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Reissues and new pressings


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I did a search and came up with nothing, so my apologies if the topic is out there somewhere.

 

My question needs a bit of backstory, I'm not new to vinyl collecting, but when I started collecting about 40 years ago I would just go buy Dark Side of the Moon at Tower Records. About 25 years ago my collection was sold off at a garage sale because my wife was tired of kicking around my crates and we were about to start a family. Now 25 years later I can't go rebuild my collection with the albums of the past by just going out to my local record store and buying a "New" copy. I have no problem with purchasing used albums, I've been a collector of one thing or another a long time and understand scarcity, condition and demand bringing a premium. Where I'm a bit lost is with reissues and new pressings. 

 

From what I understand the biggest snag is the source material, was it pressed from the original masters or from a CD. When I go to sites like Sound Stage Direct some listing just say "reissue" while others specify the reissue is from the master. Does that mean the reissue isn't from the original master? My biggest concern is sound quality, I can live with a slightly worn sleeve or inner sleeve, but I don't want to sacrifice sound quality if at all possible. I've never heard what a pressing from a CD sounds like, but I know myself well enough to know if the sound is "off" it will make me nuts. 

 

So is there a reliable source for new pressings that aren't from CD's? Do I just need to do my homework per album to insure they're from the original masters? Or am I better off hanging around Discogs and waiting for a decent quality "Original" to pop up at a acceptable price? 

 

One other side question, is there a cut off per say in what would still be from masters even if it isn't stated? Meaning, Perter Gabriels So album for instance, yes it's 30 years old, but relatively "Modern" compared to the Beatles Revolver. 

 

Thanks in advance for your wisdom and help :)

Edited by Highlite23
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*Or am I better off hanging around Discogs and waiting for a decent quality "Original" to pop up at a acceptable price? *

 

This, in my opinion, for most non-DSOTM things.

 

Its probably pretty easy to identify the best-sounding reissues for the big players (google.com, steve hoffman forums) or at least those that wont be tragic.

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Picking up modern day represses of big albums from the past might be a safe bet. They're usually pressed in large numbers with major label backing and should sound just as good as you remember. I'd be more skeptical of smaller/crazy color runs of records since they usually shoot out 100 copies and call it a day without focusing too much on quality control, but it doesn't sound like you're looking for small indie releases anyways. 

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Prices have skyrocketed since you started, many records from the 70s and 80s were on crappy vinyl and there are some damn good quality reissues out there since you are into older stuff:

Beatles - Mono Reissues ($25ish)

Led Zeppelin - recent reissues ($25ish)

Jimi Hendrix - Legacy reissues ($15-40 depends on the release but the albums are all cheap)

Pink Floyd - recent reissues ($25-40)

Black Sabbath - recent colored reissues ($22ish each, avoid vol. 4 they used a crappy tape source)

Sundazed label will cover your 60s needs and they do many of the rare mono mixes and oddball bands for certain things, notable releases include: otis redding, blue cheer, dillard & clark, international submarine band, chocolate watchband, the byrds, bob dylan, and many of the other under the radar garage and psych. They do pretty quality stuff

Fat Possum did a pretty good job with T. Rex, Syl Johnson, Ann Peebles and other soul reissues

There is also a new all analog reissue label called intervention they run around $35-40 a release but the quality is incredible, Flying Burrito Bros. "Gilded Palace Of Sin" whoops the pants off the originals it was hard panned stereo, this is properly mixed finally

Anything Analogue Productions does is quality, and they hit some pretty big titles but they are $50 a pop and double 45 rpm

 

so it depends on what your wallet can handle but there is a wealth of great reissues some comprable or even better sounding than original pressings

 

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10 hours ago, NapalmBrain said:

Jimi Hendrix - Legacy reissues ($15-40 depends on the release but the albums are all cheap)

Black Sabbath - recent colored reissues ($22ish each, avoid vol. 4 they used a crappy tape source)

On what planet is $40 considered "cheap" for a new record?

Please explain this "crappy tape source." Like a consumer grade cassette that they cut the lacquer from?

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1 minute ago, mcpherson123 said:

On what planet is $40 considered "cheap" for a new record?

Please explain this "crappy tape source." Like a consumer grade cassette that they cut the lacquer from?

to clarify the 3 studio albums are cheap but he has releases that reach $40, some higher for boxes

 

don't really want to skim that many pages for the exact problem but it seems it was the only one not sounding right, but the deluxe edition apparently is ok

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/black-sabbath-color-vinyl-180g-us-reissues-august-5-2016.559347/page-18

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11 hours ago, Highlite23 said:

I did a search and came up with nothing, so my apologies if the topic is out there somewhere.

