Mobile Fidelity Vinyl One Step of SANTANA, BILL EVANS TRIO, etc.*

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Drew769, Dec 1, 2015.

  1. Rhinojack

    Rhinojack Forum Resident

    Location:
    Harlingen, Texas
    Enjoying a Sunday morning listen of my OneStep Portrait in Jazz. I think I like this better than Village Vanguard.
     
    Dmann201, Rocco1, timzigs and 3 others like this.
  2. brucej4

    brucej4 Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Coast, USA
    Data on sales of standard-price albums, most of them sold many years ago when the artists were current, is largely irrelevant in this discussion of high-price reissues.
     
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2022
  3. brucej4

    brucej4 Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Coast, USA
    Well, my Tapestry has an inch-long scratch on Side 1 that causes at least 75 clicks, so I will be getting a replacement. The scratch is also on the inner sleeve, so somebody was careless during packaging.

    Beyond that, I think we already knew what to expect from this album. It's a very good presentation of a mediocre recording, with no real surprises. I have not compared directly with the MFSL 33, but I think there's some improvement.

    What's going on with James Taylor's acoustic guitar on this album? I never thought it sounded very good, and it's no better here. Is it the recording, the guitar itself, or the way he's playing it?
     
  4. 4-2-7

    4-2-7 Forum Resident

    Location:
    SF Peninsula
    This is what I don't get, we have members complaining about MFSL not putting out titles eclectic enough. We have members complaining about too bulky of packaging with the one step boxes. We have members complaining about 45 rpm records breaking up the flow of the title or visa versa.

    First off I'll get this out of the way, I don't feel all MFSL records are the definitive copy of a given title, and that certainly includes the new one steps. I like other labels and their work better for some records, or even a different MFSL issue that isn't a one step or a 45 rpm copy.

    This is what I don't get, and if you're some kind of brand loyalist fan boy. Why the hell are you not looking to the MFSL back catalog? In it you can find all sorts of different music, you can even get 33.3 rpm, 150g vinyl, in non gatefold sleeves that take very little space. The fact of the matter many of the titles they are doing today they have done previously.

    All this devotion to "Super Vinyl" that's just a name, that name originated from JVC. The true Super Vinyl is what was used on the first Japan pressed MFSL titles. Records can not be pressed with that anymore, but they are available to be bought on the secondary market.

    People also complain about others buying more than one copy and not using them as intended. Well people have been doing this with MFSL record since day one. Since that is the case, one can buy every MFSL title in sealed mint condition today. You can also buy open near mint to ease your mind that you'll get a clean playing copy.

    That said OOP MFSL records used to seem expensive, some are, some are 4-8 times the original price. But a original OOP MFSL title selling for $15-$25 new might only cost $30-$200 today, with todays record prices it hardly looks expensive anymore. The average majority of MFSL OOP records cost around $75-$150.

    I think many are fighting for the newer issues not for sound quality but for retail price and the hopes their record goes up in value fast after buying it. Old OOP MFSL titles, go up over time also, they always have, maybe just not as fast anymore as if you're buying it today the mark up is already on it.

    However my point is, I think there is so many new people thinking the latest and greatest records being done today are the best from MFSL. IMHO nothing can be further from the truth, it's just the focus is on new issues and the marketing of them.

    Go take a look at MFSL back catalog and try some instead of waiting years for preorders to show up. Life is too short to be waiting around with bated breath, when there is excellent sounding records already press and you can be listening to them tomorrow.
     
    Fruff76, YCC and captouch like this.
  5. 4-2-7

    4-2-7 Forum Resident

    Location:
    SF Peninsula
    First off sorry you got a bad record..........

    Let me use a car analogy for a minute, back in the day cars of the 60-70 where not built perfectly. They had varying degrees of imperfection panel gaps all over the map, paint jobs with imperfections and touch-ups on brand new cars. As computers and robots took over build quality improved over the years. They pop out perfect looking cars today, we have gotten used to a degree of perfection and constancy from unit to unit. That's what the CD, digital recording, mixing and mastering also gave us.

    Now this has nothing to do with your damaged record but is mentioned because of the music. How about Muddy Waters Folk Singer? this title is so low fi it sounds great, it was recorded onto a used tape that wasn't great to start with, on the AP 45rpm issue you can hear tape hiss, breathing and movement of them playing.

