Newvelle records

Just to say I have received my first 2 lps from my new subscription to that label. I heard from them from Fremer. Have heard the Dejohnette solo piano, and have to say that this is the best sounding piano record I have ever heard. Also the songs are just magnificient. And the artwork kills. Although they are too expensive in my opinion, which is a sad thing, I dont regret at all my buy and am eager to listen to the 2nd lp.

 

Listened to the Frank Kimbrough lp. Its also very good. Anybody else here has an opinion?

 

Bump

 

Nice sounding records, except for the last one credited to Leo Genovese with Esperanza Spalding. My copy has a range of No Fill issues which is disappointing. Wrote to Newvelle about this yesterday, no reply yet. Nice boxset, bit pricey sure, but worth supporting, and the music is good, though tends towards trad rather than progressive or experimental. But all players have a good pedigree.

 

Update: listening closely to this Leo Genovese record, I have to say the level of detail of sound is exceptional. My "non-fill" issue seems much less problematic than yesterday and I wonder if it's related to crap in the grooves getting moved after the first spin. In any case, they kindly offered to replace the copy for me, but I think after a clean it may be fine.

 

This is exactly the kind of thing I'd normally be all over, but I just can't justify the expense. Too bad (for me).

 

Any updates? I just discovered the label and considering purchasing the second year.

 

I just purchased the third year. Great music, but the vinyl is noisy! I mean really noisy for almost $70 an LP. That’s just ridiculous, I’ll try cleaning them but QRP smashes the quality, just smashes it. What the heck? I don’t know if if I’ll subscribe to the current subscription for That reason alone.

 

Just to be clear -- the Season 3 LPs and previous seasons were pressed at MPO. They are switching to QRP for Season 4. I suspect this is in response to a lot of quality concerns that have been brought up (you can find them scattered around this forum). My Season 3 Box Set was absolutely HORRENDOUS in terms of surface noise on 4 of the 6 titles in the set.

Good news: Newvelle Customer Service was super responsive, very friendly, and quickly agreed to dispatch new LPs after I sent them a couple of videos to document the insane amount of surface noise / non-fill I was hearing (this was post-cleaning on a VPI 16.5 also!)...

Bad news: 2 of the 4 replacement LPs I received were as bad, if not worse, compared to the first ones.

Really hoping their quality goes up big time with the move to QRP in Year 4, because I love the concept behind what they are doing... brilliant ideas and brilliant music that have so far been hindered by poor pressing quality!

 

So I upped my subscription for season 4. I opened the Frisell... IT WAS A MASTER DISC PRESSING!!! I flipped out, it’s not QRP. I was mad. That said, I played it, it’s actually quiet and sounds good. I have three others to listen to. Man I hope the pressings are good. My Season 3 pressings blow... all infill. Jeff

 

Are these LP's AAA? Also I see they offer a "live recording session", see: Live Recording Sessions

But I'm not sure what is a hand-cut master lacquer?

 

@jlrchrds - A bit late here, but interesting! I was pretty sure they advertised that QRP would be the source. Do you know where it actually was pressed? MPO again?

I'm surprised you took the plunge on Season 4 after you were as disappointed with Season 3 as I was! Like you, I barely listen to them, despite the music on there being incredible. That surface noise is just too much.

That said, I'm glad to hear that Frisell was nice and quiet! How did the other three records turn out?

 

Season 4 is well worth it. All 6 of my records are quiet and the music is amazing. Excellent playing, writing, and arranging all around. Not avant-gard but not hard bop/soul jazz/60s BN rehash. Just solid modern jazz. I‘m in for season 5.

And thanks for the warning on season 3. I almost bought it, it sold out anyway. Records should not have nonfill. And $70 records especially.

 

Alex DeTurk at Masterdisk cuts the lacquers; they don't press vinyl there. QRP doesn't usually put any marks in the stampers (I do have a few with QRP stamped in the runout, but they are the minority of the 100+ I have), so you almost have to go by the absence of additional markings as evidence that something was pressed there.

I've subscribed to season 5, and if they are good, may pick up season 4 down the road. And hopefully they will repress the earlier seasons at QRP.

 

No, there's at least one digital step in there. The site makes much of the analog console they use for mixing, but it's not clear to me if they mix before converting to digital (and only edit in Protools) or if they record to multi-track digital, convert back to analog for mixing, and back again to digital for the master that goes for cutting. Given the mention of automation, and nothing about tape, I'd say it's probably the latter.

