New UHQR by Analogue Productions/QRP - Axis: Bold as Love*

Analogue Productions better truly knock it out of the park (and knock us all out as well) if they're going to tackle and stake their UHQR series' claim/reputation on such a title as this that already has numerous reported stellar options already available to purchase quite easily.

 

By the way, target release date for these Axis UHQRs is "summer of 2018."

 

I'm guessing some buyers are hoping to gain a little more resolution/enjoyment. I do know what Chad Ka$$em is hoping to gain.

The vinyl revival (which I mostly love) plus $100 records=

 

And the One Step process...

 

AND... who knows if they ever get released. We've been down this UHQR road with Chad before. Remember that press release with the Bill Evans UHQR titles that just seemed to disappear? Acoustic Sounds must like to test the waters with press releases like that. They also had said they were going to do a Contemporary Records subscription series but that never happened either. So, I'll believe this when the discs are in my hot hands.

 

We shall see, or rather, hear.

Each engineer has their own style, and facilities are improved. The One-Step and 45rpm techniques offer clear sonic improvements.

On the other hand, I'm not sure what Chad is offering via the UHQR. Perhaps higher quality control and fewer copies per stamper? Hand pressed? (Yes, they own a hand stamper)

 

What does UHQR mean.
I personally am not keen on 45rpm for multiple reasons. I have the classic cut of the mono axis and 2010 stereo. For AYE I have the 1967 UK Track,1970 French Barclay mono, 2010 stereo, 2013 mono UK & US. I reckon I am all set for Jimi’s 1st 2 amazing albums unless Bernie gets sent the French mono tape of AYE to work wonders on I am not into this.
No doubt I will follow it though.

 

Anyways, a missed opportunity for Chad. He should have chosen Madness "One Step Beyond..." as the first UHQR.

 

I can’t believe he did not choose another Doors release or Muddy Waters Folk Singer.

 

For me it was reached with Abraxas. $100 for a single album where good sounding copies could be had for under $20? Forget it. I’m not opposed to good solid reissues, I have multiple MoFi Dylan releases, but I bought most of them on sale. I’m glad I was able to get the collection I do have before the price of virtually every vinyl record went through the roof.

The reasonably priced 2010 Hendrix AAA releases sound terrific. They’re a wonderful boon to music lovers. That’s how reissues should be. We should stop rewarding companies for contributing to the eventual second demise of vinyl by pricing most people out.

 

Well said this is so true.

 

A question for everyone who is pre-ordering it is planning to, would you buy this product at this price if the run were not limited, or limited to 100,000 copies instead? Given that many of you have great sounding versions of this album already, how much of your purchase here is from fear of missing out?

 

I would buy this even if they made 100,000 copies. It's one of my favorite records. The limited aspect of it only makes in more expensive.

 

Fair enough, I think everyone has one of those records they would buy regardless of price. But I think the extremely limited aspect, combined with the priority pre-order system to whip people into an even bigger frenzy over missing out, is a huge contributor to sales here. I think a lot more people would hold off until reviews and impressions come in if they didn’t have to worry about not being able to get the record by then.

 

You're talking out of ignorance here. "...good sounding copies" does not even come close to how astounding the One-Step Abraxas is. It's in a whole other world from an original or most other copies. The only copy that comes anywhere near close to the new MoFi is the German ARS, and you give up a lot of inner detail, the you-are-there sort of experience. The German ARS can be had for about $35-40, but when released at $100, that was really worth the difference. Michael Fremer, in his review, said (and still does) that the first 2 sides of the MoFi Abraxas might be the best sounding record he has ever heard (For some reason, the 2nd disc is not up to the lofty standards of the 1st - Were they recorded in a different facility?).

I go back to an analogy I have used before - Since a decent steak can be had at an Outback Steakhouse for $12, why go to Smith & Wollensky and spend $50? (Answer: Not only are the surroundings better at Smith & Wollensky, but the quality of the beef is in another category. If you have never had a Prime quality (as opposed to Choice or Select quality), hopefully dry-aged steak, you don't know what you're missing. The flavor and mouth feel is in another league.

 

That is probably true.

 

Id buy it if it were Electric Ladyland. Not sure why Jimi's greatest album hasnt been audiophiled.

 

I didn’t say that the good sounding copies sounded as good as the 1-step, but I am opposed to increasing the overall price of vinyl, a trend happening across the board.

Now, if these versions were causing the price of less premium new releases/reissues to go down, that would be a different story.

 

Well, they SORT OF are. My Analogue Production 45rpm of Sunday At The Village Vanguard (Bill Evans) is not worth as much. Only 1000 copies were individually pressed. As a result of the AP Bill Evans box set and the MoFi One-Step, it's not going for a the 3-figures it used to. I can still sell it for more than I paid for it initially, but premium reissues do get affected. An ordinary pressing is not in the same buyer's market, so they won't get affected the same way. On the other hand, the recent MoFi Kind Of Blue gets mixed reviews, so it didn't upend the '90s Classic Records reissues as the best sounding copies. Those Classic Records reissues are still the best, so they get premium prices on the open market.

 

Because it's not a great recording. Plenty of stuff is pushed into the red and clips. It's a not deep-sounding record either.

Love the music but wish Hendrix had stayed off the console.

 

It wouldn't have been HENDRIX if he did.

 

So the 2 legendary albums prior to EL aren't genuine Hendrix material, then?

 

The bolded above is my point. They have a specific sound to them. It's classic. It's Hendrix.

 

It's always Hendrix regardless of how it was recorded. Then, you can get into how things are mastered. The 2010 AAA remaster by Bernie Grundman sounds radically different than the mono Barclay. Which one is more Hendrix-y?

Rather silly argument, really.

 

If Chad really is planning to do a second round of 45RPM it is a mistake and a dilution of the premise of UHQR. It is a cash grab plain and simple. If that is indeed the plan, why the need to be sneaky, why not be upfront to avoid the frenzy?

I certainly appreciate AP and have a bunch of great titles they've done — stereo/mono options make a lot of sense and they've always (to my recollection) announced those options at the same time. But I've been burned buying several of the 33s when I would in every case have bought the 45 that came later. The other issue is the inconsistency of numbered editions, a lot of the titles are pressed en masse for years and years.

I hope Chad gets his senses back.