Stratovarius Community

while we're on the subject of MP3 quality, I always try to rip my music in WMA format, SO much higher quality than MP3, and a hell of a lot more convienent that f'ing M4a

TimoTolkki wrote: plus the artwork/packaging stuff.

That reminds me, how about rereleasing all albums sometime and then do that cool side picture thing like Ironmaiden did, that would be really cool! (maybe after the last album?)

NeonVomit wrote: Definately, I never listen to classical music on mp3s, always CD. There is a difference which really shines in classical music. Plus everyone likes collecting CDs, which is why artwork and booklet design is so important. And someone saying 'hey, I have 40 gigs of music!' will never be as impressive as someone saying 'hey, I have 400 original cds!'.

Very true with classical music. If nothing else, you just don't hear all the instruments on a lower quality sound. I still listen to classical on MP3s occasionally, when I am somewhere that I don't carry my CDs. Too tough to be without it completely. What classical do you listen to?

TimoTolkki wrote:There is a clear difference in any music. Mp3 just doesnt have the frequency range of cd plus it is compressed to make it smaller. It makes the lows and the highs more bad plus the sound is overall more mushy.

I'm not an expert on this, but my own ears tell me that MP3's sound roughly equivalent to FM radio/broadcast quality (32k), as opposed to the 44k on CD audio.

Have you ever heard classical on (Super Audio CD) SACD format before? It's sample rate, at nearly 3MHz is sixty four times that of a traditional audio CD.

Oceanids wrote:

NeonVomit wrote: Definately, I never listen to classical music on mp3s, always CD. There is a difference which really shines in classical music. Plus everyone likes collecting CDs, which is why artwork and booklet design is so important. And someone saying 'hey, I have 40 gigs of music!' will never be as impressive as someone saying 'hey, I have 400 original cds!'.

Very true with classical music. If nothing else, you just don't hear all the instruments on a lower quality sound. I still listen to classical on MP3s occasionally, when I am somewhere that I don't carry my CDs. Too tough to be without it completely. What classical do you listen to?

I'm a big fan of Liszt and Shostakovich, those are my two favourites. Beethoven is cool, can get a bit overbearing at times though, Mozart is simply sublime. Scarlatti is great, and I love JS Bach when I'm in the right mood. Wagner is awsome because it's the closest thing to metal And of course I love Bottesini and Dragonetti, being a double bass player. What do you like?

NeonVomit wrote:

Oceanids wrote:

NeonVomit wrote: Definately, I never listen to classical music on mp3s, always CD. There is a difference which really shines in classical music. Plus everyone likes collecting CDs, which is why artwork and booklet design is so important. And someone saying 'hey, I have 40 gigs of music!' will never be as impressive as someone saying 'hey, I have 400 original cds!'.

Very true with classical music. If nothing else, you just don't hear all the instruments on a lower quality sound. I still listen to classical on MP3s occasionally, when I am somewhere that I don't carry my CDs. Too tough to be without it completely. What classical do you listen to?

I'm a big fan of Liszt and Shostakovich, those are my two favourites. Beethoven is cool, can get a bit overbearing at times though, Mozart is simply sublime. Scarlatti is great, and I love JS Bach when I'm in the right mood. Wagner is awsome because it's the closest thing to metal And of course I love Bottesini and Dragonetti, being a double bass player. What do you like?

Liszt is amazing, yes. My favorites are Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Rachmaninov, and Puccini. I love Mozart's fiery genius, Beethoven's intense passion, Bach's intricate delicacy, Rachmaninov's lushness and harmony, and Puccini's incredible melodies.

Not a huge Wagner fan, although I recognize his amazing contribution... I am not a Wagnerian opera singer.

exe knight wrote:

TimoTolkki wrote: plus the artwork/packaging stuff.

That reminds me, how about rereleasing all albums sometime and then do that cool side picture thing like Ironmaiden did, that would be really cool! (maybe after the last album?)

