Mobile Fidelity Vinyl One Step of SANTANA, BILL EVANS TRIO, etc.*

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Drew769, Dec 1, 2015.

  1. digitalwitness

    digitalwitness Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Actually, you might be correct. My friend gave me the heads up and I mis-read his e-mail. According to him, the first 3 are 2018 and the latter 3 listed are next year. Might call MD tomorrow and ask about numbers and projected release dates. Will update here if so.
     
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  2. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    Looks like I shall have to get Blood On The Tracks. Now I see why it initially came out as 33 rpm rather than 45 like most other Dylan releases. So they could 'fleece' us for £100 plus more. I don't see that appearing until next year or even the year after. How long have they been promising the remaining 45 rpm Dire Straits releases?
     
    ted321 likes this.
  3. AnalogJ

    AnalogJ Hearing In Stereo Since 1959

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    Only the first 3 are currently available for pre-order, according to a rep at MD.
     
  4. drbryant

    drbryant Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Interesting that these "one step" titles sell well, even though many other MOFI limited pressings seem to move very slowly. The Dylan mono 45 rpm titles are all still available despite being limited to 3000 copies.
     
  5. Sam

    Sam Senior Member

    Location:
    Rochester, NY
    I don't know, could it actually be the stellar sound quality from the first three releases? Sound that no other lp pressing of those titles has ever achieved? Yeah, that might be it. The one step process DOES seem to yield a master tape like sound that is quite apparent.
     
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  6. drbryant

    drbryant Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    When you say "yeah, that might be it", I assume that you are saying this because to you, it is obviously the sound quality and there is no other reason, correct? (Sorry, three decades in Japan without US television, and I am consistently thrown off by sarcasm in daily conversation). So, I guess you are saying that the improvement for regular MOFI 45 rpm titles isn't as dramatic as the one-step titles.

    I do own the first three releases, but have only opened the Village Vanguard title. That one sounds terrific, but I had never even heard the album before. I have multiple copies of Abraxas and Nightfly, but I haven't opened my copies yet. I need to get to them soon.

    I think that the Dylan mono titles sound great, but they seem to be selling slowly. I also loved the Patricia Barbour boxes, the Rickie Lee Jones box and the Alison Krauss Live box (33-1/3), but all of those sold very slowly as well. I wonder if perhaps the reason the one step series is selling so well is the quality of the packaging/presentation. I still hold on to the old Mofi UHQR albums that I have, even though I don't think they are the best sounding versions - I love the high end presentation (even though they are missing the original album jacket and that foam padding can discolor the inside of the box).
     
  7. digitalwitness

    digitalwitness Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Call back and try again because I've definitely pre-ordered all 6
     
  8. AnalogJ

    AnalogJ Hearing In Stereo Since 1959

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    YES, because these records are for playing, right? :whistle:
     
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  9. Gabe Walters

    Gabe Walters Forum Resident

    They let me preorder all six, too, but the sales rep warned me that some of them might ultimately be canceled. He didn't say which, but I took it to mean that the deals on some of these might be a little shaky.
     
    Guss2 likes this.
  10. Guss2

    Guss2 Senior Member

    Location:
    South Florida
    Yep, I was also able to order all 6 over the phone and they show up as backordered under my account. The rep took it a step further and reminded me that this was a 3-4 year release schedule.
     
  11. drbryant

    drbryant Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    I think you misunderstood me because my post was unclear. I don’t have multiple copies of the one step pressing. I meant that I have multiple versions of those two titles in various media (vinyl, CD, SACD, DVD-A) and on various labels, so I haven’t been as motivated to make the time to listen to the new “one step” versions. I only have one copy of the "one step" pressings, which I plan to open at some point - I didn’t mean to suggest that I own multiple copies for “investment”. I stopped doing that with the Classic Records catalogue.

    Sorry for the misunderstanding.
     
    Last edited: Jan 22, 2018
    bluejimbop, Preston, bajaed and 2 others like this.
  12. Wired4Fun

    Wired4Fun Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cary, NC
    Well, I ordered BoTW from both MoFi and an online retailer that I trust. Hopefully, one way or the other I get a copy and can either cancel the other one, or sell it here for what I paid and make someone who missed out, very happy.

    Here's hoping that one of the orders fulfills :)

    EDIT* I ordered directly from MoFi website, and then from Soundstage Direct. Soundstage often gets shut out of these things, but they are great to deal with, so I gave them a chance. Do you all feel this is enough, or should I be ordering it from a third place, too? I hate the idea of taking away someone else's opportunity to grab it, but also want to cover my bases and get my own copy. Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks :)
     
    Last edited: Jan 22, 2018
  13. Myke

    Myke Trying Not To Spook The Horse

    Why would Music Direct take orders past the 7500 mark ?
     
  14. AnalogJ

    AnalogJ Hearing In Stereo Since 1959

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    Thanks for that. I thought you might have been bragging about your foresight and wisdom of making investments. Sorry for my misunderstanding. And I was merely poking.

    In any event, the Santana Abraxas is astonishing in its own way, but there is an ARS pressing which has the dynamic range of the One-Step, but without the incredible harmonic resolution of the One-Step.

    The Bill Evans Sunday At The Village Vanguard, to me, is quite superior to the AP 45rpm mastered/cut by Steve Hoffman/Kevin Gray, but not everyone agrees. Hoffman plumped up the somewhat thin sounding piano to make it sound fuller. But to me, it's at the expense of the agility, tautness, and absolute pitch specificity of Scott LaFaro's bass, at least in my system. The MoFi makes the interplay between the three musicians much more apparent, making it musically far more interesting. The AP makes Evans' piano sound fuller. Some prefer it that way. It's apparent that individual ears and preferences come into play when it comes to mastering a record.

