[Introspective] Re: Nightlife mixdowns?

[Kurt Foy Booker]

My guess is that there is a difference in mastering, not mixdown... the promo CD may not have been mastered at all.  Mastering is the final pass at the overall sound of an album... dealing primarily with compression and EQ on tracks as a whole.  Proper mastering can really add polish, sparkle and oomph to the sound, while taming any dynamics or frequencies that stand out too much.

Kurt



>Can anyone with better ears than me confirm whether the US promo CD for
>Nightlife (31086-2P) is in fact a different mixdown from the commercial
>version?  A trader on Ebay was claiming that it was, and now that I listen
>it *does* sound a little different, just minutely.  The track times look to
>be the same.  Does anyone hear any difference, maybe the vocals are sharper
>or production is a little more detailed?  (If it's a mixdown difference the
>only distinction should be in the levels of the various sounds, right?)