Anyone ever remaster old CDs?

Hey all, just wondering if anyone has ever tried to remaster some of their older CDs?  Some of them back in the late 80's and early 90's sound rather stale by todays standards.  Just wondering if any of you have given it a shot and did you have much success?

Excellent... Great to know it can be done. For some reason Van Halen's Diver Down seems to be kind of drab sounding. Might have to play with that one.

Any suggestions?  Maybe you should do a video for us.  (strong hint, strong hint) 

Danny,
WOW, you did a fantastic job on Eddies tone. I mean wow!  Are you getting that mostly out of your gear, or are you using a lot of Sonar and plugs to get that tone?  It is after all the wholly grail of tones considered by many. 
So, the original was in drop d? 

In one of my guitars I have the Seymour Duncan 78 custom.  Allegedly it's supposed to be the exact same pup that Seymour Duncan wound for Eddie back int the day.  Had to special order it from Duncan.  Nice pup. 

redbarchetta


Danny,
WOW, you did a fantastic job on Eddies tone. I mean wow!  Are you getting that mostly out of your gear, or are you using a lot of Sonar and plugs to get that tone?  It is after all the wholly grail of tones considered by many. 
So, the original was in drop d? 

In one of my guitars I have the Seymour Duncan 78 custom.  Allegedly it's supposed to be the exact same pup that Seymour Duncan wound for Eddie back int the day.  Had to special order it from Duncan.  Nice pup. 

Thanks man, much appreciated! The core of the tone comes from my gear, yeah. From there, to try and grab some of what Ed was doing due to recording with tape, the sound went through a UAD Studer Tape sim to just give it that saturated sound. See, this is the stuff I mean when you hear me say "UAD has it down with these saturator type things" as well as "this is why you buy the pricier plugs because these are the differences they give you."
 
There were a few Sonar plugs used on the guitar sound. Sonitus compressor (taking away about -2 dB of gain) a Sonitus eq to further tweak it up to make it gel in the mix, Sonitus reverb and the delay is a Sonitus delay. Sonar effects are great for processing...like reverbs, delay etc. But some of the more "color" type plugs for compression or saturation....they just don't make the grade for me.
 
Like the flanger you hear on that...that's the flanger in my 2101 processor used in real time. I literally stepped on the pedal each time to turn it off and on. It's weird...I have a system to where I can make the flanger go up then down on each phrase timed perfectly....but I have to launch the patch in my 2101 just right at the start. I have to count it in before I play. LOL! But when I do it right, that flange goes up and down near perfectly in real time EVERY time.
 
So yeah, for certain things, Sonar plugs rock. For other things...they just don't quite deliver for me. I can use a Sonitus compressor for just about any instrument. That's only when I want a compressor though without coloration, see what I mean? There are times something from UAD like a NEVE 33609 (used on all vocals) makes an incredible difference and adds a tone characteristic that I can't explain.
 
Or how the Fairchild I use just gives me a sound that I don't get in anything else. So for some things, Sonar plugs rule and I'd be lost without them. But for other things, there's a pretty incredible difference for the better when you compare.
 
So to really answer your question...and this is not a bash on Sonar plugs, but I could have used any delay, compressor, eq or reverb to get the sound processing you heard. The actual sound, comes from my guitar and the 2101 tube guitar pre I'm using.
 
Hahaha....I got that same Duncan pup in one of my B.C Rich guitars. Then I swithced over to the Duncan Trem Custom because it just gave me a little more mids and beef. So that's what I use now unless I'm using one of my Carvin guitars. I left them all stock because the pups were perfect as they were. I didn't buy the stock pups though, I got the upgraded ones they offer when I had the guitars built for me.
 
Glad you enjoyed the tune though...thanks brother. I figured you might get a kick out of that. :)
 
-Danny

What a great topic redbarchetta! 

I wouldn't mind hearing SRVs Texas Flood re-mastered.
Danny, since you brought it up, what Carvin pickups are you using in your Carvins?

max: I just spent the last 10 mins looking for my build receipts for those guitars. I just saw them last week! I have no clue what pups they are...MD something maybe? Sorry man...it's been years so I really have no idea but I know I didn't choose the ones that come stock. I paid a few extra dollars and got the best ones thet had and talked to the guy on the phone telling him what style I play. Whatever he recommended, they sound incredible. I need to find those receipts though...so when I do, I'll tell you what they are.

I got 3 Carvins....each with different pups as they came out with new stuff each time I bought a guitar from them. I'll get back to you on this!

Mike: Thanks bro! Yeah, soul soloing is really nice. But with the VH stuff, I try to keep the important parts in when I can. The rest is me doodling around with a VH tone...so it's like at that point, anything you do sort of sounds like Eddie unless I start sweeping arps and doing Malmsteen stuff. It's funny, when I do my own stuff, I nail it all note for note because I feel I have to. It's rare for me to alter my path there...but every once in a while, I may get a little pumped up and do the real solo and then improv some stuff after it and make it a little longer. I always tell my guys "watch me...if I get in the zone, I'll turn around and flick my tongue at you." That's our signal. LOL! So they know to keep on vamping that section until I cue them.

I actually like when artists play a different version of a solo live....but it MUST be better than the original! And if a solo is sick enough on record, they HAVE to nail it or I'm depressed. LOL! :)

-Danny

ozone rx is one of the most powerful tools ive ever used.
I only re-master oler projects from bands that will drop in there 1980/1990's , 4.8 and 16 track demos for re mastering.
I own a 16 trask Tascam so I see some business from clients who need someone who has one.
my prices are also probably half of what it costs to send it out or bring it somewhere and have it done by a professional company,not that I think im not professional im just saying.

ive used ozone rx to clean up rotten tracks,i mean really rotten tracks.
I did a project where the lead singer pluged in to an old roland jazz chorus guitar amp and sang through that to get the effects of chorus,what a mess.

Hey Chuckebaby - 
Do you "remaster" (rescue) 4-track cassette? I had a Tascam Syncaset from the 80's that I was going to use to transfer stuff into Sonar, but, I dropped the machine and it broke!!
I have several 4 track cassettes (3-3/4 ips, and DBX NR) I'd love to get transferred into Sonar (X2a)...... Can you do that, and for how much?

I have cleaned up some old cassettes, but I wouldn't mess with a commercial CD. I want to hear the original sound the way it was released. That's just me though. 

I routinely remaster vinyl records after digitizing them. These records tend to be hit and miss: some are too bassey, some are too tinny.

Thanks for all the feedback. I think I might give it a shot.  My goal thought will be to try and use the stock plugins from Sonar and the expanded pack for the Pro Channel that I bought.