Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication

трек-лист моего экземпляра:

A1 Around The World
A2 Parallel Universe
A3 Scar Tissue
A4 Otherside
A5 Get On Top
A6 Easily
A7 Porcelain
A8 Emit Remmus
B1 Californication
B2 I Like Dirt
B3 This Velvet Glove
B4 Savior
B5 Purple Stain
B6 Right On Time
B7 Road Trippin'
B8 Going Li

тампопечать на кассете отличается от той что на фотографии. на моей изображен нотный стан с большими надписями Союз и Souyz на них.
при всем этом вкладыш лицензионный точно - полный качественный буклет с фото и текстами, наклейка союза на обложке.

Hey, wait, this is actually good! So, we all know Californication has a "sound problem", and by sound problem, I mean it's terrible. The sound is terrible, you can't listen to this album with headphones, it's more than likely to give you a headache or two. When I got this vinyl, I was expecting, low quality vinyl with terrible sound, but when I listened to it, hey, it's good, it's quite good! The sound isn't perfect or super dynamic, but it's higher quality than the versions we can find on CD and streaming, and it actually has dynamics! Well, they aren't amazing, but at least, the sound has a bit of soul and live. And for the price, you can't be dissapointed. The only 2 complains I have, is that, first, if each side of the record is about 10-15 minutes long, why don't you just make the record in 45 RPM? Sure, it'll be more expensive, but the sound quality could be improved by this, and it wouldn't waste that much vinyl. And the second complain, is the boxing. It's quite uncomfortable to have 2 discs in a package for 1, they could have done it like a gatefold vinyl, it would be awesome. Well, go check out this pressing, its great, and I recommend it. Don't expect super high quality, but this is probably the best this album will ever sound. 8.5/10

I got this used for less than $20 CAD way back in 2015. Seemed like a heck of a deal at the time.

Sounds fuller, beefier and a touch less harsh than the CD. It actually seems to have some delineation between instruments, with a great midrange and bottom-end, and you can make out Flea's basslines note-for-note.

BUT... it's audibly cut from Vlado Meller's CD master, so the digital clipping is ever-present, and the upper midrange is STILL fatiguing and shrieking, which makes "Parallel Universe" unlistenable at high volumes. I want my Chilis crankable and this begs me to turn it down. How bad it is depends largely on your speakers -- if you enjoy it, that's great. I do find it a bit less annoying on some setups than others. This doesn't save it from the clipping in the upper-mids though, and the tone & texture of Flea's Jazz Bass is not...quite...there.

What a missed opportunity. Thank god the vinyl medium doesn't lend itself well to brickwall-limited mastering. Vinyl's limitations are what actually make this sound less fatiguing than the CD. Even though it's DMM (evident from the distinctly slender grooves and curved Nike Swoosh-esque surface reflection), Optimal's house sound still comes through: low-mid boosted, reduced treble, 'warm'. It does its job to tame the harshness.

The fan-made Dynamic Edit remaster on YouTube still beats this though.

HARDWARE
Turntable: Dual 701
Cartridge: Audio-Technica AT91
Phono stage: Phono input on Pioneer VSX-D2S
BBE Sonic Maximizer 1002
E-MU 0202 USB into Yorkville YSM2P stereo monitors

The perfect Chilis album, the right balance between hardcore funk and sensitivity. A close tie with BSSM for me, but Cali just about gets the edge being more concise. I'll never forget the many, many roadtrips Dad would kick off with the menacing bass riff of "Around the World". That riff is like the universe exploding and becoming whole all at once. One of THE most memorable album-openers of all time.

Aaaaand...here comes the obligatory comment about its mastering. I need not repeat what others have said a thousand times; all I can add is my own experience.

First: the pros. The raw, dry sound is what made it so memorable. It was the thing that TOLD you this is bad-boy funk. It stood out from literally everything else we as a family listened to, and left an impression on me. Unfortunately, that doesn't translate well to every stereo setup. It was damn good in the car and that's it.

Not all brickwall-limiting is equal, and compression can be useful when used tastefully. What Vlado Meller did here is not tasteful compression.

