Record Store Day 2014 - sound/pressing quality reviews RSD releases

My Sam Cooke also was dished, but my peripheral clamp and center weight took care of that.

 

Cults - Upstairs at United very clearly states that it is 100% analog (which I believe is the case for all releases in this series).

With that said, it probably won't blow your socks off, given the way it was recorded. It's basically a "live" recording of the band playing all together in a room, in one take (not necessarily the first take, but a single take). So it's pretty under-produced and raw.

 

Maybe I missed it, but how does the Allman Brothers LP sound? If there was a review, please point me to the proper post. Thanks!

 

Yes, that one too! Nice addition! I think they put out 2 for RSD right?

I think these sound quite good and are right up my alley. I own Vol. 1 - 7....I need to catch up at some point.

 

And update.No response from Aleph Records yet.I understand that maybe the aftermath of RSD created a backlog of stuff to do,but it has been three working day,five total.So I tried the toll-free number posted on the back of the jacket(with the copyright of 2014).Disconnected.Not busy or "here's the new number"-disconneted.

 

And thanks to United's super QA, my copy was pressed off center.

 

People on this thread are mentioning that "Pain in my Heart" - Otis Redding was cut from a digital master. This confuses me given the outer sticker states that it was mastered from the original mono tapes. How are you to tell it was cut from a digital source? Very curious on this!

 

well, I really don't know anything specific about the lineage of this Otis Redding pressing, but there's no reason you couldn't create an entirely new digital master from "original mono tapes" and then cut the lacquer from that.

 

So....misleading marketing tool?

 

not entirely misleading since you're still creating the new master from the original source. again, I have no idea what was done specifically in the case of this Otis Redding album but creating digital masters is what's going on more often than not these days. analog cutting just isn't as much of a thing anymore.

 

Regardless, PIMH sounds spectacular. Everyone should get a copy!

 

Listening to MGMT-Oracular Spectacular. While this will never be an audiophile recording, the new pressing kicks the original's sorry butt.

While the original was a flat sounding compressed affair (most likely a direct transfer from the CD source), with not much low end, this one breathes a bit. You can tell it immediately it came from a better source.

The vinyl quality is OK, a pop here and there..nothing major.

 

Is Rhino going to put out the Otis album as a general release?

 

Great sound. Really surprised, as I expected to hear some background noise or some other artifact, considering the age of the recordings. Silent vinyl, good mix.
I had it cranked and it sounded great.

Also surprised how long this was for a 10". I didn't time it, but since I have a manual table I ran in to the room expecting the record to be over and it still had one more track.

Exact same opinion on the Bob Wills transcriptions LP also. Amazed how quiet they can get these old recordings. I felt like I was listening to it straight from the studio with both.

 

It was under the exclusive release on the RSD flyer. I don't believe it will have a general release.

 

Damnit! Go to know it sounds better, I just hate having to know my original is inferior.

 

John Grant got schooled 12" is great but mine has a bit of poping on it. Springsteen 12" sound's great.

 

we pressed the calculated rsd release from the original plates and used the original art files. glad you approve! -bp

 

I picked up the Pain In My Heart but the Rhino sticker didn't say anything about the master tapes on it...just 50th Anniversary and mono 180g vinyl. Did yours have something different on it?

 

The biggest surprise for me - sounds amazing. We can only hope there is more of this to come.

 

Did anyone get the Link Wray 7"? If so, how does it sound? I noticed Sundazed had some extra copies available.

Edit to emphasize "had": all sold out now! I'll have to keep tabs in shops to see if that turns up!

 

Right, that's the one; no mention of master tapes on it. Once you check the deadwax and see TML, KG, Sterling RS or a number of others at least you can be assured that even if the cut was from high res digital it will be well mastered and maybe 90% of what a AAA transfer may have been like. Same with the Everly Brothers Roots and Randy Newman mono LPs. No mention on the outer stickers, but the right credits in the deadwax and I am less concerned with whether they were all-analog cuts or not. They all sound great...

 

On this one, maybe it's an assumption. Sundazed, Light in the Attic and others do the same thing and typically they are mastered from original tapes and cut from high res digital. Sometimes they may be all analog though. With Record Store Day, they usually make the proclamation "Cut from the Original Analog Masters" but not always. Also, RSD titles seem to be more rushed so I see more high res mastering versus AAA and that is fine, as long as it sounds good! Quite a few had stickers that said or advertised as "Mastered for the Original Analog Masters" and off the top of my head I can recall these titles:

1. Both MGMT titles
2. Both 311 titles
3. Randy Newman?
4. Otis Redding
5. Built to Spill

A lot of records are still getting cut all analog but more and more are being cut from high res - particularly with WB, Rhino and Legacy. But, they still do some all analog like the recent Talking Heads reissues. These are amazing!

As jgrillo stated, when you see those mentioned initials (TML, KG, RKS or RJ Sterling) in the deadwax, it's usually high standard quality. I would even add Grundman/Bellman, Golden, Salt, Trutone, Masterdisk, Welcome to 1979 and Chicago Mastering to that list. Even when NRP gets a good source they do good work as well as Joe Lambert and a few others I'm forgetting. Also, some names from EU - Record Industry, Ray Staff, Noel Summerville, Abbey Road and others.

 

It's better go get it. My original is going to be sold.