Music Matters Definitive Blue Note 45 RPM and 33 & 1/3 RPM vinyl series (pt7)

I know you weren't asking me but I have a bunch and I'd say the Tommy Flanagan Over C's is the best sounding in the bunch. It's full of fire and fury.
I really like the sound of Coltrane's self titled as well. And the Relaxin' with Miles Quintet is really good.
Really, they're all pretty great but those are the best sounding three to my ears.
I wanted to get All Morning Long but never purchased it because a few people I know got it and said it had a lot of surface noise.
That's the only title I remember hearing that about, none of mine had any significant surface noise.

 

I have all of the them (mono + stereo). The Miles Davis monos are outstanding. Among my favorites otherwise are the Eric Dolphy titles and Oliver Nelson's "Screamin' The Blues"

But all 50 are really good.

 

I have the entire AP Mono series and have not encountered any issues with surface noise or other playback issues.
I didn't grab the full Stereo set as there were more blues titles than I would like in that series. But, again - the ones I have grabbed were equally well made.

 

Wow.

1) Sorry, they ARE the only game in town with regard to THEIR product. If you want what is a significantly better copy than is otherwise out there, Grant Green's Matador, for example, then pretty much the only way to get it is through their website.

MM is well setup to produce the records. There are retailers who are good at selling them AND at customer service. It's their specialty. If needed, you could charge a particular retail price that would give you proper margins but allow a company that specializes in customer service to provide that.

2) We don't need to know how to run a niche company. We already know how to be buyers, to be customers. Shifting prices upward willy-nilly, non-communication, changing customer rules such as shipping thresholds -- these are not good examples of customer service.

More details of issues have been laid out in the past, but the point is is that their product IS uniquely of high quality. But there are sometimes flaws. They haven't always handled the after sales service well. That can be a problem of a small operation.

Take a high end restaurant. Great food, great service bringing the food to you. When everything is going well, it's easy to praise the quality and the service.

But say you get a piece of steak that has an enormous piece of gristle in it, or it's just really chewy, or it's way overcooked. And a waiter and/or manager can't be found. You finally find one, mention the problem, 20 minutes later, there's still no waiter or manager to be found, and no replacement steak. And it's too bad, because you already paid for your meal in advance.

A diner next to you overhears your frustrated conversation with your dinner partner, and the diner says, "Well my steak is great and I have never had bad service here." Did his experience have anything to do with your's? And even if only 1 in 20 experience poor customer service, does that one person still deserve good customer service?

 

Sorry. Won't do when it comes to free speech issues. It's not up to you to say what is and what isn't worthy of being included in this topic. There are occasional quality and occasional customer service issues that will arise. They're going to be covered here, too.

Last the discussion take its course naturally. We're not voting here.

 

I just listened to Mobley’s Quintet and maybe for the first time I’m a bit disappointed with a MM release . I’m finding the cymbals to be rather “crispy” sounding. Overall the sound is quite dynamic and maybe a bit to hot compared to others. Had to lower the volume a good bit after listening to Herbie’s Flood from speakers corner (a FABULOUS record btw).

To be fair I don’t have another mono copy to compare to but the RVG Remaster from 2008 on tidal doesn’t exhibit this.

Anyone else noticing this?

 

Thank you, forgot about that feature. Probably just easier that way

 

Thanks guys - definitely eyeing the dolphy they have. It’s great to be able to have a musical discussion that offers some alternate well priced jazz reissue vinyl options in addition to MM. I appreciate your recommendations and your input!

 

+1 on Overseas. I think All Morning Long is essential..I don't recall the surface noise. Coltrane's Lush Life sounds pretty fabulous too, as are the two Rollin's titles. The Miles Prestige stuff is good but the original OJC versions are as well, IMO.

 

I have quite a few of the AP Prestige series and find these two incredible:

Gene Ammons- Boss Tenor
Kenny Burrell with Coleman Hawkins- Bluesey Burrell

 

*I have heard several rave reviews of the AP Boss Tenor release as well, forgot to get that one, might have to add it to the list as well....

 

If you don't mind, next time you listen to All Morning Long, let me know. I really wanted to get it but only held off because I heard several similar reviews about surface noise issues. If I hear enough to the contrary, it gives me a good enough excuse to buy it.

 

Massively in agreement and would add two others beyond the ones mentioned;

All night long
Ballads by Cobb

All three of the gene ammons ones are great and trust you already have Gil Evans and Ten right

So hard to choose

 

Which is why I just subscribed to the whole thing in the first place.

 

Say nothing of the blues titles which also kick ass. Evening blues is incredible.

 

I need to give these some playtime soon, but I'm playing classical this weekend (while I'm snowed in and can't go cycling).

 

Hah, and I'm going to see Shostakovich No. 11 this evening b/w the snowflakes.

 

TLDR

 

You sure are asking a lot to remove an SRX for this ;-) Seriously, glad to do it -- that's what we're here for. I'm spinning it now and don't hear any unusual surface noise on the AP. These Prestige recordings are not always the greatest sounding, but it sounds quiet, clean, and out in front to me. The reviews over at Acoustic Sounds show five stars with a few positive comments. I see someone posted about surface noise on discogs, but I'm not hearing what he is describing.

 

I still need to learn to appreciate the Shostakovich symphonies (and I love symphonies otherwise). I have the entire cycle on SACD/CD, with Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, Dmitrij Kitajenko conducting (Capriccio label). All I have on vinyl is the complete string quartets.

 

Currently playing mine and it sounds like all other AP pressings that I own. Quiet and clear.

I would grab a copy with confidence while they’re available.

 

Be careful... questioning Music Matters is apparently highly frowned on around here.

 

You’ll notice (if you’ve read enough pages) that all criticism of actual pressing, music, and/or mastering have all been well received, discussed, and lead to other productive conversation.

To actually respond to @gov and what he posted - the mobley quintet and griffin vol 2 were my only question marks regarding the srx release rollout. I’d be curious myself how the 45 mobley version sounds, at $50 and if one enjoyed the music, that might be a safer bet.

 

Jeez guys with all the AP Prestige recs, gonna send me down ANOTHER expensive rabbit hole.... I have been eyeing Lush Life and Soultrane for a while though, gonna have to pick those up soon.

Also, in case anyone was worried, Carol responded within hours and is shipping me a new disc on Monday. Another strong customer service data point.

 

What's kept me away from that one has been the incredible amount of trumpet distortion I heard on the Spotify version (probably the OJC mastering). I think someone confirmed that it still sounds like that on the AP, because that kind of distortion is just baked in to the tape. Just curious if that's what you meant by "These Prestige recordings are not always the greatest sounding." (But I realize this is getting away from MM, so I promise not to ask any follow-up questions).