Definitive Audiophile pressings

Turbo said:
Did anyone ever pick-up the Jaco Pastorius Rhino Hifi? Just curious about it. Was thinking about getting it just based on the strength of the other Rhino Hifi's, but it never showed up at Warner Canada. So that's saving me from myself I guess.
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I want it too, but have held off since it doesn't seem like it'll be a quick seller.
 
Lee Newman said:
All I’m saying is John Davis did the last reissue. They could get someone who knows what they are doing to recut it and still use Page’s masters. It’s not like Page cut that last round, he just remastered the tapes. Let someone worth a damn at the lathe.
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I use cut and remaster interchangeably/loosely.
I know they are technically different.

FYI current list of the 75th releases.

Atlantic '75 | Rhino Media

ATLANTIC CELEBRATES 75th ANNIVERSARY WITH YEAR-LONG VINYL CAMPAIGN, REMIXES, AND LIMITED-EDITION MERCHANDISE CAPSULE
media.rhino.com media.rhino.com
 
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Turbo said:
So that White Stripes UHQR. I saw the reviews and thought my copy was good enough (a 2013 TMR pressed by NRP). So I played my old copy last week and frankly, it's bad. The master is "ok" but as would be expected from NRP, it's filled with noise. I didn't remember it was that mediocre. So I did a thing without thinking much. Very spur of the moment. Regretted it for a bit, because how much better can a garage rock record sound anyway?

It showed up yesterday, and holy shit. Seriously, this UHQR is insanely good. RKS completely nailed the cut. The presentation has more clarity, detail and dynamics without losing sight that this is a rock album. And it rocks. The baselines are deep. Damn. That Hammond B3 pedal bass on Cold Cold Night... I love this record.

Anyway, I'm fully aware this is a YMMV thing because of cost. And fuck Chad. But if you're on the fence, you know who you are, and I don't think you'll regret.

Also, if the 45rpm business is giving you pause, well, let's just call it a bullshit knee jerk reaction in this case. The original 33rpm LP is a double and the 45 rpm sequencing of the UHQR is identical to that, with the same tracks on the same sides as the original pressings. So same flipping as you'd do with a 33rpm copy. I don't know what kind of voodoo was done to fit everything the same, but it sure didn't hurt the sound.
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DAMN IT!

I did not need this information!

I have the 2008 repress of the original uk elephant shit paper one with alternative cover and I always thought that I liked how it sounded. And then this both seems like a ridiculous idea (audiophile garage rock) and intrigues me in equal amounts.

I must not do this. I must exercise fiscal restraint…
 
Joe Mac said:
DAMN IT!

I did not need this information!

I have the 2008 repress of the original uk elephant shit paper one with alternative cover and I always thought that I liked how it sounded. And then this both seems like a ridiculous idea (audiophile garage rock) and intrigues me in equal amounts.

I must not do this. I must exercise fiscal restraint…
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I probably should have posted that under a spoiler tag.
 
Joe Mac said:
Nah I’d have looked anyway 😂

I might revisit this in the new year if the finances allow and it’s still around. Pity old slow vape and his insane prices and stupid flat rate shipping are the only show in town…
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The real gem is probably the RKS cut. Maybe there will be a "standard" copy on black vinyl (I say "standard" here, but we're talking about Chad so a standard 2x45 copy would still be three figures or close in Canada)?
 
Turbo said:
The real gem is probably the RKS cut. Maybe there will be a "standard" copy on black vinyl (I say "standard" here, but we're talking about Chad so a standard 2x45 copy would still be three figures or close in Canada).
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Oh yeah totally. All the fuck chad pressings are horribly priced. In some ways I’d rather pay €200 for this than €100 for a plain 2x45 because it’ll be a nice thing to own and likely hold its value better as well!i
 
Joe Mac said:
Oh yeah totally. All the fuck chad pressings are horribly priced. In some ways I’d rather pay €200 for this than €100 for a plain 2x45 because it’ll be a nice thing to own and likely hold its value better as well!i
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Yeah absolutely no regrets owning this now after hearing it. White Stripes stuff does tend to hold value, especially when it sounds good (*cough* I'm looking at you Jack White live Vaults *cough*). They pressed 10,000 of these so there's a good chance it'll at least stick around until the holidays.
 
On a completely different note, also got the island Tom Waits records in. Rain Dogs is incredibly disappointing. It sounds dead, flat and lifeless. It’s also cut suuuuper quiet. I have to crank my knob past 12:00 to get the volume to sound similar to the og that’s at 9:00. I have no idea what happened but I was at least hoping it would be close to the OG I have. It’s not. Hoping others are happy with their copies since it’s such a hard record to find, but it doesn’t compare to the original unfortunately.

I’ll have to compare my originals of Swordfishtrombones and Franks Wild Years to the new copies but I’m not hopeful. I only have a CD of Bone Machine but I’m spinning that vinyl reissue right now and I have the same feeling as Rain Dogs (though less of a disappointment than Rain Dogs). No direct comparison for Black Rider. Pressings are also a little noisy too which sucks.

Reading grumblings online, I guess the digital versions actually sound great but the vinyl doesn’t. Not sure how that’s possible.
 
mitchwagz said:
On a completely different note, also got the island Tom Waits records in. Rain Dogs is incredibly disappointing. It sounds dead, flat and lifeless. It’s also cut suuuuper quiet. I have to crank my knob past 12:00 to get the volume to sound similar to the og that’s at 9:00. I have no idea what happened but I was at least hoping it would be close to the OG I have. It’s not. Hoping others are happy with their copies since it’s such a hard record to find, but it doesn’t compare to the original unfortunately.

