let's talk about our pressing of ALVEAR (Led Zep, AC / DC, CCR, Young ... and others ...)

Hi@dee,

Me too I would also like to know what happened to Marta and her colleagues!

The company and label Hispavox were acquired by EMI in 1985, later by Parlophone and last one Warner Music Group.

You should look there!

Let's say Marta was 50 in 1980, I don't think she retired 3 or 4 years later; when we lose track of her.
Another question, the disappearance of the Hispavox label coincides with the advent of the Compact disc.
Marta has she exercised her talent on the digital medium?!

Christophe

 

I also wonder if with the Hispavox label changing ownership, perhaps that was the end of her work...

 

Right now I'm exploring the Spanish Polydor catalog. I picked up some records with generally as common point, these signs at the end of each matrix:

A-Side: 850...........✳A✳1

B-side: 850............✳B✳1

I have already collected some titles. Not enough to give me a precise idea but enough to encourage me to continue exploring this track... we'll see?!

Here are the albums:

Prince & the revolution:

Purple rain (very good but not transcendent: body, weight and a nice soundstage; nevertheless Kevin Gray's cut has better clarity and finer details. A bit disappointed)

Around the world in a day ( A cut better than its predecessor. Stunning 3D sound stage)

The police :

Outlandos d'amour (Very good. Great dynamics and no frills texture! It sounds raw and energetic! The engineer remembered that the band emerged after the punk movement! Next door, my SACD RL sounds very flashy! Too many treatment seems to have sapped the primal energy of this album!? )

Jimi Hendrix:

Smash hits (Very uneven! lots of mono and a bit of false stereo...but the wonderful Stone free sounds in glorious clear and powerful mono! Cheaper than a 45rmp UK near mint! ;-) )

Axis bold as love ( As already indicated, this is the alternative mix. The sound is very good and the few somewhat messy passages seem to be the consequence of this mix. Very loud cut, the sound stage is huge, worthy of the best ALVEAR!)

So for the moment it is difficult to make a synthesis with only 5 LP's. I hope to be more informed with the next ones... already on the road! :

Jimi Hendrix: Are you experienced (reissue 80, so stereo mix...:-/) + Rainbow Bridge.

The Rolling Stones Beggars banquet! (I said one day that I would buy a Spanish pressing of this album! )

I'm thinking of two or three more...

Christophe

 

Maybe, maybe not ?!

 

Ok moving our Marta conversation back to the club.

I'm happy with all of my LZ pressings except Presence (but thought I was until CL pointed out the lack of power in that pressing which I didn't pick up at first in the headphones - bummer!) but just ordered 3 others over the past few days. All were $35-45 USD + shipping.

And even though I'm happy w/ my Classic and UK III- and Spanish and UK PG, I'm still on the slow, patient hunt for a Marta for those two.
_________________

Any reviews of the Spanish (and is there are Marta?) Women and Children First by Van Halen? Is there a Discogs link? I looked and didn't see any with a waive, etc.

 

Yes I have the 1st 4 VH's. Look for the 90.### or 9.0### cat #. She cut them all, though there may be some other pressings out there either unsigned or with a different cat#. 90.234 should be the one. I would check with each seller.

 

My LP Presence on my headphones (Sennheiser HD 650 + Sony WH-1000XM3) sound powerful and...groooooooooovy Man! ;-)

Christophe

 

Thanks Dee!

Christophe, my Canada does but could be better. Looking forward to my Heidi version! And still another positive comment for Marta's Presence for the mids and highs and I can hear the bass but can't feel it. No power

 

Btw, my headphones (Focal Stellia) are better than any headphones I have ever heard before - although I have to admit I haven't heard that many.

I mounted my Hana Red and removed my VDH Crimson and as expected any sibilance issues 95% disappeared (all offending records didn't have any except my German Sticky Fingers). These two carts sound more similar than different but for overall sound I would give a slight edge to the VDH but at the expense of sibilance on pretty much every Porcky Pecko record (and others) - which is now gone. I'll stay w/ the Red and use the VDH for backup (whic his a very good backup!).

