Blue Note 70s United Artists UA Vinyl (RVG & general)

Hi,
I can't reply annymore to this one Blue Note vinyl. United Artists 1970s pressings.
so I decided to open a new thread as I'm curious about these represses.

I always avoided these 70s pressings with the blue label and white or black "b" because of what I read about it. For example here is what londonjazzcollector.com says:

"The all-blue label/black note, often carrying the VAN GELDER machine stamp in the run-out. Usually an assurance of quality mastering, it can also indicate a record pressed from overused Blue Note legacy stampers, resulting in pressings which are dull at the top end and lacking in dynamic range."
[ on the blue label with black "b" 1973 - 1976)

"The audio quality of the LT series is entirely unpredictable, varying from fairly acceptable to extraordinarily poor. On one of my copies, there is such severe dynamic range compression that there is almost no top end and the percussion is entirely missing. People were making poor decisions in engineering, mastering and pressing, which failed to realise the musical potential of vinyl."
[ on the blue label with white "b" 1975 - 1980]

Meanwhile I got some of these pressings, with both black and white "b"s, and I'm pretty happy with it.
None of them has RVG or Van Gelder-Stamp. My Copies are done by B.A. (Bert Agudelo). I have a copy of Ornette Colemans "at the golden circle" on very silent vinyl and it sounds pretty good even without the van gelder-stamp. (snare is kinda muffled but these older live recordings often have their weaks).

Can someone tell me which albums are reissued on these UA labels with a Van Gelder-Stamp in the deadwax?

And whats your opinion on the UA era in general?

 

Overall I have had very good luck with 70's Blue Note/UA pressings. Over the years I've accumulated a few duplicates, where first I bought a 70's repressing and then later I found an original Plastylite at a decent price, and I have compared them. The Plastylites seem have more "oomph," more vibrancy, or in other words, they have the "wow" factor. However, due to their age and cost, sometimes an affordable copy can have some surface noise. Most of the UA era pressings in general sound very good to me, but sometimes sound less exciting. I personally haven't ever encountered one that sounded as if it were made from over-used stampers. By the time you get to the BN-LA and BN-LT series it becomes a little hit-or-miss; I seem to notice that proper albums (like Bobby Hutcherson - Cirrus) sound really good, while compilations (for example, Sam Rivers - Involution) are kind of mediocre. Then there are the 1986 & later digitally sourced and/or DMM LPs, which in my experience are pretty bad.

For me it's kind of a matter of weighing how badly I want the record vs. how expensive a clean original is. I have several 70's repressings, and they make acceptable placeholders until something better comes along. RVG stampers were used for a very long time, but keep in mind some of the later sessions weren't recorded by RVG or originally cut by him and therefore may not have the RVG in the deadwax anyway. Also, don't forget that the APO, Music Matters and Disk Union reissue LPs are more than worthy alternatives for your collection.

 

thank you!

 

I have one. A 1973 Kenny Burrell. Sounds fine. When I want something special or show off a treat then I use my Music Matters production of it.

 

I dig LJC page and the tremendous amount of research and overall high standard for clean and concise info. I do disagree in terms of sonics with RVG stamped later pressings. Many of them are excellent and quieter than the 50s/60s originals. It's always worth checking the deadwax to find clean copies as plating/factory differences don't account for any meaningful differences other than the price tag.

 

that sounds nice, I bought some more UA copies now, unfortunately without the RVG stamp again. Its often not listed on DIscogs or ebay, especially for the cheap ones.
Anyway, I like these pretty much and as you said: all I have are very quiet. I noticed that my copies without the Van Gelder stamp tend to seperate the channels pretty clear: the drums are pretty much to the right, the congas are pretty much to the left....