SteveFord 1,070 Posted June 4, 2010 Posted June 4, 2010 This stuff tends to sell out pretty quickly - how about a sticky for notable releases? Mini review on the sound quality, too: Sucks, Okay, Good, Really Good, Excellent Jeff Beck - Performing This Week: Live at Ronnie Scott's 180 gm Really Good Emotion and Commotion, 180 gm Really Good Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers boxed red vinyl w/ tee shirt Okay sound Let It Bleed, remastered 180 gm Excellent Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out, 180 gm Good to Really Good Neil Young - first 4 albums, 200 gm don't know first 4 albums, 180 gm Really Good Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon, 30th Anniversary Edition, 200 gm Excellent PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love A Woman, A Man Walked By The Peel Sessions all 180 gm vinyl, Excellent 4 Track Demos, 180 gm Really Good - Excellent 1
SteveFord 1,070 Posted June 10, 2010 Author Posted June 10, 2010 Jeff Beck - Remastered Blow By Blow, 180 gm Excellent Remastered Wired (coming out shortly)
jldeni 439 Posted June 10, 2010 Posted June 10, 2010 This stuff tends to sell out pretty quickly - how about a sticky for notable releases? Just out Jeff Beck - Performing This Week: Live at Ronnie Scott's 180 gm vinyl (available at Amazon, I just snagged one) Emotion and Commotion, 180 gm vinyl on Amazon Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers boxed red vinyl w/ tee shirt (some on eBay) Neil Young - first 4 albums, 200 gm vinyl on his web site first 4 albums, 180 gm vinyl on Amazon Thanks for the info Steve. I was looking for information about the 200 gm vinyl offering on neilyoung.com and can't seem to locate it. Lots about blue ray, dvd and cd... Do you think you could post a link?
SteveFord 1,070 Posted June 10, 2010 Author Posted June 10, 2010 It looks like the boxed set sold out already. The 180 gm individual albums are really good if that helps any.
SteveFord 1,070 Posted June 10, 2010 Author Posted June 10, 2010 This is a good link for newly released offerings as well: www.soundstagedirect.com/
dokblues 101 Posted June 11, 2010 Posted June 11, 2010 Guy`s Seth at Soundstagedirect is a Great guy and Really knows his stuff. He and his staff are Very knowledgeable and I have purchased from them A Lot!!
SteveFord 1,070 Posted June 22, 2010 Author Posted June 22, 2010 Jeff Beck's Wired, 180gm remastered just came out today and my copy is on order. Hope it's as good as the remastered Blow By Blow!
zumbini 6,146 Posted June 22, 2010 Posted June 22, 2010 Damn I'm out of touch. I just checked prices at SoundStageDirect and was shocked to say the least. Most of my vinyl collection was purchased for a buck (or less) out of bargain bins at local record stores. The bulk of my CD collection was purchased used for $4.00-$8.00 per disc from Chicago Digital. Once I got over the initial sticker shock I realized that SoundStageDirect's prices are not all that bad. I paid roughly the same price for 100's of Mobile Fidelity 1/2 speed masters purchased 30 years ago. Those MF releases make up less than 5% of my LP's by volume but account for more than 40% of the cost. The bottom line is I'll probably treat myself occasionally but continue to buy most of my music at garage sales. Squeek, squeek, squeek... 1
BillD 239 Posted June 22, 2010 Posted June 22, 2010 I've always wondered about ½ speed masters. It would seem like the highs would be glorious but the bass would suck (consider the RIAA necessary to keep the stylus in the groove during bass notes).
zumbini 6,146 Posted June 22, 2010 Posted June 22, 2010 The actual results vary widely depending on the quality of the master tape and the expertise of the mastering engineer. There were also some sonic differences between the early Japanese pressings and the Ultradisc II's pressed in the US. It's been a while since I A/B'd them but IIRC I was disappointed with Santana Abraxas and Metallica Master Of Puppets. Both of these Ultradiscs had excessive clicks and pops and less dynamic range than the original releases. However, most of the MoFi releases were IMHO better than the original releases with less noise and increased dynamic range. Some of my favorties are: Beatles Abbey Road Crosby, Stills and Nash Deja Vu Grateful Dead American Beauty Jethro Tull Aqualung Moody Blues Days of Future Passed Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon Steely Dan Aja Steely Dan Katy Lied Yes Close to the Edge As to how they manage to fit extra bass on an Ultradisc I believe it's a result of cutting the lacquers at 1/2 speed.
BillD 239 Posted June 22, 2010 Posted June 22, 2010 I wouldn't think cutting at ½ speed would enhance bass. The grooves would be ginormous. It would be like trying to put down 10Hz on a record. Or, wait, maybe it's the other way around
zumbini 6,146 Posted June 22, 2010 Posted June 22, 2010 I've been searching for a good explanation of the MoFi procedure but all I've come up with is this ad hype: Mobile Fidelity's significant contributions to the world of high-end audio software are grounded in the art of Original Master Recording, significantly advanced by the company with the introduction of the half-speed mastered Original Master Recording™ LP. As part of the company's resolve to provide the most accurate sonic reproductions possible, all Mobile Fidelity product is mastered directly from the original master tape as opposed to production copies often used for mass reproduction. This ensures a more complete and exacting transfer of the original musical data. In the case of the Original Master Recording™ (OMR) LP, the use of the master tape is combined with a unique procedure known as "half-speed" mastering, which literally slows down the cutting system involved in mastering vinyl so that musical information can be transferred from the source tape to the lacquer with greater precision. To this advanced mastering technique, Mobile Fidelity adds substantial refinements in the vinyl compound itself and improves methods of plating the lacquer. The result is a significant improvement in overall.