Anyway, I've purchased so many records over the past 14 months that I'm going back through them and regrading them (my own grading system but is similar to Better Records) and the point of all of this is that when going from the Beastie Boys to the Beatles to Beck to the One Step of Blood , Sweat and Tears (I finished the Bs last night - there were others) really gave me a good sense of what good bass and sound stage is within these headphones. While obviously sound stage is limited in headphones I do get a sense of it - even if only 5% (?) of loudspeakers.

Also, my wife will be out of the hosue 4-5 hours this week which means loudspeaker time! Marta's Presence will be the first record going on.

 

Hi! Back to the club ! ;-)

Pressing "Heidi" is powerful enough for you to rediscover Presence! Grooooooooovy!

It will be interesting to see how the other two US records you ordered compare to my country's pressing!?

Christophe

 

Wow! I went to see some reviews of your headphones... the audio quality seems awesome! I know the Focal brand, but I didn't know that it made very high-end headphones!?

 

I'll let you know how they compare for sure. I've heard the US 1st Monarch is very good - we'll see. I'm also tempted to buy that ("your") Portugal HofH. I've just ordered 6 records this week so I'm going to wait until the dust clears with those first. I'm trying to cut down!

Yes, the Stellia headphones are pretty insane. As one would expect the detail is there in spades but for a closed headphone there is a sense of soundstage. Again, nothing like my loudspeakers for soundstage but they are very, very good (but better detail). Hearing LOTS of stuff I've never heards before in different tracks. I think the cartridge is the other big factor there and think those are the two most important parts of a vinyl system - the cart and speakers (or headphones) - but of course the rest can't be lacking.

I was listening to Beck's Sea Change last night and there was an instrument that sounded like it outside the headphones. Btw, if anyone is interested and looking for something new to listen to if you don't have it already, this is in my top 5 (maybe tied for #1 with 4 others) best sounding records and is relatively cheap.......oops! it was cheap last year when I bought it. Now around $80-100 USD but it is on the top, top, top level of overall SQ and soundstage: Beck - Sea Change (Vinyl, US, 2016) For Sale | Discogs Sorry for the non-Marta content.

 

Hi!

Beware of the buying frenzy! The Christmas holidays are approaching and your wife will be home soon!

Christophe

 

Hi guys !

Received today the Spanish reissue of Are you experienced from the Jimi Hendrix experience ( Polydor ©1980).
Pressing...mono!
Unfortunately the mastering is mediocre! What a cruel disappointment! If this reissue had had the quality of the Stone Free mastering extracted from the Spanish pressing released around the same time, it would have been a fantastic discovery! Unfortunately, it is not the case ! Lack of harmonic richness, bass, fullness, average dynamics, a sometimes harsh or somewhat cavernous texture. Not at the level of French Barclay pressing, good mastering
and a great forum classic.
What a cruel disappointment!

You can't win all the time!

Christophe

 

Sorry to hear your disappointment Christophe, at some points, it's better to stay with the best pressing you have, only 2 exceptions,
- you can hear the record before buying it
- the record is cheap.
For AYE, the Barclay is the best we can get I think, it has more dynamic than the 1st U.K. and their reissue, it kills the NL version. The German is in pseudo Stereo.
In 1980, there was a huge reissue campaign done by Polydor mainly in U.K. and in Germany, those reissue are OK, but there is no WOW, I have many of them (Jimi, The Who, Clapton, Cream), and for some tiltes I have the original mono or stereo U.K. copies, those copies have more mojo than the 1980-181 reissue program. Don't get me wrong here, if you have never heard an early pressing, those reissue will pleased you.
I can imagine the people in Spain have received 3rd or 4rd or later generation tapes, if the quality is not at the start of the proces, the output can't be great.

