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Re: If you could remix ONE SYL/Dev album, which would it be?

PostPosted: Mon Feb 21, 2011 5:27 am
by Alf
swervedriver wrote:
Alf wrote:Alien for sure. Clipping = noooooooooooooo!

It's an amazing album aside from that.

Where does Alien clip? The MP3 rips might but the album sure as hell doesn't.


Oops, I think I mistook overcompression for clipping. The two often go hand in hand, so I assumed that one meant the presence of the other. Either way, when I crank it up there isn't much dynamic range, everything sounds strangled. The album is sonically "red" and absolutely furious all the way through (Two Weeks aside) but maybe that was the intention.

Re: If you could remix ONE SYL/Dev album, which would it be?

PostPosted: Mon Feb 21, 2011 5:38 am
by swervedriver
Alf wrote:
swervedriver wrote:
Alf wrote:Alien for sure. Clipping = noooooooooooooo!

It's an amazing album aside from that.

Where does Alien clip? The MP3 rips might but the album sure as hell doesn't.


Oops, I think I mistook overcompression for clipping. The two often go hand in hand, so I assumed that one meant the presence of the other. Either way, when I crank it up there isn't much dynamic range, everything sounds strangled. The album is sonically "red" and absolutely furious all the way through (Two Weeks aside) but maybe that was the intention.

Ah, that makes sense. The album is very 'busy' indeed, although I think that's (partially) where its fury and insanity comes from.

As for me, there are little things with each album, both solo and SYL, that can be improved upon I think. Although, I'm very partial to the massive spaceship that is Accelerated Evolution. 8) With the latest albums Ki and Addicted I'm hard-pressed to find anything sonically 'wrong' so this bodes very well for everything yet to come.

Re: If you could remix ONE SYL/Dev album, which would it be?

PostPosted: Mon Feb 21, 2011 11:21 am
by ctfod
Self-titled SYL album, definately.

Re: If you could remix ONE SYL/Dev album, which would it be?

PostPosted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 6:28 pm
by Sticks
Ocean Machine's nearly flawless, but if any flaw is high-heaviness.
Infinity's flaw is even more high-heaviness but mainly because of all the synthy stuff...and the hi-hat IS the tweeter.
Accelerated Evolution's vocals are too high and the snare sounds like a non-tonal tom.
Terria's flaw is the kick. It should be so high, but it shouldn't not be high.
Synchestra lacks atmosphere in some parts that need it terribly.
You forgot Ziltoid, which needs a different drum VST, or at least a different snare in DFH--the default one is entirely too recognizable.
Ki is perfect for what it is. I think some more guitar tracks would help though. No remastering needs done here.
Addicted's guitar tone could be different.

HAARHT just doesn't sound of high quality, but it's not exactly supposed to. I'd say the album needs to entirely be re-recorded (except the vocals) and remastered.
City is absolutely perfect. Everything. The wide-sounding drums you won't hear anywhere else (except OM)...everything, fantastic.
SYL -- see HAARHT.
Alien is nearly perfect, but too high-heavy and hard-limited/compressed/loudness max/etc.
The New Black sounds fine for someone who isn't Devin Townsend, but it is Devin Townsend therefore it sounds bland and he can do much, much better. This needs to be remastered entirely, although Almost Again sounds nearly perfect.


Edit: For the record, this is just me being really, really, really, really fucking picky. I'd give the production/mastering of ALL these records no less than four stars. Not even HAARHT, SYL, or Physicist. Seriously, In The Rainy Season, Dire, and Material all sound absolutely perfect for what they are. Physicist's production gives Planet Rain a very "rainy" vibe similar to that of the end of In The Rainy Season.

Re: If you could remix ONE SYL/Dev album, which would it be?

PostPosted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 12:00 am
by mrbean667
Oh shit, how could I forget Ziltoid?
But the production on Ziltoid is a product (hehe) of Dev wanting to do everything himself. He wanted to get it done as quickly as possible, without concentrating too much on the mix.

Re: If you could remix ONE SYL/Dev album, which would it be?

PostPosted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 5:44 am
by ctfod
Oh yeah, Ziltoid's drums. DFK sounds great with Meshuggah, but with everything else they just sound thin and plastic. Also, he made the guitar tone through a POD XT Live, right? How the hell did he manage that?

Re: If you could remix ONE SYL/Dev album, which would it be?

PostPosted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 2:42 am
by mrbean667
He put the tone up a while back, it used the Treadplate Dual with matching cab, plus the stock delay plugin.

Re: If you could remix ONE SYL/Dev album, which would it be?

PostPosted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 4:27 am
by ctfod
Really? Any clues where it might be?

Re: If you could remix ONE SYL/Dev album, which would it be?

PostPosted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 6:21 pm
by Helge-Uwe
Sticks wrote:Ocean Machine's nearly flawless, but if any flaw is high-heaviness.
Infinity's flaw is even more high-heaviness but mainly because of all the synthy stuff...and the hi-hat IS the tweeter.
Accelerated Evolution's vocals are too high and the snare sounds like a non-tonal tom.
Terria's flaw is the kick. It should be so high, but it shouldn't not be high.
Synchestra lacks atmosphere in some parts that need it terribly.
You forgot Ziltoid, which needs a different drum VST, or at least a different snare in DFH--the default one is entirely too recognizable.
Ki is perfect for what it is. I think some more guitar tracks would help though. No remastering needs done here.
Addicted's guitar tone could be different.

HAARHT just doesn't sound of high quality, but it's not exactly supposed to. I'd say the album needs to entirely be re-recorded (except the vocals) and remastered.
City is absolutely perfect. Everything. The wide-sounding drums you won't hear anywhere else (except OM)...everything, fantastic.
SYL -- see HAARHT.
Alien is nearly perfect, but too high-heavy and hard-limited/compressed/loudness max/etc.
The New Black sounds fine for someone who isn't Devin Townsend, but it is Devin Townsend therefore it sounds bland and he can do much, much better. This needs to be remastered entirely, although Almost Again sounds nearly perfect.


Edit: For the record, this is just me being really, really, really, really fucking picky. I'd give the production/mastering of ALL these records no less than four stars. Not even HAARHT, SYL, or Physicist. Seriously, In The Rainy Season, Dire, and Material all sound absolutely perfect for what they are. Physicist's production gives Planet Rain a very "rainy" vibe similar to that of the end of In The Rainy Season.

perfect. cause exactly my opinion :mrgreen:
you forgot to fully comment on Physicist though 8)

I went with Infinity since I'd love to hear epic tunes like WAR or Dynamics a little less cheesy and a bit "heavier".
Same, but less, is for OM.

Re: If you could remix ONE SYL/Dev album, which would it be?

PostPosted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 11:56 pm
by ppinkham
IMO, most of Dev's album's are lacking bottom-end. I like the kick drums to go boom, and the bass to be louder in the mix, for the most part.

Re: If you could remix ONE SYL/Dev album, which would it be?

PostPosted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 1:45 am
by BrunoN
ppinkham wrote:IMO, most of Dev's album's are lacking bottom-end. I like the kick drums to go boom, and the bass to be louder in the mix, for the most part.


Ever heard an album with bass-heavy rapid-fire kick drums? I don't think it's possible without making it rumbly mess. Fast, aggresive music doesn't benefit of being boomy I think.

Re: If you could remix ONE SYL/Dev album, which would it be?

PostPosted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 11:31 am
by ppinkham
Obviously you are not going to want a Bonham-like sound from the drums when you're doing the faster stuff, but they should have a stronger presence in the mix. I liked the drums on 'Alien,' but I would have liked the bass to have more presence.

Re: If you could remix ONE SYL/Dev album, which would it be?

PostPosted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 12:44 am
by Sticks
Helge-Uwe wrote:you forgot to fully comment on Physicist though
I did on purpose--everyone else pretty much spoke my mind. It's not really a BAD production job by any means, I just know Dev can do better( and he proved it in a recent live version of Kingdom).
HaaRHT was roughly Physicist-quality in production but that album is, in my opinion, more enjoyable than TNB and SYL. The production on In The Rainy Season really is perfect for the song. I can't imagine the end of that song sounding any better than it does.

Re: If you could remix ONE SYL/Dev album, which would it be?

PostPosted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 9:11 pm
by Drowd
I'm not much of a ''sound-guy'' I just listen to the music :D

Re: If you could remix ONE SYL/Dev album, which would it be?

PostPosted: Wed May 04, 2011 7:28 pm
by Kore
Terria. I like the music, but the overall sound and the atmosphere that the mix creates just keeps me from really connecting to it all. Kinda hard to explain...