production potpurri

[FuneralPortrait]

Orchid & Morningrise are terrible for obvious reasons.
MAYH is a definite step up but still pretty terrible.
Still Life is another step up but still not very good- too much reverb, the clean vocal production & takes aren't that great etc.
Blackwater Park- love the drum sound. Especially on tracks like The Leper Affinity, where SW accentuates that drum ring near the end where its fundamental fits over all the chords played. Overall badly mastered and has some other problems, but by far the best so far.
Deliverance- pretty cold and sterile. Drum sound isn't great, but vocal harmonies and clean vocal production in general is fantastic. Not as well produced as BWP
Damnation has my favourite production on Opeth records. Despite having a few issues it has a lot of character, warmth, and in general the most fitting production. Too pumped though. Should probably have been sent elsewhere for mastering. Drum sound is very odd- not techincally well recorded, but definitely has character. From memory there was slight drum phasing between mics, haven't listened to it in a very long time though.
Ghost Reveries is the most powerful of the heavier records, but a bit sterile. Interesting though, as its quite lush, but too techincally perfect- beat detective, autotune etc. Lacks character. Some of the vocal melodies are pretty wrong- something Jens obviously doesn't concentrate on. Very modern sounding with it's compression use etc.


I doubt the next will differ much from Ghost Reveries production wise. Maybe Jens engineering with S.W producing would acheive the best result? Somewhere in between GR and BWP would be good. And get someone decent to master for once.

 

[Frosties]

How anyone can not love Morningrise's sound is beyond me - it just fits so perfectly and gives it such a unique feel and atmosphere...
Though I guess I really am clueless when it comes to this stuff - because GR is my least favorite production wise...

 

[chrisdoig24k]

I agree man. I think Orchid and Morningrise are actually done really well. Sure, they're not thick like the later stuff, but I really love the crispness of them. I think they shimmer in a way. And the bass sounds hot, it has that jazzy sound that really punches through. And the drum sounds are lovely! I don't get why people don't like them
Plus they're the two best Opeth albums imo

 

[dcat]

Here we go again.

Dissing Opeth's sound production without listing your
playback electronics delivering, (pun intended) your sounds.

Are you peeps ashamed to reveal your audio systems?

I cannot choose a most or least favourite Opeth
recording as I am familiar with their full back catalogue.

Yes, MR's high frequencies do lack sparkle, I suspect a
dynamic mic may have been used instead of the industry
standard AKG C451 for HF recordings.

I have no other complaints cept the intro to SL.

Now the spanner in the works...

Some artists record in analogue real 2 real at the first instance
and then digitize and mess about with this to get their desired
sound.

If the digital copy becomes corrupted in any way, there is
always the analogue master to return to.

This method gets a double plus if the artists want to release
their music on vinyl.

Matt Johnson always uses this method, using his vintage tubed
audio mixer...

Checkout some "The The" recordings, they're amazing.

Sorry Mike if this distracts your creative direction but I think
digital is still way behind analogue when valve's / tubes
are in the mix somewhere.

It's all about even or odd order harmonics, tubes are even,
transistors are odd. (fast switching devices really they are.)

I'll tell you a story about a vintage Revox semi pro tubed R2R
that blew away a professional PCM studio recording one day
thats if any of you are interested?

 

[xDetonatorx]

I
You have something completely backwards. Black metal (traditional, at least) should NOT sound as clear as possible, which is why it adds to the "classicness" of the sound. Adding reverb is usually meant to give it a sense of power and lasting (although sometimes it doesn't work). Albums like Nattens Madrigal by Ulver wouldn't be as classic sounding anymore with good production. There should be moderation, and having purposefully lo-fi production isn't always a bad thing. There is a difference between boring production and low quality production iyam.

Also, I wrote this half-asleep so hopefully everything I've typed doesn't sound like a bunch of ranting from a 13 year old kid.

I kinda painted my self in a corner here, so let me try and clarify. Black metal was a bad example because the music is largely dictated by the production methods and musical ability of the bands producing it. It conveys the ideas that it's supposed to, and I quite like a lot of BM. However, (to me) Opeth's mood and atmosphere comes more from the music itself, and benefits from the clarity allowed by good production equipment. A good analogy would be listening to a world class piano player performing in a concert hall designed to convey every nuance of his playing to the audience. I think there are plenty of ways of making a beutiful soundscape without sacrificing the fidelity of a mix.