SteveFord 1,070 Posted June 26, 2010 Author Posted June 26, 2010 This one appears to be ready to sell out: The Doors 180gm boxed set of their studio albums Not cheap at 170 bucks but if you're a collector now would be the time to go for it.
jldeni 439 Posted June 26, 2010 Posted June 26, 2010 Not cheap at 170 bucks but if you're a collector now would be the time to go for it. Thanks for the info Steve. I like the Doors, but $170 is a bit steep for me. I'd rather put it toward satisfying the OCCD than into the media.
zumbini 6,146 Posted June 26, 2010 Posted June 26, 2010 I like the Doors' date=' but $170 is a bit steep for me. I'd rather put it toward satisfying the OCCD than into the media. [/quote'] The way I see it, the hardware ain't much good without good software.
SteveFord 1,070 Posted June 26, 2010 Author Posted June 26, 2010 You're both right but I'm done buying stereo stuff for the time being so am putting my money into albums again. You can get the albums individually for 18-22 bucks which is what I'm going to do and just forget the boxed set. I just ordered Absolutely Live and will work my way through the bunch. I don't know if I mentioned it but the 180gm album The Doors in New York (Felt Forum) is tremendous. It sounds like Jim is in your room getting ready to ralph on your carpet... Actually, he sounds sober which is a good thing. The CD box of the Felt Forum gigs is around $75 which sounds like it's worth getting. Jeff Beck Wired showed up today so will give that a spin this evening. I wrote to Mr. Beck to see if Jeff, Who Else! and You Had It Coming will be released on vinyl. I sure hope so.
zumbini 6,146 Posted June 26, 2010 Posted June 26, 2010 I have original vinyl releases of Beck-Ola, Rough and Ready, Beck, Bogart & Appice, Blow By Blow and Wired . Most of these LP's hold up well, even against the MoFi Gold CD's. (Beck, Bogart & Appice is a notable exception.)
jldeni 439 Posted June 27, 2010 Posted June 27, 2010 I like the Doors' date=' but $170 is a bit steep for me. I'd rather put it toward satisfying the OCCD than into the media. [/quote'] The way I see it, the hardware ain't much good without good software. Very true Z. I guess I'm just in a hardware mode lately and having fun with it!
jldeni 439 Posted June 27, 2010 Posted June 27, 2010 I don't know if I mentioned it but the 180gm album The Doors in New York (Felt Forum) is tremendous. It sounds like Jim is in your room getting ready to ralph on your carpet... Actually, he sounds sober which is a good thing. The CD box of the Felt Forum gigs is around $75 which sounds like it's worth getting. Now there's one I might check out! Thanks again for this thread Steve. I do like knowing what's coming up on vinyl.
SteveFord 1,070 Posted June 27, 2010 Author Posted June 27, 2010 Just listened to the remastered Wired and it's pretty good but I prefer Blow By Blow. Worth getting, though.
SteveFord 1,070 Posted July 21, 2010 Author Posted July 21, 2010 I'm starting on the remastered 180gm Doors studio albums now. I've heard LA Woman a couple hundred times on everything from cassette to albums to CD and maybe even 8 track. This album makes everything prior just sound ridiculous by comparison. Everyone is probably familiar with the recently remastered Beatles CDs; these albums would be the equivalent for The Doors. Well worth buying. Morrison Hotel is up tomorrow night!
SteveFord 1,070 Posted August 15, 2010 Author Posted August 15, 2010 Jefferson Airplane titles, Sundazed label Cream titles, Vinyl Lovers label The Who titles, Classic Records label These are excellent.
SteveFord 1,070 Posted January 5, 2014 Author Posted January 5, 2014 Gail Zappa is releasing Frank's catalog at the rate of two 180 gram titles at the rate of two per month. These are outstanding. If you like Zappa, buy these before the prices goes through the roof. Hot Rats came first (and was 200 gram), so far it's been Freak Out!, Over-Nite Sensation, Roxy and Elsewhere and Uncle Meat. 1
Gene C 1,746 Posted January 6, 2014 Posted January 6, 2014 Gail Zappa is releasing Frank's catalog at the rate of two 180 gram titles at the rate of two per month.These are outstanding. If you like Zappa, buy these before the prices goes through the roof.Hot Rats came first (and was 200 gram), so far it's been Freak Out!, Over-Nite Sensation, Roxy and Elsewhere and Uncle Meat. Just picked up Freak Out, Over-Nite Sensation, Roxy and Elsewhere and Uncle Meat. Someone was selling Hot Rats for $199.00 can't do it for that one.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now