Music Matters Definitive Blue Note 45 RPM and 33 & 1/3 RPM vinyl series (pt6)

Continued from here:

Music Matters Definitive Blue Note 45 RPM and 33 & 1/3 RPM vinyl series

 

"For the ammount of 45rpm subscribers that MM will lose, they will more than gain in 33rpm subscribers with their high quality and reasonable prices. There are many people like me that wouldn't bite at $50 but at $35, it is just right."


I think that's exactly the thoughts of Music Matters - give people top quality 33's at a reasonable price. Let's hope the numbers are there to convince them to continue.

 

If they would do Blakeys Free for All on 33rpm... I could die happy.

 

Cutting to the chase . . . "Idle Moments" is my favorite jazz tune . . . I have an LP copy with VAN GELDER in the deadwax. Do I still need the MM 33? Will it blow my mind?

 

I've considered subscribing now after cherry picking the 45s and if they hadn't started in repeat mode I would have jumped a little quicker. Having some of these early 33.3 choices already has tempered my enthusiasm but we'll see.

 

Have you heard any of the Music Matter's reissues? If so, then you already know the answer........

 

One of the nice things about having both - you can choose. If you're really into listening deep, grab the 45. If you just want to enjoy the music at a high level, the 33 is for you.

 

I have some of the 45RPM series and they are great . . . but I have some VAN GELDERs that are superb as well. If this new reissue is a marked improvement, I will likely be interested, but I'm not sure.

 

I would say, no you not need a reissue of music you already have. The key word being need. But you might want it anyway. If I have a particular Blue note title on an older issue I do not buy the newer reissue. Probably better to get ones you dont have. Or buy one to compare. What I've been able to tell so far is that the old tapes dont seem like they have quite the same ambient information they once did- the musical aura of each player and the recorded acoustic of the room/studio is diminished. There's also what I hear as attempts to tame the famed blue note brightness. I didnt think I'd miss it, and mostly I don't but it changes the character of Blue note sound as I've known it. New Reissues (Blue note and otherwise) usually sound different from older records. One view is that reissues should be basically like those that came before, and as close to an original as is presently possible (or be in cd speak, a "straight transfer"). Alternatively the album can be envisioned in a new way. Can it be changed or tweaked to improve its audiophile credibility? That's mostly the differences I hear with audiophile reissues. I dont expect them to be the same. I dont think they should try to be the same.

 

Well, given that it's one of your favorites, I'd say go for it. You're not going to go wrong having both. And you know the packaging is almost worth the cost alone..... Plus, I know I'd be interested in your opinion comparing the two.

 

I've only bought one MM reissue that I already have a first press of, Andrew Hill's Point Of Departure. The rest of the titles that I cherry picked were albums I had on cd but not vinyl. I have a few albums I have multiple copies of but for the most part I prefer to buy new music or at least new on vinyl of albums I really like. So that's the only reason I am on the fence about a subscription. Maybe I'll wait until this initial few months of releases are past and then join in on the fun. I'm still going to buy a few of the early ones but I don't want all of them for reasons I've just said. I usually buy them from MM too. They shipping style protects the records and covers and since I lie about six hours from them the shipping is pretty fast and efficient and their service is great. Ron sent me a test pressing of Donald Byrd's Royal Flush
unsolicited which I thought was over and above. If he was rewarding regular customers or trying to keep me as a customer then I would say mission accomplished.

 

Just saw this over at Fremmer's Analog planet:

http://www.analogplanet.com/content...sic-jazz-titles-180-gram-vinyl#comment-528690

Get ready to throw out all those 45s Hoffman & Gray mastered for MM &AP. Don Was says he's got digital answer to all your Blue Note desires. (lol!)

Read and weep, fellows.

 

I am just happy that they are letting us know that they are digitally sourced, unlike the recent Miles releases.

 

It will be interesting to see if they actually get closer to the original pressings. Not sure modern cutting equipment from digital files will do that. Also not sure how they figure it will represent "artists' intentions."

 

While I think I'll hold onto my MM's 45's (and 33's), I'll be interested in hearing how these new reissues sound. While they won't sound analog, there is potential there for good sound - especially if the price is right. Let's just hope they decide to do it right and not cheap it out simply to make a buck.....

 

So my first copy of Idle Moments was horribly noisy -- unlistenable. I was told to return the disc, and received a replacement that was just as bad. My email concerning it went unanswered, and when I sent a followup, simply received a refund on my credit card. Just like another poster's experience with Blue Train. Guess they don't want me to continue my long-term subscription. I own every release they've put out up to now. A sad end to a long relationship, and a big disappointment. Maybe they've just grown sick of the major hassles and defects of new vinyl, which I really couldn't blame them for. After nearly giving up on new vinyl for about a year due to a 30-40% defect rate (QRP, RTI and Pallas, mostly), I took advantage of one of Elusive Disc's sales recently, and ordered 9 high-end reissues. I had to return 5 of them due to defects, and I really could have returned 2 other ones. Still waiting on 3 replacements, but the first 2 I got had the identical defects, so I just asked for a refund. One of the Pallas-pressed albums was ridiculous -- it looked like it got caught in some machinery and literally chewed up around two-thirds of the disc and extending into the grooves. How does something like this get put in a $50 reissue? I'm close to reaching the point of deciding I don't have the stomach (or the time) for this anymore. I have more records than I could ever listen to already anyway...

