Haha...are you joking ??? The german PARANOID sounds dull and dead, compared to the UK pressing (which have LOTS of bass !!!).
Ok... so let's summarize things, because it's getting really hard to keep track of these things: 1- We know that some of the old wb/ Rhinos have been mastered by Kevin Gray and Ron McMaster and some have been cut by Chris Bellman. Now.... 2- Which ones are Andy Pearce cuts? I recall them being the 10 Year war boxset (colored records). Are they sold separatedly? 3- Which ones are Sean Magee cuts? Are they any good? 4- Some Sanctuary pressings are cut by a german engineer mentioned above, Jorg Peters. Has anyone compared them to other pressings? How do they stack up? 5- Regarding old pressings, WB Greenies or Nems, which are the better ones?
A few months back I started looking into getting some black sabbath vinyl. I wanted everything in the Ozzy era- but your right- its got a bit convoluted in the different more recent versions including various box sets. Even though some said they don't like it I said the heck with it and just bought the "The Black sabbath Collection 1970-1978 box set" I think it sounds fine. All the lps were perfectly flat and quiet. I'm happy I got it. Also picked up the deluxe editions.
All I can comment on is the little that I know about the more recent remasters, what I've heard, what I've read, and what I've kept. For me, I just cannot afford to pay for the really old original ones. For the money, the ones that I mention here I felt are quite good. S/T - I believe the 2010 or thereabouts remaster was done by Ron McMaster and surprisingly, because I normally don't care for RM's stuff, it is the one I preferred over the new Sean Magee, although many like his too. KG nor CB to my knowledge (and those above if I understand correctly) did not do the S/T album. PARANOID - CB did do this and I believe others in this series roundabout 2009 / 2010 or so. Many have commented here that perhaps because of whatever source he had to use, the results were not that great. I have the coloured (Blue) Sean Magee one and it sounds very good. MASTER OF REALITY & VOL 4: For the most part the recent (the ones I have are coloured - MOR is green) are good EXCEPT Vol. 4 which for some reason something apparently went VERY wrong, so you would want to go back and get the 2009/2010 or thereabouts CB one, which I and many others did. SABOTAGE from what I've read here is a matter of taste. The original recording/whatever isn't that hot anyway, but I personally found the 2010 or so KG or CB (I can't remember which, sorry) to be rather harsh and I replaced it with the new coloured Sean Magee one (a very pretty marbled purple) Still not amazing, but not quite as brittle or harsh at least on my system. I do not care for SBS or the ones after Sabotage, so I don't have them. FWIW, I really like the 2013 2-LP CB pressing of '13' It sounds really good! That is all I can tell you from what I have. Others can fill you in on all the others and what they feel about the pressings. I hope that helps...
Great report! Unfortunately for me, I am too late for the party and now the prices for the 2010 editions have skyrocketed! I've seen them for about the same price as vg+ vertigos, believe it or not! Ps: You don't care about SBS??? How come?
Thanks bro! I hadn't realized the prices have gone up that much on these fairly recent ones that's too bad the only two I have I guess would be the self-titled by Ron McMaster and volume 4 by Chris Bellman. I don't know it's been awhile since I've tried to listen to SBS but for some reason songs on that album just didn't seem to grab me as much as the other ones I probably need to go back and listen to it again.
I just wanted to add that I com Well, you're still in luck... Vol 4 is considered the best of the bunch by many forumites.
Hello! I am ripping my LP's over to FLAC. Sample rate of 48khz- Bit depth 20 using VinylStudio I have an all tube system and enjoy listening to my LP's but i also like to listen to my tunes on the go. I have come across re-issues which do not sound as good or even close to the original. Too bright, too confined. I use an Astell&Kern Hi-Res player as my digital player. I can be a bit obsessed with sound quality so........ I am holding in my hand right now a Rhino 180 Gram version of Black Sabbath with R1 1871 on the cover spine. The sticker from when i bought it says 03/22/10 How in the world can i figure out who mastered it and who cut it? Or really any re-issue? I would really like to be taught this so in the future i can do my homework and buy the best sounding records. Recently I have been buying mine from Acoustic Sounds/Quality Pressing Thanks Will
If it is the 2010 S/T remaster, then it is likely the Ron McMaster pressing we've been talking about above. I have it. I feel that it sounds very good.
I went to Discogs and figured out how to find who "cut" it. I didnt understand the terminology at first. It is the Rom McMaster version. I think it sounds good too. Digitized it sounds a bit bright but that could be my cart. Thanks!
I highly recommend the 2010 Rhino reissues for Paranoid, MOR and Vol 4. They sound terrific to my ears. I also have vintage NEMS pressings of the first four Sabbath albums, all of which sound excellent. I often go back and forth between them, as there are unique strengths to both Rhino and NEMS. For my needledrops (which are currently on my iPone), I used the Rhino records. I’m still curious to hear about the 2015 Sanctuary reissues, as well as the current Rhino pressings (which I had previously assumed were identical to the 2010 series).
You didn't have any issues with Bellman's 2010 Paranoid? There were many comments here that perhaps his source wasn't that great. In a comparison online, the purple Sean Magee sounded better to me. But, maybe I was missing something...
It's true that there's that weird volume change in War Pigs, as though the engineer suddenly forgot to crank up the volume. For some, that's a major issue, while for others, it's not a big deal. If memory serves, that was an issue with the US Warner Bros tapes, which was the sources for the Rhino reissue. Aside from that, I always thought the sound quality was excellent, dynamic and punchy and heavy in all the right ways. Again, I'm curious to hear the current vinyl reissue with the purple vinyl. Hope it's all good.