I’ll have to compare my originals of Swordfishtrombones and Franks Wild Years to the new copies but I’m not hopeful. I only have a CD of Bone Machine but I’m spinning that vinyl reissue right now and I have the same feeling as Rain Dogs (though less of a disappointment than Rain Dogs). No direct comparison for Black Rider. Pressings are also a little noisy too which sucks.

Reading grumblings online, I guess the digital versions actually sound great but the vinyl doesn’t. Not sure how that’s possible.
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Island is NOT GOOD AT VINYL
 
mitchwagz said:
On a completely different note, also got the island Tom Waits records in. Rain Dogs is incredibly disappointing. It sounds dead, flat and lifeless. It’s also cut suuuuper quiet. I have to crank my knob past 12:00 to get the volume to sound similar to the og that’s at 9:00. I have no idea what happened but I was at least hoping it would be close to the OG I have. It’s not. Hoping others are happy with their copies since it’s such a hard record to find, but it doesn’t compare to the original unfortunately.

I’ll have to compare my originals of Swordfishtrombones and Franks Wild Years to the new copies but I’m not hopeful. I only have a CD of Bone Machine but I’m spinning that vinyl reissue right now and I have the same feeling as Rain Dogs (though less of a disappointment than Rain Dogs). No direct comparison for Black Rider. Pressings are also a little noisy too which sucks.

Reading grumblings online, I guess the digital versions actually sound great but the vinyl doesn’t. Not sure how that’s possible.
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It’s too much music squeezed onto one disc. It always has been. Too much music squeezed on is always going to be quieter and thinner. I don’t think there’s much that can be done in pressing or mastering to overly alleviate it and it’s always been on just the one disc for whatever reason.

After the awful mixes and presses for asylum years ones I’ve actually been pleasantly surprised by these five, the records do need thoroughly cleaning though because those printed inners have made them dirty.
 
mitchwagz said:
On a completely different note, also got the island Tom Waits records in. Rain Dogs is incredibly disappointing. It sounds dead, flat and lifeless. It’s also cut suuuuper quiet. I have to crank my knob past 12:00 to get the volume to sound similar to the og that’s at 9:00. I have no idea what happened but I was at least hoping it would be close to the OG I have. It’s not. Hoping others are happy with their copies since it’s such a hard record to find, but it doesn’t compare to the original unfortunately.

I’ll have to compare my originals of Swordfishtrombones and Franks Wild Years to the new copies but I’m not hopeful. I only have a CD of Bone Machine but I’m spinning that vinyl reissue right now and I have the same feeling as Rain Dogs (though less of a disappointment than Rain Dogs). No direct comparison for Black Rider. Pressings are also a little noisy too which sucks.

Reading grumblings online, I guess the digital versions actually sound great but the vinyl doesn’t. Not sure how that’s possible.
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Yup my feeling as well. Not sure I would call it lifeless but very flat and quiet sounding. Also flat and quiet physically. This is one I really wish they had spread the album over 3 or 4 sides.
 
mitchwagz said:
On a completely different note, also got the island Tom Waits records in. Rain Dogs is incredibly disappointing. It sounds dead, flat and lifeless. It’s also cut suuuuper quiet. I have to crank my knob past 12:00 to get the volume to sound similar to the og that’s at 9:00. I have no idea what happened but I was at least hoping it would be close to the OG I have. It’s not. Hoping others are happy with their copies since it’s such a hard record to find, but it doesn’t compare to the original unfortunately.

I’ll have to compare my originals of Swordfishtrombones and Franks Wild Years to the new copies but I’m not hopeful. I only have a CD of Bone Machine but I’m spinning that vinyl reissue right now and I have the same feeling as Rain Dogs (though less of a disappointment than Rain Dogs). No direct comparison for Black Rider. Pressings are also a little noisy too which sucks.

Reading grumblings online, I guess the digital versions actually sound great but the vinyl doesn’t. Not sure how that’s possible.
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I have a japanese original pressing of Rain Dogs and it's not great either. It's the only Island japanese I have - the other three are Asylum and those are fantastic. Anyway, the japanese vinyl is great as always, but the sound is flat and lifeless on this one too. I wonder if this is a problem with this album? I don't have any more suggesting there is something particular about this one, but I wonder now.
 
Turbo said:
makes sense, it's probably that.
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Yeah around 18 minutes is ideal for a side of vinyl, maybe up to 20 at a push.

Being a 54 minute album on 2 sides it’s going to way beyond that. Narrower grooves are quieter and pressed with less bass to aid tracking.

I do have another album that’s 70 minutes over 2 sides. I have to almost double the number on my volume control compared to a normal pressing to make it worth listening to.
 
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jamieanderson1968 said:
I have a hi-res vinyl rip of a US OG. The OG punches better on the low end, drums sound better. On Walking Spanish and Downtown train the sound stage on the vinyl rip is superior.
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Yeah I have a US OG stop and it really sounds quite good imo all things considered. This new one just doesn’t match it at all. Like I said though, Swordfish and Franks are pretty darn close sound wise to the OGs. I don’t have a great comparison for Bone Machine, but the OG CD always sounded great, this vinyl version isn’t quite as good as the CD just switching back and forth trying to compare. It’s not that bad though and it’s nice to have on vinyl. It is a missed opportunity for sure with regards to Rain Dogs and Bone Machine in that they could have put out a definitive version. I have no doubt spreading it over three or four sides would tremendously help but that seems like a pipe dream now. I would’ve spent a lot of dough on an audiophile treatment of all his albums but I really don’t think any of the reissues are worth it.
 
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