Kuma:

It's deeper than that. Both are mastered by Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman at Acoustech (although the later ones somewhere else and without Steve, apparently). They are not the same titles. I believe they both have access to master tapes. As I understand it, there are two variables: 1) They master differently for each label -- each label is looking for a certain "sound." and 2) when they are cut to disc. IMHO, AP fooks something up good somewhere in there.

Jay 

Stu:

I will see if I can catch it.

Jay 

Hmm...

The plot thickens.

Do you know if they both have an access to the first generation master tape?

I'm going to revisit the AP 45 vs. Fantasy reissue later on. It's been a long while I've listen to them.

So which issue do you have for Evans titles?

Also, have you tried the Speaker's Corner's jazz reissues?

Hi Jay,

Ryan & Laura Marlings @ Abbey Road...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lsi9ljzclc8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZInfAc0LbTE&feature=related 

The links I posted prevously have been pulled by the BBC & ITV

Here are some Ryan Adams KCRW links...

Ryan Adams - Interview at KCRW  - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fi1s9qrd9BU&feature=endscreen&NR=1 

Here's the Ryan Adams set that followed the KCRW interview...

http://www.youtube.com/user/St...eos?query=ryan+adams 

There is some good stuff on the StepOutAgain YT channel, glad I found it.

ATB Denis

Denis:

Thanks.

Jay 

I don't know for sure if they both have access to the same tapes.

For Bill Evans, I have a few older OJCs and a Speakers Corner (so, yes, I have tried them, especially the Ella Fitzgerald songbook reissues, which are quite good). I do not have a huge amount of Bill Evans, though.

I actually have that pressing of New Jazz Conceptions!

Sorry, I have a 1997 Capital reissue of Maiden Voyage (Capital owns Blue Note). Sounds pretty good though. I have an original Herbie Hancock Takin' Off, which is a GREAT record and sounds great.

What do you think of the sound quality on this pressing? I think it's pretty decent. Hugely better than the German pressing dreck. ( I suspect this was made from Redbook digital master )

I have 3 other reissues but not the Capital one. ( does it say Capital on a dead wax? ) Other reissue that, I think are good are this one with the Blue Label.( came out in the 80s? ) Certainly cheaper than the AP or Japanese pressing and better than the later Blue Note budget reissue.


Speaking of the Music Matter 45 rpm records, turned out I have a few. ( I never paid attention to who made it before ):x I bought this record when it came out when I was exploring new jazz piano players.

Kenny Drew: Undercurrent

Label: EMI Special Markets
180g Vinyl/Stereo/USA/MMBST-84059/45 RPM
Re-Mastering by: Music Matter/AcousTech Mastering/Kevin Gray/Steve Hoffman
Release date: 2007

Sound Quality:

I don't have any other pressing to compare but this is a beautifully polished studio production but easily pass 'the other room' test. ( where you listen from outside of the room and it sounds as if someone is playing live )

Dead quiet surface and the music emerges effortless and natural with stunning clarity and transparency. Goodness of 45 rpm usually shows up on the cymbal decays ( not so 2D and feels like there are silent aura ) and subtle places like rim shots on drums or bass strings being plucked all sound life-like tonal colour and immediacy.

This is an upbeat performance, this set of musicians play extremely tight together. This has a upfront perspective but never in your face.

They are well done, indeed and I can't fault for anything sonically and performance is very good to boot. 

Packaging Quality: 

Heavy-weight card stock with gloss laminate. Double gatefold to hold each record. ( they did not cheap out like Analogue Production: Squeezed two records into a single jacket which the glue  came off in a few years ). Inside has a lovely B&W studio shots of musicians. Plain white inners. Bright 2 colour printing of cover art and black type on the back text.

You may find this review helpful, which compares Music Matters with Analogue Productions and attempts to find a reason for the difference between the two.

FWIW, I'm disappointed with AP Maiden Voyage; cymbals sound beautiful but everything else lifeless.  

Also, I'm lucky enough to have some original RVG cut 60's titles, and they sound nothing like any reissues I've heard.  Those early cuts are so much more vibrant and full of life and energy.  This could be down to the age of master tape, cutting engineer skills and type of cutting lathe.

Here is the article, from the MM website:

A Tale of two Turrentines - Mintons on Music Matters vs. Analogue Productions 45 vinyl

I have previously commented that the sound on the Music Matters 45 rpm vinyl series is somewhat better on average than the Blue Note 45 vinyl from Analogue Productions, which has caused some minor consternation over at the Hoffman board (at least, until any mention of it gets censored there).

Finally, we have a perfect opportunity to see if that's a figment of my imagination or not, by comparing the Analogue Productions 45 of Up AtMinton's Volume 1 to the Music Matters 45 of Up At Minton's Volume 2 - both recorded at exactly the same time on the same equipment by the same Rudy Van Gelder. Both remastered by the same team of Kevin Grey andHuf-huf-huffmann.

Should sound the same, right? Remastered by the same guys at the same studio on the same equipment. Same master tapes. How could they be different?

Well...they are, and that's just a fact. The AP sounds wimpier, Turrentine is a bit muted and further back, the top end is just a touch rolled back, and the bass is very softly pleasant.

