Beatles Remasters on Vinyl (part4)

Keep in mind that your opinion happens to be on LP's you haven't even heard yet. Unless of course you have access to these LP's from someone in the industry and you just haven't stepped up and said that.

I have opinions too. Or more likely expectations (as you seem to have as well, just in the opposite direction). I'm expecting that, for the money I spend (be it the whole set or possibly just a few choice LP's - I haven't decided yet) that it will be worth the money to get a decent sounding Beatles LP. Possibly one that comes close to a first UK pressing, but again that's more an expectation / hope as I haven't heard these yet either.

If these end up sucking big time, then I'll just return mine (that's why I'm leaning towards Amazon, just for their return policies. Or possibly B&N as they are pretty good with returns). Or maybe I'll just buy one LP to test the waters, first. But what if they sound really great? Will you reverse your opinion later once the reviews come in or will you just cross your arms and just refuse to budge?

Seriously, I just don't get it.

 

I had this pre-ordered on amazon.ca, then I read our hosts opinion of these LP's (he has heard them). I cancelled my order, but will reverse my opinion if reviews are good. Yes, I will budge and purchase them if they sound really great.

 

Well, the set does look great, really! But...

Hang on a minute, you get a copy of Rubber Soul with flipback cover, yellow/black label, and the audio is the awful digital remix from the 80's??? This does not make sense, or is it just me?

The mono vinyl box could be different story though. Fingers crossed!
Meanwile, I'm listening to my stereo 70's Parlophone reissues I got on ebay 3 years ago, not nearly half the price of the new box, all near mint, including Beatles For Sale with the magic -1/-1 matrix numbers!

Cheers!
Ondra

 

Sorry to say that, but this ain't happening. As our host Steve Hoffman suggested, the new stereo vinyl follows the same EQ moves as the stereo CD's, they have to. Far from the original pressing.

Ondra

 

My pre-order is still there (also Amazon.ca) but I haven't cancelled it yet. I still have time to do that as I battle between getting the whole thing versus testing the waters. But I will likely buy at least one LP on or around release day.

As for our host, one opinion on a boxed set that he hasn't heard in its entirety anyway is still too early for me to really make a final judgment on. It's like me judging a new movie by what only Roger Ebert says via an early review, and he only watched part of the actual movie. When we get close to release, hopefully there will be more in-depth reviews and we might get a better idea on what to expect from these.

On the flip side, I'm not going to just take EMI's press release at face value either. I have a certain expectations on these LP's which I hope are met or exceeded - if it's not, then I won't buy more or I'll just return what I purchased if I got the whole boxed set.

 

To the music industry, this might seem like a crazy suggestion, but why not offer different products to please both groups? I think even 24/192 downloads of the current digital transfers, unlimited, with minor EQ and glitch fixes, would please 90% of the pickiest audiophiles except for the confirmed digiphobes. As SH said, just the tapes as they are are amazing, and I believe him. All this "fixing" does more harm than good.

McCartney at the very least offered non-limited downloads for BOTR. So it's not a foreign concept, even to the Beatles.

But I agree with SH, it will never happen.

 

This is where you and I (and others) differ. You already have good UK pressings, whereas I do not. And I have neither the time nor the patience to find something of high quality AND cheaply priced. You can have one of these two easily, but getting both is more of a challenge. If these new remasters give me most of what I want at a decent price, AND a return policy in case I get stiffed, then I might risk it. My only real complaint right now is that Help! and RS are the 80's mixes - so there I completely agree. That, and my general dislike of the first two albums in stereo, are the main reasons why I'm leaning towards buying the LP's I want separately. In all honesty, unless Amazon has a major price drop in the next few weeks there's a very good chance that's what I will likely end up doing.

And our host only suggested, as you said. I haven't seen any in-depth review yet, and I have no idea how much he's managed to hear. Was it one song? A whole album? I don't know yet, although I'd love to know more. I want to hear reviews, lots of them if at all possible. I hope we can see more of these before 11/13, as the more we know in-advance the better.

 

They already offered 24/44.1 hi-res files via the USB apple. Granted, they had the same limiting and EQ as the CD's, but the files are *much* higher resolution (24 bit vs. 16 bit) and the sound quality is much greater.

The only albums that don't seem to benefit any from the increased resolution are Help and Rubber Soul--for obvious technical reasons, and borne out by my own comparisons.

 

Not really, 70's Parlophone reissues are quite common on ebay, I got them all as buy it now for approx. 12 Pounds each incl. postage. It took me a month or so to get them all and didn't involve sitting 24 hours a day on computer.

The mono's is a different story completely. I bought 5 or so mono copies until I gave up. All of them vastly overrated, played to death.
That's why I'm looking forward to see the mono vinyl box released. If they have to follow the mastering choices of the CD's I'm fine with it as I like the 2009 mono CD set.

Ondra

 

I think they'll go down. Here's why:

1) They aren't the original pressings of these albums. Just re-issues. Therefore they don't appeal to those who want original 60s tube-cut pressings or those who simply collect 60s pressings or first pressings of theirs.

