Have not read any comments yet as to how the sound of the official release stands up compared with the Swingin' Pig original? Is the mix noticeably different? Quality??

Buy it and find out...

1000 times better. And what gave you the idea to call the TSP "original"? It sounds crappy and is the worst version around...!

Lots of debate on this subject here. You may want to 'SEARCH' for it.

But what I find is the mix is really great. Nice separation and well balanced. Better than the well known boots. The 'sound' however is incredibly canned. Maybe too compressed. Its hard to hear more than a few songs without acquiring a Hampton sized headache.

Nice Mix. Harsh Sound. Bad Production.

If you're going to compare the official one with anything, why compare it with the Swingin Pig version? TSP's version suck

Excellent stereoseparation (so it sounds noticeably different from the wellknown bootleg sources). The somewhat brickwalled mastering might not appeal to everyone's ears though (but as I recall the dynamics on the TSP release ain't that great either). Check it out.

www.rsundercover.eu

To me, it sounds worse, now.
First of allo, I was used to a 'fatter' sound and always thought that the way the sound was balanced was a sort of miracle. How could it be that a FM/TV broadcast was so brilliantly balanced?
Moreover, I always loved Keith Richards fast notes toward the end of 'Waiting on a Friend'! He was so happy with these notes that danced at the end of the song.
Now those notes are deep into the mix and you can hardly hear them. A true loss
In my opinion, the best-sounding bootlegs were so much better than the official release.
Generally speaking, it seems to me that Bob Clearmountain is remixing them all without any respect for the original sound of every and each tour and tends to make them 'modern'. I don't want any modern sound by the Rolling Stones, I'd like to hear their original sound, instead.
Luca



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-02-14 23:00 by 1963luca0.

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1963luca0
To me, it sounds worse, now.
First of allo, I was used to a 'fatter' sound and always thought that the way the sound was balanced was a sort of miracle. How could it be that a FM/TV broadcast was so brilliantly balanced?
Moreover, I always loved Keith Richards fast notes toward the end of 'Waiting on a Friend'! He was so happy with these notes that danced at the end of the song.
Now those notes are deep into the mix and you can hardly hear them. A true loss
In my opinion, the best-sounding bootlegs were so much better than the official release.
Generally speaking, it seems to me that Bob Clearmountain is remixing them all without any respect for the original sound of every and each tour and tends to make them 'modern'. I don't want any modern sound by the Rolling Stones, I'd like to hear their original sound, instead.
Luca

What a total load of bollocks. Clearmountain doesn't do any kind of remixing on these tapes: he sets the levels right, and masters it. That's it. There's not mixing involved -no highlighting solo's, no muffling bum notes. What you hear is what you get, loud and right in your face. In fact, that seems to be the only legit complaint by some: it is mastered a bit to loud. The pre-gain is set just a tad to high.

But listen to this master, and then to for example Grande Finale -the best source ever available of this gig. I am sure the vinyl will be the coaster at your next dinner.

Mathijs

I hear Keith's run at the end of "Friend" more clearly on the official release. I can also hear more of what he was playing before the run. This is not an isolated incident. I can hear everything more clearly throughout the entire show.

Now, it is true that I had my ears cleaned out, for the first time in 20 years, the day before the official Hampton release. I'm sure that has nothing to do with anything.

Also, I can't seem to remember the number between seven and nine. No worries, though.

The official release is better, in my opinion.

The volumes, particularly of the guitars, seem better balanced, and I can hear things that were hard to pick up on the bootlegs. This makes the guitar interplay easier to hear and enjoy.

Also, the guitars sound like the Rolling Stones' guitars. This is the first time -- including the Hampton boots and Still Life -- that anyone has captured the way the guitars actually sounded in '81, and that's made a big difference to me.

Yes, the official release is quite compressed -- no doubt some dynamics were lost, but it's still quite an upgrade, to my ears.

"There's not mixing involved"

I disagree : Keith's backing "vocals" are painfully low in the official mix. I like to hear the man howl!

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Erik_Snow
If you're going to compare the official one with anything, why compare it with the Swingin Pig version? TSP's version suck

It may not be perfect, but it rocks like hell! Other versions that came later, like VGP sound more detailed, but considerably lack bottom and midrange - VGP sounds clearer, but a bit lifeless in comparison. I can't listen to it without proper EQ settings to make it "rock".

