Beatles 2014 mono LPs going out of print...*

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by SurrealCereal, Jan 8, 2018.

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  1. chacha

    chacha Forum Resident In Memoriam

    Location:
    mill valley CA USA
    Who knows. Unless we’ve actually heard the Netherlands copy.
     
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  2. Well I have compared it to my copy here and Die Beatles is better.

    However I just looked at the label and mine was manufactured in Sweden and not the Netherlands. But the covers are identical. No country listed on the back cover.

    So do we know for sure the one linked at Discogs are actually pressed in the Netherlands?

    Interesting.

    [​IMG]
     
  3. There was one other poster who mentioned sibilance on MM way earlier in the thread. No other posters have mentioned issue and I can confirm my copy of MM is excellent and there is no IGD (at least not audibly, of course there is always some amount of distortion with LP playback, but it should be way below audible levels with a proper set up and well tracking cart.)

    Maybe you have a bad copy? If you haven’t yet I would also double check alignment. I had my cart “professionally” installed out of paranoia when I first purchased it. There was distortion and sibilance so I checked with a protractor and sure enough it was off. Realigned myself very diligently and all is perfect from a tracking standpoint.
     
  4. chacha

    chacha Forum Resident In Memoriam

    Location:
    mill valley CA USA
    Nice!
     
  5. DBMartin

    DBMartin Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Netherlands
    I have this earlier Dutch mono pressings, which sounds great!

    The Beatles - Please Please Me - Dutch Mono
     
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  6. Echoes Myron

    Echoes Myron Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    My Mono Masters is perfect. And 3 of the best sounding slabs in the entire mono box set.
     
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  7. Tom Favata

    Tom Favata tbuick6

    Location:
    New York
    Wow Mazzy, is there a pressing you don’t have?! :)
     
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  9. Ha. Yes there are many still out there on earth That I don’t have.
     
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  10. DBMartin

    DBMartin Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Netherlands
    Well it's not a very clean copy, but it still sounds very lively, which is exactly what I want from this first album; just pure fun!
     
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  11. marcb

    marcb Senior Member

    Location:
    DC area
    Inner groove distortion is an inherent problem with vinyl playback - unless using linear tracking playback (which brings other - and likely worse - trade offs into play). Playback IGD issues can exacerbated or attentuated in the cutting of the master, but it is not a master cutting problem per se. And IGD issues are, by far, due to misalignment issues, not the manner in which the record was cut.

    Very, very few records are cut such that no rig can properly track them. On a properly aligned quality rig, the impact of IGD is negligible to the point of being virtually inaudible on the vast, vast majority of records.
     
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  12. paolo

    paolo Senior Member

    Dude, you’re new around these parts, right? Most people were DELIGHTED that the 2014s sounded like the original 50 year old records.

    The mono CDs weren’t totally flat transfers, they were still tweaked but nowhere near as much as the stereos. Some of the totes amaze balls sound you’re hearing on the CD will be related to that. You may also just have a very average turntable with a better digital chain.

    And the apology card wasn’t actually an apology card. I am overseas at the moment so can’t recall the exact wording but it definitely wasn’t “hey, we’re sorry this LP sounds like garbage”. I think it was more along the lines of “sorry we couldn’t use the absolute 1st generation tape” as we have for every other LP in this set”. Hardly the same as what you are implying (Sorry the master tape is fragile so we cut this from a cassette copy we had laying around).

    If the loss was going to be that noticeable they could have cut from the digital master and I bet nobody would have known.

    Seriously, if the aural impact of using a 2nd generation tape was so marked how come it wasn’t widely discussed on here when the LPs came out?

    You are entitled to your opinion (as am I mine) but I really think you’re over exaggerating how PPM actually sounds.
     
  13. Exactly. When we say they sound like the originals it doesn’t mean we think it sounds 50 years old. They sound as the originals did when new or how they do sound now if you have a mint copy. In fact, with the upgraded technology used to master these records, some aspects should even be improved (detail, low frequency information), although some of the air and naturalism may be slightly degraded bc of the master tapes age. I think that the pros outway the cons, but I have only compared a few to VG+ originals, never mint.
     
  14. Freelance_Philosopher

    Freelance_Philosopher Well-Known Member

    No, actually Paolo said quite explicitly that he compared the new 2014 record to his original pressing, which really has been sitting around, being stored and getting played for 50+ years.
    You're moving the goalposts for him.
     
