$400-600 per LP? The Electric Recording Co. releases, already out and upcoming...*

I very rarely listen to needle drops. Vinyl every day and twice on Sunday. In the car would be about the only exception.

But I have done plenty of them and still do them on occasion, mainly for A/B purposes. Sometimes it's nice to instantly switch between two masterings of an album and compare the tonality. That's where the most obvious benefit is to me.

There are times when I have two pressings of something and both sound really good. It can sometimes just be helpful to have that quick back and forth to kind of open up your ears a bit further as to where they differ. Mainly in terms of frequency balance and confirming the dynamics. Of course, some pressings differ to an extent where this is totally unnecessary.

 

Same info gets posted twice every time there's a new email.

 

What's this confidentiality business? This is getting absurd!

 

One is a safe space for ERC owners, the other is this thread. Other thread got started because people were upset in this thread at criticism of ERC quality control and sound quality, so the chances of a merge are near nil.

 

To

I don’t understand why people who want all analogue Blue Notes or Jazz in general don’t just buy Liberty/70’s early represses. I think a lot of the 70’s Blue Note RE’s sound phenomenonal and are relatively affordable and are definitely all analogue. Try a few. Same for Prestige, Riverside or Contemporary as well. My Art Pepper and Sonny Rollins are 70’s Reissues and sound killer. And it was a much more affordable way to have all analogue “Way out West” “Saxophone Colossus” and “Meets the Rhythm Section”. For truly mind blowing deals and sound get some Japanese Bill Evans from the 70’s like “Waltz For Debby”. Super quiet vinyl and to my ears and modest system it sounds superb. I guess I’m lucky and just love and enjoy music and get goosebumps from the tunes and not just gear.

 

I can speak from my own experience: I will go with the audiophile repress every single time. I am tired of trying to find a NM, flat and clean pressing of my favorite Blue Notes, Prestige, etc. My last experience was a good example, I wanted to find a stereo liberty press of The Jody Grind, I own a decent mono, although it not silent by any means. I purchased a VG++ (seller claimed it was close to NM-) copy that ended up being warped to hell and groove damaged. Another $60 down the drain. Additionally, and for my system I tend to prefer the new masters versus older pressings.

I will say that I do own a bunch of Japanese pressings as well and they are usually very very well taken care of and very quiet but in almost every instance the Music Matters or Acoustic Sounds is just mastered better.

 

This is where I stand too. Unless the vintage reissue is dirt cheap compared to the new audiophile reissue (rarely the case. Think BN Classics/TP vs 70s RVG reissues) I’ll always go for a new copy. I’ve been burned several too many times with over-graded records and my time and money is worth more than what it takes to fiddle with junk records from eBay constantly.

 

eBay returns are pretty much 100% foolproof on overgraded records. I will say the pricing on Liberty Blue Notes and desirable OJCs have exploded in price.

 

I agree, on both counts, however it’s the hassle you go through with it that’s just not worth it for me.

 

Agree completely.

 

The 70s jazz pressings were all excellent.

 

I agree with you and I personally get more enjoyment finding deals on eBay and Discogs than buying new releases. The vast majority of my buying experiences have been positive and it's not that often that I've gotten seriously, unreasonably overgraded records (and I've never had a seller not automatically give me a full or nearly full refund when that has happened).

However, this won't work for the people on this forum who will only listen to Mint or Near Mint records. There are a significant number of people here for whom VG+ is a totally unacceptable listening experience. I don't relate to this at all (personally I love a nice VG+ record and if it turns out it was somewhat conservatively graded then I feel like I won the lottery). But I can sort of understand if I put myself in their shoes. For them, buying on eBay and Discogs is going to be extremely frustrating because it's rare to find an older record that is actually Near Mint to this standard.

 

Why $60 down the drain? Couldn’t you have just sent it back for a refund?

 

Because my time and effort are worth more to me than trying to get 60 bucks back from some dude on the other side of the country.

 

You literally just print a label automatically and the postman picks it up. It’s pretty much impossible for a seller to deny a return.

 

Love Forever Changes
I have both ERCs - mono & stereo - and the Mofi. When I first heard the Mofi my jaw dropped. It sounded so different and present.
When I first heard the ERC stereo, my jaw dropped again. It sounded so warm and natural.
Then I heard my mono through a mono cart and once again, I was floored by how focused the recording was.
Both ERCs made me realise that the Mofi was just somehow wrong.
My only point of reference for these experiences was a 90s CD and a Sundazed vinyl reissue from 2009. I've never heard a 1960s pressing.