Now turn to the Music Matters and Turrentine is punching out front and center, the bass has more punch and presence, and there is a snap on top. Not that the AP is bad - it's not. It's just much more nice. You know, it's more pleasant as in dinner party pleasant, nice and inoffensive, nice and easy to listen to, easy on the ears. The Music Matters is nice too - but it sounds more like a jazz record should, and how Stanley Turrentine should - more heft and punch to Turrentine, he cuts when he shouts and is far more out front, as he was on the bandstand the night this was recorded.

The Music Matters is up at Minton’s. The AP is around the corner fromMinton’s, or maybe in the bathroom at Minton’s.

Why the difference?

It's really pretty simple. Analogue Productions doesn't use a producer for their reissues. Chad Kassem gets the tapes shipped to whatever remastering engineer he is using and relies on that person's judgement. Music Matters has RonRambach and Joe Harley, the former and expert on Blue Note and the latter a renowned producer, in the mastering studio supervising.

That's the difference. The production team. That's why all other things being equal, as they are with Turrentine’s "Minton" recordings, the Music Matters sound better. 

Kuma, your navy blue Maiden Voyage is from 8100 Series - 1970's (series began 1973).  I actually quite like this series - not a bad compromise, at least they are all analogue and pre DMM (1980's).

Very useful Graham. Thanks. 

Graham:

Thanks for the informative article.

Jay 

Kuma:

I thought New Jazz Conceptions sounded ok. Not as good as the OJC of Waltz for Debby, but good.

The Maiden Voyage I have is a Blue Note and has "Mastered by Capital" in the deadwax. I would imagine your blue label Blue Note sounds pretty good. The AP is better?

Jay

Hate to quibble, but that is Capitol (not Capital) Records, home of the fabulous Beach Boys and the early US Beatle albums, as symbolized by their original, iconic headquarters, the Capitol Tower near Hollywood and Vine in LA:

You are absolutely correct.

Is it a car park and  burger joint now ?

Stu.

Ziggy Stardust deluxe reissue - Worth It?

Has anyone heard this? I have no way to even play the 5.1 mixes that come on the DVD Audio disc along with the LP. I have a very cheap blue ray player connected to 2 speakers via an old system. For me, has to be worth it for the album. I have a very scratched lp copy (probably not original) + the RykoDisc CD.

One of my all time favorites.

 £14 for the two from amazon on pre-order now.

It has to be worth a punt and if you don't want the 5.1 disc there are lots out there that will take it off your hands.

Stu.

Thanks for your post halliwell.

I don't quite hear 'lifeless' in my system but the soundstage is not as forward as other pressing. But the attraction of this particular pressing is that the instrumetns take on more natural balance where I don't hear from the reissues I have.

I've no doubt that the original sounds the best, however. Would love to hear it someday.

I am so far slightly disillusioned by most of the reissues.

It is probably true that in most cases the original pressings are better for various reasons and some reissues are pretty decent if you don't AB with the original pressing.

Jay,

Yes, I prefer the AP reissue over the 'Blue Label' reissue because the instruments sound more natural with greater notes decay. It's just a lot less distortion on this.

Talking about Blue Note, does anyone have a view on the best quality, most affordable way of getting the more famous releases on vinyl (say £10-15) e.g. Blue Train, Somethin' Else etc? I think there was a series for around the US$12 mark which came with a CD as well in the US but I haven't seem them in the UK.

Thanks 

Just received from HMV (finally) the Capitol Records 180g "Audiophile" reissue of The Beach Boys' Surf's Up.  First impressions are pretty good; No textured sleeve like the original but the artwork looks good and hallelujah, a nice anti-static lined inner sleeve.  The label graphics mirror those of my US original.  The pressing looks pretty good although there are visible scuffs and what look like handling marks.  Hmmm...

Spinning up, I go straight to side 2 - my favourite side.  And there's immediately a problem; the hole has been punched slightly off line.  Either that or the pressing is out.  A closer inspection of the label shows that on side 2 it's slightly out of alignment.  Sure enough the arm and cart wag back and forth and it's bad enough on inner grooves to give a drunken pitch.  There's no other way to say this, but whatever the quality of the remaster and cut, this kind of error ruins any record for me. Not a good start.

Comparison against the original shows a loss of inner detail and a trace of hardness that shouldn't be there.  Some of the finer detail deep in the mix seems to be missing too.  Oh dear.  I fear a poor digital copy has been used here.  Going back to my original and the sweetness returns - very important on tracks like 'Till I die. 

Overall, not very impressed.  At the very least Capitol should look at QC on the pressing. 

Richard,

Thats a bummer after weeks and weeks waiting for it to turn up.

Are you going to try for a replacement ?

Or just send it back?

Stu.

Richard,

Thanks for the follow up. 

It sounds like they used a poor digital master like the rest of The Beach Boys Capitol Reissues.

I would ask for your money back rather than the replacement. ( Like I did on the HQ "Audiophile" pressing )

Overall, I was fearing the worst, and my fear confirmed.  A great opportunity lost.  Despite the years of play on the original - some tics, and some futzy areas of surface noise that have escaped many RCM cleans - the beauty of the recording shines through, whereas on the re-issue the hardness and lack of inner detail robs it of this essential quality.

It was only a tenner and seems to have been imported.  I'll look into a return.

I have a Peter Gabriel Classic Records issue on its way to me and I'm really hoping it's a lot better...