 

Hi @marantzbe ,

Thank you for your support. The frustration is all the greater since the previous release of this album in Spain dated back to 1967. And the tape was mono! I thought hopefully the 1980 recut would use the mono mix. My intuition was correct... except that I had underestimated the quality of the tape! How frustrating! Shame ! We missed an exceptional new mastering. This is only a postponement ! ;-)

Christophe

 

Hi guys,

Back to the club !

Received the Spanish reissue of "Rainbow bridge".
Sounds fantastic! Cut even louder than my RL and my UK pressing. It is the "best" of the three. Between the Spanish LP and the US RL the difference is subtle but obvious with good headphones. A slightly fuller stage and a bit more micro-density. Nevertheless the RL is great too! Honestly if you already have the RL, keep it! If you don't have this splendid Jimi album yet, go for this inexpensive reissue (bought mine for 8.00€ unplayed!). Shipping costs to Spain are also advantageous. As for the UK pressing, it does not demerit and also sounds very good, but it has less power reserve because of the weaker cut. Personally, I prefer very loud masterings (but not too hot) to “rip out” the details.
After a mixed "Smash hits" (saved in extremis from the waters by the fantastic mono of Stone free!) and a reissue of "Are you experienced" worthy of a bad bootleg, I find a little interest in the Polydor label! Difficult for the moment to draw a definitive conclusion...so I continue to dig this furrow.

Christophe

 

Hi club!
Days ago, and after reading the review from @Freddy's Dead, I bought and received a NM spanish copy of Physical Graffiti. I expected a stamped four sided pressing, but I received instead a hybrid pressing: Record 1 (side one and three) signed by Alvear. Matrix are A7-B10. Record 2 (sides two and four) are machine stamped; matrix are A6-B3.
All can I say is wooooowww!! What a wonderful pressing. Sounds in the same league as Alvear's Zeppelin I, II, and III. Great dynamics, hot, extended highs, clear and deep bass, marvelous stereo image (or as @Christophe Lethimonnier says tridimensionality).
And most important, I'm very sure four sides are mastered by Marta Alvear. Four sides has the same sound signature and quality. I have listened many hybrid pressings on which you can clearly hear the differences between the signed and stamped sides. But not here. In this pressing handwritten and stamped sides sounds excatly the same. Another clue: the stamped sides has the "2" from the stampers etched with the Alvear handwritten.
I'm very happy with this find!

 

Awesome! yes, none of mine are signed but is the best PG I have out of 6 total I think. All of my sides have the handwrittnen "2" but are stamped otherwise. Marta kicks ****!

 

Hi guys!

Back to the club!

The matrix configurations of some Spanish pressings cut at Hispavox indicate that there must have been at least two rounds of cut. The first with the possibility of engraving the matrix by hand and the second just made for stamping. For the sake of sound homogeneity, Marta had to cut the 4 sides in stride. At least for this album.

Christophe

 

Erratum :

The matrix configurations of some Spanish pressings cut at Hispavox indicate that there must have been at least two lathes of cut. The first with the possibility of engraving the matrix by hand and the second just made for stamping. For the sake of sound homogeneity, Marta had to cut the 4 sides in stride. At least for this album.

Sorry!

Christophe

 

Yes dear friend! Marta has produced yet another world-class mastering! Marta really loved heavy rock to produce truly outstanding masterings! Wonderful lady!

Christophe

 

I continue to explore the Spanish pressings of the Polydor label.
Ordered a reissue of the House of the holy album released in 1982. Still with *A* and *B* matrix configuration. I am also waiting for the reissue of Beggars banquet with this same matrix configuration as well. We'll see how these boys sound!?

Christophe

 

It’s an interesting theory @Christophe Lethimonnier !
I wonder if we can ever know for sure..

 

Pleased as punch to report that I scored a Marta pressing of one of my all time fave albums. Bare Trees by Fleetwood Mac. I had no idea she cut that one. I'll report back when I receive it.