 

[Tubbs]

I kinda painted my self in a corner here, so let me try and clarify. Black metal was a bad example because the music is largely dictated by the production methods and musical ability of the bands producing it. It conveys the ideas that it's supposed to, and I quite like a lot of BM. However, (to me) Opeth's mood and atmosphere comes more from the music itself, and benefits from the clarity allowed by good production equipment. A good analogy would be listening to a world class piano player performing in a concert hall designed to convey every nuance of his playing to the audience. I think there are plenty of ways of making a beutiful soundscape without sacrificing the fidelity of a mix.

Alright, I can't disagree with that.

 

[in limbow]

Ghost Reveries without a doubt has the "best" production, if you're talking cleanest, purest, just overall most ideal.
I do, however, love MAYH and its production is a huge factor in its distinctive mood/feel, which I wouldn't have any other way regardless of how technically up-to-standards the production in. Same with Morningrise, though I can see why people complain about it.

 

[Junyi-]

I like Still Life, sounds very rich, its beautiful.
Really hate Ghost Reveries, it sounds very mechanical to me.


Uisng Grado SR60 headphones...

 

[Simskre]

Ghost Reveries is the best imo, so dark, so cool made...

 

[Korlich]

Orchid, SL, D2 are all great productions that adds to the feel of each album. MR has the worst prod.

 

[opethiansanathema]

Best : GR....hands down....none of the older albums even come close
Worst : MAYH : ...its a lil muddy ......hard to get the dynamic its supposed to have coz of the muddled sound......solid record...but yeah production wise ,...my least fav........PEAC EOUT

 

[Mr Samsara]

I hope you're just doing an impression.

 

[Tubbs]

LMAO

He just keeps coming back every week! You need to take some drastic measures. I don't think I've ever seen anyone keep coming back to the same forum as often as he does.

 

[naboo]

Still Life is my favorite. Worst though... hmm... probably Orchid.

 

[funeralportrait91]

Probably Deliverance... dark and cold atmosphere suits the music perfectly methinks.

 

[biggsy]

Best : GR....hands down....none of the older albums even come close
Worst : MAYH : ...its a lil muddy ......hard to get the dynamic its supposed to have coz of the muddled sound......solid record...but yeah production wise ,...my least fav........PEAC EOUT

looks like hes upped the spelling if it really is waz.

 

[dcat]

I hope you're just doing an impression.

It is FFS...

Heavening Mr Samsara, a modders life is not a happy lot eh?

Got the patience of Job have we?

Looks aloft, eyes n arms open!

 

[winters epilogue]

To me, the best sounding record is, without a doubt, Damnation. Moonie said it best about the sound of that album, I think. It breathes, it sounds organic, and it's just gorgeous.

For number 2, I think I'd have to go with Ghost Reveries. Everything seems to sit right, it's clean, it has a fat warmth to it that I like. Very easy to listen to.

Morningrise is the worst. Aside from the thinness of the guitars, which as a previous poster said, kind of work with the material, it's the drums that get me. Particularly the sound of the cymbals, which sound warbly and underwater.

+1

The production on Morningrise is a real shame. Opeth had really grown as a band Mikael was becoming even better with making songs that flow instead of long collections of riffs. But I am with the majority here, the production brings it down. On top of the thin guitars, and stale drums...I don't care for the vocals at all.

Great collection of songs, though. I'm glad to hear The Night and the Silent Water on The Roundhouse Tapes...I'd take it any day over the Morningrise version.

 

[opeth_353]

My favourites would be Blackwater Park and Still Life. I actually really like MAYH's production.. Although technically not good.. It just has this great atmosphere to it. I remember being on holiday in a very rural area of France, and it was constantly raining.. And on the car journey's i'd be listening to MAYH.. Strangely great memories!
Technically.. Damnation is the best. But, to my taste, BWP, Still Life and MAYH.

Morningrise is, without a doubt, a fucking dreadful album when it comes to production. I don't know how, but the drums sound like really fucking shit electronic drums and the bass is not at all bassy. I really think Opeth took a step backwards, concerning production, from Orchid to Morningrise.

 

[Lothlorien]

looks like hes upped the spelling if it really is waz.

he's adapting to the environment.