AP Ellington Masterpieces mono

Sorry to hear it — my first-run pressing of this reissue is perfect in every way.

 

The Vinyl Flat saves me again. My copy is now perfectly flat and sounds terrific. I'm not affiliated with the production or sale of the Vinyl Flat in any way just to be clear. I would strongly recommend it to anyone who's really into vinyl. It works especially well on these pricey heavy vinyl pressings. Almost like magic.

 

Anyone who likes this record should keep their eyes peeled for an old series by the Franklin Mint Record Society. It was called The Greatest Recordings of the 1950s. I think they made a box of four for each year. Not exactly what I typically listen to but I found the 1952 box at my local 1/2 Price Books one day for $5.00. It looked so nice I bought it out of curiosity. It's all mono and the sound quality comes close to this AP reissue. Beautiful red vinyl too. A bargain if you find it.

 

Just listened to Masterpieces last night. Amazing depth and clarity. No pressing issues, no noise. Spectacular. (Mine was the second run since they sold out their first batch real fast!)
Highly recommended.

 

Who did the mastering?

 

the new release is mastered by Ryan K. Smith

 

My favorite local record store called last night with the great news - my new Duke Ellington record was ready for pickup! Simply amazing, what a treasure.
Pics below:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/h4092ofpmwx3nzh/20150127_002109.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/h4092ofpmwx3nzh/20150127_002109.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/tykuns76a4cdr4v/20150127_002539.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vzzmp054hyn4ilz/20150127_002746.JPG?dl=0

 

Is this out of print?

 

no. it has been re-released. as fine a sounding record as you'll find.
you can buy it here:
http://store.acousticsounds.com/l/507/Analogue_Productions

 

The SACD is awesome, as well.

 

Thanks - order placed!

 

Great LP, like most AP releases this is another keeper

 

Amazing record. One of the best jobs AP has ever done. Last night I listened it three times in a row. Ellington was such an amazing composer. He really knew to touch people's soul

 

I have an original blue label. It's a pretty great recording to begin with. I'm always curious about reissues, though.

 

Well, I just played the AP, a copy I received yesterday. It's pretty wonderful, if not perfect. It is certainly slightly differently EQd from the original. It's not as in-your-face. The original's vocal and instrumental images are larger and more up front. On the new one, it sounds like there is a slightly recessed midrange compared to the original, which pulls all of the instruments back, but the detail also creates a sophisticated layering of the soundstage. With the added detail, I can hear the intake of air from those playing wind instruments.

The recording itself is pretty astonishing given that it was from late '40s recordings.

My original may be a bit rolled off, not surprising, but the new one is a hair bright on top. I actually find that somewhat consistent with Ryan Smith's mastering, and that includes the AP Beach Boys series, which also exhibits a slightly recessed midrange. On my Beach Boys originals, when I have an original to compare to the new ones, the vocal images on the originals are larger and more up front.

Given that originals of Masterpieces by Ellington are hard to come by, this is a great way to get this terrific record. And AP did a Music Matters things with this, creating a gatefold with photos inside.

 

Probably the differences you describe are a combination of tube mastering on the originals vs. solid state, and the age of the tapes.

 

Mastering options are not exactly the same in 2015 as they were back in the 50's... probably much closer to the actual master tapes sound now, I would guess

 

Not necessarily. Most engineers don't just put the master tape onto the lacquer without some sort of tweak. As Steve Hoffman has pointed out, master tapes were not necessarily intended to be put straight out.

The original of this is pretty amazing. But the LP came out in 1950, pretty early for LPs (just the 2nd year of existence). Clearly the recording engineers knew what they were doing. The tapes were also fresher back then than now.

In any event, I guarantee that Ryan Smith took liberties as to how he thought it sounded best in his studio. Do we know they were mastered solid state or tube? Bernie Grundman's facilities have both and does both, depending on the will of the person producing the record.

 

I see how it can be interpreted that way, but that's not actually what I meant ("putting masters tape onto the lacquer"), I was trying to point out that mastering options can be (and often are) very different when the work is done with 20, 30, or more years apart. And that I find it more likely that these options were less constrained and limited by many "social" factors now than what they were back then (for this type of reissue), as a result the sound is probably a better representation of master tape (more like a figure of speech...as in the intended sound of the recording)

Or in other, simpler words, the midrange thing you mention might be, and probably is, much more a "sign of the times" from when the original was cut, than an actual feature of the recording or, even less so, some unexplained option from the mastering engineer today...

 

Anybody got the 2 x 45 release (the same mastering by the same label):

Duke Ellington-Masterpieces By Ellington-45 RPM Vinyl Record|Acoustic Sounds

 

Yes, I prefer it to the 33RPM pressing. My copy is fairly quiet. A little "ticky" sounding on side 1 in areas though.

 

The 1950 issue does not have RIAA compensation eq, but Columbia's proprietary curve. Equalization was not standardized across the industry until 1954.

 

I can't be arsed to buy another pressing from the same label. Release it as a 33rpm only to follow up with a 45rpm without much of a heads up.