Then I was reminded, as good as these ERCs sound, at the end of the day it's the (a) horns (b) the Spanish guitar (c) the progressive song structures (d) the fact of two lead vocalists/songwriters/guitarists, and (e) the lyrics, that make Forever Changes the marvel that it is, for me.

It's such a layered album. When I got the CD in the mid-90s it took me multiple spins to find my way into it. Songs emerged with their strange melodies one by one over the course of a few months of fairly regularly spinning. Tis one of those albums where there is always some new detail that you never noticed before, and where the poetry of the lyrics leaves you puzzled, amused and curious. It burrows in slowly, but deeply.

I'm about to discover two more artists through ERC that I've never listened to before - Terry Callier, who I knew was something to cherish the minute I heard him on Spotify, and the Doors, a band I've deliberately avoided for all of my adult life. I don't know why - too ubiquitous in my childhood/teen years & therefore boring - thought I knew them well enough not to bother. I did buy some old Spanish pressing of the debut in Portugal 4 years ago that I found to be murky and did nothing for the music at all. So, my proper discovery of the Doors is only about to begin with the ERC mono. Pretty happy about that.

I don't handle my ERCs with kid gloves. I treat them like any other record - for regular playing.

 

I literally had an ERC album lost by FedEx six weeks ago en route from U.K. to L.A. via Priority International. I do not hold my letter carrier and sorting agents at U.S.P.S. in high regard, either, such is my lived experience as re the frequency of lost and misfiled mail (containing personal checks, money orders and paychecks (I gig; direct deposit not always preferable)) and parcels over the years. Stuff arriving weeks and months later out of the blue. So, it’s not quite an automatic thing in my book, returns and what not, wherein I am on the hook if parcel doesn’t reach its destination. Impossible? In such a case, I think it’s deffo deniable.

 

Damn that sucks

Hopefully Peter and takes care of you on this one.

 

Terry Callier is very exciting! This one has a nice KG mastered issue that is pressed wonderfully as it’s a very quiet album. I would love to have any of his Cadet trilogy from ERC. That I would pay up for

 

Let us know on here when you get a gold E 60’s original to pair and compare with your audiophile reissues. Because of a long running time the originals were mastered softer so you have to crank them but I’m sure they sound pretty stunning. My current player copy is a very early repress from I believe ‘70 or ‘71 on the red Elektra label and it definitely needs to be played loud but it sounds incredible. All the tones are so warm and natural, especially the acoustic guitar parts which truly shimmer and shine. Hopefully I can some day find a clean original but since my copy sounds great I’m in no rush and prioritizing other titles rather than another duplicate of which I already have too many.

 

I just bought and began reading a book called Vinyl Countdown by British vinyl fanatic Graham Sharpe. The foreword by Danny Kelly (former editor of NME & Q magazines & self-confessed vinylholic) finishes with this: "I've no doubt that once read [this book], it will take its place on those groaning shelves, proudly sandwiched between the gatefold sleeves, coloured vinyls, lead-heavy box sets and multiple copies of 'Forever Changes'."

So, there you go. It's a universal thing. You have inspired me to seek out an early pressing, but ordering old records through Discogs is such a crapshoot.

Also - I have the ERC Terry Callier up loud right now and wow, just freakin' wow. My ProAcs have never sounded so suited.

 

Just have realistic expectations! It’s a nearly 60 year old psych record! The possibility of finding a true NM/M copy is highly unlikely. Even if stated as such it’s probably going to be VG++ at best. But if you actually can find a great player copy with a pop here and there and minimal noise-preferably only between tracks I think if the price is right that’s totally acceptable. I think the problem here with many audiophiles on here who collect exclusively new sealed records just sometimes have wildly unrealistic expectations when it comes to fifty year old used vinyl.

 

Anyone want to throw up some comparison clips between ERC and VMP mono The Doors?

Lets hear the difference and how much better the ERC is. Seriously, I am pulling for the ERC!

 

As mpayan asked above, how about we do a The Doors blind sound test, shall we? There are two clips linked below, both of Side A Track 1, from the same physical position, on the same system, at the same volume output. I had to slightly adjust the volume up, using a decibel reader, on one record because it was cut a *tad* quieter than the other. One sample is from the Vinyl Me, Please mono pressing, and the other is the ERC cut.

Reply and share which one you think sounds better, and why, and I'll reply later and identify which sample is which.

Sample 1
Sample 2

Cheers!

 

Sample 1 has more presence. The cymbals have more air on sample 1.