Donald Fagen "The Nightfly" digital recording to MFSL 45 RPM One-Step vinyl?*

This a thousand times! Does anyone really need more audiophile copies of the last two original Dan albums or the Fagen ones? They've been done definitively. Give us other ones.

Ed

 

There is an interesting part in this book about an analog tape of this digitaly recorded album
Roger Nichols Recording Method: A Primer for the 21st Century Audio Engineer

You can read it here (I can't upload an image, I think it's protected...) Begins under 'Snap, crackle and pop music'

Roger Nichols Recording Method

Who is Roger Nichols? Roger Nichols (recording engineer) - Wikipedia

 

My nominations for Mo-Fi one-step:

The Beatles: Abbey Road
Pink Floyd: Dark Side Of The Moon
Supertramp: Breakfast In America
Dave Brubeck: Time Out
Claude Bolling: Suite For Flute And Jazz Piano
Cat Stevens: Tea For The Tillerman
Chicago: Chicago VII
Michael Jackson: Off The Wall
Esquivel: Latin-Esque
Deodato: Prelude
Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66: Look Around
Astrud Gilberto: A certain Smile, A Certain sadness
Harry Belafonte: At Carnegie Hall - The Complete Concert
Steely Dan: Aja
Stevie Wonder: Songs In The Key Of Life (only if they can get the 1st generation stereo master tapes)
Boz Scaggs: Silk Degrees
Simon & Garfunkel: Bookends
The Moody Blues: On The Threshold Of A Dream

and many more.......

 

The problem with Steely Dan titles is locating the master tapes. Many are missing from what I have read. I think most CDs and reissues have been taken from Nichols safety copies.

 

I've only heard that the multis from some of "Aja" are missing. The tapes that aren't missing aren't in great shape, though, so I'm not sure they can even be used. They may be beyond baking.

Ed

 

Summarizing, directly from Roger Nichols, who should know:

A) The album was recorded to digital. There is no first generation analog source. The album was not recorded simultaneously to digital and analog.
B) An analog submaster was created by dubbing the digital master to analog tape
C) The analog submaster was used for the first run of CD pressings of the album
D) This first run of CDs from the analog submaster sounds markedly different (worse) than the original master
E) Subsequent CD runs of The Nightfly are mastered from the digital master

So there's no analogue master for this album, other than a bad sounding dub made around the time the CD was first pressed.

The DVD-A release already captures every iota of digital information on that original digital master.

So why bother with this?

 

I also have a terrific sounding stock cd.
My really weird sounding one is a Target.

 

Ow!

That's no way to talk about a girlfriend.

 

If it does not make you nauseous when played at a reasonable volume it's probably one of the good ones.

 

I think you are wrong about point B.... The digital master has been remastered for vinyl on an analogue tape. That because of the simple fact that the first physical release of this album was on vinyl in 1982.

The first cd release wasn't until 1983, where they forgot that the analogue tape they used was intended for vinyl, not for cd. Hence the bad quality on cd.

My guess is that mfsl wil do a good/great job with that analogue tape, agreed... from a digital source but we are used to that nowadays. So, let's wait and listen ( a few months....)

 

this is a totally pointless release. The DVD audio disc is amazing for both sound quality and the 5.1 mix. I think they EQ'ed it a bit to fill out the bottom end. The original digital stereo mix sounds a bit thin, but that's typical of early digital recordings.

also, one of the tracks has a couple of extra bars at the start of the song that isn't on the original release. I forget now which song, was it "green flower street"? I don't see the point for the SACD either. All they did was convert the 50/16 PCM to DSD, nothing gained!

 

If it was'nt made clear, the original target release was sourced from an Analog dub of the Digital Master. The story goes that Stevie Wonder heard the target release and said it sounded wierd. Roger checked out the CD and bitched at warners for using the analog dub for the CD.

However, considering the early digital recording systems won't interface with anything today, It's unlikely they could use the original digital mixdown tape. At some point they must have transferred it over to something more current while a 3M playback deck was still available.

I don't know what, but hopefully, they were able to retain the original sample rate, and not downsample to 48 or 44.1. Is'nt the PCM stereo mix on the DVD Audio 48 Khz? It's downstairs and I'm too lazy to go look

 

SACD differs from other formats in its approach to noise shaping that pushes content into the ultrasonic. Real instruments are measured to emit ultrasonic content, too. Therefore the SACD can trick the ear into perceiving a more realistic presentation.

 

... $100 for an album. I sort of get it but then when I see people bitching about a $120 huge Beatles deluxe set.

 

Hard to imagine better sound than from my RL cut original. Would spend my money on other remasters that provide a bigger improvement in sound than this one.

 

I'll have to listen again. I don't remember it sounding bad.

Ed

 

I'll most definitely pass

 

My original 33 1/3 vinyl sounds so good that I doubt I would notice enough of an improvement to make this 45 RPM worth the money. I'm sure it will sound great, but so did the original.

 

I do think I read on my DVD-A that it was 48khz.

This might be a good place to mention that the surround mix created for the DVD-A release is exceptional.

 

Other than "Winelight" by Grover Washington, Jr, it's the best I've ever heard.

Ed

 

There are few records that DON'T get an improvement from the 45rpm treatment. At the least, think of any side ending songs and the difference in speed and placement on the record on the sound. Only poor, narrow bandwidth records would not likely see an improvement. I had complained initially about MoFi's release of Jefferson Airplane's Surrealistic Pillow. It's not a great recording to begin with, but it does benefit from the 45rpm treatment. "White Rabbit" is stunning on the 45rpm, for example.

So there still may be a clinical, digital quality to the recording, but the 45rpm, if done well, will likely be much more spacious sounding, with a greater ease of presentation, have better dynamics, and sound way better with songs near the end of the traditional sides.

 

I'm sure I have one of the latter ones. I was still looking for a cheap target, but knowing this I can stop that search. Thanks.

 

Never listened to the Chris Bellman's reissue?

 

No, do I really need to buy another copy of this album?

 

This choice makes only sense for Mofi! They can sell 5000 LPs. They just want make a lot of $$$.

They can't improve the sound of the original – they only can add a different flavor.

Odd choice IMO