Marc Bolan & T. Rex What Are Best And Most Superior Masters on CD?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by pauleyh, Jul 4, 2013.

  1. Southofi-10

    Southofi-10 Well-Known Member

    Seems like one thing is for sure----Many like T Rex, no matter what color the wrapping paper
     
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  2. Electric Warrior

    Electric Warrior Senior Member

    Location:
    Germany
    As we have no idea what the master tape sounds like, it's hard to judge who took a "hands off" approach. The A&M has less low end than the Castle, but does the Castle have the bass boosted or does the A&M have it cut?

    The Castles of "My Peopleā€¦" and "Prophets" sound really thin as well.. The Cube/Disky of the latter is not much better.
     
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  3. The Electric Warrior SHM-SACD doesn't have a CD layer but sounds warm, silky and impeccably smooth.
     
  4. RnRmf

    RnRmf Senior Member

    Location:
    Orlando, FL and NJ
    That's the one I grab when i want to listen to it, too
     
    art likes this.
  5. SOONERFAN

    SOONERFAN Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norman, Oklahoma
    Better than the Japan SMS disc?
     
  6. SOONERFAN

    SOONERFAN Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norman, Oklahoma
    Better sounding than the Japan SMS series for those titles?
     
  7. joelee

    joelee Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Houston
    Cannot tell the difference.
     
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  8. RnRmf

    RnRmf Senior Member

    Location:
    Orlando, FL and NJ
    I have all the MOW and all the SMS. The SMS are good, and have correct cover art, but I think its been confirmed that they came from tape copies sent to Japan. I believe the quote about it, from the source, is in a T.Rex thread somewhere here on the forums (maybe this one?).

    I prefer the MOW. To me, they sound closer to the source. I haven't compared all my MOW to the Teldec discs, yet. I have those, as well. Some prefer the Teldec for some titles. They sound good to me, too, but I haven't made conscious comparisons.
     
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  9. SOONERFAN

    SOONERFAN Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norman, Oklahoma
    greelywinger apparently had some email communication with John Bramley several years ago who said the Japan SMS series discs were done from the same tapes as the MOW discs, original mix down master tapes.
     
  10. Electric Warrior

    Electric Warrior Senior Member

    Location:
    Germany
    I'm fairly sure he said they didn't send the the original masters. They sent flat copies instead.
     
  11. SOONERFAN

    SOONERFAN Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norman, Oklahoma
    Wow, I just found John Bramley on Facebook, sent him a message which he immediately responded to. These are exact quotes from personal messenger on Facebook from Mr. Bramley:

    "Yes all the MOW CD's were taken from original masters"

    "All the SMS were 1/4 inch mixed down master tapes"

    " When we mixed down our material for UK rerlease, we made 1/4 inch mix masters for the Japanese as well"

    My follow up question for Mr. Bramley was this:

    "Huh, okay. So the original MOW CD's and the 1st Press Japan discs (SMS series CD's) are from the same tapes, yes?"

    His response is as follows:

    "Differences in sound quality depended on who did the glass mastering and where the CD's were manufactured"

    "As far as I can remember yes, they were all certainly master quality, not copied from CD etc"
     
  12. greelywinger

    greelywinger Osmondia

    Location:
    Dayton, Ohio USA
    Glad you found John Bramley on Facebook.
    I've been fb friends with him for awhile & had been meaning to drop him a line on this subject when when you PM'ed me.
    All my T. Rex CDs are currently in storage, so I don't have easy access to them.
    I would like to rip them as FLAC files, but just hadn't gotten around to it.
    It's been so long since I have done any T. Rex CD comparisons.
    I Think the MOW vs SMS comparisons were basically a matter of personal preference.
    I like the sound on both of them, but the MOW issues were far easier to come by.
    I think the only ones I have for the SMS series are EW, Slider, Futuristic Dragon & Dandy.



    Darryl
     
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  13. SOONERFAN

    SOONERFAN Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norman, Oklahoma
    I wonder what the source tapes for that one are?
     
