For some reason, I've always loved the cassette of Savage Amusement. It just fits the production. The European vinyl of Animal Magnetism is OK, but so is the European CD I got. Can't remember the catalog number, but I can check when I get home. It might be this one: http://www.doohan-covers.com/Audio/Scorpions_animal_magnetism_back.jpg
It beats the crap out of the EMI that everyone in this thread seems to favor... it's the only digital album I've ever heard that's dark AND has tape dropouts. Yeah, apparently a HORRIBLE dub was made and some really bad EQ changes were made as well. The '97 remaster (not even close to brickwalled), when I compared the original to it was actually a tad bit brighter. In the end, I went with the original. I can do an EQ comparison if it's REALLY important, but those remasters tend to lean to the bright side...
I don't remember if i asked this but i'll ask it again: Is there anybody that compared the B20D-410xx discs for the albums Fly to the Rainbow, In Trance & Taken by Force with the ND700xx discs, which ones are better sounding?
I haven't yet, but from what I remember reading, the ND's are warm but dark and sometimes muddy, while the B20D's are clearer, less muddy, but also brighter. It's a preference thing basically.
I have heard samples of the B20D of "In Trance" and compared them to my European RCA ND CD, and I did like the warmer sound on my European CD better. The Japanese "In Trance" was too bright for my liking. Then again, I have an old "Best of Scorpions" RCA CD (the 1st volume), and that one sounds even better than the individual RCA CD's from Europe. I am sure that you can find better vinyl sources than all available CD's, but I don't have that option (only maybe in form of needledrops).
Roland, I was lucky enough today to pick up a copy of Lonesome Crow. It's on the Rampage/Rhino label, released in 1989, catalog R2 70915. I don't know what mastering they used but it really sounds very good. I have the vinyl as well and this cd stands up quite well.
I wish you could just to form an opinion and comment. I have the Canadian Bomb 101 red vinyl of the album, which I love very much. This cd is definitely no slouch. I tried to google it to see if I could determine the mastering but didn't have any luck.
Is there a fairly straight forward way of doing this? I would like to. I see we cannot post .wav files to the site, so how do I post a clip?
This is what I do: I create a clip of approx. 1 to 2 minutes as a WAV.file. If I want to, I can convert it ti FLAC to save some space, but it is not necessary. I have signed up with yousendit.com for a free account. There are other services, but I like this one quite a bit. It is easy and there is no waiting time/advertisement when you want to download. Then I sent the large WAV.file via yousendit.com to my own e-mail address. I then get a notification that I have received a file via yousendit.com with a respective link. I post the link here and people can download it. It is really quite easy.
Hopefully this works. Here's the link for a clip from the first song on the Rhino Rampage disc (I'm Goin' Mad). https://www.yousendit.com/dl?phi_ac...01%26email%3D76744de04914a4b8e4ba7ae181bbd2b1
Hi there, I just downloaded the clip and burned it on a CD-RW to compare with my WG Brain CD. I think your clip sounds pretty good overall. It is a little bit brighter than the WG Brain, but otherwise, the feel of the music is quite the same. If you can't find the WG Brain, that Rampage CD version is quite good, I think.
To add to this, the US RCA of Virgin Killer is the best I have heard. It is not muddy like the German RCA, and is not bright like the Japanese B20D. It was remastered for the US, but in 1990, so it adds just a little top end to make it perfect. The # is 3659-2-R.
Thank Roland. I thought you would have a favorable opinion of the clip. The Brain is so hard to find. This is a very good substitute.
I just did an A/B for the 2 CD's and you are right on Roland, the Rampage is a tad brighter but either one is a good choice for this disc. Two very good options for this album. There is a copy of the Brain disc on Musicstack now for $28.11, I received a reply from the seller confirming that it is the WG CD.
And if you are on a budget but still want a great disc, check out the Rampage disc below on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390290174412&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
I've just received a German RCA of Virgin Killer like this with the solid aluminium hub, looks quite new (paid £3.50) with the cat number ND70031. I wouldn't mind knowing if this is a new or old version too?! On the matrix, it has 'sonopress' but in a logo form, rather than the word (like on my Tokyo Tapes ND7008). The matrix reads C-0771/ND 70031 K. It had has the 2 page 'booklet' and the usual "Distributed in the UK by BMG Records" and "Printed in Germany by TOPAC" on the back.
Bump I've been through both the Scorpions CD threads and there seems to some unanswered questions over the ND***** catalogue number German RCAs that are still available new. Does anyone know whether they use the same mastering as Roland's recommended ORIGINAL German RCAs. The packaging seems just the same, apart from the omission of the "West" in Germany, and other things like the Sonopress logo on the ring, rather than in words. They use the same cat number, and there's no mention at all of it being a reissue/remaster. Are these the newer European issues some warn against. I hope not, as it's going to be a bugger telling them apart from some ebay listings!! We're talking about Virgin Killer, Fly to the Rainbow (there's one on the German Amazon site) to the best of my knowledge - there may be more. Perhaps Taken by Force is different - the newer European issue seems to be an EMI as far as can see from the German Amazon site I have to say that my 'new' ND70031 Virgin Killer sounds good (not bright/harsh), but I've nothing to compare it to.
If the catalog number is the same, I don't see any reason why it would sound any different. Most of these were made after West Germany ceased anyway.
There may be a different in the packaging. I just picked up an old "original" German cd copy of In Trance. I've noticed a difference between it, and the other 2 German Scorpions I own in the same series. The back of the front insert advertises the other Scorpion releases on CD, where the other 2 I have (Taken By Force and Virgin Killer) don't. Also, the position of the bar code is on the bottom, vice on the right side as the other two I own.