– Update: 25 november 2023 –

Prince was my hero. A true star, a great musician and a groundbreaking artist. But in todays ears, the classic Prince albums from 1978-1989 all sound terribly thin. This lasted for 12 albums, and 12 years. There were never any Prince remasters released. That’s sad. 

And strange. Didn’t we notice? Why can’t I remember it didn’t sound good? With hits this big, how could that be? Could it be that radio stations rescued the sound, with their compressors? But other music from that same period sounds great, so what happened here? From Graffiti Bridge and newer, the Prince albums all sound superb. So: who fucked it up? Was it Warner, were they incompetent? Was the bad sound the reason that Prince broke up with Warner?

So many questions… But I found one answer. Being a digital designer I can dive into new software solutions. So what I did, is do some “Audio Mastering” myself.

Mastering seems to be mostly about Equalizing, some Limiting and just a little Compression. For the classic Prince albums, that was all it took. Now they sound incredible! I can’t share these remasters  – there are laws against that. But check out the samples below – you won’t believe it!

UPDATE: Purple Rain has been remastered in 2015, but not very good. The old vinyl version still sounds way better.

Prince remasters: how to Do It Yourself – Mastering Basics

You only need audio-software, like iZotope Ozone, which is super-high end stuff, or any software that can do EQ, limiting and compressing. There’s even free software like Audacity that can do the trick.

Pump up the bass using EQ, apply a limiter and a little compression. Just until it sounds right, like other modern music. You never heard Prince sounding so good before. Even the oldest albums – For You (1978),  Prince (1979), Controversy – or  Purple Rain, Lovesexy and even Batman. They all come to life like never before.

Take a listen:

Alphabet Street – INTRO – Original

Alphabet Street – INTRO – Remaster by AJ

Paisley-Park – INTRO – Remaster by AJ – Source: vinyl

Raspberry-Beret – INTRO – Remaster by AJ – Source: vinyl

Girls & Boys – INTRO – Remaster by AJ – Source: vinyl

When-Doves-Cry – INTRO – Remaster by AJ – Source: vinyl

Audio mastering tips

• The best order is: first Compression, then EQ, and Limiter as the last one – but all in one pass. You can do EQ before compressor if you Cut frequencies.
• The source must be high quality, preferrably 24 bit. In Prince’s case, vinyl 24 bit versions were best.
• If the source is not High Quality you will never get it right, because you will also blow up the bad stuff. But even then, amazing things are possible.
• If a track is too much Compressed and too Limited (like most modern music),  there is no way to UN-compress or UN-limit. Famous example is Metallica’s Death Magnetic. There is a Guitar Hero version of the same album that sounds way better, because it is less compressed.
• Compare the sound before and after at the same perceptive volume. The Ear icon (next to Bypass) is there to match the gain. Although you have to “fill the signal” with limiting and compression for optimal quality, don’t overdo it. Modern music often suffers from this loudness war.
• Also take a look at the audio waves, after mastering. You can see right away if it’s too much:

  

• To find out how LOUD a good signal can be, listen to other good sounding modern stuff like Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories. Even though that one is also in the red for Dynamic Range:
• You can check the Dynamic Range of your favorite albums on dr.loudness-war.info. A great site to compare different versions / remasters.
• Try it out on different speakers, small speakers as well, car radio, headphones
• Take a long rest and listen again.
• Exciters, Maximizers, Vintage tape etc: they are all fun but not really necessary. EQ and some limiting basically do the trick. And maybe a little compression.
• Different Limiters, EQ’s and compressors all sound different. They  are not the same!
• The limiter is usually the last one in the chain. EQ before compressor if you Cut frequencies, but after the compressor if you Boost frequencies.
• A remaster of a remaster will deteriorate quickly, so do all your mastering in one pass. If it is not right, do it again from scratch.
• A common mistake for CD’s was the RIAA curve. This curve was needed because vinyl cannot contain a lot of bass or loud signals. When released on CD without RIAA compensation, it would sound terribly thin. This could also be the case for Prince albums.

Compression

Compression is a confusing word. It can refer to MP3-compression, that will make files smaller, but lowers the quality. This type of compression can also be lossless (FLAC). But a compressor as a mastering effect is completely different. Soft sounds are made louder, loud sounds are cut off. Modern music is often too “compressed” in this way.

Settings example

Below my settings in iZotope Ozone, for EQ, Limiter and Compressor. This will roughly work for any Prince album before Graffiti Bridge:

But don’t overdo it:

See also my blog about Audio for AV productions (in Dutch)