it. This is very encouraging. The Who's Kilburn 1977 DVD is in mono sound, and people loved it. A concert video from the 70s should sound like it sounded in the 70s, not how we would've liked it to sound in 2014. |