Roots Archives Forum

I downloaded I Roy’s Musical Shark Attack from Amazon yesterday and the vocal channel was mixed fully to the left speaker and the music fully to the right speaker.

There seems to be a few cases of this in reggae albums.

As I listen to my music on headphones its really painful to have all music one side and all vocals the other side. So I popped the MP3’s into a sequencer and flipped the panning so it sounds like a normal mix.

Then I split the original stereo tracks into two separate tracks one with vocals and one with the music, and rendered the music on its own. So I now have an album of Dubs (musical dub attack)

I was wondering if anyone else has had to do any ‘repairs’ to their reggae collection and how they did it?

Also does anyone know if the dubs that I Roy DJ’s over have ever been released as a dub album in their own right?

To answer your last question first, yes a dub album exists, though pretty rare, as it came only as a pre.
http://www.roots-archives.com/release/4812
http://dublp.roots-archives.com/musicaldubattack.html

Nice one Bellyman, thanks for the link,

Interesting to see that. I wonder if it’s the same mix on the dubs as the one that I Roy chats over…

Well its nice to know that one can ‘make’ their own version of a seemingly impossible album to get otherwise.

That ‘THE DUB LP ARCHIVES’ site looks useful, I did google ‘Musical Dub Attack’ but didn’t get that link

I’ve just listened to my home made version of ‘Musical Dub Attack’ and I have to say its is an amazing dub album shame its not available more widely.

Big Youth's debut is the same way I think. At least I think my reissue version is mixed that way (do I still have that LP I wonder?).

Was that Screaming Target?

the first 3 RAMONES albums are mixed this way, on purpose.

I couldn't find the "Musical Shark Attack" album download on amazon, could you post a link?

http://www.amazon.com/I-Roy/dp/B000QKCV ... 1-7&page=1

GORGON BOOPS wrote:
As I listen to my music on headphones its really painful to have all music one side and all vocals the other side. So I popped the MP3’s into a sequencer and flipped the panning so it sounds like a normal mix.

I absolutely *hate* albums like that. I usually listen to my music through headphones (on account of living in flats with a bunch of neighbours who always seem to be looking for excuses to complain to the landlord) and I lack the technical knowledge to 'fix' the recordings.

The absolute worst I've heard was one I listened to several years ago (it was a dub album - poss. Lee Perry) where the bass was coming out of the right channel with *everything else* coming out of the left. Completely unlistenable, even after playing with the balance controls.

I'm surprised that Musical Shark Attack came through that way. I have the MP3 tracks on iTunes which were ripped from the CD that I bought and they do not come through that way (very clean "normal" mix you would expect). Since it is a late '70's official Virgin release hard to imagine it was mixed that way originally. You may be one of the only people out there with the skills and technology to remix it the way you want! I can only think the download was somehow not an accurate version but of course not sure.

I've got a few tracks like that - horrible.

Generally I flick the mixer into mono (which blends left and right) which is at least listenable.
ALthough this method fails if there are phase errors on the channels and it will sound like a badly adjusted tape azymuth.