How good the mixing of petra albuns sonds....

[adrinux]

These days I was listening carefully to the mixing of the petra albuns and
I noticed that there are a few albuns where the mixing is very low-quality like 'This means war' where the snare is so loud with that plate reverb...
the guitars are so tiny...

Please, choose your prefered album mixing and post your comment
about it


So... Let's expand this topic to a poll...

you may select an option about how good sounding the mixing of petra albuns are, broadly.

[Edward]

First off, let me qualify this response. The final product is not only decided by the mix. Mastering has more dramatic effect. There are many artists today that do not recognize their tunes once mastered, because all of the dynamics have been smashed out, changing the EQ, the mix, the noise, the distortion, etc.

If we are considering all of the Petra records, it is my opinion that the best realistic sounding records were the JDB and BB records. All of the stuff that the E brothers did sounded like crap to me. The best sounding recording IMO, is Wake Up Call. Sonically speaking, that record is VERY clean, very dimensional. ALL of the E bros stuff is thin and one dimensional sounding.

BUT, we must also consider that triggering drum samples was en vogue in that era. Louie hated that. He called them space drum sounds a couple of times. When you start layering tracks recorded in one room, with samples recorded in another, they smear. Another reason why WUC sounds so great.

Bob was playing Peavey amps for a bit back then...n'uff said on that one. I don't know how much he recorded with them, but that same imitation instortion sounds like Peavey type stuff of that era.

Bob is on record saying that product values went up in that era. Maybe. You have to understand that what is heard in the studio sometimes (most of the time) is not translated out into the real world. Sometimes the monitor systems sound great for THAT room, but do not make you work hard enough, to yield a product that sounds good everywhere. It wasn't substandard gear, because those guys had great stuff.

Back in that day, there were multiple mixes and masters for LPs, Cassettes and then CDs. I remember the cassettes sounding like absolute garbage. Again, the initial runs usually have better tape than the re-orders (to save money), and I have no idea what batch I bought from.

Then, the CDs that people are listening to now. Where did those masters come from? Most times, not the originals. They are copies of a copy. So, are they releasing CDs with a CD mix/master? Could they be using a tape mix/master? Who knows? It happens all of the time. This is what has artists and engineers up in arms about rereleases, because the work is not sounding as intended, possibly damaging their names/reputations.

[Toby]

Here's my personal quality list:

By the way, I don't like all the JDB stuff. It's sounds to mainstream to me. But of course great songs.

The first three records sound pretty good to me for the fact that they came out in the 70s.


High

Wake Up Call
Petra Praise I & II
God Fixation
Jekyll & Hyde
Farewell (Don't forget, It's a low budget production)

Medium

Beyond Belief - strong beginning, weak end (not the songs). I think this album would be a bigger success with the newest recording technology.
On Fire - The same like BB
Unseen Power - weak guitars
No Doubt - The drums sound like a maschine (or Space Drums)
Double Take - The row mix is much better than the final.

Low

Back To The Street - weak guitars
This means War - weak guitars, to much keyboards
Revival - A try to change Petra to Sonicflood and produced by greenhorns. Just a cheek!


My english is not the best

[Dan]

I find that the lowest quality album is "On fire". Has great songs, just to drowned out by synth etc.

[adrinux]

really true what Edward said.
I didn't want to comment about mastering because most of people would not know...
I've been into the world of audio since I was 11, now I'm 20. I agree with you, Edward. I can't understand why most of theirs producers were so kinda lazy that they didn't try to mix and master the material at the same level of the outside bands...


Responding the poll, I think that WUC is the best sounding albun of petra.
But in the early times, the best sounding albuns is Never Say Die. I really like how it sounds. it sound velvety and kinda wet chorused...

Jekyll and Hyde sounds good, but the drums are poorly played...
And the vocal doesn't fit with the proposal of the CD, it'd sounded better if it was a progressive metal or something... For petra, even J&H where it was supposed to be a more rocking sound, the vocals should had sound with a high frequencies boost...

Next Petra/Bob and John Albun should be recorded, mixed and mastered by us!

I'm sure that it'd sound better and bigger than life