 

30-40% defect rate just in the last year or through out your Music Matters subscription? I haven't bought much new vinyl in the last year, but my overall defect rate with my Music Matters subscription up to The Feelin's Good might have been 6 or 7 individual records, so less than 10%. That one came out in April 2013 so just short of a year. But my theory has been RTI took greater care in pressing the MM45s after some problems that occurred early on in the first few releases and either Joe or Ron visited RTI to sort out the problems. Stuff like this looks absolutely dreadful and more like Rainbo or United level of amateurism.

 

It looks to me like Music Matters have lowered the QC level on the current 33 1/3 releases. I don't recall all the negative comments about bad pressings during the 45 rpm run.
I was a subscriber and have all the 45 rpm LP's, but reading the current listing of comments regarding the current issues, it looks like I made the right decision to cancel my
subscription. I bought a copy of Blue Train on 33 1/3 just to check it out. I just opened it to give it a quick visual inspection, after reading the above complaints. This does not seem
right, all the current bad pressings. My copy looks pretty good, so I guess I lucked out. At $35.00 a pop, these LP's should be in impeccable condition. Going forward, I will wait and
see before purchasing any more titles. It's not like I need another copy of Blue Train to begin with.

 

You are in luck, in March we will see yet another vinyl reissue of Blue Train! It is one of the releases coming from the Don Was Blue Note reissue program.

Coming this summer, the 45 rpm mono Blue Train, the version approved by John Coltrane himself. Look for "Edition XLVI" stamped in the dead wax.

 

No, not that high with Music Matters, I meant overall. Music Matters was not perfect (I would never expect that, and figure returns are just part of the game), but it was overall more consistent than others, at least up to now. But I am talking about other high-end reissues, mostly 45 rpm pressings from ORG and Analogue Productions, along with some of the nicer Rhino reissues. For example, it took 3 copies to get AP's first Doors album reissue to get a disc 2 that wasn't severely off center, warped or noisy. I think I just have bad luck sometimes...

 

I just want to tell everybody, and anyone who had their money refunded without a replacement, that MM did not mean for that to happen. They have proven once again that they have the best customer service in the business. If you have a problem, fear not: they will make it right. They are the gold standard in this industry as far as I'm concerned, and this unintentional blip has not changed that. They will literally do whatever it takes to keep you happy. So glad to be able to report this. Please forgive my complaining, but I have grown used to their very high standards, and was surprised to think things might have changed. Thank goodness that is not at all the case!

 

My copy of Blue Train is just about as good as I could ask, quality wise. Perfect gatefold and vinyl for all practical purposes. Tape wear notwithstanding, the sound is another thumbs up! Here MONO kicks, ferociously! Well done MM. I hoped they would do this for Moanin' .
If you order from Soundstagedirect, they have a message box at checkout where you can indicate to ship the LP outside the gate fold. I ask to have a visual check for any defects as well. Plus you get the 10% off with 'SH'. All good!

edit - Listening to the 'Idle Moments' and thinking this is the best I have heard it. 3D space, full body, detail and what have you (music flows). I agree that timing and attack on these two reissues stand out!

 

The price is right for these new Blue Note reissues, and Don Was et al. deserve major kudos for scheduling new-era Blue Notes, Kurt Elling etc., for reissue on vinyl. This is certainly where Music Masters and APO are at a disadvantage, having chosen, apparently, to stick with old-school, blue-chip titles while steering clear of BN's version of the avant garde, or anything recorded any more recently than the late Johnson administration.

Let's face it-- Blue Note, Universal, Sony, the holders of right, title and interest to this material, can wipe the floor with MM, APO et al. should they decide to cater meaningfully to the audiophile market. Don Was apparently sees this opportunity. The initial signs here are very promising.

 

Price is fair, true. But I, like Fremer, will reserve judgement until I hear if/how un-digital these reissues sound. Thus far, any LP I've heard that comes from digital sources sounds less analog. But I'm willing to go in with open ears on this one.

As for Blue Note, Universal, Sont et all being able to "wipe the floor" - while they do have the resources, they have never had the will. So, I'll believe it when I hear it......

 

Everything you say is true except the part about Don Was taking over the audiophile market. Why doesn't he do it then? Why sit on top of some of the greatest jazz records ever made and rather than put them out straight from the source he and his accomplices keep putting out lifeless digital dupe.

You have no idea how happy it will make me and other Blue Note aficionados if Don Was would go thru the painstaking effort of remastering Blue Note albums from analog source and keeping the whole chain all-analog to the finished product. Please ask him to do it, if you have any influence over the man.

What he is proposing right now doesn't cut it. Consider this: they go and transfer analog to digital and then transfer it back to analog. This my friend is the definition of insanity.