I have just discovered a Paris based company called Heavenly Sweetness who are reissuing analogue vinyl remasters of Blue Note albums at reasonable prices.
I tried one, Herbie Hancock 'Takin' Off' and I'm very impressed with the whole package. The 180g vinyl is well centred and 'silent', the SQ is very good with no evidence of compression and the labels and outer sleeve are also reasonably good. They sound better than the '80s DMM reissues and I would go as far as to say they are better than some of the Classic Records LPs I have. They are only bettered by some of the '60s originals and Music Matters/Analogue Productions 45rpm issues I own.
MDT who specialise in classical and jazz are selling them for £15.30 + £3.00 maximum P&P. On Amazon they are about £25. There are about 8 titles so far including Grant Green, Lee Morgan and Horace Silver. This is a link;
http://www.mdt.co.uk/catalog/c...=5909&label=3658
Posted on: 10 April 2013 by RaceTripper
These are not directly sourced from analog masters. They are cut from 24-bit digital copies of the analog master. Heavenly Sweetness does not have access to the tapes, whereas Music Matters and Analogue Productions did use the analog tapes.
BTW: Herbie Hancock Takin' Off is in the next queue of releases from Music Matters, due for release next week.
Posted on: 10 April 2013 by Steve J
Hi RT,
A number of sites say they are analogue and their own site does say 'analog sound' but if you know different... The SQ of these records is very good and are very reasonably priced at £15.30. I obviously prefer Music Matters but over here these cost £50 or more. The SQ has been commented on various sites as excellent, as I have found, and so I will still recommend them.
Steve
Posted on: 10 April 2013 by RaceTripper
The Music Matters are more expensive than the Heavenly Sweetness issues in the U.S. as well (roughly, $50 vs. $30).
I try to vet reissue labels before I buy releases because I'm not really interested in vinyl if the mastering chain enters the digital domain. At that point I'd rather just have 24-bit flac files to play on my digital streamer. There is plenty I want from labels that resissue with a complete analog mastering chain (MM, AP, ORG, etc).
