What does 'remastered' actually mean?

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HaychHaych Frets: 5594
Over the years I've bought a ton of albums in their original guise and also later on the rereleased remastered versions on account of having lost the originals, or having lent them out never to get them back again.

In all honestly I've never heard a remastered album that has any discernible difference to the original.  So what does it mean when an album is remastered?  Is anything different done to/with the recording or is it a marketing gimmick used to shift more units?

And speaking of mastering and remastering albums, how does Bob Ludwig find the time to master so many albums?  He must be the busiest guy on the planet!  I bet I can look on any number of albums I own and it'll state it was mastered by Bob Ludwig.  The guy can't have slept for about 30 years!

There is no 'H' in Aych, you know that don't you? ~ Wife

Turns out there is an H in Haych! ~ Sporky

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  • Winny_PoohWinny_Pooh Frets: 7731
    Low end on vinyl was always weaker and had to be reduced during mastering (limitation of the format) so this is the biggest improvement for cd remasters. However, many releases have also had progressively "louder" limiting applied during mastering as evidenced by various version of Back in Black for example. 
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  • HaychHaych Frets: 5594
    Low end on vinyl was always weaker and had to be reduced during mastering (limitation of the format) so this is the biggest improvement for cd remasters. However, many releases have also had progressively "louder" limiting applied during mastering as evidenced by various version of Back in Black for example. 
    Ah, ok, that makes a bit of sense - thanks.

    There is no 'H' in Aych, you know that don't you? ~ Wife

    Turns out there is an H in Haych! ~ Sporky

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  • octatonicoctatonic Frets: 33725
    edited June 2018
    In some instances it can mean dynamics put back into the music after a particularly bad master in the initial release.

    For example, Vapor Trails by Rush.
    Although that was called a 'remix' but effectively they just dealt with the shitty mastering from the 2002 release.

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  • Phil_aka_PipPhil_aka_Pip Frets: 9794
    Sometimes it just means "an excuse to charge you more for yet another copy of something you've already got"
    "Working" software has only unobserved bugs. (Parroty Error: Pieces of Nine! Pieces of Nine!)
    Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
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  • mr-macmr-mac Frets: 200
    New master created by new mastering engineer.  If possible taking from original recordings or backups.  But depends what's available could just be tweaks to original master and even seen data extracted from vinyl via a laser turntable if no viable master or multi track left to use
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  • HaychHaych Frets: 5594
    octatonic said:
    In some instances it can mean dynamics put back into the music after a particularly bad master in the initial release.

    For example, Vapor Trails by Rush.
    Although that was called a 'remix' but effectively they just dealt with the shitty mastering from the 2002 release.

    To be fair I think that one was a genuine remix, I've compared the original and remixed versions and the mix is very, very different and not always for the better IMHO, although the original release was really quite bad.

    Sometimes it just means "an excuse to charge you more for yet another copy of something you've already got"
    Yep, I'm sure there's something in that, too.

    There is no 'H' in Aych, you know that don't you? ~ Wife

    Turns out there is an H in Haych! ~ Sporky

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  • mr-macmr-mac Frets: 200
    Usually i find best sound and dynamics in original if its older stuff.
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  • TheBigDipperTheBigDipper Frets: 4722
    Earlier records that were originally released on vinyl were mastered so the cutter could make a decent record from it. Sometimes that meant reducing the bass and maybe compressing the dynamic range so the cutting needle wouldn't jump during the cutting process. The result sounded fine on a turntable, but may not have been what the artist originally mixed in the studio.

    Then, when CD versions of those records were made, the record company might use the vinyl master to burn the CD. Which is why so many early CDs sound like pants compared to the vinyl version. Nothing to do with the vinyl, it's the mastering process they used to overcome the limitations of vinyl for cutting. 

    Which is why some older CDs really benefit from being remastered. And remixed. And even then you can sometimes hear how poor the original recording was even if the musician's performance itself was great. 