    Now that said Bernie was the original mastering engineer, listen to what he has to say about it.
    In fact this whole vid is very interesting
    Tapestry starts at 44:22
     
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2022
  6. brucej4

    brucej4 Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Coast, USA
    What I found most interesting is what wasn't said. There is a lot of talk about feeling, simplicity, and popularity, but absolutely none about sound quality, by either Bernie or Chad. That tells you something.
     
    Rocco1 and Andrew Johnston like this.
  7. Prince John

    Prince John Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Absolutely. When Carole King, Paul Simon, and James Taylor are looked down upon as lesser music because it doesn’t “RAWK” are missing the feeling in the music. That’s really what music is all about…that feeling.
     
    audiotom likes this.
  8. Dougthesnail

    Dougthesnail The Big Gabagool

    Location:
    Winnipeg
    Were you not just talking crap about how those were all boring artists not worthy of reissues?
     
    audiotom, Tullman and Strat-Mangler like this.
  9. Prince John

    Prince John Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    That wasn’t me. I’m a fan of all three of them and have Tapestry pre-ordered.
     
  10. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    As an album or SQ-wise?
     
  11. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    The word that was used repeatedly was "dinosaurs". Those posts appear to have since been deleted.
     
    Dougthesnail likes this.
  12. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    Any comments on the SQ? What other pressings did you compare it to?
     
  13. MWebb

    MWebb You and me...we died a long, long time ago

    Location:
    Grand Rapids, MI
    Well not only that, our argumentative friend's post aside, I don't think anyone spending that amount on that set is at all ignorant or foolish. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that they are collectors who already own multiple original pressings and want the MoFi box out of a sense of curiosity, collectibility, or both. A collector would obviously put a huge premium on a sealed vintage item like that.

    What seems to be lost in the discussion is that sure, there are a lot of alternate pressings of all of the records that MoFi presses. Some of them are desirable purely because they are collectible, some of them moreso because of the sonics, and others for both reasons. That doesn't mean people buying the rarities that don't sound that great are idiots for spending more than sonically superior pressing X and Z would cost on the secondary market. I know you know this, but others seem to need a reminder that records can be bought by people for a myriad of reasons and casting stones based on that isn't a particularly productive use of time, especially in cases where there is zero information as to who they are, why they are buying it, and what they want to get out of them.
     
    SAMAUL likes this.
  14. DaveyF

    DaveyF Forum Resident

    Location:
    La Jolla, Calif
    Do you own both of the 'One Steps'? Personally, i think they are worlds apart--with the VV being way superior in all area. Clearly YMMV.
     
    Gdgray and 4-2-7 like this.
  15. sonofjim

    sonofjim Senior Member

    Very interesting indeed. I checked it out to see the Tapestry part and ended up watching the whole thing. I could probably listen to Bernie Grundman talk about his past projects for two hours. Not many movies can hold my interest for much more than that.
     
    4-2-7 likes this.
  16. Tullman

    Tullman Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    For the most part the One Step titles are definitive. Most posters in this thread would agree.

    If you are talking about the way back catalog before Jim Davis bought MFSL, you would know that those have poor eq choices. Anadisc is a crap shoot. Also, I believe most people that are buying new MFSL titles have perused the back catalog and have picked up titles they are interested in.

    Like it or not, the new supervinyl is the best vinyl formulation available.

    So collectors are bad people?

    Since Krieg Wunderlich has taken over as the vinyl mastering engineer for MFSL, the sonic quality has been pretty great.

    Again, most people buying new MFSL records have already purchased back catalog titles they are interested in.
     
  17. 4-2-7

    4-2-7 Forum Resident

    Location:
    SF Peninsula
    Not me, and I see complaints all the time on MFSL new records, some are stuck in groupthink though. In fact the whole site has a lot f groupthink going on. Most the people in this thread don't even have another copy of the same title put out on a one step. I hear that all the time it's nuts IMHO but that's what I'v been reading, "I have nothing to compare it to".

    That's your opinion of SQ, witch is subjective at best. I would again also disagree about most others in this thread exploring anything in the back catalog.