 

My question needs a bit of backstory, I'm not new to vinyl collecting, but when I started collecting about 40 years ago I would just go buy Dark Side of the Moon at Tower Records. About 25 years ago my collection was sold off at a garage sale because my wife was tired of kicking around my crates and we were about to start a family. Now 25 years later I can't go rebuild my collection with the albums of the past by just going out to my local record store and buying a "New" copy. I have no problem with purchasing used albums, I've been a collector of one thing or another a long time and understand scarcity, condition and demand bringing a premium. Where I'm a bit lost is with reissues and new pressings. 

 

From what I understand the biggest snag is the source material, was it pressed from the original masters or from a CD. When I go to sites like Sound Stage Direct some listing just say "reissue" while others specify the reissue is from the master. Does that mean the reissue isn't from the original master? My biggest concern is sound quality, I can live with a slightly worn sleeve or inner sleeve, but I don't want to sacrifice sound quality if at all possible. I've never heard what a pressing from a CD sounds like, but I know myself well enough to know if the sound is "off" it will make me nuts. 

 

So is there a reliable source for new pressings that aren't from CD's? Do I just need to do my homework per album to insure they're from the original masters? Or am I better off hanging around Discogs and waiting for a decent quality "Original" to pop up at a acceptable price? 

 

One other side question, is there a cut off per say in what would still be from masters even if it isn't stated? Meaning, Perter Gabriels So album for instance, yes it's 30 years old, but relatively "Modern" compared to the Beatles Revolver. 

 

Thanks in advance for your wisdom and help :)

My advice is: if an album was released before 1988 by a larger than life band (Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, The Beatles, etc.) look for nice copies of presses that pre-date 1988. I wouldn't touch any of those bands reissues with a ten foot poll. Zeppelin's are all digitally sourced, The Beatles are mostly digitally sourced except for maybe the mono copies (if I'm remembering correctly) and the Floyd reissues, I don't know how they're sourced but they're so insultingly expensive I refuse to touch them.

 

Do a bit of digging both online and at local resale shops and find really pretty  and reasonably priced copies of those classics that pre-date the 90's unless you're finding the Classic Records label stuff on which prices will be through the roof anyway. I love all my older pressings of all those bands (I have no Beatles) so much and mostly because they sound awesome and I know they were produced correctly from original multitrack tapes and analog stereo masters. I refuse to buy a record that was recorded and mastered in the analog realm that was transferred to digital and recut for vinyl. Makes me sick to think about it.

3 minutes ago, NapalmBrain said:

to clarify the 3 studio albums are cheap but he has releases that reach $40, some higher for boxes

 

don't really want to skim that many pages for the exact problem but it seems it was the only one not sounding right, but the deluxe edition apparently is ok

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/black-sabbath-color-vinyl-180g-us-reissues-august-5-2016.559347/page-18

Thanks for the clarification and the link.

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12 minutes ago, mcpherson123 said:

My advice is: if an album was released before 1988 by a larger than life band (Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, The Beatles, etc.) look for nice copies of presses that pre-date 1988. I wouldn't touch any of those bands reissues with a ten foot poll. Zeppelin's are all digitally sourced, The Beatles are mostly digitally sourced except for maybe the mono copies (if I'm remembering correctly) and the Floyd reissues, I don't know how they're sourced but they're so insultingly expensive I refuse to touch them.

 

 

Fair points, and there are lots of "analog purists" out there.... They'd rather get a 1980s reissue (cut from a substandard master by engineers who don't care and pressed on cheap noisy vinyl) rather than a new reissue (cut by the best guys in the business on premium vinyl) because the 80s version is "analog" and the new reissue is "digitally sourced." Doesn't mean it will sound better though.

To cite a few specifics:

--The best Zeppelin cuts are the original UKs (which will run you $50+ for VG copies) along with the RL of LZII (which will cost you $150 for a non-noisy copy). Or you can try the all-analog Classics (OOP, about $150 apiece). The new reissues are cut from hi-rez digital, but they sound very good and DEAD quiet. (Definitely better than my non-RL US originals from the 70s.) If you don't have a $10,000 system, you probably won't notice the difference.

--The Pink Floyd reissues are also cut from hi-rez digital and, according to audiophiles, come very close to the original UKs (although opinions differ). They will run you less than $20 new. A mint UK of Piper or DSOTM will run you at least $100. Your call. (FYI I did not buy The Wall because I scored a mint US copy years ago for $10, and I have a Japanese Meddle from the 1970s that sounds amazing... although that will now cost you triple what the reissue does).

--The Beatles mono reissues are AAA, sell for $20 apiece, and will blow away any Beatles original press you have, barring the original UKs that now go for $150+. They will definitely smoke the inferior US Capitol pressings. This is really a no-brainer.

--The Hendrix reissues are AAA as well (at least the three studio albums) so again, a no-brainer.

