Hi all. I did some search but there seemed no thread about this new series so here it is as I thought some of our forum members (those in Japan in particular) might be interested. FYI, I'm not working for EMI Japan. The series aims to reproduce popular Blue Note titles on vinyl as accurately as possible, from the label to vinyl to sleeve and even to inner sleeve. Here are some info about the series. It's in Japanese but I assume somehow you can sense what they're getting at. http://diskunion.net/jazz/st/images/bluenote10191.jpg http://diskunion.net/jazz/st/images/bluenote10192.jpg Their promise: -the original mono master tapes are used -they are cut straight from the master tapes (I'm not sure if it means they're cut flat) -pressed at Quality Record in Salina, Kansas http://www.qualityrecordpressings.com/index.cfm?go=articles -200g heavy vinyl -vinyl feature "flat edge", up to BLP-1557 -labels feature famous "deep groove" -sleeves are exact replica of the originals' including their texture http://diskunion.net/jazz/ct/news/article/1/25078 -sleeves are made in the same way as originals featuring "frame" style -inner sleeves are also exact replica of the ones came with the original releases -all titles are "limited edition" -and it's ¥5,250 per title At the moment only Disk Union is taking pre-orders and unfortunately they don't ship abroad but since they're pressed by Quality Record/Acoustic Sounds, my guess is that sooner or later they'll become available from AS's website if wanted. The first batch comprises: Kenny Dorham - 'Round about Midnight at Cafe Bohemia Lee Morgan - Indeed! John Coltrane - Blue Train Hank Mobley - Soul Station Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage http://diskunion.net/jazz/ct/news/article/1/24102 Should I take the plunge? Maybe not.
I didn't know how much 5,250 Yen was so I had to look it up. Wow-that's $70 CDN an LP! For that price I'd buy the Music Matters versions of Soul Station and 'Round about Midnight at Cafe Bohemia instead. I have those two and they are outstanding. I think Music Matters has also done Lee Morgan's Indeed! as well. Perhaps they will be available directly in North America for a lower price down the road. I like what they're doing and I'm sure these will sound great, but that price is too steep for me at least.
I bet these are the Classic Records titles licensed to Japan because the USA licenses are not transferrable here. No, they won't be at Acoustic Sounds. If you want these titles, hunt around for them in the used market. Distributors have been blowing them out cheap for over a year now. Bernie Grundman's mastering is very good on most of these titles. In at least one instance, I like BG's mastering more than the more expensive Music Matters title!
Problem is MM's vinyl titles are more expensive than ¥5,250 in Japan. They tend to be priced around 70 ~ 90 US$ here.
No, these are clearly new pressings, not old Classic Records stock. The ad says they're pressed at Quality Records, which just opened earlier this year. (Unless you're saying that they're re-cuts of the Classic masterings?) All of these titles have been done in the Music Matters and Analogue Productions series, and, for U.S. buyers, it's hard to believe that these new versions will sound better than the 45 rpm pressings. Might be interesting to hear the mono version of Maiden Voyage, though.
Yes, and with stronger Yen at the moment, they(MM) should be sold at more reasonable price here but sadly that's not the case. But aside from steep pricing, I'm also concerned with the sound quality of the new series. Does somebody here know who usually master vinyl at Quality Record Pressings? How is he rated around here? Thanks.
There is (as yet) no mastering at QRP. This deal only started recently when DiskUnion visited Chad at QRP (it appeared on their facebook and blog). It may be that a mastering place hasn't even been chosen yet. The pressing plant has.
Thanks. The first batch will be released in 10 days or so time so the mastering should have been done by now is my guess. Actually you can see the Lee Morgan's title being manufactured at QPR in the news video from QPR. http://www.qualityrecordpressings.com/index.cfm?go=articles
My god. I don't own any original Blue Note vinyl so I can't tell. The ad says "it's pressed on 200g heavy vinyl in order to recreate 'texture' of the originals at the time as much as possible". Well, their explanation is a bit ambiguous.
Yes, that's true. Last dedicated mono recording was done in the old Hackensack studio in 1958, and there's relatively few of them between 1957 and 1958 who had both a stereo and a mono machine running (last one was Art Blakey's "Moanin'"). I wonder to what lengths will the Japanese go to replicate not only the packaging, but also the sound of the original mono Blue Notes. That means fold-down from 2-track to mono on every date after October 1958, but will it also mean EQ'ing it the way Van Gelder did during cutting? Those of you who saw Steve's last post regarding Van Gelder's mastering notes will know that it involves a lot of sound compromises, questionable EQ'ing and compression: I've heard a few original mono Blue Notes and only in the case of one of them (Kenny Burrell's "Midnight Blue") did I think they were an alternative to Steve's mastering of the Blue Note catalog. This original pressing had a tubey charm to it, powerful bass and the 5000 Hz boost seemed to suit it well. Otherwise I prefer the stereos.
Thanks for valuable info. About the mastering of these new vinyl, Disk Union says they dared not to try replicating the original Van Gerder mastering but went for cutting "as is" from the original master tapes with no tweaking whatsoever. So my understanding is that these new editions are flat transfers but I cannot be 100% sure. If they were truly flat transfers then I think it'd make interesting comparisons with other editions like ones done by Steve.
Was in diskunion Jazz this afternoon and picked up a flyer about these. They are going to some lengths to recreate these, in terms of packaging and the disks themselves. Certainly a lot of effort going into these!
I'd buy a couple of these if they were in stereo. I don't get this mono fetish on fold downs. "Blue Train" and "Soul Station" sound better in stereo. They were recorded that way for a reason.
Agree with you on "Soul Station". I'm not sure I like the stereo mix of "Blue Train" however, don't dig the fact that all horns are on the left. Being one of the earlier stereo recordings for Van Gelder, it paints a nice stereo picture with lots of bleed, but everything feels a little off balance. And by the way, there's a real mono mix of this one, recorded simultaneously on a mono machine. Have I ever heard it? No... But I think it was re-released some years ago on Classic Records.
Unfortunately the EQ choices on the Blue Train mono by Classic Records (33 rpm) doesn't make it sound very natural.
Correct. I've heard it. However, I don't think it's all EQ. There's inoformation lost too. I just think the stereo version sounds better, even with the odd instrument balance. There's enough bleed through between the channels to make it sound more natural.
Yes, I think they might be re-cuts of the Classic masterings although, since the titles don't all match up to the Classic releases, I guess they aren't.
Someone needs to buy one and let us know. Actually, I think these get an outing at RMAF. Someone needs to talk to them there.
If something is being cut from an analog master, it is not a re-cut of the Classic Records release. The term re-cut means that a new lacquer is being created. In order to do that, they'd have to play back the master while spinning the lathe. The only way that these records could use the Classic Records mastering is if they were re-pressed using the old lacquers (stampers). I highly doubt that this is the case.
Hey: It's my understanding that many Japanese collectors and fans favor the Mono BN's. Generally I favor the Stereo's but some of the mono's have a certain punch that Stereo's with their wide spread lack. I have the Classics Mono of Horace Silver's "Blowing the Blues Away" and it has a certain kick the Stereo lacks IMO. I was told or read that BN fold down Mono's didn't start till early 60's.
