John Curl's Blowtorch preamplifier part II - Page 551

Johnloudb · 6th August 2010, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by john curl

Well, after 30 years, I just heard that 'Tusk' was disappointing in sales, with less than 1/4 the sales as much as 'Rumors'. Was I correct in my prediction? Who knows?

I don't know what equipment they were using at the time, but I always preferred the standard issue CDs over the MoFi versions, until they got there act together in the mid 90's with the gain system.

pooge · 6th August 2010, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnloudb

I don't know what equipment they were using at the time, but I always preferred the standard issue CDs over the MoFi versions, until they got there act together in the mid 90's with the gain system.

I never liked the bass on MoFi records. Always sounded "thick" or muddy to me. Very unnatural, anyway. No matter what system I heard them on.

john curl · 6th August 2010, 01:17 PM

I didn't control the rest of the production at MoFi, in fact we had a problem between us that almost cost me a lawsuit. They wanted my schematics for the unit, even though I was available to repair any problems. Apparently, they were going to make more with another competitor of mine, cutting me out of it. The bass of my analog machine was the best at 30 ips of any machine at the time, to my knowledge. I made a breakthrough in equalizing the head bump(s) and extending the frequency response to 10 Hz. I could show a respectable 25Hz and 10KHz square wave with even the early machines. Only vinyl records were made in those early years, however digital was experimented with for delay, initial master recording, as in the 'Tusk' case for the final mix. I think later, Mobile Fidelity used it at an effective 2X sample rate to make an inter-master of some kind, which was possible as the record was mastered at 1/2 speed.

bear · 6th August 2010, 02:17 PM

John,

Truthfully, I think that the reason the Tusk album did not sell as well is that the musical compositions were not as good - that is all. It would be VERY good to ferret out those 30ips masters and NOW have at them - releasing a "new" version of the album... wonder who controls and owns that tape, and if it exists...

_-_-bear

Steve Eddy · 6th August 2010, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by john curl

I didn't control the rest of the production at MoFi, in fact we had a problem between us that almost cost me a lawsuit. They wanted my schematics for the unit, even though I was available to repair any problems.

How could you have possibly guaranteed that? I mean, **** happens. What if you were run over by some crazy old guy in a Bentley or something?

Seriously, I think that was a reasonable request.

se

Cal Weldon · 6th August 2010, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bear

John,

Truthfully, I think that the reason the Tusk album did not sell as well is that the musical compositions were not as good

They tried to diversify their talents and ended up with an album bordering on new wave. No way, not gonna happen. They had finally settled in on what worked after all those years of being an unknown. Mick and John found some up and comers named Buckingham/Nicks, allowed the creative strings to be loosened from folk rock to pop and then produced two albums of similar ilk. They had to do something different or they would have faded.

Personally I like the albums before Fleetwood Mac^2 came out. Some great tunes back there.

oops, OT.

SY · 6th August 2010, 02:40 PM

I think the dropping sales were because that was the time I was doing design work for Mick Fleetwood.

Honestly, it comes as a shock to no-one that the sound of the album is largely irrelevant to sales- except that it needs to be LOUD sounding.

pooge · 6th August 2010, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by john curl

I didn't control the rest of the production at MoFi

I have no doubt the quality of their equipment was good. I think their re-mixing is the common denominator that I didn't care for.

Steve Eddy · 6th August 2010, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bear

Truthfully, I think that the reason the Tusk album did not sell as well is that the musical compositions were not as good - that is all.

I think you're right. It's not as if the mass consumer market is terribly discriminating when it comes to recording quality.

Look at Nebraska, one of Bruce Springsteen's best selling albums containing perhaps his most popular song, Born in the USA.

It was recorded on a Tascam PortaStudio (a "prosumer" four track, and at the time, cassette-based recorder) using a pair of Shure SM-57 mics.

se

johnferrier · 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Eddy

Look at Nebraska, one of Bruce Springsteen's best selling albums containing perhaps his most popular song, Born in the USA.

Just three years after Tusk . . .

another point for se

.

6th August 2010, 02:17 PM	#5504
bear expert in tautology diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: New York State USA	John, Truthfully, I think that the reason the Tusk album did not sell as well is that the musical compositions were not as good - that is all. It would be VERY good to ferret out those 30ips masters and NOW have at them - releasing a "new" version of the album... wonder who controls and owns that tape, and if it exists... _-_-bear __________________ _-_-bear http://www.bearlabs.com [...2SJ74 Toshiba bogus asian parts - beware! ] -- Btw, I don't actually know anything, FYI --

6th August 2010, 02:40 PM	#5507
SY diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Chicagoland Blog Entries: 1	I think the dropping sales were because that was the time I was doing design work for Mick Fleetwood. Honestly, it comes as a shock to no-one that the sound of the album is largely irrelevant to sales- except that it needs to be LOUD sounding. __________________ If there's a sucker born every minute, where do the rest of them come from?

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6th August 2010, 01:17 PM	#5503
john curl diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: berkeley ca	I didn't control the rest of the production at MoFi, in fact we had a problem between us that almost cost me a lawsuit. They wanted my schematics for the unit, even though I was available to repair any problems. Apparently, they were going to make more with another competitor of mine, cutting me out of it. The bass of my analog machine was the best at 30 ips of any machine at the time, to my knowledge. I made a breakthrough in equalizing the head bump(s) and extending the frequency response to 10 Hz. I could show a respectable 25Hz and 10KHz square wave with even the early machines. Only vinyl records were made in those early years, however digital was experimented with for delay, initial master recording, as in the 'Tusk' case for the final mix. I think later, Mobile Fidelity used it at an effective 2X sample rate to make an inter-master of some kind, which was possible as the record was mastered at 1/2 speed.