  15. AnalogJ

    AnalogJ Hearing In Stereo Since 1959

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    The 2014 vinyl mono reissues do NOT sound the same as UK originals. They're EQ'd differently, with the new ones having greater bass extension. The upper midrange on the new ones are less forward, giving them less apparent sparkle, but opening up the midrange where there's more detail.

    I have NM originals as well as the new ones. They're different, but equally worth listening to.
     
  16. paolo

    paolo Senior Member

    I can move my own goalposts quite well thank you :)

    The 2014s obviously sound different to the originals because, as AnalogJ points out, they were cut to account for modern systems. More bass and less midrange. The originals are quite bass shy although loud to take account of mono ceramic cartridges and the risk of the needle jumping.

    My comparison was in terms of detail. I don’t feel that I am listening to a travesty when I listen to the 2014 compare to a NM original (black and gold label).
     
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  17. As I referenced, there are differences, and I noted detail, bass extension, and lack of air (maybe the same as the sparkle you refer to). They did reference the originals via play back and mastering notes with the intent of replication.

    I have read quite a few of your posts and trust your ears so definitely not arguing, just clarifying.
     
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  18. As some having been commenting about the "Mono Masters" in the "Mono LP Box" I got my copy out and played it. I think that somebody commented about "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and "This Boy", the last 2 tracks on record 1-side 1. I couldn't find any kind of IGD on either track. I used my oldest AT-LP120 turntable, first with a Pickering NP/AC cartridge(conical) and then one of my Shure M97xe cartridge. The Pickering had sibilance with 2 "S" sounds on those 2 tracks while the Shure had none playing the entire side without a problem. In the accompanying book, they mentioned that while preparing to cut the lacquer master discs, they paid special attention to avoiding sibilance. They did a great job.
    I was recording the LP's to hard drive and am able to physically see the recording as a graph after. Generally, I sample all the tracks on one side of the LP and set my board to peak on the loudest passages and do not make adjustments during the recording session. I can process the recording later to normalize the volume levels if need be.
    Looking at the graph, what I noticed on side 2 was that of the 8 songs, the first 4 peaked at a higher consistent level while the second 4 songs all peaked the same, but at a noticeable lower level.

    Now with IGD, from my experience, it often is from the record itself, how the recording was mastered, how the lacquer master was cut and who pressed the record. As I mentioned before, out here on the West Coast, we often had several different record pressing facilities pressing the same records. Record companies like Atlantic, ABC, A&M and Warner Bros. didn't have their own pressing facilities, so other companies pressed for them. Some records of the same recording may all exhibit IGD, but then other different records would not have IGD. If it was an alignment problem with the playback equipment, you would think that all records would exhibit IGD. Take an Atlantic record. Many were pressed on the West Coast by Monarch(MO) and at the same time by Specialty(SP) on the East Coast. Specialty used a higher quality of vinyl so made a better pressing. I have multiple copies of certain records pressed by different companies. I found that the Monarch pressing would often exhibit playing issues, like IGD, and the Specialty pressings did not.

    Cartridge alignment can well affect IGD, but when I experience it, I tend to look at the record itself first. With cartridge alignment set, it's probably not going to change.
     
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  19. snorker

    snorker Big Daddy

    Definitely. The same cut was available later with the regular Please Please Me cover on the Apple label in Germany. Sounds great.
     
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  20. danielkov86

    danielkov86 Playing Devil's Avocado Since 1986

    Is $40 reasonable for a new 2014 mono MMT?
     
  21. RTurner

    RTurner Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Yes.
     
  22. Chemguy

    Chemguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western Canada
    I can agree to a certain extent. But can anyone save Michelle on vinyl?

    You know, it's a matter of time before the whole catalogue is reissued on 45 rpm, don't you think?
     
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  23. OptimisticGoat

    OptimisticGoat Everybody's escapegoat....

    That makes sense for the 33rpm stereos as they go out of print or are not remixed. Not for the monos.
     
  24. Chemguy

    Chemguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western Canada
    Not for the monos?
     
  25. It’s not the vinyl it’s the mix. Sucks because it’s a beautiful song but the distortion is pretty bad.
     
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