Zappa.com

yeah, no (') lyrics here.
purchased from BestBuy online.

been slowly listening to all the new 2012 ume releases in order and just threw on FRANCESCO ZAPPA. ok, this isn't exactly one of Zappa's best but i respect it (and those synclavier violins on 2nd Movement MINUET are kinda fantastic). first thing i noticed during concentrated listen was what could be described as "tape-hiss". from a digitally recorded/mastered album? all right. the volume was also noticeably lower than all the other new releases.
so i grabbed my 1995 ryko Francesco and put that on to do a quick comparison of track one because i didn't remember it sounding this bad. well, it did.

so yeah, 2012 Francesco Zappa doesn't sound too hot to these ears.

Mothermania on Amazon US available November 19, 2012. Unless I am missing something, this just got updated

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009GG ... PDKIKX0DER

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If we're dumb . . .
Then God is dumb . . .
(An' maybe even a little bit ugly on the side)

Electronic circuits without hiss are impossible. You will most likely have some sort of significant hiss generated from your playback devices. When there is hiss on the digital recording then it comes from the analog stages of the Synclavier or analog outboard gear or the mixing desk or, or, or … If there are samples involved they might have been created from analog recordings (with tape hiss). Every electronic device is generating hiss and noise more or less that builds up on a multitrack production. Complete silence is impossible, unless you are deaf or dead.

BTW, concluding something is sounding worse because it is not as loud or "hot" as something else is bullshit.

Th.

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Active forum member since 2005 - R E T I R E D from this forum in 2013

you know Thinman, i thought about what i posted much later in the day and realized the reason for my hiss was because i had my stereo system turned up to maximum volume to make up for how low it sounded. my posting definatley blamed the "tape hiss" on the 2012 Francesco CD and that shouldn't have been the case. i thought later, i guess i'm the type of loser to over-think things, maybe i could go delete the the post. or write a new post and say the 2012 master DID NOT have tape hiss on it, hiss was created by my overdriven crappy speakers but i figured i wouldn't bother because my opininon is shit. and even though it is shit, i would like to be a more active participant in this forum. and to participate one has to have facts or an opinion, i think. so i'm trying.

and yes, i hear what you are saying. it all makes perfect sense and i appreciate your reply. again i've tried to be more active around here and have been seemingly met with indifference so your reply in itself, with its blunt truth, has my repect.

You must be kidding me.

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Active forum member since 2005 - R E T I R E D from this forum in 2013

Not at all, please do not remove your post.
IMO it was worth reading as well as interesting anyway, plus other people may also wonder and then be happy to find an explanation here.
And no need to reformulate, it is pretty concise in its current form.

Could there have been too much "dither" used.....if any?

I'm surprised MGM's advertising dept. hasn't re-released 200 Motels to ride the coat-tails of the re-release of the FZ catalogue. What better free advertising could they want?

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Stay with me flagrantly and we'll have ecstasy for all eternity.

It's been on cable Comcast under free movies for months.Not sure if it's still there right now,but I watched it a few months back.They had it in HD.

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I'm getting larger as I walk away.

DirecTV also has it right now in HD on On-Demand

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Make your checks payable to QUENTIN ROBERT DeNAMELAND, Greatest Living Philostopher Known to Mankind.

It appears that the local Best Buy I frequent is finally stocking other titles of the new version of the Zappa catalog. They must actually be moving some product.

I finally picked up the new Joe's Garage and am pleasantly surprised how much of a significant difference there is between this version and the previous Ryko, EMI and CBS Records editions.

I have a number of observations, the first of which is the all around fatter mix and presence of the bass and drums. I'm also noticing a lot more detail of certain elements in the mix that were buried or barely audible, particularly in the background vocals and the keyboards throughout. I can now decifer every note and nuance played by the bass guitar that was buried in the "thinness" on the previous versions mixes. I wasn't expecting anything drastic with the new Joe's Garage mix, but this new version is the shit. I'm about to give it my fourth listen since yesterday.

Another element that seems different to me is the snare drum mix. Particularly, the variable speed slapback delay effect sounds less abrasive to my ears. Compare the drums of Outside Now and Packard Goose. The weird slapback delay effect, or old school trigger pad-like device was always a miniscule distraction for me, but now it's not as prominent, to my ears anyways. So far I've listened to this in my car stereo and one of a halfway decent mid-grade Sony stereo system. I haven't checked it out on one of my higher end system, one of my ghetto blasters, iPod, computer or headphones and earbuds yet for further comparisons.

I agree, but I also think that some definition is lost on Frank's guitar with the reissue compared to the Ryko. Try listening to "Packard Goose", from 3:40 on.

Just got One Size Fits All, it sounds fucking fantastic! DAAAMN!

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Reading threads about that stupid asshole Isaac M. Baranoff is the funniest part of this forum.

I ordered all 22 remastered titles last week and picking them up today. I'M SO FUCKING EXCITED!!!

Which one do you look forward the most to?

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Reading threads about that stupid asshole Isaac M. Baranoff is the funniest part of this forum.

Stop dithering, man!!

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The way I see it Barry, this should be a very dynamite show.

I have an uncle that plays a dither, oh wait I mean zither, maybe he dithers with a zither.

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Thanks for the music Frank.

Well I'm about to get sick from watching my TV

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I listened to Hot Rats first because it's one of the few that I don't have on vinyl. I've been heavily collecting the last couple of years. But holy shit, it sounds like a new album! I grew up on the 1987 mix and I can't believe how different the mix is.

I'm sure the fine details of the reissues are on this forum somewhere but I found this link is helpful

http://www.lukpac.org/~handmade/patio/v ... tpoop.html

HMV finally got in most of this last batch, they were short YCDTOSA Vol 3+4, as well as Understanding America. Everything else though was in at $10. So if your in Canada and have a big flagship HMV store in town instead of the little mall ones, check it out.

I know all these are digital remasters are the same as previous Rykos. Looking at the few discs of this I own, their all save for one from the initial Ryko releases, not the 94/95 re-releases so I figure at $10 I'll grab them all except for "Yellow Shark", "Lost Episodes" and "Civ II" since I really doubt they'll be packaged as nice in slip cases.

I was also able to grab LSO which was missing from the last batch of releases. Listened to disc one last night and thought it sounded pretty great. My previous experience was on cassette, not the greatest way to listen. Look forward to sitting down to disc 2 tonight.

Will Läther be 2-disc or 3-disc. I sincerely hope it's the former. Sides 1-4 on Disc 1 and sides 5-8 on Disc 2. I feel it flows better that way.

I totally agree. It sounds better in many ways. Have you listened to all of them now?

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Reading threads about that stupid asshole Isaac M. Baranoff is the funniest part of this forum.

Just ordered Sleep Dirt and Chunga's Revenge. Sweet!

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Reading threads about that stupid asshole Isaac M. Baranoff is the funniest part of this forum.