    George P likes this.
  14. "Mastered by Rob LoVerde at Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab on the GAIN 2 System" from the original masters. I'm looking at it right now.
     
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  15. Lucidae

    Lucidae AAD

    Location:
    Australia
    If the SHM-SACD is from the master tapes they must be badly worn. Don't get me wrong, I like the mastering on it but there's better options out there.
     
  16. RnRmf

    RnRmf Senior Member

    Location:
    Orlando, FL and NJ
    So if I'm to understand this, the SMS are a 1/4 inch tape copy of the master that was used to make the MOW releases, is that correct?

    If so, it would make sense because the SMS have tape hiss and sound rolled off a bit to my ears by comparison to the MOW.
     
  17. SOONERFAN

    SOONERFAN Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norman, Oklahoma
    I am not sure. I got to thinking about his response and thought it was not totally clear. I sent him this follow up question but have not heard back yet. I will let you know when I get a response.

    "Sorry to keep bothering you but folks on my music forum (www.stevehoffman.tv) are convinced that the MOW CD's are from the actual original master tapes but the Japan SMS CD's are from tapes copied from the master. If I understand you responses above, both the MOW and Japan SMS CD's both came from the same actual physical tapes, not one from the original and one copied from the original. Yes? Sorry to be so obsessive about this."
     
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  18. sound chaser

    sound chaser Senior Member

    Location:
    North East UK.
    I only have SMS "Slider" but it's bad, they had the audacity to make their own fade outs, not for me, too much futzing going on. MOW all the way.

    And if you go for the earlier extended versions with the hideous artwork, you're onto a winner.
     
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  19. Electric Warrior

    Electric Warrior Senior Member

    Location:
    Germany
    I have yet to hear any SMS. :(
    The MOWs sure are good, but they don't all share the same tonality. Tanx and Dandy sound a lot thinner sounding than the other discs and I prefer the Teldecs for these. Has anyone else compared the masterings of "I love to boogie" on the MOW "Futuristic Dragon" with bonus tracks and "Dandy in the Underworld"? The difference is quite extreme.
     
  20. SOONERFAN

    SOONERFAN Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norman, Oklahoma
    Sorry to reply to you post without answering your question but I have a question for you. Have you heard the Teldec for Bolan's Zip Gun? That is the only Teldec that I do not have for the regular T Rex albums. I read somewhere on the forum that the T Rex Teldecs are all fantastic except for that one which was reportedly just awful. I am feeling the itch to complete my Teldec collection but not sure I want to spend much for it if it is not good. Also, you mention being a big fan of the MOW discs. Do you have the early ones with the bonus tracks? If so, do you have the early MOW Slider disc? I have it (bought the only one I have ever personally seen for sale) but I can't rip the darn thing even with burst mode on EAC. It hangs up giving my sync and timing errors. The disc itself plays fine but I typically don't play the actual disc for my more expensive collectible and rare discs. Are you able to rip yours? I rip the collectible discs I have and play the CD-R discs but have not been able to do so with that one. Frustrating.
     
  21. Electric Warrior

    Electric Warrior Senior Member

    Location:
    Germany
    Sorry, I neither have the Teldec Zip Gun nor the MOW Slider with Bonus tracks. I do have all the other early MOWs and they all ripped fine.
     
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  22. mr.datsun

    mr.datsun Incompletist

    Location:
    London
    I didn't like the Castles of E.Warrior or T.Slider. I thought they were muddy. I went for the Teichiku's. 1989. I guess they are similar to the Teldecs.
     
  23. Khamakhazee

    Khamakhazee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    The Slider - 20 tracks - Japan MD32-5017
    Electric Warrior - 11 tracks - Japan 20CP-11
     
  24. Electric Warrior

    Electric Warrior Senior Member

    Location:
    Germany
    They are thick sounding, but I don't find them muddy. The Teldecs often seem to have a rolled off high end compared with the MOWs. I find the Teldec EW dull sounding.
     
  25. mr.datsun

    mr.datsun Incompletist

    Location:
    London
    I have the earlier Teichiku of Slider. It also begins with '20CP-'
     

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