This is my first posting. I have a # of Nimbus vinyl recordings specially pressed for Hi-Fi Magazine in England including Weather Report, Mysterious Traveller-Wings, Band On the Run-Little Feat, Feet's Don't Fail Me Now- and Ricki Lee Jones 1st album. Does anyone else have any of these and what do they think of the sound? Was Nimbus an audiophile co like Mo Fi or were these a sereis of "one-offs" from a co. dabbling in audiophile recordings? They sound fine to my ears, but not outstanding like a well recorded Mo Fi, Super Disk, DCC, etc.
Welcome! I know some of the Nimbus releases are well-regarded, but I only bought one before just giving up on them. It was Pretenders s/t, and had to be the worst mastering I have ever heard on something being sold as audiophile product. Just plain dead and awful. Shortly afterward, I finally found a mint 1st US press, which is really great (considering the recording to begin with). After that, I never bought another Nimbus, except Styx Cornerstone which I got for $0.50 and still haven't listened to.
I know Neil Young Harvest gets a very high bid on eBay. Some prefer the stock US 1st press. I only have the 1st press myself, and haven't felt any desire to upgrade - it's rich & wonderful, but I can't personally comment on the Nimbus. As for others, it's been so long since I've looked that I can't really recall.
The Nimbus cuts were mastered from the bog standard tapes used for the British releases. I have Little Feat 'Feats Don't Faile Me Now' it has the same matrix number as the standard English pressing, which was not taken from original tapes. I have the 'bog standard' UK pressing, the Nimbus and an original Warner Brothers US copy. Guess which one sounds the best - by a mile! I am afraid as with a lot of the reissue companies of the day - the old adage rubbish in, rubbish out still applies. JG
Given the sound of the vinyl and the posts, the records seem to be the standard UK pressings with a sticker indicating there is something special about them, but no remastering. Appears to be an attempt to hop on the audiophile bandwagon, but with little or no substance. Fortunately, I didn't pay too much for them.
It never does any harm to buy these (if as you say you got them at a good price), it makes you more aware of the different standards of mastering that goes on. JG
I saw a still sealed Nimbus Band On the Run two years ago at a collector shop going for $150. I decided that was too much money to gamble on, since nobody I knew (or today even) has actually heard one. Heck, I'm satisfied with my DCC gold CD anyway.
Oops, I just realized something here... I posted before coffee this AM and after donating blood (a little loopy) and confused these with Nautilus. Sorry for the confusion! Frankly, these almost sound to me like Simply Vinyl's approach on some reissues - in other words borrowed stampers, etc, which ultimately means hit or miss depending on the originals & the quality of the pressing. I always say trust your ears first, and do read as many of the old posts archived on this forum - it's a huge resource for those people interested in exploring differences between recording/mastering approaches & techniques, and their ultimate influence on the product.
VERY GOOD DECISION I was delighted to see you passed on the Nimbus Band on the Run ($150). I recently purchased an absolutely mint copy for 6 euros (about $4). Personally, I would and never have paid more than the retail price for an album. There are few albums that I want that I didn't get at very reasonable prices. It may have taken a while but I nearly always manage to get what I want. There are different types of collector! The one who wants an album for its sleeve or some other irrelevant nonsense and puts it away on the shelf or maybe is a golddigger and sells it on for a huge profit. The other one searches out original pressing to enjoy the sound of the original and nothing else. JG
These were remastered - I bought a few at the time. All the ones I had did indeed have the same catalog numbers as UK originals, but also had the NIMBUS ENGLAND stamp in the wax. They were 'clean' transfers from the tape they could get. I personally didn't like them for the same reasons I don't like the MoFi - something was missing. Some are very sought after (Sgt Pepper, Kind of Blue) Nimbus are/were an interesting company, with their own approach to recording and mastering. If you can find any of their 45rpm direct cuts or analog cuts, you're in for a treat. Not just borderline audiophile, really musically interesting. Brief history at unaxis mike