I think of dynamic range as not a single variable; rather every part of the frequency spectrum has its own dynamic range. Herein lies the rub: Californication is most damaged in the upper-midrange. THAT is the root cause of its notoriety, where most other 'low-DR' albums don't have such clout. Cali has a shrieking, fatiguing quality on good stereos, earbuds or cans, and the upper-mids are exactly the reason why.

The German Optimal-pressed, DMM-cut vinyl is only a little better. It's cut from the CD master, albeit with Optimal's 'warmer' treble-muted EQ. Granted, it does tame the harshness somewhat, and make it sound fuller in the mids and low-end, and give it the smallest smidgen of separation. But the digital clipping is STILL there, and "Parallel Universe" is still nigh-on unlistenable. I WANT that raw sound -- and yet why can't I have it without those effin' shrieking upper-mids???

There is a near-perfect sounding version of this album. It's the fan-made Dynamic Edit remaster by Dynamic Editor on YouTube. I swear upon this blue salt-filled earth, in the 20+ years I've known Californication, there has NEVER been a version that has sounded more 'Chilis'. What this guy did is use a software to attempt to restore as many dynamic peaks as possible wherever the signal clips.

I am shocked and surprised at the results. Finally, Cali sounds like BSSM and Stadium Arcadium do: a musician's album. Flea's bass actually feels like a mfin' Fender Jazz Bass, with all the tone, growl and groove -- which elevates "Right On Time" from great to downright bitchin'. The drums are incredibly clear and punchy. "Parallel Universe" is a face-melter, not an ear-bleeder. You can follow along with Frusciante. And, most of all, the drum machines in "Around the World"'s chorus are so crisp and clear, it's like a light shining down from heaven.

All this, while keeping the raw, dry sound that gave Cali its edge. Does it still sound 'boxy' with a slightly congested soundstage -- yes, but the shrieking upper mids are done away with for good. Salvation!

The only catch? There are some MP3-esque swooshing artifacts from the de-clipping process...but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make, because everything else is like never before.

I've never fully listened to the out-of-sequence, 'unmastered' rough mix the fans consider the best. But having compared the German vinyl, a needledrop of the 2012/2020 Chris Bellman mastering (which takes some parts from the unmastered mix), and the notorious original CD...this fan-made remaster stands head and shoulders above 'em all.

The only thing I have left to do is to secure a 2012/2020 vinyl and play it back-to-back against my German copy summed to MONO. Seeing as this album barely has any stereo separation, and mono fold-downs have given me fabulous acoustic results on pure mono records, who knows...it might just have a similar effect.

Just opened after purchasing years ago...center hole on disc 1 is mis-aligned and as such so is the sticker. Sound is no better than any other copy I've heard...not pleasing to the ears...quite sharp/clipped. Needs a remix not a remaster.

Ngl this sounds like shit, it’s not nessicarily the record, but the original mixing is so incredibly brickwalled which kills any dynamics. Everything sounds very tinny. It’s a cool novelty to own but definitely not the most enjoyable way to experience Californiacation on wax

It's a picture disc. You are always going to have surface noise. But the actual sound of the music sounds incredible. It's loud, has lots of bass, and is just awesome. You can NOT hear the surface noise when the music is playing. I don't even notice any on Road Tripin'. Love this album and the picture disc's are beautiful. Great pick up

It has to be said that this album, as fantastic as it is, just doesn't sound that great. Whether it's the recording or the mix, the resulting stereo soundstage is narrow & congested. If only the whole thing sounded like the track 'Porcelain', as it actually sounds phenomenal.
Chris Bellman's lacquer cut has at least managed some separation, a reasonable amount of fidelity to Flea's bass playing & some whomp to Chad's drums, but this ain't the vinyl to play if you want to show off your stereo. It's the album to play because you love the Chilli Peppers.
The vinyl itself is very quiet on my copy after a good wet-cleaning...

No noise but sounds like 128kb mp3. Congested and no space

Mother of god this album is cut LOUD. As far as SQ it’s ok. Not phenomenal but ok. Slightly better than the CD with a touch more separation. Soundsmith cart pulling it all out nicely. Now I need to turn it down. I don’t say that often.