Zappa.com

...until these remasters. The vast majority sounds way better that what was available on the RYKO cds.

I discovered Zappa in the mid-nineties, so most of the albums i had easy access to were re-eq'd, remixed, tampered-with less-than-mature digital technology. And tired ears it seems.

So, all in all, i'm very happy they've done this, the music deserved it.

But....I wish the ZFT would be a little more adventurous with the way they provide this music digitally. I'm extremely surprised they haven't done a deal with Topspin...Zappa was one of the first giant to have done things in the music industry in such a DIY way...

IMO

No they didn't and they don't sound less thin now. I think thats the wrong word to use as it leads people to believe that for this remastering they have "fattened" up the sound, when I believe that they did not. From what I have read, and may be mistaken, they removed odd harmonics, which makes frequencies that people find pleasant to be more noticeable. This is actually a thinning of the sound, since there are less harmonics as a result.

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Don't Be Stupid Unless You Want To

No, they went back to the original masters or at least better versions without the "Zappa/Stone" treatment.

I absolutely think the 2012 remasters sound less thin compared to FZ's digital masters. And I remember thinking the same thing about the original CDs compared to the ones that I had on LP back in the day.

My thesis is that Frank suffered from serious high-frequency hearing loss late in his life, causing him to bump up the treble when he was digitally mastering his catalog. The tinniness is so uniform throughout his digital masters, and is so much in contrast to the LPs, that I can't come to any other conclusion.

Very true. Especially the mastering on YCDTOSA Vol. 3 "Hands with a Hammer" and "Zoot Allures" after that. It's painful to listen to the mix, yet the performance is so good... I was sorry to see this CD was released with the same mix...

All in all, I enjoyed the Ryko CD mixes. They were a little brighter than they needed to be (especially Uncle Meat), but overall, still wonderful in so many ways when you consider the competition out there...