Audio Quality - Newvell Records:

 

This label was completely off my radar, until I saw Tim Berne's 'Broken Shadows' quartet last fall. That's a group dedicated to playing fiery arrangements of the music of Ornette Coleman, Julius Hemphill, Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden...besides Berne the leader on alto, Chris Speed was his foil on tenor, and the rhythm section was the guys from the Bad Plus. Totally badass presentation of that material. I saw all 3 sets when they came through town. I went online later to see if they had any recorded product to purchase...and I found their record on Newvelle, which was fetching $200 by itself on Discogs. After visiting Newvelle's website and understanding their subscription model, I was surprised I hadn't heard of the label before, because so many other artists I follow had releases through them. I was disappointed, as someone who obsessively collects Berne recordings...too rich for my blood. Obviously tailor-made for the OCD collector, which I have been, to my eternal shame...I'm trying to get away from that sort of fandom. But I'd still buy a recording of Tim Berne making fart noises, if it were in my price range, especially if it were engineered by David Torn...

 

One more thing: I recently ordered the box set of the 2019 Newvelle Muri series, which I haven't seen mentioned at all on the forum. One word of warning: Unlike the co-released season 4, the Muri titles are still pressed at MPO — and the two I've listened to so far have fairly high surface noise and several spots of stitching. Not as bad as some MPO pressings I've had recently, but still not what you'd expect at this price.

So far, it's borderline. It's less bothersome in the more raucous music, but there are several very quiet tracks on the Nadje Noordhuis Quintet set where it becomes pretty intrusive. I was assured that replacements would be sent if there are any problems, however, I'm not convinced that replacements will be a lot better. (Although my replacement Dylan BOTT TP was pretty much perfect, so you never know.) I'll listen to the rest before making any calls on which to ask for replacements of.

I'll hold off on commenting about the music until I've listened to the bulk of the set a few times. I do like the first disc (Gilad Hekselman) right off the bat, and I enjoyed the various samples they have posted, so I'm hopeful the music will largely make up for the marginal pressings.

 

Anybody else have the new New Orleans Collection? Just finished spinning all 4 discs. Music and sound quality both fantastic. I think the Ellis Marsalis album was my favorite. Not much I could add that wasn't already said by Fremer in the review below. I would be interested in getting more LPs from them if they continue to expand on the type of music they're pressing.

“The New Orleans Collection”— Newvelle’s Crescent City Excellent Adventure

 

I wish they would break up the sets. There are one or two LPs that I am interested in.

 

Glad to read your review, @jslcaballo! I've heard parts of 2 of the titles (but not the Marsalis), and they sounded great! Really loved what I heard of the Irma Thomas disc. I am planning to get the set, but am hoping they will have a sale like last year.

 

I really want that Irma Thomas album, but I'm not interested in the other three in the set. I wrote to them and they did say they would be available individually down the line so I will be patient...

 

How is the pressing quality of season 5? Your comment on the Muri box steered me clear of that one - thanks for the report.

 

Much better! I only had one title with any stitching, and the replacement was fine. There was one that was warped and off-centre enough for there to be pitch. bending, and unfortunately, the replacement for that one was about the same. It's probably fixable, at least. (My periphery ring mostly takes care of the warp, and I can fix the centre hole.)

That may not sound like a great review, and at $65 a record, I certainly expect better. But it's now no worse than my track record with Analogue Productions titles, and Newvelle was very responsive and sent replacements at their cost. And the music is very good, especially when I'm looking for something more laid back and introspective.

I still think they are overpriced for the quality of the product. Nonetheless, I enjoy the music and I'll probably pick up season 4 if there is a good sale any time soon. I would also be interested in the earlier titles if they do a repress at QRP. I won't touch any of the MPO pressings, though. (I think they're mostly sold out, anyway.)

 

I'll buy the Irma, and maybe the Jon Cleary when they're available separately. Would have gladly gone for the series-- $50 plus shipping for a single LP is a bit beyond the pale, though.

As an alternative, Tipitina's just launched a record club with exclusive LP's by Prof Longhair, the Radiators, James Booker and others. Releases are $35 a pop which seems a bit more on the reasonable side.

Upcoming Record Club Releases

 

Any info on the source and mastering of these?
Edit (for the Tipitina’s Records)