    The Nightfly One-Step is not clearly better than an RL original in every way. I think the One-Step is more dynamic and fuller sounding, but it's not necessarily more natural sounding. It sounds like an early digital recording, which is what it was and is. I appreciate the spaciousness and depth of certain cuts such as "Maxine", "The Goodbye Look", and "Walk Between Raindrops", but the RL, in some ways, sounds more natural overall. I certainly wouldn't have chosen it as a candidate for the One-Step. Others may disagree. But it's not the pure joy to listen to compared to Abraxas and SATVV.

    Regarding the future One-Steps, I have in pre-orders for Bridge Over Troubled Water and Portraits In Jazz, in spite of owning the Classic 33 of the former, and an AP 45rpm test pressing of the latter. I suspect that the studio recording of Portraits In Jazz will render the two pressings more closely. If so, I'll sell one. I'm also considering pre-ordering What's Going On?
     
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  15. Gabe Walters

    Gabe Walters Forum Resident

    Order from MOFI or Music Direct and you’ll be fine. Other vendors may not get enough to cover their preorders, assuming history repeats.
     
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  16. Sam

    Sam Senior Member

    Location:
    Rochester, NY
    Yes,the sound quality of the one steps and the rise in value due to the demand. The first 3 releases have dropped jaws, although some will nitpick various points on the last two. Let's see how the next batch sounds, but I believe MOFI is on to something here in terms of the one step process. Must be if many have stated that never have they heard Abraxas sound like that. Can't just be something as simple as a different mastering. I guess with the S&G coming out, 45 rpm comparisons can be made with the highly regarded Classic records pressings. Same for SRV. AP Box is great, so how will the one steps stack up?
     
  17. Myke

    Myke Trying Not To Spook The Horse

    I think comparing a 45 rpm to a One Step would be difficult for anyone that isn't a dog. :laugh: I never would've ordered BOTW if I already had a 45rpm Classic, but I don't, and now the One Step is the cheaper option.
    .
     
  18. Guitarded

    Guitarded Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montana

    Then you will get one. It's only non-afiliated sites that get hosed re. preorders.
     
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  19. AnalogJ

    AnalogJ Hearing In Stereo Since 1959

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    Honestly, I can't say that, for sure, THE magic is in the One-Step process. I'd like to see/hear the same mastering engineer do a regular 45rpm with the One-Step of the same. Otherwise, there are too many variables to make that statement. I have some 45s which are pretty great. Haven't you heard some really ear-opening, jaw dropping 45s? Hugh Masakela's live album, Hope!, is as alive and present sounding album as I have in my collection. If someone said that it was a One-Step, I'd believe them.

    It IS possible that the engineer cutting the One-Step is allowing for even greater dynamic range than what he might process for a standard 45rpm. Steve Hoffman once told me that the test pressing of Eva Cassidy's Songbird I have sounds better than what was released to the public. He said that the powers that be at S&P decided that the cutting he made that resulted in my particular test pressing was deemed too dynamic for the average user. I'm wondering if MoFi allows the dynamics to be greater for the One-Steps. If that were to be the case, then that would have nothing to do with the actual One-Step process.
     
  20. Tullman

    Tullman Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    All of these are dependent upon mastering engineers, mastering chain, quality of source, pressing plant etc. I will be making comparisons, though.
     
  21. Bigbudukks

    Bigbudukks Older, but no wiser.

    Location:
    Gaithersburg, MD
    I just assume there are many variables other than the 1 step process that make these pressings worth pursuing. Taking great care all along the chain from master tape to consumer regardless of anything that can be trumpeted to the the consumer is probably the greater set of variables that make each of these pressings so far the ones that make people mentally pat themselves on the back for having bought (and opened) them. Still, the 1 step process is the sort of variable that can make a difference in just how much fidelity reaches the ears of you and I.

    The clown who decided the dynamic range of that album ought to be comprressed ought to be forced to music hates at high volume for a year. It's a crime agin humanity, I tells ya!
     
  22. JustaGuy

    JustaGuy Active Member

    Location:
    Boston
    If anyone in Chicagoland is looking for the Nightfly one-step, the Loop and Lakeview locations of Reckless Records each have a copy for $115.
     
    nitsuj and AnalogJ like this.
  23. nfmboss666

    nfmboss666 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Detroit, Michigan
    After picking up "The Nightfly" One-Step, I am so excited to hear about "Blood on the Tracks" as it's one of my favorite albums ever. I'll be calling MD tomorrow to order it... and hope that it's not a title they cut!
     
  24. rollo5

    rollo5 Forum Reprobate

    Location:
    Altadena, CA
    I am very excited about “What’s Going On” getting the One Step treatment. R&B and Soul seem to so rarely end up being offered in audiophile presentations. I’m still holding out hope that MOFI has the licensing rights for some of the Stevie Wonder titles they’ve released previously.
     
    Preston likes this.
  25. Wired4Fun

    Wired4Fun Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cary, NC
    Was able to snag The Nightfly for $99 this week :)

    Sadly, I won’t be able to listen to it for a few weeks due to some scheduled surgery and recovery, but once I’m back up and running, I will be sure to give it a listen :)
     
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