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

That would be a Quiex. How does it sound?

 

I've had the thing since 1982/3. Got it at a record show in Pittsburgh. Don't remember whether it was wrapped with stickers on shrink and I took 'em off and stuck 'em on the album, or whether the shrink was gone, stickers already in place.

I would bet on the latter. Technically it's a promo (?), so the shrink was probably off to begin with.

Bottom line, it's a really nice record that holds up after all this time. Almost no noise at all. Couple ticks/pops, but that's it, after 35 years.

Should it be a Ludwig mastering? I'll remind myself to check that out.

 

Thanks, the reason I ask is because I think the same formula is used, (meaning one doesn't need to find one with the hype sticker/promo), just check to see if it's translucent. Mines dead quiet as well, nice sounding album. Same goes for Synchronicity and it's crap-load of cover variations

 

Excellent! But I don't have a regular run for comparison, some odd reason this is the only one I've ever run into at thrifts. I can find Styx titles all day long, but only 1 Fagen album in like 6 years
It doesn't have that somewhat harsh upper treble I find on my old Japan for US compact disc, but it may be due to my table/cart/pre set-up toning it down somewhat.
I'm a casual fan of this album, so for me the old Ludwig is fine
The presentation for the MFSL is beautiful however!

 

Translucent? Yes.
RL in the deadwax on both sides? Yes.

So now I know.

I don't think my Synchronicity is a Quiex, just a standard copy.

 

First press copies of Synchronicity have RL on the side 1 matrix (very rarely on side 2 although he cut both sides) and can be seen as either translucent charcoal or purple Quiex when held to light.

There must be 100's of 1000's of them out there. Any used record store should have a copy for under 10 bucks.

And they sound frickin' fantabulous.

 

Were all the US top loaders?
Thrifter about 7 years ago, this one is 'charcoal' Ludwig x2 Nudie 'front' variation

 

Yes all the covers are like that.

Nice luck--nude cover and double RL!

Great sounding record.

 

I picked one of these up awhile back and it does sound really good. My copy is NM and was around ten bucks.

 

Ok, thanks, wasn't sure. Yeah, no kidding!

 

Yes, mine has faint RL on side 1. Purplish/blue translucent when held up to the light. Not a 'Nudie' cover, however.

Have had it since the day of release.

Always thought it sounded excellent. I wonder what possessed the label to put such an obviously huge record out on Quiex?

 

Heh - my Synchronicity has Silver, Gold and Copper bars - not yellow, blue, red. Pretty sure it's translucent - I bought it new at the time, and I think it had the "audiophile" sticker on it. It was the only one with that cover in the huge rack of albums - and the only one I've ever seen.

Looks kinda like this:



It's worth? No idea.

Okay - back to your regularly scheduled discussion!

Cheers,
Paul

 

Score! The gold/silver/bronze covers are pretty rare, but the black and white covers are the rarest. Taking into account how many ways the three color bands and all the different photos can be combined, there are over 90 variations alone of the yellow/blue/red cover. I’m not sure how many variations of the gold/silver/bronze or black and white covers exist.

 

Good day hitting the used bins today. Finally found a Quiex Nightfly!

Sound is phenomenal. Will have to do some comparison to my regular vinyl RL and the 1-Step.

 

Congrats and enjoy!

 

Cool. however, because this was mastered in the digital domain aren't you just comparing how quiet the different vinyl is?

 

It's not just that, but both were mastered and cut by Bob Ludwig, so yeah, you're just getting quieter vinyl, unless it was also plated and/or pressed at a different facility.

 

Could anyone recommend what is the best sounding issue of this title on vinyl?

 

The One Step

/Thread

 

An original.

 

Yeah, an original one step

 

It seems it's common to go with the original releases regarding most Steely Dan titles.

 

The One Step (I have all the second.. bests, too)

 

One Step, followed by the OG RL.

 

The OneStep and the original RL (Robert Ludwig cut and mastered) render two different presentations.

The album was recorded digitally, one of the first digital recordings, and it has a bit of a sterile, glassy quality.

Bob Ludwig warmed up the sound a bit. It's full and pretty dynamic. A great sounding album overall.

Krieg Wunderlich's mastering for the OneStep is ultra-detailed, which has its pros and cons. It brings out even more detail and is even more dynamic. And there's the additional spaciousness you get with a cutting at 45rpm.

However it also brings out the cool, sterile quality much more. Ludwig must have known that the original 16bit digital recording needed enhancing, needed warming up. The MoFi exposes its roots as an early digital recording. You may marvel at the extra detail, but, to me, it loses its cohesiveness in the process. Ludwig helped bring the album together into a vision. The MoFi, to me, highlights the individual pieces.

The MoFi is not bad by any stretch. It's just that I prefer Ludwig's presentation. Again, it pulls back the digital sounding aspects and makes for a more cohesive sound. And that it's a fraction of the price of the OneStep makes it a relative bargain. There are tons of them out there, too.