    Hardly, hell I can buy standard issues of AP records and the vinyl is better, as well as the pressing quality. I'v made these statements over and over in this thread, and if you can't hear how noisy these one steps sound in comparison to many other records I have to question your hearing at this point. You always say the same thing that they are dead quiet, but for years prior to the one steps I have always felt MFSL record have far too much surface noise compared to other pressings.

    Hell MFSL even prints a disclaimer on their record saying they have surface noise, but play them a few times and it gets better. So I can only come to one conclusion when you say their one steps are dead quiet.

    I don't know how you got that from my statement.
    What I am saying most/many people wouldn't buy these records if there was a loss after purchasing. If it was more like a consumable, once bought and played the price drops to 50% or less, many would not buy these, they can't afford that.
    Again that's your opinion, I'm not saying he's bad or anything, but he's not in the class of the best.

    I think you might be looking at things you have/ might have done. I would say most members even posting in this thread are new to buying records, any records. I know you're not but look around you.

    Myself I really don't care what others say about SQ, best pressings and record quality, noobs do these days. I just go and buy them all and listen for myself, and that's why I don't fall into any group thinking. My system plays record differently than others do and visa versa. Sound Quality is subjective and for most people on a sliding scale from very good to vary bad. However there are lots of records that sound as good as others but just a little different. Different sound quality doesn't make it bad just different, some will like these differences in different directions on the quality scale.

    I have found that being a one step title does not make it a definitive record of a given title. Some better it, some are just as good, some are worse. We have had enough of these come out over the past 6 and a half years for me to gain an opinion and compare with other records, definitive they are not. Then the fact quality control has fallen by the wast side and they are not treated like an exclusive pressing anymore, nor are they.

    So my opinion I stated and you felt you needed to quote me on still stands. There are years and years of many different MFSL records. They are pressed already, you don't have to preorder and wait a year for, so go out and buy some of them, that's all.
     
    Troyh likes this.
  18. 4-2-7

    4-2-7 Forum Resident

    Location:
    SF Peninsula
    I have got my record store in the habit of when he put box sets aside for me in the back room, to leave them in their shipping boxes. Many times I'll buy two and then leave one totally sealed up as factory delivered. This has value to me and others who collect records, I also save the open shipping boxes, for use later if need be.

    Put it this way, the only sealed Beatles Mono & Stereo box sets are the ones still in the sealed factory shipping box, as they did not shrink wrap the box sets.
     
  19. DaveyF

    DaveyF Forum Resident

    Location:
    La Jolla, Calif
    The question of whether the 'One Steps' are the absolute best sounding analog release of a particular title is a good one. There is some discussion that the ERC release of PIJ is superior to the 'One Step' ..as it probably should be at its premium price. Whether the upcoming 'Folk Singer' will beat the prior Anadisc or AP release is also going to be interesting...as IMO both of those are exemplary and are not going to be easy to better...we shall see. ( I'm hoping the new release will be!).
     
  20. Prince John

    Prince John Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    That’s blatantly false and you know it. Using simple common sense will tell you that $125 isn’t generally being spent on albums that were never previously owned before by the buyer. A few might do that but not most.

    That’s also blatantly false. Vinyl newbies aren’t dropping $125 per album, especially these albums. The albums being released as One Steps aren’t for your average record buying music fan.
     
    OptimisticGoat, Tullman and Geee! like this.
  21. Prince John

    Prince John Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Yes, stocking your own inventory. :rolleyes: This is not a record collection but storage.
     
  22. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    Why do you care what someone does with their money?
     
    GentleSenator, JRose and Troyh like this.
  23. teag

    teag Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colorado
    Remember, he is a Prince……
     
  24. 4-2-7

    4-2-7 Forum Resident

    Location:
    SF Peninsula
    Princess is more like it.

    I can't help from thinking of South Park when I read their post.

     
    teag likes this.
  25. 4-2-7

    4-2-7 Forum Resident

    Location:
    SF Peninsula
    Led Zep Super Deluxe sets complete and other super sets like the BBC, storage!!!
    [​IMG]

    Random extra Box Sets in storage!!!

    [​IMG]

    Extra Metallica Super Deluxe box sets in storage!!!

    [​IMG]


    Oh I beg to differ, I have a fine record collection you could only dream about.
    Second Set of all the Zep box sets

    [​IMG]
     
    Ed Hughes and FWatty like this.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine