Re: SNR on Sensual World vs Hounds of Love

[nrc@cbema.att.com (Neal R Caldwell, Ii)]

>From article <1991Jun24.083232.13287@uniwa.uwa.oz>, by scott@psy.uwa.OZ.AU (Scott Fisher):
> Did the CD users of Kates music notice that the Signal to Noise (SNR) ratio
> on the "Sensual  World" CD got worse in comparison to "Hounds of Love".

Not just hiss, either, all sorts of audio rubbish.  I think many
Love-Hounds recognize this short coming of _The Sensual World_
although maybe not most.  

> Anyone know if/how the production/technical/mastering side of these CDs 
> differ?

The most likely culprit (as far as I can discern) for the noise on _The
Sensual World_ is the engineering.  For the first time ever Del
Palmer handled almost all of the engineering work.  While some have
praised Del for the sounds he has captured it is as much an engineer's
task to keep out the undesirable noise as it is to capture the
desirable.  

Some have suggested that the mix might be at fault since it seems a 
bit muddy.  The mixing was handled by Kevin Killen who did excellent
work on Peter Gabriel's _So_ among others.  If Killen contributed 
anything to the sound problems on _The Sensual World_ it was a slightly 
muddy mix, not background noise.  In fact, this muddy mix might have 
been an attempt to mask some of the noise.  _Walk Straight Down the 
Middle_ was mixed by Del Palmer and has a much crisper sound but still 
even more tape hiss and noise.

I haven't heard anything about the engineering for KBV7 but I imagine
that it will once again be Del Palmer.  Hopefully the problems of _The
Sensual World_ will have been recognized and used as a learning
experience.
 
  "Let's start with the sound: Magical! No matter how good your
   system, this record will turn it into a glazed donut."
					
			"The Absolute Sound" on _The Sensual World_


"Don't drive too slowly."                 Richard Caldwell
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