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Munichhilton


1) But what I find is the mix is really great. Nice separation and well balanced. Better than the well known boots.
2) The 'sound' however is incredibly canned. Maybe too compressed.
3) Its hard to hear more than a few songs without acquiring a Hampton sized headache.

4) Nice Mix. Harsh Sound. Bad Production.

1) Well... it's a very democratic mix. ...uh huh^^
each voice and instrument seems to have had the same treatment in maximizing the dynamics, getting the full range of the audio spectrum plus some enhancements.
my guess - a Multibandcompressor was used for each & every track.
that said...
2) I bet each track on its own would sound nice and rich (think of gimme shelter isolated tracks)
put all those allready multiband-compressed groups together...
lets see: Drums, Bass, Guitar left, Guitar right, Vocals main, second Vocals, Sax, Keyboards, Audience...
yep, all that together makes it too compressed and flat. everything right up your face.
that said...
3) yeah headache, or rapid hearing fatigue especially when blasting it loud.
actually you can turn the sound on your system way, way down and still hear every instrument ...crystal clear.
4) the Mix is nice for bedside radio volumes - but dang! my amp has a Loudness button for that. more bass and highs at low volume.
it is harsh when played loud - too much information. see #1) and #2)
Bad Production - yep, do it again Bob! this is a live gig of the freakin' Rolling Stones not a moonlight serenade!

Hi Guys,

Bit off topic, but noticed the original Hampton thread derailed a little, so I jump in here.

I had a shot at some artwork for Hampton Coliseum which came out pretty OK. However I am not familiar with uploading here so was wondering if there is anybody who I can mail this to so he/she can upload it for me. Please let me know.

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open-g
a Multibandcompressor was used for each & every track.

As opposed to each track or every track. Huh.

Hi again,

I tried using dropbox; this might work:

Artwork Hampton back
Artwork Hampton front

Hope you like it.

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open-g

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Munichhilton


1) But what I find is the mix is really great. Nice separation and well balanced. Better than the well known boots.
2) The 'sound' however is incredibly canned. Maybe too compressed.
3) Its hard to hear more than a few songs without acquiring a Hampton sized headache.

4) Nice Mix. Harsh Sound. Bad Production.

1) Well... it's a very democratic mix. ...uh huh^^
each voice and instrument seems to have had the same treatment in maximizing the dynamics, getting the full range of the audio spectrum plus some enhancements.
my guess - a Multibandcompressor was used for each & every track.
that said...
2) I bet each track on its own would sound nice and rich (think of gimme shelter isolated tracks)
put all those allready multiband-compressed groups together...
lets see: Drums, Bass, Guitar left, Guitar right, Vocals main, second Vocals, Sax, Keyboards, Audience...
yep, all that together makes it too compressed and flat. everything right up your face.
that said...
3) yeah headache, or rapid hearing fatigue especially when blasting it loud.
actually you can turn the sound on your system way, way down and still hear every instrument ...crystal clear.
4) the Mix is nice for bedside radio volumes - but dang! my amp has a Loudness button for that. more bass and highs at low volume.
it is harsh when played loud - too much information. see #1) and #2)
Bad Production - yep, do it again Bob! this is a live gig of the freakin' Rolling Stones not a moonlight serenade!

Listen to this man Bob. You are supposed to be a legend!

Over all I prefer VGP 270, but some details are better on the official release, e.g. the beginning of UMT is complete, the sax solo on Neighbours is complete, the solo by Keith on Let Me Go is completely audible. But often Ronnie is mixed too much in the background, Keith too prominent I think, the balance is better on VGP. Sometimes the official release is a little muffled, the VGP sound is clearer. The slightly messy Waiting on a Friend remains untouched, and another great minus: The messed up Satisfaction due to the attack on Keith, the clicking noise remains the same as on the boots. On Brussels one of MT's strings is broken, I think on Dancing with Mister D, and they took the solo from the second show. Why not the same procedure on Hampton, i.e. why not versions (Waiting, Satisf.) from another show in '81?

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WeLoveToPlayTheBlues

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open-g
a Multibandcompressor was used for each & every track.

As opposed to each track or every track. Huh.

Huh, and your point is?
next you'll tell me it ain't grammatical correct?
like Each and Every Day of the Year or Get Off Of My Cloud.

I was simply stressing the point that boatloads of compressors were used.
one Multibandcompressor can contain many compressors, each dedicated to a certain range of frequencies.
now add one MBC to every track that came off the actual multitrack-tape, divide them into subgroups - use a MBC for each too and don't forget the 2-track mixdown and the final master.
so here I just de-compressed for you what I said earlier:
a Multibandcompressor was used for each & every track

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Munichhilton


Listen to this man Bob. You are supposed to be a legend!

