[Slowhand] D&D LAOALS (Mickboy Remaster)

[John Mills]

Thanks to Carey, James V. and Tony for their respective reviews.


> John, time to spill the beans. Who is Mickboy? What has he done?


Okay, most of this is guess-work from Googling and if I can find it, it
won't hurt to repeat it.
Mickboy, first name "Gerry", acquired his nickname from his prowess at
remastering Stones albums, initially the official and latterly boots.
His best documented remaster is of George Harrison's, All Things Must Pass",
which was sourced from virgin Japanese vinyl, with the vinyl to CD
conversion performed by Chris Desjardin. (Why is Japanese vinyl better than
that from elsewhere?)
Another name that keeps cropping up is Steve Hoffman, of "Audio Fidelity".
He has performed his own remaster of ATMP, but due to contractual wrangling,
this has remained un-issued.
Some have mooted that Mickboy is a professional engineer, with access to
quality equipment.

My point of reference:

LAOALS:
2xCD AAD Stereo RSO/PolyGram version, West German manufacture, no publishing
date; cat #:823 277-2.
"West Germany" suggests pre-1990!
This is a crap version with muddy sound and noticeable tape hiss; I now know
why I had only played it once since purchasing it.

Equipment:
Sony DVP-NS30 DVD/CD Player
Home-grown amplifier, circa 1975
Wharfedale E30 speakers

You've got me looking at Mission speakers, Carey ;~)


The remastering process trades-off frequency-response for high-end clarity;
I have compared "I Looked Away" from MickBoy and my official CD, using Adobe
Audition and can see curtailment of the frequencies above 18kHz.

As Carey has noted, A/B listening comparisons are thwarted by the necessity
to readjust volume and in my case tone control settings, between changes.

I find the Mickboy bass overwhelming, especially the drums, but certainly
not muffled. The Mickboy top is enhanced, with the cymbals far clearer and
more prominent than my official version. Yes, the guitars really stand out
and I don't think that this can be achieved by simply re-equalising. All in
all, there is a clarity in all the instruments, which makes the mid-spectrum
sound sparse; maybe that's the effect of removing the mud.

I think I understand why Carey says it sounds harsh, I needed to apply
attenuation to both the upper and lower frequency ranges, to
'sweeten/balance' the sound. This would be my criticism of the work; it
doesn't play out of the box.

This all poses the question, which is the definitive, official LAOALS
release? For an earlier era, I would call upon DN's golden ears. Anyone?


John