New UHQR by Analogue Productions/QRP - Axis: Bold as Love*

Was wondering if anyone had a different perspective on the mono UHQR once they had time to sit with it.
Listening again yesterday evening and I found I'm still of the same opinion as to what I wrote earlier, Select Vinyl Reviews bottom of the page.

Push some volume through this and it almost alive! The Classic does not come close for me anymore. Yes, there are a couple of things I like more on the Classic but that said, its not in the same league as this pressing. I doubt I'll pull either of the Classic Records pressings over this UHQR for pleasure!

 

I ordered mine in February 2019, I cannot track my package and apparently won’t receive a notice of shipment. It is listed as canceled on the AS site however there’s a note next to it explaining it is not actually canceled but was given a new, different order number (not sure why...) that for whatever reason I do not have access to. I hope it shows up soon seeing as how people who ordered in March and April are seeing theirs :/

 

Did you find out what partially shipped means?

 

I ordered both versions (stereo and mono) ages ago. They both showed up the other day. Visually, they look good but I need to put my TT back together after a move.

Now have an incentive to do so......

 

#2410 arrived. Gatefold is a step above the Classic. Haven’t played it yet but it’s a beautiful looking record, perfectly flat, seems perfectly centered. Really nice.

 

Yup:

Hello Daniel,

They began shipping 2 weeks ago. We are doing our best to ship them in order of the date that all preorders were placed, from oldest to most recent. This may take several weeks (possibly longer) to complete, as we have over 5,000 copies to send out, and it's not logistically feasible to ship them all out the same day.

Due to the high volume of orders, we will not be able to provide specific details as to when a particular order will ship, but you will receive a tracking e-mail once it does.

Your order has been sent to the warehouse for fulfillment and should leave our facility soon.

We appreciate your patience, and thank you for your order!

Kind regards,

Sara

 

Thank you sir.

 

Same thing happened to my order- I called the customer service line and gave them the original order number and asked them what was up. Within a few minutes they sent my order to the warehouse and it shipped the same day . . . so it's probably worth the time to give 'em a call!

 

I think you are very correct. The squeaky grease gets the bird

 

No, these were Classic record purchases that I made post collapse.

 

Still trying to get my order for the mono and stereo over the line. Nearly there. I ordered in December 2017.

 

#2656 showed up today. Pictures to follow.

 

Mine has been on the truck for delivery since 6am. It’s not scheduled for delivery until Tuesday

 

FedEx?

 

Yes. They were just delivered! The package is beautiful, but I won’t be able to listen yet. Think I’d better wait til tomorrow.

 

The day after I ordered my second stereo copy, they sold out. I just received #2659 and #2660. I wouldn’t be surprised if they set aside 1000-2000 for wholesale retailers.

 

"Click bang what a hang..."

Pretty sure Jimi would approve.

 

Amazon has copies. I reckon these are going to go up in value quickly. The price gouging on ebay is already disgusting.

 

Ordered two copies of the stereo on 4-28. Arrived today, numbers 2691 and 2692.

I'll trade one for a mono, if someone has a spare copy laying around by chance.

 

Last I checked, each Amazon site [I checked 3] had a single copy of the stereo set for sale.

So far, does not look like these are being shipped to third party sellers as yet!

 

If my AS account shows "Backordered" does that mean I will receive a copy? In other words, would they keep me in backordered status even if they are sold out? Thanks for your wisdom...

 

Yeah, mine was backordered for a month after I ordered it. Then it changed to “shipped” after they charged me.

 

You may want to reach out to AS (if you haven’t already).

My two copies sat in backordered status for a few weeks, even though I ordered on the first day of availability. I finally was fed up enough after seeing mentions of other people here that ordered well after me receiving their copies. When I finally called I was told that AmEx had cancelled the pre-authorization on my card because it had been too long. AS was not proactive in contacting me and it took me getting fed up and contacting them to resolve a very simple issue.

I don’t really care about box numbers, but I do think I ultimately got numbers several hundreds higher than I should have as I was originally told when ordering that I was one of the very first orders.

 

Here are my thoughts on the stereo on first listen:

I agree with other posters that the guitars and vocals aren’t as prominent in this mastering, at least on side one. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, the bass and drums sound phó king huge, as they should. Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding don’t get enough credit for their contribution to Hendrix’s success, IMHO. Killer rhythm section.

It’s super detailed. I can really hear that “If 6 Was 9” was transferred from a crappy rough mix tape, but it’s still a great track, regardless. Maybe it’s my gear, but I feel like the mastering is a tad bright. Especially on the title track, the treble is a bit fizzy. Maybe it’s because the master tape is 50 years old, maybe I’ve just never been able to hear this level of detail before, I’m not sure. Overall it does sound great and I’m glad I have it. I sold a 70s brown label Reprise pressing to help pay for this, and that disc sounded great. The UHQR is better than that in some ways, but it’s not like mind blowingly better. I’ve said it before, but this record kills on every format I’ve heard it.

The vinyl is indeed really quiet, although I just heard a series of pops and tics on side two. Hopefully that will come out with a cleaning. I think if all pressing plants were forced to use this clarity vinyl stuff and perform a tenth of the quality control of QRP, new vinyl releases would be much better.

I really do hope that AP gives the UHQR treatment to some classic albums that haven’t been reissued to death. I’d love to have the Zombies Odessey and Oracle and In The Court of The Crimson King done this way.

 

I agree that the new is a tad bright as compared to vintage (tri color). The vocals seem a tad forward as well. Also there were a couple of occasions were the tri hit some low notes that the UHQR did not match.
Yet on detail, I would call it a draw, then factor in what vintage is going for these days and these new ones may well be the better bargain.