A Legend he is.
I'd love to hear from the man himslf what his aim was.
did he think 'ah, the market that will buy this, are just old Stones fans anyway. they don't listen to music that loud anymore.
they wanna hear it before they go to sleep.

or "ah, great project. now I can try my new toys and see how many multibandcompressors I can fit in."

I agree with you, open-g and munichhilton. It's a waste that Bob compressed this to that extent. It's very tough on the ears, and totally unecessary - as all us listener had to do was to turn the volume button up for the uncompressed version if we wanted to hear it LOUD in ALL it's real glory. Instead we get this stupifying compressed version served.
Another thing that hasn't been mentioned in this thread, is that Bill Wyman is louder on the bootleg than on the official version - which is a shame. He really shined in Hampton 1981, but one can't enjoy this when he's mixed like this.

When I was young ... long time ago ... I played my records on a device looking like this one.

I was happy with the sound that came out of it.
Nowadays we are just spoiled.

-------------------
Keep On Rolling

Quote
reiziger99
Hi again,

I tried using dropbox; this might work:

Artwork Hampton back
Artwork Hampton front

Hope you like it.

I do, very much. Thanks a lot!

Quote
open-g

Quote
WeLoveToPlayTheBlues

Quote
open-g
a Multibandcompressor was used for each & every track.

As opposed to each track or every track. Huh.

Huh, and your point is?
next you'll tell me it ain't grammatical correct?
like Each and Every Day of the Year or Get Off Of My Cloud.

I was simply stressing the point that boatloads of compressors were used.
one Multibandcompressor can contain many compressors, each dedicated to a certain range of frequencies.
now add one MBC to every track that came off the actual multitrack-tape, divide them into subgroups - use a MBC for each too and don't forget the 2-track mixdown and the final master.
so here I just de-compressed for you what I said earlier:
a Multibandcompressor was used for each & every track

Damn dude, you'll just have to get your multi-band Expander out and add some dynamic range of your own. Where do we send the multi-tracks? peace

Yes, yes - send me the multitrack tapes! I'll gladly build a silky 3-dimensional mix that you can blast loud without the earpiercing shrapnel and leave the canvas of silence, as Keith likes to point out, where it's appropriate.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-02-16 05:14 by open-g.

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open-g
Yes, yes - send me the multitrack tapes! I'll gladly build a silky 3-dimensional mix that you can blast loud without the earpiercing shrapnel and leave the canvas of silence, as Keith likes to point out, where it's appropriate.

A+ for enthusiasm. How about a ripiin 5.1 Surround mix? Silky is good.....peace

Anyone considered working on a "matrix mix" taking the best of both worlds? (I mean the official download and the best sounding bootlegs). Seems like a 50/50 mix could do wonders here, but then again since I don't have the skills dunno if the hassle would be worth it (?). Just a thought, guys!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-02-16 12:23 by Handova.

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alimente

Quote
Erik_Snow
If you're going to compare the official one with anything, why compare it with the Swingin Pig version? TSP's version suck

It may not be perfect, but it rocks like hell! Other versions that came later, like VGP sound more detailed, but considerably lack bottom and midrange - VGP sounds clearer, but a bit lifeless in comparison. I can't listen to it without proper EQ settings to make it "rock".

You're right there, alimente, setting the EQ settings is needed to make the VGP version rock.
When it comes to TSP - I think it's so overloaded, that I really can't enjoy that version, I must say. It's both muddy AND overloaded at the same time, actually. But see your point about it having a punch. But it's just too much for me

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Rolling Hansie
When I was young ... long time ago ... I played my records on a device looking like this one.

I was happy with the sound that came out of it.
Nowadays we are just spoiled.

They used to smell wonderful as well.

I'm not joking, it was addictive, my Mum's had a some kind of oily, electric, warm valvy (yeah) smell.

Happy days.

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Rolling Hansie
When I was young ... long time ago ... I played my records on a device looking like this one.

I was happy with the sound that came out of it.
Nowadays we are just spoiled.

So was I. My first 45 (bought by me with my own dollar) was My Sweet Lord and then I got Get Off of My Cloud...And they both spined on and on on that little record player of my childhood. Talking B sides I hated Isn't it a Pitty and LOVED I'm Free.

Thanks for the picture, great memories.