https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/ Copyright (c) 2006-2013 Web Wiz Forums - All Rights Reserved. Sat, 09 May 2026 11:19:46 +0000 Sat, 29 Jun 2013 16:56:28 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Web Wiz Forums 12.07 360 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/RSS_post_feed.asp?TID=66 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum//images/Top-40-Music-on-CD-Forum-Logo.png https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/ https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66&PID=38241&title=facts-of-life-sometimes#38241 Author: Todd Ireland
Subject: 66
Posted: 29 June 2013 at 4:56pm

OK, I had our resident audio engineering expert Mark Mathews take a listen to "Sometimes" as it appears on my Facts of Life's Just the Facts: The Complete Kayvette Recordings 1975-1978 CD. He said he compared it to the same track on Santi's Sweet Dreams Where Country Meets Soul Volume 2 disc. Mark's conclusion is that they are both from a pristine sounding vinyl source but mastered differently.

Now, here's how Mark is able to tell these CDs were mastered from vinyl... There is a slight "thump" noise that occurs in regular two second intervals and is most audible through headphones between the 1:15-1:50 mark. This noise is due to a slight physical imperfection on the vinyl LP surface, most likely a small bump. Each time the stylus needle hits the imperfection with each full vinyl rotation, the "thump" noise occurs.

Mark says the mysterious rattling noises at the end of the recording are indeed guitar notes that begin plucking in the right channel from 3:40-3:42. That "paper sack shaking" quality I described previously is due to noise reduction applied to the song when it was mastered for CD. A filter was evidently used to remove low-level groove rumble, but in the process also carves out some of the audio at a very low volume. The audio ends up as low as the noise-floor and this is why the guitar obtains that peculiar sound at the tail end of the fade. Mark credits the engineer for applying the hiss reduction at a low setting and confining it only to the track's final :03. If more reduction had been used to try to remove the "thumps", it most likely would have ruined the bass line.

Finally, Mark attributes the hiss on "Sometimes" as most likely being present on the vinyl record itself. He says a greater amount of hiss reduction was used at the end of the song on the Country Meets Soul Volume 2 CD which actually fades out before the final guitar notes can be heard. Meanwhile, if there's a drawback to the Just the Facts disc, it's that the audio levels are peak-limited due to the track being mastered at loud levels. Yet despite that, Marks says he prefers the sound quality of "Sometimes" on the latter CD.

Edited by Todd Ireland]]> Sat, 29 Jun 2013 16:56:28 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66&PID=38241&title=facts-of-life-sometimes#38241 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66&PID=38077&title=facts-of-life-sometimes#38077 Author: Todd Ireland
Subject: 66
Posted: 19 June 2013 at 8:01pm

Ed:

I just listened to the track from beginning to end and it sounds to me like this was mastered from a tape source. There is hiss throughout the song that is consistent with that of analog tape and I don't detect any vinyl relics like popping or crackling.

However... I do hear those mysterious noises you're talking about during the last several seconds of the song's fadeout. The best way I can describe these noises is that they somewhat resemble the sound of someone violently shaking a paper bag. I'm not sure if this is some type of percussion instrument or possibly even be tape flutter or damage. The noises don't sound vinyl-related to me, but I'm at a loss to explain what they are exactly!

Edited by Todd Ireland]]> Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:01:09 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66&PID=38077&title=facts-of-life-sometimes#38077 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66&PID=38075&title=facts-of-life-sometimes#38075 Author: edtop40
Subject: 66
Posted: 19 June 2013 at 6:58pm

paul was kind enough to send me a file of the song
'sometimes' by facts of life from the import cd below

Sometimes (from Facts of Life 'Just the Facts - The
Complete Kayvette Recordings 1975-1978' UK import -
Southbound 147)

and the song sounds like its a vinyl transfer.....if you
listen to the fade out, with headphones, of the song
'sometimes' you can hear rasping like a record...]]> Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:58:50 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66&PID=38075&title=facts-of-life-sometimes#38075 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66&PID=38067&title=facts-of-life-sometimes#38067 Author: Santi Paradoa
Subject: 66
Posted: 19 June 2013 at 8:41am

