What are some good albums mastered by Steve Hoffman?

I hear nothing but amazing things about his work and would love to hear it myself. Where can I go for that?

 

Same.

 

Track down The Doors first album on the DCC CD.

Another option would by Aja by Steely Dan.
MCA UK MCLD 19145 "Mastered by Nimbus" / Matrix: A1388 DMCL 1745 : 1:0 IFPI L123

 

Thank you so much. Will do!

 

There are other options besides these two. You might check out the SH Discography on this site.

https://www.stevehoffman.tv/discography/index.php

 

No reason not to do this again, but here’s a couple of helpful past discussions:

Best Mastering by Steve Hoffman

Recommend a more obsure Steve Hoffman mastered disc you love

What is your favorite recording mastered by Steve Hoffman?

Steve Hoffman Mastering masterpieces!

 

Cheap Thrills

 

Great choice. Cheap, too!

 

Both of Mr. Hoffman’s lovely presentations of Pet Sounds (on the DCC and Audio Fidelity labels, accordingly) are highly regarded - and rightly so.

 

And of course, all the various-artists hits compilations he's worked on from MCA to Sandstone. His focus always began by getting the label to get him "the right tapes" out of the vaults, rather than whatever master reel was grabbed for any other Special Products division of the label of ownership. From there, it was always a track-by-track exploration, to find the most natural levels and EQ settings to bring out the that best the closest-to-first-generation master had to offer.

I have a pretty-good library of Hoffman masters...and not all that many of them are complete albums (collector-wise, I'm not the classic-rawk listener most people here seem to be; but, I've benefited many times over from using his DCC, Razor & Tie and other comps to improve the overall sound of every on-air Oldies library I've worked on).

 

cheaps CDs that I completely love:
- Buddy Holly - From the Original Master Tapes
- The Mamas and the Papas - 16 of their Greatest Hits
- John Coltrane - From the Original Master Tapes

not so cheap, but also amazing:
- Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited (DCC)
- Paul McCartney - Band on the Run (DCC)

on vinyl:
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (double 45 rpm, mastered with Kevin Gray)
The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds (DCC. Some prefer the AP mono, but I absolutely love this mastering, very warm and smooth).
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium (not a big fan of RHCP, but this record sounds amazing)

 

The Mamas & the Papas 16 Greatest Hits
Bad Company

 

The CSN debut, The Best of The Guess Who......on vinyl, all the CCR albums in their finest sounding versions, IMO. Hard to find but still out there individually if you look hard enough. Not to be confused with the Fantasy reissues that came later.

 

RAM!

https://www.stevehoffman.tv/discography/DCC/3930

 

His name is on a Mamas and The Papas CD I have. It sounds okay.

 

My favorite is Sounds From Between The Tracks, a collection of the best audiophile-caliber sounding remastered silence.

Just kidding.

I really like The Doobie Bros and The Doors' S/T on DCC.

 

Think it's time to change your profile location. You're quite a ways away from Brampton.

 

Be heading back that way soon enough.

 

I like Jackson Browne’s Late for the Sky on DCC.

 

Got fed up with the price of peanut butter?

 

In my opinion, his 45rpm reissues of Nat King Cole from Analogue Productions might be his greatest achievements. He mastered/mixed them on-the-fly from the original 3-track recording session tapes as they were being cut by Kevin Gray. That's like walking a tightrope without a net. They're extraordinary. And they're all in print!

But almost any of the albums he did for DCC or S&P are worth tracking down.

 

On CD:

Joni Mitchell - Blue - DCC
Gerry Rafferty - City To City - DCC
Heart - Dreamboat Annie - DCC
Van Halen - Van Halen - DCC
Jethro Tull - Original Masters - DCC
Nat King Cole - Love Is The Thing - DCC
Nat King Cole - The Greatest Hits - DCC
Phil Collins - Hello I Must Be Going - AF
Phil Collins - No Jacket Required - AF
Phil Collins - Face Value - AF
Jackson Browne - Late For The Sky - DCC
Jackson Browne - The Pretender - DCC
Bonnie Raitt - Nick Of Time - DCC
Bonnie Raitt - Luck Of The Draw - DCC
Eagles - Hotel California - DCC
Steve Miller Band - Fly Like an Eagle - DCC
Steve Miller Band - Book of Dreams - DCC
Billy Idol - Rebel Yell - AF
Steely Dan - Aja - Japan JVC

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/your-25-best-sounding-cds.549103/

 

Interesting that you started this thread today. In the past few weeks by reviewing Steve's Discography I have gone ahead and added several unknown albums to me. I've added seven album to my library. I have six more on my "want list" mostly audiophile editions I didn't not get originally that are now quite expensive. Here is what I have added...


Ruth Brown – Help A Good Girl Go Bad
Label: DCC Jazz – DJZ-602
Format: CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Stereo
Country: USA & Canada
Released: 1989
Genre: Jazz, Blues



Ruth Brown – Black Is Brown And Brown Is Beautiful
Label: DCC Jazz – DJZ 620
Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 1995
Genre: Jazz, Funk / Soul
Style: Soul-Jazz, Rhythm & Blues, Funk



Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – Dirt On The Strings (The Instrumental Collection)
Label: S&P Records – SPR-716, EMI Music Special Markets – 72434-73285-2-7
Format: CD, Compilation, Remastered
Country: US
Released: 2004
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Country



Grady Tate – Windmills Of My Mind
Label: DCC Jazz – DJZ-635
Format:CD, Album, Reissue
Country: US
Released: 1998
Genre: Jazz, Pop
Style: Soul-Jazz, Vocal



Steely Dan – Katy Lied
Label: MCA Records – MCAD-37043, MCA Records – 250 494-2
Format:
CD, Album, Reissue
Country: Europe
Released: 1986
Genre: Rock
Style: Fusion, Pop Rock

Along with...

• Maxine Sullivan And Her Jazz All-Stars – A Tribute To Andy Razaf - Music By Fats Waller And Others
• Phil Woods – I Remember (A Collection Of Compositions By Phil Woods)

In addition I have 143 other albums mastered by Steve, mostly Audio Fidelity and DCC and 60 albums co-mastered by Steve and Kevin Gray mostly on the Analogue Productions label.

P.S. You cannot go wrong with the sound quality of any of them in my opinion. It is simply a matter of do you like the music or not?