Were 70's Japanese pressings overrated?

To my personal experience, I'd say "yes". I find in hindsight that many of them were way too bright often causing that dreaded "S" sibilance. On albums that had a deep sounding mix, the brightness worked to an advantage..but when I go back to some of them now I find that many of them weren't all that great. Your thoughts, personal examples..??

 

Yes and no. I agree on most pop/rock releases. My Pink Floyd/The Wall CBS Sony does not stand up to the US or Canada originals. Nor does my Yes/Fragile. However my Steely Dan/Katy Lied does stand up and sounds quite good.
The classical releases are another matter. Especially on the RCA quad releases. All of those I have heard sound fantastic .

 

I don't agree, there is a mixture of good and bad for different reasons I generally prefer Japanese pressings over everything else and I have a lot of them but I have mainly 80's music. Since you've asked for an example I can give you two examples from the same series one I like and one I dislike. Beatles EAS series. For sale sounds very good to me and well balanced. However please please me sounds possibly a bit too bright but I think that is compounded by the fact that lacks bass in general and I don't think the sound is as clear as in the for sale I am comparing against.

 

BTW: you have asked for examples but you haven't given any yourself so others can compare notes.

 

Glad this thread has come up. I recently purchased a Japanese copies of Wings London Town and Wings Over America. An older thread believed that London Town was cut from a UK master and while the overall tone is pleasant enough, I'm hearing sibilance on "s's" and guitar notes so sharp that it's cutting my head off . My Australian Capital pressing, while nosier, has more body in the low mids. I also have a copy of Pink Floyd's Meddle, The Beatles 1967-1970 and Lou Reed's Transformer from Japan.

The jury is still out for me on whether Japanese pressings are worth the hype or not. From what I've seen, people are more in awe of the packaging and those booklets in a language most people can't read than the actual sound quality of the mastering.

 

I have a handful of Japanese Genesis LPs all bought between 1980 and 1985. Never noticed any sibbilance issues. Seconds Out was outstanding.

 

I always felt that the quality of the vinyl, and the standard of the pressings was unparalleled.

The actual SQ? That's probably a matter of taste. I was largely thrilled with the stuff that I bought. But I was mostly comparing it to horrific US pressings, mixed in with a fair amount of UK.

(Most of my Japanese acquisitions were late '70s / early '80s, however.)

 

Of course that they overratted.

 

When was the Beatles Apple EAS Collection box pressed? 1980 or so?

(edit: Nevermind. I see it was 1979.)


So -- it seems that many aren't thrilled with this set, SQ-wise. At the time, I played each disc (literally) once while I taped it, so I haven't heard them properly in decades. I certainly liked them at the time.

Any thoughts?

 

I have been impressed by most of the Japanese pressings I've bought.
Virgin vinyl, dead quiet, Superior album cover prints
SQ varies from superior to average on a case by case basis.

 

As a forum member from Japan once said, there are good and bad pressings in Japan, as there are everywhere else. Of the 100 or so I have, probably 75-80 are first rate, even if mastered a bit differently than their UK or US counterparts. I think the “brightness” affliction is greatly overstated here, perhaps based on the EAS Beatles series which is so often discussed.

 

Yeah. Dead quiet.
That's what I remember.

 

Depends on the artist and album. For example, I loved the Japanese "Revolver" from the 70's but, for everything else, I preferred the German pressings or even the UK ones over most of the American ones for The Beatles.

 

I have several dark red vinyl Odeon pressings from the 60’s that are among the best sounding Beatles I own, especially Revolver, Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road. The Odeon MMT can’t hold a candle to the German Hor Zu however. I’m still looking for an Odeon TWA!

 

Just to add to this - I was recently gifted a 1969 copy of Magical Mystery Tour despite the mono tracks on side 2 sounding a little less than great (the case on many pressings), the tracks on side 1 sounded fantastic.

 

The Riverside jazz reissues from the mid '70s (by Victor Records) were outstanding.

 

That's my experience too. In general the Japanese jazz issues between 1970 and 1982 from Victor, Toshiba and King or so are transparent, quiet and tonally balanced. They don't have the immediacy of the US originals but have much better low level detail, soundstage and tonal accuracy. The 1960s issues are much more variable and seem veiled from the few I have heard.

OTOH pop music is mastered more aggressively - I guess to Japanese tastes. It is not bad but I prefer UK, Canadian or German generally. Their 45s are better. I must caveat that generality because those pressings on JVC vinyl that I have heard such as MOFI's Crown of Creation are fabulous.

 

I only have two 70s japanese pressings: a 1974 press of Tales From Topographic Oceans by Yes and Brilliant Corners by Thelonious Monk pressed in 1976.

I think both are great. The Yes album has a deep sounding mix and the extra brightness really works to an advantage.

As for the Monk album, I was used to a late 80s CD and to this day I can't believe it how utterly good it sounds. There's no extra brightness, the EQ is pretty well balanced, there's way more dynamic range than the CD, and man...I can't believe it's a mono recording from 1956!

Sonny Rollins invades my room to play.

 

The general thread I find is that they are often brighter with less bass, yes.

But what few seem to mention is that they also tend to emphasize certain aspects much more than any other alternatives.
Vocals and guitars are the general stars. Other instruments like drums, piano etc. are then recessed almost like its a completely different mix.

Im really curious why some say Japanese pressings are often so much better. To me that seems to rarely be the case.

 

The quality of the vinyl is nice to be sure.

 

Nice? Its probably the best ever produced quality of vinyl. Too bad the people pressing it had to suffer for it.

 

Not for those who wanted flat, quiet, and long lasting vinyl pressings. And those with systems which weren't too forensic. Japanese pressings do better when you leave the Shibatas and other exotica at home, and stick to less forensic tip shapes.

 

I would agree that they are overrated, but it's easy to buy in that they aren't. I think they look great with their nice packaging, translation insert, OBI strip and beautiful flat, quiet vinyl. However, they do have a tendency to be brighter, or at least EQ'd a bit differently. I honestly believe that for any Japanese pressing I can find a better sounding version from another country.

...and no, you can't have any of the Japanese pressings that I own

 

Foreign presses are generally overrated.

 

Not knowledgeable on every "70's Japanese Pressings" SQ.

Truly doubt any one person truly is.

However, the quality of the packaging & pressings, of the all to few i had, were spectacular for the day.

IMO, the many 70's German releases i had were a lesser 2nd in quality; w/English 70's wax a closer 3rd.

Just a Personal Generalization, from memory no less [don't Freak Out!].

70's English 45's & EP's "Ruled the World" IMO.