The Impex box was 2015 as far as I can tell: Isao Suzuki Trio / Quartet* / Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio - The Three Blind Mice 45 Box I dont know about any 2018 or 2021 boxes, they have been doing stand alone releases for the albums ever since the box though I believe, or a little while after it.
I agree...Sony Japan owns the TBM catalog now and I'd be surprised if tapes were lost. I google translated this from the 2015 Think! Records release of Misty (and the same info is listed for all of the Think! reissues from that time) "What is master board pressing? Normally, the analog board is pressed from the cut lacquer board (concave) in the process of master board (convex) → mother board (concave) → stamper board (convex), but in "master board pressing", the mother board / stamper Press directly from the master board without making a board. In order to omit the second copy, a groove close to the cutting is formed, and more direct and realistic sound reproduction is realized. Furthermore, this time, we cut from the original master tape by analog processing in all processes without going through digital at all."
Oh they are making the box again? It should be the same considering the stand alone Midnight Sugar I got in 2020 was identical to my 2015 box, except for the labels and sleeve. Please report back on how your box is, Im assuming it wont be numbered like the 2015 ones?
Well, Elusive Disc(and Analog Productions) are accepting orders for a repress. But E.D. rep told me he has no release date as of yet.
Here's the thing about all of it - you can eliminate the terminology and audiophile nonsense - all the TBM records were recorded with the utmost care, at the best studios, with the best equipment and with regard to sound - I have most of the originals (and seconds and third pressings) across the TBM catalog and they ALL sound great. I probably should work my way back through my collection of TBM but really you can't go wrong. And while I don't believe in the 'shoot out' aspect of pressings the Think! versions are fantastic too. The true take of this thread is there is serious demand for more TBM to be reissued (as even the dodgy EU issues are sold out) so someone should get on that!
I was browsing online inventory of a record store (not local) that I frequently grab things from, and they happened to have a NM/NM copy of this box for sale. After more and more sampling and reading through this thread, decided to pull the trigger. Listed at $200 plus $4 shipping (on any size order) and no tax, plus they do 11% back on purchases tied to your Square Pay ID. Figured MD + AS will charge me tax and possibly shipping, plus waiting on it to get repressed eventually. Thanks for all the great info in here!
Elusive Disc have not responded since yesterday, these were some of the last interactions and answers they gave: "Blow Up was recut by Kevin Gray from a safety copy master tape. Both Midnight Sugar and Misty used Cisco’s original analog metal plates." "Some of the TBM master tapes have been missing prior to 2010." To which I replied "Okay, Mother plates. But I dont quite follow. The Impex Misty, Midnight Sugar as well as most of Blow Up all have KPG@CA in the matrix, at least in my Impex Box. These cant be using the Cisco Mothers and must all be new cuts made no sooner than 2011 given that is when @CA roughly opened." Very confusing answers, I hope they get back to me but Im guessing they are done. In any case, I suppose we can assume the Cisco @ATM mastered copies are AAA, even though Blow Up is a second generation. But the question still remains on the Impex @CA cuts.
I just picked up the Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio - Look Of Love - Live At Jazz Is - vinyl (Venus Records). It is out now. I have to say I am really enjoying it. I got into the Trio a couple years ago. I have picked up quite a few things and the good stuff has already been talked up on this thread. The Japanese Jazz thread threw out some ideas and I picked up a few obscure titles that I really like. To give you a little background, I like the smooth stuff…Grant Green- Idle Moments, Stanley Turrentine, Ben Webster, Miles Davis (of course), etc… Two vinyl albums you might want to seek out: St. Elmo – has some pretty good versions of: A2 Moonlight In Vermont A3 What A Wonderful World~My Foolish Heart La Belle Au Bois Dormant – (Sleeping Beauty) This is mostly straight piano work. And, admittedly, does have a tendency to relax me enough to put me to sleep even more than Norah Jones or Dire Straits “Why Worry”. Sleeping Beauty is an acquired taste, much like good whiskey. It wasn’t in my jazz rotation a lot, but seemed to have moved up over the months and now is a staple. Just thought I’d throw some suggestions out in case anyone was wondering about them. However, Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio - Look Of Love - Live At Jazz Is something you can easily grab right now.
