Full Version: nine inch nails - how's the production?
i just visited the NIN web site and found out trent is releasing a deluxe edition of the downward spiral, read about it here, and i was wondering - do the NIN albums have good production or are they about the same as the other cds that came out at the same time? also, do you think the deluxe edition will have better production, or just be louder and more compressed?
Well, I can say for a fact that you'll hear a lot of clipping and distortion, but that's just the music. =D
It's Industrial ( many may differ ), so the music is a barrage of sounds. Production is pretty decent.
The Downward Spiral is a good example of raw talent: it's unpolished, but that's part of its genius.
The Fragile is one of the best produced albums of all-time. Find some good monitor equipment and listen to the symphonic beauty of dozens of tracks properly mixed together. "The Way Out Is Through" is a good start. Most everything sounds like The Fragile these days in terms of mixing and mastering (with the exception of the levels, which he's never had a problem with) because he showed everyone just how much you can polish an album with ProTools.
His new album, expected, oh, about two years ago, is supposed to be more of a stripped-down approach, the reaction to the heavy polish of The Fragile. I'd assume the Deluxe Version of The Downward Spiral is his apology to his fans for not actually doing the sound work for Doom III, which also would have been 5.1.
I wouldn't buy it for the SACD remastering; the original master wasn't perfect, but wasn't bad. I'd buy it for the 5.1; TDS is an immersive experience, one of the better concept albums made in the past 20 years, and 5.1 just makes it all the more so.
The Fragile is one of the best produced albums of all-time. Find some good monitor equipment and listen to the symphonic beauty of dozens of tracks properly mixed together. "The Way Out Is Through" is a good start. Most everything sounds like The Fragile these days in terms of mixing and mastering (with the exception of the levels, which he's never had a problem with) because he showed everyone just how much you can polish an album with ProTools.
His new album, expected, oh, about two years ago, is supposed to be more of a stripped-down approach, the reaction to the heavy polish of The Fragile. I'd assume the Deluxe Version of The Downward Spiral is his apology to his fans for not actually doing the sound work for Doom III, which also would have been 5.1.
I wouldn't buy it for the SACD remastering; the original master wasn't perfect, but wasn't bad. I'd buy it for the 5.1; TDS is an immersive experience, one of the better concept albums made in the past 20 years, and 5.1 just makes it all the more so.
I'll buy the Deluxe Edition for the bonus disc: it looks like the best collection of non-album tracks you can get (Burn, Dead Souls, the "Quiet" version of Hurt, ...)
About NIN production: Trent likes noise and distortion, he uses them like standard instruments. Other than that, I think the NIN CDs have - for the most part - great production and mastering.
The Fragile is IMHO one of the best produced rock albums of the last 5 or 6 years. Yes, it's loud, but it's also very detailed and polished, and has lots of dynamic range.
About NIN production: Trent likes noise and distortion, he uses them like standard instruments. Other than that, I think the NIN CDs have - for the most part - great production and mastering.
The Fragile is IMHO one of the best produced rock albums of the last 5 or 6 years. Yes, it's loud, but it's also very detailed and polished, and has lots of dynamic range.
The NIN albums all sound great in my opinion, I doubt the remaster will suck since Trent pretty much does everything himself and knows how properly master a disc.
The live NIN album from 2002 was pretty loud, but still sounded just like the shows did. That was a hell of a tour, by the way - best show i've seen.
The live NIN album from 2002 was pretty loud, but still sounded just like the shows did. That was a hell of a tour, by the way - best show i've seen.
Fragile is actually a recommended album to test HIFI equipment with, and is often used by the big magazines. Just as Massive Attack, NIN has continuously put out albums with great production qualities.
well, i wouldn't say "continually" put out great albums, but NIN does put out great albums once a decade. i figured NIN had great production, but i wanted to see what the audiophiles thought. thanks for your input guys.
I use MediaMonkey and i'm very happy with the software.
It has almost everything (if not all) you need with an excellent library handling as its best feature.
Check it out http://www.mediamonkey.com/
It has almost everything (if not all) you need with an excellent library handling as its best feature.
Check it out http://www.mediamonkey.com/
I remember unearthing my old copy of The Fragile and noticed a lot of clipping artifacts. It doesn't really come across in the music tho, except for rare instances like the bass kick of... whichever one was the track Dr. Dre co-produced, heh.
In terms of mixing and everything else it's a pretty nice production. Can't really say how much I recommend it as music now, cuz I'm not a teen anymore.
In terms of mixing and everything else it's a pretty nice production. Can't really say how much I recommend it as music now, cuz I'm not a teen anymore.
Short answer: Bloody good.
hmm... the fragile is mostly nice. "the wretched" and "starf*ckers, inc" can be hard to listen to. not much dynamic range in those two.
there's clipping all over it if you listen for it. that's artistic for the most part but pushes a little too far in a few places. the bass drums in the choruses of "we're in this together" sound like they ought to be louder but have nowhere else to go.
Downward spiral is good, too. can't say i support the SACD format (for both technical and political reasons), so if i were to buy this album, i'd probably only listen to the CD layer
there's clipping all over it if you listen for it. that's artistic for the most part but pushes a little too far in a few places. the bass drums in the choruses of "we're in this together" sound like they ought to be louder but have nowhere else to go.
Downward spiral is good, too. can't say i support the SACD format (for both technical and political reasons), so if i were to buy this album, i'd probably only listen to the CD layer
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