Satellite 15 mix defect

S

seventhdude

Prowler
:ninja:
hi I'm new here. I usually buy Maiden albums, enjoy listening to the them, go see them Live, and read album and concert reviews by all the fans while keeping my mouth shut. But this time I had to register to tell you about this.

When I bought the Final Frontier, I first grabbed it on mp3 for my Ipod. On my first listen, I noticed this defect in the mix I am about to describe to you. First I thought maybe it's my old Ipod nano going old on me, or it's the mp3 conversion. Then I listened to the CD on my computer and my car, and the defect was still there. So I though maybe I bought a CD with a defect. So I went to listen to the Satellite 15 tracks on YouTube posted by other fans, and the defect was still there!


+Description of the Mix Defect:

It's present on the drum track in Satellite 15. Go to the 3:06 - 3:07 mark to hear it when it happens for the first time (again at 3:12, 3:16, 3:28.. you get the idea...) It keeps on coming back every other measure or so. It's almost as if a recording track was copied and pasted to make the whole drum track, but it was done with a discontinuity in the sound. When you're not looking for it, you can't hear it. But once you know it's there, you always hear it, and it just spoils the whole track.

Can you guys/gals confirm or disconfirm this?
Does anybody know if they are talking about it in the Official Iron Maiden forum?  :S

thanks!
 
What as if there is a very slight pause when the snare is playing? If it is, it might be because Satellite 15 was recorded at Adrian's home Studio, so that's might be the reason it sounds a bit rough.
 
Either way, i'm pretty sure that Steve and Co. wanted to keep the recording as is, errors and all, to keep the feeling of a "lost in space" transmission.  I support their idea, but think it would have been better if they just re-recorded it with live instruments and drums, and segued a little more smoothly into The Final Frontier portion of the song.
 
chaosapiant said:
Either way, i'm pretty sure that Steve and Co. wanted to keep the recording as is, errors and all, to keep the feeling of a "lost in space" transmission.  I support their idea, but think it would have been better if they just re-recorded it with live instruments and drums, and segued a little more smoothly into The Final Frontier portion of the song.
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No I don't even think they caught this glitch before album went to mass production. And I doubt they would want to keep it in the mix if they knew about it. Come on, who wants to sell an inferior product?
Doesn't matter where it was recorded, Kevin Shirley is supposed to be in charge of production.

I can live with very minor production glitches (like the Blaze whisper at the end of Man on the Edge), but this one is too much to tolerate.

I am glad I am not the only one who noticed it.
 
snake plissken said:
I'm no bat but I have good ears and I still can't hear what you're talking about  :S
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At the times TS mentioned, there is a very slight (Like it has been copied and pasted on a music software and isn't in the exactly right place, causing a very slight pause) pause on the drums (When there is a constant snare).
 
seventhdude said:
No I don't even think they caught this glitch before album went to mass production. And I doubt they would want to keep it in the mix if they knew about it. Come on, who wants to sell an inferior product?
Doesn't matter where it was recorded, Kevin Shirley is supposed to be in charge of production.

I can live with very minor production glitches (like the Blaze whisper at the end of Man on the Edge), but this one is too much to tolerate.

I am glad I am not the only one who noticed it.
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This has been discussed already in the Commentary - The Final Frontier section (look at the Sat. 15 thread). The drum track is actually a drum machine, programmed by Adrian as stated above. In an interview, he said that when he asked Steve about recording Satellite 15 in the studio, to his surprise Steve replied "no, we'll leave it as it is".

Also, Kevin Shirley is basically a recording engineer for Maiden nowadays because the majority of creative and production decisions are made by Steve alone.
 
seventhdude said:
No I don't even think they caught this glitch before album went to mass production. And I doubt they would want to keep it in the mix if they knew about it. Come on, who wants to sell an inferior product?
Doesn't matter where it was recorded, Kevin Shirley is supposed to be in charge of production.

I can live with very minor production glitches (like the Blaze whisper at the end of Man on the Edge), but this one is too much to tolerate.

I am glad I am not the only one who noticed it.
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It's definitely there.  As Ranko stated, it has been mentioned over in the commentary.  It's a very slight hiccup in one of the snare hits.  I notice it, but it doesn't kill the track for me I guess.
 
Ranko said:
This has been discussed already in the Commentary - The Final Frontier section (look at the Sat. 15 thread). The drum track is actually a drum machine, programmed by Adrian as stated above. In an interview, he said that when he asked Steve about recording Satellite 15 in the studio, to his surprise Steve replied "no, we'll leave it as it is".

Also, Kevin Shirley is basically a recording engineer for Maiden nowadays because the majority of creative and production decisions are made by Steve alone.
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ah thanks! sorry I didn't look in the Commentary area before. Knowing Steve Harris, he probably didn't hear the defect because of the hearing loss he has. Do we know if the band said anything about this after the album release?
 
seventhdude said:
ah thanks! sorry I didn't look in the Commentary area before. Knowing Steve Harris, he probably didn't hear the defect because of the hearing loss he has. Do we know if the band said anything about this after the album release?
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Don't want to sound like bitch, but I don't think anybody but you cares about it. Really, it's something only few people notice.
 
Actually it is incredibly irritating to me too.  I heard it the first time, and it drove me nuts ever since.  Drum tracks don't skip if they loop correctly, so that excuse is illogical.  Poorly done.  Only mar on this excellent album.
 
Dead Boss said:
Don't want to sound like bitch, but I don't think anybody but you cares about it. Really, it's something only few people notice.
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Still, it sucks that a top-tier, bestselling record from one of the world's best bands has a noticable, if small, defect that could have easily been prevented.  And this with Harris at the helm.  I'll bet they didn't catch it until it was too late.  Again, doesn't bother me but it is kind of embarrassing.
 
Embarrassing is a good word for it.  I have many people who criticize it when they listen to that song for the first time.  I stopped showing my friends that song. 
 
I'm quite sure 'Arry doesn't give a flying fuck about it. The song was recorded by one guy on a drum machine. If it can get listened to by the likes of Steve, Adrian, and Caveman and they decide it's okay, it's not embarrassing or overlooked. It's intentional.
 
LooseCannon said:
I'm quite sure 'Arry doesn't give a flying fuck about it. The song was recorded by one guy on a drum machine. If it can get listened to by the likes of Steve, Adrian, and Caveman and they decide it's okay, it's not embarrassing or overlooked. It's intentional.
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Eh, not sure about that.  It's pretty subtle.  Even if they did hear it, what's the motive to leave it in there?  It's just weird.
 
This is intentional. There is no "drum loop". Adrian wouldn't work with drum loops 'cause they're fixed and his music needs to be adapted for them. And i'm sure he likes his drums adapted for his guitar work, not vice versa. This is a MIDI track. The snare "glitch" you hear is modification of ADSR envelope every 2nd bar.

And regarding comments about them "not hearing it". I heard it from the first time. And from the first time i also heard that drums are sequenced. To imply that Kevin wouldn't heard such a thing is idiotic, and Adrian surely listens to his demos while working on them.

...and i would like a reliable source about Steve's hearing problems.
 
I agree with p4warrior, the biggest metal band of all time should take the time to correct a stupid and easily correctable error like this one.

About Steve not hearing it, this is rhythm we're talking about, not musical tones, it doesn't have anything to do with sound frequency range and speculated hearing loss.
 
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