The new version of the album AJA by the band Steely Dan has just been reissued a few days ago, edition 2023. It is therefore a reissue but also, in this case, a remastering (by Bernie Grundman). The album is available in UHQR (Ultra High Quality Record) vinyl version, 45 rpm (LP), 200-gram for the tidy sum of 150 $US. We could start by saying that it is possible to reissue an album without necessarily remastering it, but it is important to start by knowing (quickly) what mastering a piece of music or a complete album is in order to then understand the possible subtleties.

Mixing

Once a piece of music has been mixed, meaning that all the instrument and vocal tracks have been balanced against each other to obtain an interesting sound balance, that they have been treated most often with equalizers to reduce the masking of one track on another, and that effects such as reverb and echoes have been tastefully applied, the next step is the mastering of this mix, now become a single stereo track.

Mastering

Mastering allows you to have another pair of critical ears that can listen to the mix as a whole, a whole. A step back that is difficult when you have just mixed a song for 12 hours or even more. The mastering manager will therefore listen to the piece of music to judge the overall balance. For example, it is possible that it needs more bass, more high frequencies, or a different compression to give it more energy. Mastering also allows you to adjust the sound level so that the piece is competitive with other songs broadcast on the radio or on an online distribution service such as Spotify.

Mastering is therefore a stage where we polished, optimized and confirmed the quality of the work done by the mixer. This step may simply represent an "ok" from the mastering engineer, meaning that everything is perfect and no further intervention was necessary (which is rarer), or it may make an appreciable difference compared to the unmastered version (see before-after example here).

Remastering

So, what is the difference with remastering? In general, it is exactly the same thing, redone from the original non-mastered recordings, for reissue. As mentioned earlier, it would be entirely possible to reissue an already mastered version without going back to the original recordings.

Among the reasons why an artist wants a track or album to be remastered is that it allows them to take advantage of the latest sound processing technologies. These offer finer control over the final product, suitable for current reproduction or distribution systems.

Indeed, music mastered in the 1970s was optimized for turntables, songs released in the 1980s and 1990s were optimized for playback on compact discs, and in recent years, they are optimized for streaming services, Bluetooth speakers, and small headphones.

Going back to the unmastered tapes also allows the engineer to get a better idea of the original intent of the recording and potentially be more faithful to it.

Note that it can also happen that only an already mastered version is available for a digital reissue, in the form of magnetic tape or vinyl (a situation I often face). Although this is more limiting, it is possible and even desirable to remaster from this already mastered version because, once again, over time, playback and sound processing equipment have evolved.

Other reasons for remastering include that the artist may want to change the structure of a piece of music, or change the balance of instruments, or clean up some noises. The latest technology actually allows "demix" a piece of music, separate the different instruments, recreate a different balance with the voice louder for example.

The remastering process will therefore take into account all these different parameters, and even more. It is a work of improvement and preservation.

One might then ask the question: should the latest version necessarily be the best? Not necessarily.

I have three versions of Steely Dan's album "Aja": an early version from a CD, probably from the late 80s, a remastered version from 1999 and the new version from 2023 (digital distribution version).

The three versions have a different sound, especially depending on the track being listened to. Trends change, and currently, there is a push against compression (limiting audio peaks to achieve more volume), a war against the loudness war.

The final version is the one with the lowest sound level and the least frequency correction applied. It is the one that sounds the most "natural". However, it is possible that by pushing to the extreme, the final version lacks excitement or "punch"...

What is done during mastering, or remastering, is also partly subjective work, and the main thing is obviously to meet the client's expectations.

If you have a reissue or remastering project, feel free to contact me to discuss your needs.

You can also visit this page to discover examples and excerpts from completed projects.