I couldn't tell you, and probably don't even care, what 'flat' sounds like.
In my opinion it means with no high or low end to the recording. Comparison with the material as it exists on the more recent official albums reveals what a difference there is with proper usage of source material and the skill of the person using that material. That's why I look forward to Randy revisiting these on the box...because I think there was a considerable lack of original source material and skill in the making of the RedDot Mansion cd. The sound quality at the end of the ride thru track is particularly poor. To me it sounds like a bootleg. Bootlegs are great when the source material is completely unreleased. It is NOT so great to have bootleg quality on an official release. This is our chance to have it done properly.
I also don't want a recording that consists of someone else's opinion of their 'impression of the ride', cuz to me that = an incomplete recording.
Even at that the RedDot CD's are just an impression...I don't think it's too much of a violation to be missing several minutes of repeating moans and screams from a sound effects loop as long as the spiel and music are present along with a representative amount of atmosphere effects.
Even though this is a 6 cd box intended for fans like us, it's a release that is going through commerical channels since it's now going to be released in record stores across the country. With that, I'm not expecting the kind of completeness most of those here would yearn for. I don't expect we'll hear every spiel and song associated with rides and areas that are represented in the set. Hopefully, when the "Sounds of Disneyland" start appearing on the kiosks, we'll start getting some more of that. I *DO* expect because of the box set's commercial availability that the Mansion and Pirates material will be revisited and revised in a signifigant way because they are hallmark attractions of every Disney park in the world. I expect sound quality will be top notch, as Randy's projects are. With this in mind, it's appropriate to think that we'll get signifigant improvement in the material. I could be wrong as I don't have a line on this in any way. But, we have to face that these attractions are the parks' meat and potatoes and will be represented, as will Small World.
Since Randy had little to nothing to do with the RedDot cd's, and is
THE producer of quality Disney Parks material, I'm looking forward to his revisiting of the material.
Here is what I would like: A clear recording, free of hiss/scratch/background noise/skips.
I fully agree here. That is why the RedDot cd for the Mansion is totally inadequate. There are many points throughout the recording where signifigant background noise and hiss are present. My main objection to the Haunted Mansion CD is the presence of (as best I can describe them) cue noises - bleeps - that often appear at the beginning or ending of Paul's narrations. They were (a silent) part of the attraction as these "bleeps" were cue sounds on magnetic tape loops throughout each area of the ride, but they should not be heard on the recording. And there are some places where it has bad edits and skips too late into Paul's parts. The sound in the crypt ending is too low, and is overrun with tape hiss. In fact, it sounds more like a live recording than something taken from a master of any kind in the crypt ending of the ride thru. The mix sounds like a rough draft - unfinished - like something you'd let the boss listen to so you could show how it was coming. It is not the sound of a finished product in my opinion.
Also, I'd like some balance in the recording since it's mixed like a 60's record with some sounds appearing in the right and left channel independently. This should happen with directional effects, but the Ghost Host and Leota spiels should be centered. Leota's spiel suffers too in that it's volume is too low and is overpowered in places by the background music and effects.
To be considered as well is that most of the RedDot cd's were CD-Rs which are much less durable than regular cds. They're fragile and deteriorate much faster than a pressed cd, which the box set cds will be.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I dont want space wasted on tracks we already have because that takes away space from the tracks we are all drooling to get our grubby little hands on.
This we completely agree on. I don't either. I certainly don't want the RedDot content reproduced here. I want new ride thrus properly mastered and mixed from original sources that better represent the sound quality heard in the attractions. To me, this is not a waste of space. I expect most every sound - spiel, song, or sound effect - will be the best we've ever gotten our hands on. I also expect at 6 cd's for it to be the most comprehensive set of park recordings we've ever had, but not necessarily the final word. If I had my choice, the box would concentrate on past attractions, shows, parades and leave the still existing attractions to the upcoming "Sounds of Disneyland" project that Randy has mentioned for the kiosks which I expect will replace those RedDot cds and put them to shame.
I don't think we need a perfect version of anything. I think 'merely' good is good enough.
I can live with the Pirates RedDot cd. But the Mansion cd is subpar. I don't think it's good enough.
I think we need to be careful what we ask for... cuz we might get it and probably at the cost of something we dont already have but REALLY want.
These cd's are for all intents and purposes done since a project like this has to be locked at this point. We're all just speculating here. This is a wish list and I don't believe it can have any effect on the actual product since the release is about two months away.
We don't agree on the subject of the Mansion and Pirates recordings on the set, but I think we would probably agree on a lot of the material we'd want to see. There's going to be about 7 and a half hours of space available and I think we'll all be happy in the end. Maybe not about everything, but by and large, I expect to be in love with the set and expect that you will be too Tim.
I think Randy has the complete support of the company on this one. I'd expect that the expense of putting a 6 cd set out nationally for this indicates that. I'm hoping it sells well so that the company will be motivated to get behind more projects like it. I'd like to see us get every piece of the park's audio that we can, but I have to be realistic about the commerical prospects of such a thing.