The guy owns a record shop in USA, that is expected for him to say. I always go to Japanese pressings and I'm not bothered by the supposed lack of bass in the mastering. Mind you, I love bass. Were the bass lacking I would have corrected it so easily with an optimized curve through Dirac. On the other hand, I love the technical quality of the Japanese pressings, consistency and their care for vinyl in general. With USA or EU pressings, things are always hit&miss.
Just got my notice from Elusive Disc that my 3 Blind Mice box set is back in stock and on its way! Get 'em while you can!
Strange. The Impex website states the box is using the Cisco plates which were done by Tohru Koetsu, but the same Impex box on discogs says Kevin Gray. Yet the individual versions of Misty and Midnight Sugar state Tohru Koetsu indicating the Cisco plates. Interestingly enough Blow Up says Mastered by Kevin Gray on the Impex site.
The original 2008 box might have used Cisco plates. But the new one does not, and is as far as I understand it therefore not all analog.
Wow. Great! I just got mine from Elusive and bought it soley due to all the stellar reviews. Can't wait to give all 3 a spin....
If you followed my email story with them they also say that the tapes were lost before 2010. CA opened in 2011 I believe so how is it possible Kevin cut from tape then? At which point they couldnt give a good answer anymore. I get that you want them to be AAA, who doesnt, but try to be a little more skeptical.
Have you done a side by side comparison of the analog and the not analog? I wonder what Elusive Disc meant when they replied to me that "This is 100% analog"? Maybe they were cut from the analog master that the first box set issue was pressed from?
No I dont have the old Cisco ATM stamped records. But personally I have nothing against digital IF they were done from that. Id probably prefer a digital copy of the true masters rather than a secondary analog source. Elusive disc might not know any better than what the Ciscos used and assume its the same for the Impex. The problem with them being cut from the analog masters like the Cisco ATMs is that Elusive disc, or rather Abey from Impex which they quoted says that tapes have been missing since before 2010. The Impex KPGCA were made after 2010 so it just does not add up. Maybe the tapes were found again, maybe those 3 specifically were not lost but others, who knows. They stopped responding after that. Ill try and shoot another email again to see if they have any additional information.
So I got an informative response from Abey, however she has asked me to not disclose our conversation and therefore I will honor that request by not commenting on specifics. Im sorry to end it on a perhaps lame note. But I have learnt a bit about the earlier box and Cisco reissues lately. The 2008 Boxstar Box does actually not use the Cisco plates either, at least most of them dont, nor is it actually from 2008. It was released in 2012 and that has been corrected now on Discogs. It uses essentially the same plates as the 2015 onwards Impex box for the most part. The Cisco reissues should not bear any mention of KPG@CA or @ATM at all, just the albums catalog number, 45 and RTI plating runouts, as they are indeed cut by Tohru Kotetsu in Japan like the sleeves suggest. Like such for Misty: Side A: TBM.30.A-45 11367.1 (3) Side B: TBM.30.B-45 11367.2 (3) Side C: TBM.30.C-45 11367.3 (3) Side D: TBM.30.D-45 11367.4 (3)
Just as an FYI, I checked the couple of TBM Super-Cut Analogue Disk versions and the runouts are just the original catalog number TBM2 A and TBM2 B, for example. Unfortunately I don't have access to the one 2x45 I have today so cannot check that one All of these were recut in Japan but plated and pressed in America - weren't these marketed by Cisco back in 1996 or whenever they came out??? My totally hypothesized, made up and having no hard evidence take is that the licensing expired for Cisco to reissue/market the 33's but they were able to get a a new license for a small run of 45's for the first run of 5 TBM titles as 2x45s (the 3 in the box set plus Yamo+Jiro's Wave and Mari Nakamoto) with the lacquers being cut in Japan and then brought to America just like the last set of 33s - THEN something happened again in the intervening years in the Cisco to Impex transition and the metal cut in Japan either disappeared or they couldn't use due to licensing SOOOO they somehow were able to get Kevin Gray a copy/backup/whatever tape (no way the original is leaving Japan) and he did his thing here which is what the new Impex reissues are made from, but the other 2 titles from the 2x45 series didn't sell well which is why they aren't included. So what's the explanation for the period where there were both 33 and 45 metal parts cut in Japan and now they're gone? What generation is the tape that KG cut from and lastly WhyTF aren't all of these titles easily in print and more available???
