Bob Dylan LP remasters by Mobile Fidelity starting w/Freewheelin' & Another Side...

Those are on Sundazed.. .which is why these are only licensed for 45rpm

 

Sundazed mono sound great man

 

Or these are licensed for 45rpm, to rake in all the dough from the double-LP sales, to be followed a year later by the MFSL 33.3rpm single LP mono series, at about half the price and appealing to everyone who doesn't enjoy flipping sides every 7 or 8 minutes.

Where have I seen that movie before....

I seem to recall that one company even upgraded the audio chain and everything, made the 33.3rpm sound even better than the 45s, with half the hassle and (with coupon codes and sales) at half the price

Please don't get me wrong, I'm happy that all this stuff is released, but I won't be an enabler for my abusers by turning a blind eye to what they're doing

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Nope

 

We'll see.

If not MFSL, then someone else, sooner or later.

First their was the highly educational ruse of 'limited editions' that we all experienced.

When it was time go back to that well and reissue the limited editions (destroying the value of the original limited editions in the process, which had skyrocketed), the 'new' reissues were issued without a 'limited edition number', as if anyone was buying them for (or valued them based upon) the little gold foil sticker on the back.

Then we had the MM jazz 45s, the latest and greatest bar none, and limited edition too, and prices soared as they went out of print.

Miraculously, before the last of the less popular titles were even sold out, the 33.3rpm versions were announced, at $30 or $35 per, and according to all the right people in the know, these sounded even better than the 45s (whose aftermarket prices tanked, lol!), thanks to a brand new upgraded mastering chain.

I'm not angry, just skeptical. I love music and I'm glad that ALL of these titles are being made available. And I will buy many of them, I always do

I'm just saying, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me over and over and over again, well...

The 'powers that be' seem incapable of not manipulating the market, even though it's completely unnecessary.

A good product sells.

The manufactured and manipulated 'scarcity' may help move product more quickly, but it has destroyed the credibility of the 'business' in the process.

IMHO, naturally.

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Can't afford it.

 

Uh no. 33.3 mono versions are currently in print and have been for more than 15 years from Sundazed. The chances of MFSL releasing their own 33.3 mono versions is zero.

 

And that will never change.

Never, ever, ever, ever.

Until it does.

If MFSL doesn't, then someone else will, sooner or later.

How many times do you have to see this movie before you know how it ends?

More curiously, why are some people seemingly compelled to contradict past experience?

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What don't you understand about the fact that mono 33.3 versions ARE ALREADY AVAILABLE? Or that Legacy released a boxset. So, uh, no MFSL aren't doing 33.3 versions.

 

What don't you understand that Sundazed is not generally considered an 'audiophile' label in the same sense as MFSL or ORG or Audio Fidelity or Acoustic Sounds/Analogue Productions?

What source did Sundazed use?

Is the Sundazed license exclusive and eternal?

Is Sundazed the end of the line for the cream of the crop of the Dylan catalogue at 33.3rpm?

Would nobody buy new-and-improved 33.3 MFSL reissues of Bob Dylan's early catalogue, even if the old Sundazed issues were sitting on the shelf right next to it?

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You really don't understand how licensing works. MFSL doesn't have a choice in the matter. Whatever they can license from the label is what they release. They have told me in person on numerous occasions that their preference isn't for 45rpm cuts. Notice how they actually released a few Dylan titles in 33? That's because they got the license for those. Just like in the 80s when they did release TIMES ARE A CHANGING in 33 stereo.

Or just like how for the European market Music on Vinyl released the mono versions on 33.

Obviously MFSL has the rights to SACDs and 45rpm versions of the early albums. Next time order from Music Direct and ask them. They'll be happy to explain it to you.

 

The Sundazed mono Dylan titles have been around since 2002. About 4-6 years ago they were recut by Kevin Gray and pressed by QRP. So, for these recuts, they are audiophile like. In fact, I prefer the sound of the Sundazed mono LPs to the Legacy box set albums.

Not sure about the sources used for the Sundazed monos. Some speculated here that it was digital.

 

The Sundazed mono reissues currently available sound great. I thought Sundazed told Michael Fremer they were cut from analog tape. In any event, they're good.

 

I would have preferred Blood on the tracks on 45rpm, that's a record that would have really benefitted from the audiophile treatment. Maybe in the future?

 

with the speed of all the tracks corrected.
finally.
blood on the tracks, on pitch, does sound better

 

Was it originally fast or slow?

 

I agree the half speed Mastersound lp sounds more natural, I listen it more often than my Mofi or Absolute Analogue pressings.

 

I agree, the half speed Mastersound is fantastic. I love the MOFI and the various other pressings I have, but the Mastersound truly blew me away the first time I heard it.

 

Faster than recorded speed by different amounts depending on the tracks, here is a breakdown:

Blood on the Tracks - MoFi reissue - is this the correct speed???

 

The MoFi, speed corrected according to this guide beats the mastersound. By a wide margin.
It's a bit of a pain in the ass to do the tracks individually, using the platterspeed app you can do it. I've found slowing side two down 2% gets you 90% there.

 

I get your skepticism, but the post by "This Heat" is correct.
The format of 33 or 45 is part of the licence deal. Generally, for a given album, there
aren't ever overlapping versions of the same album. When more than one company is doing
reissues, they won't overlap and both to the same title in the same format.

Given a catalog like Dylan where you have mono and stereo versions of the same title, any or
all of the albums are subject to separate deals and all the variations are possibilities, but it would be very
unlikely for two of the same version.

Personally, I would really like to see more consistency, like ALL of an artists titles being licenced
to ONE reissue company, so if we're going to get Supertramp on vinyl, lets have all the titles
in the series by MOFI instead of spreading them all around the world and skipping certain albums
entirely. But it doesn't seem like that's in the cards.

 

Though haven't we seen this with The Doors, Fleetwood Mac, and Blue Note? Or are they just exceptions?

 

The Doors 45 cuts are on Analogue Productions. The 33 on Rhino. I think there was some overlap on Music Matters 33 and the 75th Anniversary series.

 

That Blue Note overlap isn't really the same thing; those 75th anniversary titles were issued by Blue Note. No rights holder would give another label an exclusive license preventing it from issuing its own titles.

The more apt comparison is AP and MM. There was no overlap between their 45 series. A big part of MM's decision to go to 33 is they wanted to do some titles that they couldn't do at 45 because AP had the license for those.

 

Has anyone A/B'd these two pressings? I like both the original mono and stereo mixes alright but have heard the stereo remix that Mofi did was outstanding, especially fixing bringing back some body and warmth and softening some of the sharper tones, apologies if this was answered somewhere else but there are a few threads on these pressings now, but does anyone know if the mono release was likewise a new mono mix or done from masters? Thanks!