--The Beach Boys reissues on AP are also AAA. The Rhino reissue of Rumours is AAA, cut by Kevin Gray & Hoffman, and sounds amazing too.

--The new Kinks reissues are also AAA.

--The new batch of Tom Petty reissues coming out (box sets but individual titles soon) are also AAA and sound awesome.

 

--Stay away from the Queen reissues, which are digitally sourced but actually SOUND that way.

--The Bowie records are mixed. Ziggy is AAA and sounds better than anything but the best UK cuts. The Man Who Sold The World is digital but still beats most originals. The rest will be inferior to the best UK pressings. (But again, you will not be able to find any original UK Bowie in mint condition for under $40 anymore.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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If you are truly seeking out the best available pressing of a certain album (especially 60s-80s) then I suggest you check out www.stevehoffman.tv Without a doubt, they will help you with whatever you are looking for.

 

As far as DSotM goes, it all depends on how much you want to spend. I have 7 different masters of it on vinyl, and I prefer the UK quad played through in stereo, next up I'd probably say would be the original MFSL press, (not the one with italic letters).

I'm not sure how anyone can say most recent presses sound as good as the  original AAA recordings. Not even close, 95% of the time. I'm not saying that's always the case, but almost always I've found that a AAA recording will sound better than digital (YMMV depending what you have for a setup). Also new vinyl is usually pressed with recycled vinyl, which is not superior to the vinyl of the 60s etc. Some of my most quiet records are 70s Dynaflex etc, and they are just 110grams or so. Don't let the marketing reps fool you.

 

The recent PF reissues I can vouch for, all cut by Bernie Grundman. I ended up buying most to compare to the originals (UK, German, US, Quad, etc). The BG issues sound incredible,but there are better available, just not at that cheap of a price. $20 a piece is tough to beat when they sound that good!

 

Most of the others mentioned above  by filthyrich I can vouch for as well.

 

The Tom Petty box sounds AMAZING. Better than I even hoped. Wallflowers and She's the One blow me away, as do the others in the box.

 

 

Also, when reading the hype stickers, they can be worded tricky. "Cut from original master tape" usually means a digital transfer of the original tapes were emailed for mastering. These are not AAA, and they will have digital in the chain, if that's the type of thing you are trying to avoid.

 

 

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On 5/24/2017 at 8:20 PM, Highlite23 said:

I did a search and came up with nothing, so my apologies if the topic is out there somewhere.

 

My question needs a bit of backstory, I'm not new to vinyl collecting, but when I started collecting about 40 years ago I would just go buy Dark Side of the Moon at Tower Records. About 25 years ago my collection was sold off at a garage sale because my wife was tired of kicking around my crates and we were about to start a family. Now 25 years later I can't go rebuild my collection with the albums of the past by just going out to my local record store and buying a "New" copy. I have no problem with purchasing used albums, I've been a collector of one thing or another a long time and understand scarcity, condition and demand bringing a premium. Where I'm a bit lost is with reissues and new pressings. 

 

From what I understand the biggest snag is the source material, was it pressed from the original masters or from a CD. When I go to sites like Sound Stage Direct some listing just say "reissue" while others specify the reissue is from the master. Does that mean the reissue isn't from the original master? My biggest concern is sound quality, I can live with a slightly worn sleeve or inner sleeve, but I don't want to sacrifice sound quality if at all possible. I've never heard what a pressing from a CD sounds like, but I know myself well enough to know if the sound is "off" it will make me nuts. 

 

So is there a reliable source for new pressings that aren't from CD's? Do I just need to do my homework per album to insure they're from the original masters? Or am I better off hanging around Discogs and waiting for a decent quality "Original" to pop up at a acceptable price? 

 

One other side question, is there a cut off per say in what would still be from masters even if it isn't stated? Meaning, Perter Gabriels So album for instance, yes it's 30 years old, but relatively "Modern" compared to the Beatles Revolver. 

 

Thanks in advance for your wisdom and help :)

Not necessarily advice for you on x vs. y, but if you are looking to snag some older stuff, definitely keep an eye out at thrift stores if it's something you're holding off on due to price. It's certainly not as common as it used to be, but I've managed to grab a whole bunch of nice, older pressings of some of the big 60s/70s bands for pennies on the dollar.

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I really want to thank all of you who offered up constructive feedback. I'm only about 6 albums into rebuilding my collection, some from ebay, some from a local record shop and a couple from Discogs. So far pleased with all of them, prices were fair, condition was spot on or better....IMO. Since I'm pretty open to new music and artists I also decided to give VMP a go and see what comes of it. 

Hopefully members continue to add their opinions and suggestions to this topic and maybe it will help other noob/lurkers on their search. 

Thanks again :)

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