    (I'm looking at you, 1970s prog bands...) 
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  • ColsCols Frets: 6953
    Can you imagine how upset Jimmy Page must have been in 2014 when he realised that he hadn’t remastered Led Zeppelin’s back catalogue properly in 1990 and he’d have to go back and do it all again?
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  • Strat54Strat54 Frets: 2329
    It means such a slight improvement from the last issue that only Eric Johnson would have any chance of noticing ;)
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  • HaychHaych Frets: 5594
    Strat54 said:
    It means such a slight improvement from the last issue that only Eric Johnson would have any chance of noticing ;)
    Love it, have a LOL

    There is no 'H' in Aych, you know that don't you? ~ Wife

    Turns out there is an H in Haych! ~ Sporky

    Bit of trading feedback here.

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  • monquixotemonquixote Frets: 17485
    tFB Trader
    Remasters from the 90s were mostly fixing bad cd masters from the 80s (zep remasters for example)
    2000 remasters were very often taking CDs that sounded fine and brick wall limiting them so they sounded horrible like the contemporary "loudness war" music of the time.

    Amusingly many recent remasters like the Oasis ones are taking horribly brick wall limited CDs and putting the dynamic range back in.
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  • RockerRocker Frets: 4942
    Generally making the music sound 'louder' on CD.  Remastered CDs always sound more impressive than the originals but this is at the expense of dynamics and smoothness of the sound.  Remastered CDs seem to rip better [to low bitrate files] for use on smartphones, used for commuting on the train.
    Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. [Albert Einstein]

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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71952
    edited June 2018
    Quite often the changes in dynamics mean that the mix is noticeably altered, disturbingly and annoyingly if you're very familiar with the original album, so the new mix jars with what's in your head.

    Or in the case of the fantastic Beatles Sgt. Peppers 50th anniversary edition, somehow everything is louder and clearer *without* the overall mix being noticeably changed... the album sounds exactly like it used to, only better.

    So there is no hard and fast rule. I think it probably depends on the skill and ears of those responsible, and the amount of time and effort put in - ie in the case of Sgt. Peppers, a very great deal. With others, bang on some compression and hope for the best seems to be how it's done.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

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  • Maybe it’s the format but my experience when a/b ing mainly 70s stuff (The Band, Van Morrison, Dylan etc..) the stereo imaging on CD/Stream to my ears isn’t as wide compared to original vinyl. 
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  • axisusaxisus Frets: 28280
    Remastering is a clever technique to legally fleece mugs of their money. 
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  • ToneControlToneControl Frets: 11788
    the first CDs often sounded crap, when they had used the master tapes mixed to work well with the limitations of vinyl. They sounded flat and lifeless.
    Then the same thing happened the other way, vinyls sounded crap because they used the master made for CDs
    Certainly anything mastered for vinyl will sound poor if simply transferred to CD

    When first Zep remasters came out, I loved it - there was detail there I had never heard before. Admittedly,  I do dislike some of JP's production ideas though. I remember Tony Visconti remarking that when he heard the remasters of Bowie albums, he heard details he remembered that he'd not heard since the sessions. This is what can be achieved.

    There is of course plenty of scope to do a bad job of the remastering

    I've played myself with remastering the multitrack sessions I have been able to find. It's interesting to go too far intentionally then pull back

    On a side note, I love the remasterings that are really completely re-imagined productions from Bill Laswell, especially the Bob Marley, Miles Davis and Santana ones
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  • Winny_PoohWinny_Pooh Frets: 7731
    Maybe it’s the format but my experience when a/b ing mainly 70s stuff (The Band, Van Morrison, Dylan etc..) the stereo imaging on CD/Stream to my ears isn’t as wide compared to original vinyl. 
    As cd is a more exact medium I'd put that down to L/R phase differences inherent in vinyl or your vinyl playback setup. Nothing comes closer to the sound of an actual analog 2 track master than quality digital conversion and playback. 
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  • Philly_QPhilly_Q Frets: 22516
    For me it means something I feel obliged to shell out for because I cannot defeat my collector mentality.

    Then when I've bought the remaster I leave it sealed and carry on listening to whichever version of the album is on Spotify.

    Still, there is often the "bonus" of some previously unreleased demos or alternate takes.  Which I will listen to once then ignore forever.
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  • HattigolHattigol Frets: 8175
    Sometimes it just means "an excuse to charge you more for yet another copy of something you've already got"
    'Sometimes'??
    "Anybody can play. The note is only 20%. The attitude of the motherf*cker who plays it is  80%" - Miles Davis
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