Hmm that has something to do with copyrights being renewed or something. Similar to what Iced Earth did with the remasters.

But yes, packaging is a big selling point. Especially the booklets, some bands give very detailed liner notes and discuss the songs and themes behind them, giving a lot of information. For certain music it works very well.

NeonVomit wrote: Timo, here's an idea... why don't we ask the webmaster or someone else to put links on the main page to where one can purchase Stratovarius mp3s? I'm talking about things like Japan bonus tracks and other difficult things to find on CD. I collect the CDs, but I'm unwilling to spend a large amount on an album I already have just for the two bonus tracks...

Can anyone explain me WHY do Japaneses have so many bonus tracks??

black death wrote:

NeonVomit wrote: Timo, here's an idea... why don't we ask the webmaster or someone else to put links on the main page to where one can purchase Stratovarius mp3s? I'm talking about things like Japan bonus tracks and other difficult things to find on CD. I collect the CDs, but I'm unwilling to spend a large amount on an album I already have just for the two bonus tracks...

Can anyone explain me WHY do Japaneses have so many bonus tracks??

CDs cost a lot more over there than in Europe or the Americas, I think. So record companies add extra tracks to make them more worth buying.

I'm guessing that's the reason.

NeonVomit wrote:

black death wrote:Can anyone explain me WHY do Japaneses have so many bonus tracks??

CDs cost a lot more over there than in Europe or the Americas, I think. So record companies add extra tracks to make them more worth buying.

I'm guessing that's the reason.

Well, I was really curious , so I tried to find the price of e.g. Infinite album in Japan. I hope I found it correctly. I'm not absolutely sure about it, 'cause I don't speak Japanese . So, if I'm wrong and anybody from Japan see it, please, correct me!

Anyway...I found at amazon.co.jp that you can buy this album for 2,394 JPY (1 EUR = 157.33 JPY according to the European Central Bank)....so it's about 15.22 EUR.

At amazon.com, you can buy the album for 14.98 USD (approximately 11 EUR).

I bought this album in a shop HERE for about 16 EUR.

And at Finnish internet shop www.recordshopx.com I found it for 18.50 EUR.

If I'm not wrong with the price in Japan ...and hopefully I'm not , it's not about prices...
So WHY do Japaneses have so many bonus tracks?
Does anybody know it? I'm just curious... :jump:

It has always been because they pay more for their CD's. I don't know about the pricing you found on the internet, but in the Japanese stores, the CD's are more expensive. What album were you pricing? If it's not a new release, the prices start to even out.

Anyway, in order to get people to buy from Japanese distributors instead of other countries, they insisit on bonus tracks to draw Japanese consumers in; and all the rest of us that just HAVE to have those bonus tracks.

AMBR@BEC wrote:It has always been because they pay more for their CD's. I don't know about the pricing you found on the internet, but in the Japanese stores, the CD's are more expensive. What album were you pricing? If it's not a new release, the prices start to even out.

I have never been to Japan, so I don't know about prices in shops. And I don't speak Japanesse, so it's a little difficult to find something on internet. And I guess I found something and don't know what EXACTLY
So I just hoped that maybe some Japanesse will explain me...'cause he/she should know it best.

WACKEN / New Song
29.07.2007 / Author: WebmasterStratovarius
At Wacken Open Air next Saturday, Stratovarius will perform a new song from their forthcoming record. The name of the song is "The last night on Earth".

Hey, did any of ya record this? I'd like to have it.

That is, IF Timo doesn't mind...

Peace.

Equinox wrote:WACKEN / New Song
29.07.2007 / Author: WebmasterStratovarius
At Wacken Open Air next Saturday, Stratovarius will perform a new song from their forthcoming record. The name of the song is "The last night on Earth".

Hey, did any of ya record this? I'd like to have it.

That is, IF Timo doesn't mind...

Peace.

The YouTube video, seems to be official Wacken staff shooted can be found on the 3rd page of this thread.

Ah, thanks for the insight Breaker.