Mono Hendrix AYE and Axis LPs Coming in March

Interesting, will note your concerns and compare to my copies when they arrive.

 

Well for those who are afraid of Amazon's LP shipping, check out these photos. They do it very well now and their triangular LP mailer is very sturdy. Plus they put my two in yet another box One note: you'll see on Axis that mastered from original master tapes but no sticker on Experience. Conspicuous in it's absence?

 

I've not read that closely, but it seems that if one has a Classic mono ABAL, the new Legacy version is redundant.

And for the US/UK Legacy mono releases of AYE, it seems that the US version generally sounds better, though it might have pressing issues.

Is that about right?

 

Excellent! Thats how all my other purchases have been shipped of late.

 

No, that's a Rolling Stones compilation.

 

It also depends on which Amazon warehouse serves you. Back when some were having no problems whatsoever, others were receiving boxed sets with address labels on the shrinkwrap.

Some of us have short memories.

 

how about sound on the ABAL US edition?

 

I don't think so.
I was in my local yesterday, and the UK AYE mono had no sticker on it.
I thought it was odd myself, until I saw your copy.

Would love to hear someone chime in about the quality of the ABAL mono.
I know its been asked a few times, but I haven't seen any response.

 

My US AYE has the sticker. UK AYE doesn't.

 

Thought I'd post this:

JIMI HENDRIX

I mastered "HEY JOE" * "PURPLE HAZE" *"THE WIND CRIES MARY" *"THE BURNING OF THE MIDNIGHT LAMP" and the album "ARE YOU EXPERIENCED"

The day after he recorded Hey Joe he turn up at IBC with his producer,Chas Chandler. I was about 20 and a bit of a mod so when I saw this man dressed in his flowery gear I thought another would be pop star and dressing like one.

Then I put on the tape and after a few bars I turned to him and said "Is this you?" Yes he shyly replied. It was awesome and so different that I knew this man was going to be a star. After that they just sent the tapes over and let me cut the master on my own although i wish he had turned up again but by the second single he was mega. Chas was a down to earth man and I later went on to work for him when he bought the studio and renamed it Portland Studios. He once apologised to me for not mastering Jimi at IBC anymore. It seems that they could get a good stereo cut in New York and that's where ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER was mastered. After Hendrix Chas went on to manage SLADE. He died in 1996

Brian Carroll

http://www.ibcstudio.co.uk/historyindex.html

Those who've heard the early British singles and the UK mono album have probably noticed they all have this "signature" sound. Lots of compression, hardly any high-end, and big bass cloud. The guy who mastered them was young, and not very experienced (pun intended). But he did the best he could, and it was good enough for Chandler & Hendrix at this point in their careers.

My guess is that there are no mastered tapes of the above mentioned 45's & Lp. If there were, they probably would have sent an 1:1 of that to France. The mixdown mono mastertapes of Hey Joe, Purple Haze & Wind Cries Mary have survived and have been used for the Singles Collection Vol. 2, and boy, do they sound different. There's an actual fidelity that's totally missing on the originals. Kind of like the Track vs. Barclay but even better.

 

So, in other words, there's every chance that we're hearing (or will hear, in my case) on the UK mono AYE is what is actually there on the only mono LP master they have?

I've seen reference to people having good needledrops of the original UK mono AYE, and I have to wonder if maybe the needledropper(s) involved did any EQ tweaking of their own.

And, of course, raising the VTA setting on a turntable could drastically open up a 200 gram LP that is sounding dull.

 

I will listen tonight.

 

I will listen tonight but Im probably not as picky as many around here. I will post my thoughts later

 

Right. If they would have had a tape that held the same full-frequency information as the 70's Barclay, the new vinyl would unlikely end up sounding as dull as the orig. UK press.

You simply can't EQ the sound of the UK Track to give it back what was stripped off at IBC, because there's hardly any response above 6kHz left. Also discussed here.

 

So what this is, is an accurate representation of the UK version. As it's supposed to be.

 

Depends on one's perspective of "how it's supposed to be". Basically, a kid with less than a year working experience mastered it in the absence of the producer and artist.

 

I won't be receiving my UK AYE or Axis until Thursday. I have a NM original UK AYE mono, French mono and Japanese for comparison. While the French is the best, none are sonic masterpieces. IMO it sounds like the latest replicates the sound of the original UK. Every stereo copy I've heard surpasses the mono mix.

 

True. But that's what's represented by the reissue. A Holy Grail that's more of a goose egg. It sucks that apparently some people expected non-existent mono masters to be found and used. But this IS, apparently, the UK mono. Warts and all.

 

Good to hear. I look forward to getting my copy. I like my Hendrix sounding like that.

 

Listening to the US AYE now. Very clear sound compared to the Stereo, dead quiet wax too on mine. I think the hole is cut a bit off, or slightly too large. I can very slightly move the LP around when the LP is on the platter. Not sure if anyone else has this happening, but it doesn't seem to affect playing, as I said, it's just a very slight gap to allow some movement.
I'm waiting on the UK AYE and Axis. I ordered it in a pre-order along with the Dick's Picks volume 4 coming out on the 19th, I think they're waiting to ship it 'till then.

I wasn't even going to buy the US version, but when I went to Fry's Electronics today for a new external hard drive to back up all my LPs, they had them all for 16 bucks a pop. If I hadn't pre-ordered them the other two I'd of gotten them all in a heartbeat.

 

That, sir, is the best description of 'fake stereo' I have ever heard in my life.

 

cancel the preorder, you are in time to do it

 

I just listened to both of the new 200g mono reissues of AYE and re-read this thread. Am I right to assume that the original monos sound this bad?

 

Eh, It'd be a bit more of a hassle than it's worth. I'd have to actually contact the site, since it was already charged, then drive the 30 minutes it takes to get back up to Fry's.

 

The UK reissue is better than the UK original imo. I really like the sound of the Reprise reissue but never heard an original.