Bob Marley and the Wailers Half-Speed Masters

Got an email from Abbey Road Studios where they announced Bob Marley and the Wailers' Half Speed Masters:

From Survival to Uprising, mastering engineer Miles Showell has remastered 12 of Bob Marley and The Wailers greatest albums. Talking about the process, Miles said "Abbey Road's world-renowned engineers have been cutting grooves into discs since the studios first opened their doors in 1931. This record was pressed from a master cut using a precision technique known as half-speed mastering. The procedure requires the source master and the cutting lathe to run at half speed on a specially adapted Neumann VMS-80 lathe."

"This rare and specialised technique transforms difficult to cut high end frequencies into relatively easy to cut mid-range frequencies. The result is a cut with excellent high frequency response and very solid and stable stereo images. In short, half-speed mastering produces a master of the highest quality that enables the pressing plant to produce a superlative record."

Take a look at the whole collection here, which includes each individual album and a full bundle. Released on 11 December.

Sound of Vinyl also announced the same titles and bundle PLUS exclusive Tuff Gong Pressings

Bob Marley and the Wailers

 

Ill stick with my germany boxset, thanks Miles, but no thanks.

 

I’ll stick with the 2015 reissues. They’re great.

When you go to the site, no mention of using original masters. Not even on the album stickers.

 

The CD box is just over $50 as a pre-order at the UMusic store using the UD20OFF coupon!

Not bad for 11 discs in a box w a book!

 

These Tuff gong ones have me curious

So are these the same half speed master cause it doesn’t look like it

also the Tuff gong catch a fire is the original Jamaican mix which hasn’t been on vinyl before and in my opinion(and it may be heresy to say) it smokes(see what I did there) the one we all know

 

Jamaican versions are cut in LA and then pressed in Jamaica at Tuff Gong, heaven knows why, most people would rather they were pressed anywhere other than Jamaica, but as Tuff Gong has been shut down the past few years perhaps they've forgotten how to make terrible sounding records and we may be pleasantly surprised. The Ja. mix was previously available on a Japanese release, not sure where it was pressed, but it sold out very quickly.

 

The pressing plant in Jamaica is supposedly refurbished so maybe they won't be terrible.

 

Thanks for this info. Didn’t know about that Japanese release. I would have loved that one. Assuming it’s being gouged now price wise so that’s a no for me.

But yeah as the guy after me said, Tuff gong has been completely renovated and refurbished and I am assuming these are the first presses to come from it.
So might be worth a shot with this especially as they say the individual titles are very limited. Certainly not dropping 400 and change for the entire box

and why Tuff Gong? Maybe they want to spread a little of that “Jamaican dust” on it

 

The family have been trying to get Tuff Gong up and running again for two or three years, my guess is that they saw this as a golden opportunity and made it a condition of the deal with Universal although the family have always had rights for the Caribbean and Universal could put the albums out anyway, I guess the deal bit was the worldwide distribution and promotion by Universal.

 

Has anyone found any information about mastering on the CDs? Will it just be the same old same old repackaged?

Did the 2015 campaign ever say anything specific about who had mastered them?

 

Hmm. Do not see it. Link please

 

I see that the CDs do not have the bonus tracks from the 2001 remasters, so perhaps they will be different masterings then...?

Where does this discount come from? Just wondering if there is a way to get an equivalent for the European store (this one does not work there).

Here you go: Bob Marley & The Wailers - The Complete Island Recordings Box Set – uDiscover Music

 

I read in Phill Brown's book that the original Catch a Fire release was sped-up to "suit British tastes". He doesn't say by how much. Is the Jamaica mix the same in that regard or does it run slower?

 

I am a bit confused about Catch A Fire, is it only made in the so called "Jamaican mix" for the Tuff Gong pressing (I get that it's only the regular version for the Abbey Road pressing), meaning there is only one variation of it in either set?

Both mixes are exactly the same speed.

 

Upon further examination, im guessing the Catch a Fire is the same master as the one done for the Japan release. They both have the 2 extra songs from the sessions and apparently longer fade outs. Other than the fact that this one is pressed at Tuff Gong and the other isn't and this one won't have the zippo lighter cover. This seems good for those of us who never got the Japan one but I do think it is disingenuous for them to claim its the first time this has been on vinyl.

 

How do they sound?

 

Since they aren’t released for another 2 months, as stated in the original post, it’s unlikely that anyone here knows!

 

Some sites including amazon.co.uk are giving a release date of 20 Nov for the individual releases. soundofvinyl says they are 'very limited' but no figures to back up the statement. If SQ is anything like we got on The Specials half-speed master from Miles, then these BMW releases could be very interesting.

 

looks like they will be £32 here in the UK which is super cheap.

 

One to watch, here’s hoping they do a good job!

 

Yep, my interest is piqued. I’m not going to write them off until I hear a pressing or two. I did email Universal regarding the source but they have not responded. I really wish Marley would get more audiophile treatment, myself. Many of his albums sound great and could probably be even better with proper care

 

Miles uses digital in his process, right?

 

Yes, to my knowledge. I have a couple of the AR Half Speeds - Solid Air and Disraeli Gears. The former sounds really good, but their DG doesn’t cut it for me. Partially because I prefer stereo for that title, but also because the sound is a a bit flat and lifeless to me. Good mono pressings have a depth to them in my system and their DG does not have it.

I’ll probably roll the dice with a title or two eventually to see how they stack up to originals and go from there.

 

The original Catch A Fire original Jamaican mix is a much better mix, but on the 2-CD deluxe edition I own it is compromised by squashed dynamics. Is the LP quoted in the original post definitely the Jamaican mix, the webpage doesn't mention it. And I would think this would be a selling point.