Yes Jim. I had Mark Mathews confirm it for me. Mark
listened to a wav file I sent him and came to that
conclusion.]]> Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:41:56 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66&PID=38067&title=facts-of-life-sometimes#38067 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66&PID=38065&title=facts-of-life-sometimes#38065 Author: jimct
Subject: 66
Posted: 18 June 2013 at 9:48pm

Santi, are you sure Kent/Ace UK used a vinyl source for "Sometimes?" Based
on the fact that the song has already been included, from a tape source, on
at least 2 other import CDs (mastering/loudness issues or no), it just seems
to me to be totally out of character for Ace UK to have come to the "let's use
a 'Sometines' vinyl dub" conclusion this time. Now I could be wrong here. But
I own at least 75 Ace UK/Kent CDs, and I can never remember thinking that
I'd just heard a vinyl dub, even once, on any of them. I've found everything
about their CD releases to be top notch, each and every tine, that's all.]]> Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:48:36 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66&PID=38065&title=facts-of-life-sometimes#38065 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66&PID=38064&title=facts-of-life-sometimes#38064 Author: Santi Paradoa
Subject: 66
Posted: 18 June 2013 at 9:27pm

This song has surfaced yet again on another import CD.
This time it was mastered from vinyl but does sound good
(not brickwalled or ruined by excessive noise reduction).
The Kent (Ace UK label) single disc is titled Sweet
Dreams Where Country Meets Soul Volume 2 and also
includes three other Hot 100 chart singles including "A
Satisfied Mind" by Bobby Hebb (from a tape source). This
recent release has 23 tracks total and is probably selling
for $20 or less.

Edited by Santi Paradoa]]> Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:27:21 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66&PID=38064&title=facts-of-life-sometimes#38064 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66&PID=20267&title=facts-of-life-sometimes#20267 Author: edtop40
Subject: 66
Posted: 29 December 2008 at 12:53pm

what we should do is get 10 of us to chip in $3.00 each and somebody buy it and copy it for all of us to have a wave file of...any takers??]]> Mon, 29 Dec 2008 12:53:53 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66&PID=20267&title=facts-of-life-sometimes#20267 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66&PID=20258&title=facts-of-life-sometimes#20258 Author: Todd Ireland
Subject: 66
Posted: 29 December 2008 at 1:15am

By golly, you're absolutely right, Abagon! According to Amazon.com, the Facts of Life's Just the Facts: The Complete Kayvette Recordings 1975-1978 CD set is officially scheduled for release on February 10, 2009! And although I would normally consider it overkill to purchase a 2-disc set by a group who only charted one Billboard Top 40 single, it will be nice to finally be able to add "Sometimes" to my CD collection for less than $30! (Unfortunately, out-of-print used copies of the Deep Down In Florida: TK Deep Soul CD that my good friend Jim referenced are selling for about twice that amount!) ]]> Mon, 29 Dec 2008 01:15:38 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66&PID=20258&title=facts-of-life-sometimes#20258 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66&PID=20257&title=facts-of-life-sometimes#20257 Author: jimct
Subject: 66
Posted: 29 December 2008 at 12:58am

Thank you for that additional, "Best Of" CD information for the group "Facts Of Life", Abagon. And, thanks as well for ALL of your tireless work with Todd throughout this year, for all of those many 80's songs actual 45 timings. That info was, for me, the most valuable contribution made on this Board during 2008, and I hope you are enjoying the holiday season out your way, my friend!]]> Mon, 29 Dec 2008 00:58:48 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66&PID=20257&title=facts-of-life-sometimes#20257 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66&PID=20255&title=facts-of-life-sometimes#20255 Author: abagon
Subject: 66
Posted: 28 December 2008 at 11:34pm

For the LP information: The LP track of the "Sometimes" has (3:44) of the actual running time. (The LP title "Sometimes" by "FACTS OF LIFE" KAYVETTE 802). However this LP doesn't have the listed time on the record label also on the record cover.

I found this song on the CD in the Japanese web site!
"FACTS OF LIFE-JUST THE FACTS: THE COMPLETE KAYVETTE RECORDINGS 1975-1978 (KENT - U.K. import) 2CD set"

--abagon]]> Sun, 28 Dec 2008 23:34:57 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66&PID=20255&title=facts-of-life-sometimes#20255