2) A brand new in print pressing has quite an appeal. The BC-13 had the luxury of having all their LPs in one place. Until 2009, it was also an easy way to get stereo pressings of the first four albums.

The vinyl releases not only put the vinyl back in print, they are also all in stereo, like the BC-13 but they are brand new and not second-hand. Why get an old used OOP box when a brand new in print box can be bought? (This is a reason many will have in regards to these. We are in the minority.)

The appeal of the BC-13 will go down as several of the reasons people turned to it will be voided by the new releases.

 

When I wrote high quality, I didn't mean VG+. I mean NM to Mint or, as a better comparison to these new remastered LP's, actually sealed.

I've looked and I don't see this as being as easy as you've stated -- perhaps it's due to location. In my case being in the USA, it's almost guaranteed to be an import unless you find a NM Blue Box. And those usually aren't cheap, either. I could risk an overseas purchase but if the seller isn't 100% on the up and up and I have to return it, that can get expensive pretty fast. And I tried the Blue Box route already and wasn't satisfied (advertised as "unplayed and in great shape", but the reality was that it was neither).

I could also risk a purchase here in the Marketplace, but the prices are again not cheap (probably for good reason as the quality is probably very good. But you have to pay for that). So it's risk no matter what one does -- but at least with an Amazon purchase on a new LP, if I want to test the waters, I can return it on their dime and not mine if EMI screws me over and these sound like crapola or if the quality of the packaging is horrible.

I agree. I think that, IF this new boxed set actually sounds pretty good and the packaging is top notch, there will be a large segment of people that will start buying these over used Blue Boxes and that the appeal of those older boxes will go down, over time. Not only are these new, but it includes MMT and Past Masters. So you actually get more from this boxed set, at least on the surface, versus an old Blue Box. Of course you don't get the original mixes of Help! or RS, but outside of forums like these how many people are really going to care about that?

 

Anyone who is really interested can listen to some of the 2009 remasters on vinyl right now by buying this set. There isn't any promo material for the LPs out yet so I presume this is what Steve has heard.
They sound just like the 2009 CDs, mastered and cut by the same team who did those and who are doing the forthcoming LPs.
I really don't understand the people thinking the new vinyl is going to sound anything different than what has already been released?

 

How about the fact that the vinyl is cut from unlimited 24/96 files as opposed to the hi res limited 24/44.1 files?

 

Those 45's could have been copied directly from 2009 CD's, limiting and all at Capitol tower and not EMI.

Who knows for sure?

 

I really doubt that prices will go down on the Blue Box. You will always have collectors who want vintage Beatles records.

 

This says it all.

 

Even if they go down, it will be temporary. Eventually the albums will be released in Blu-Ray or some other high-definition format and the upcoming vinyl box will lose its appeal relative to original pressings.

 

And the BC13 is all analogue, cut at Abbey Road, Garrod and Lofthouse sleeves and all. Ex copies will never lose their value, only go up.

 

There's really no need to rush into pre-ordering the digital box. There will likely be heaps of them for sale on the used market, early in 2013.

 

So, they are being sold individually? Cool!

Sorry if this has been mentioned before. I am not keeping up on this thread with regularity.

 

But like I said, collectors who want vintage Beatles records have their eyes set on original 60s pressings, not 70s or 80s re-issues. Prices for those are exponentially lower for a reason. Demand

This only matters to a small minority. The majority see these as insignificant re-issues. Most would see no difference between this and the new vinyl with the exception of the new vinyl having more. Most see the the BC-13 not mattering because they aren't the original pressings for collectors' purposes. Even for audiophiles it's mostly 60s tube cut or nothing. The BC-13 will be seen as irrelevant and insignificant to most once the new vinyl comes out. I'm surprised its going price is what it is and audiophiles rate it as they do. Second or third or fourth best pressings.

 

Yep.

Just like the CD's.

 

I asked this before but did not get an answer.
Anybody knows if there is a difference between the boxes sold in the US (for instance they may have an FBI warning etc.) vs those sold in the UK?

Are all the 50,000 copies stamped and printed in the same factory for worlwisde distribution?

 

What you are saying is not exactly true. I certainly don't believe it's all or nothing. I listen to later pressings just as much as the original tube cut versions. How many posts have you read in this thread where members are saying, "I'll keep my Blue Box"? Most of these guys/gals are audiophiles.

Have you listened to the later pressings? I wouldn't say they are inferior to the original versions but different. To me, the only originals that win hands down are Beatles For Sale and Abbey Road.

The Blue Box has held its price for years.There is no way that these later pressings will be deemed as insignificant. Not everyone has $100 to shell out for a EX+ Y&B stereo copy of Rubber Soul.

 

Apologies if I missed this, but does anyone with any certainty which pressing plants are doing the work? Given the current state of quality control for most new vinyl, it seems like that could make all the difference in the world in terms of whether these records will be worth the big bucks...