Direct Metal Mastered Masterpieces

[Angsty]

In an earlier post, I shared my surprise that a record I picked up turned out to be unexpectedly clear and clean due to the Direct Metal Mastering process:

I was shocked by the clarity and quality of this BGP pressing tonight: Art Blakey - “Buhania”

View attachment 109485

The jacket notes that this was “direct metal mastered from digital tapes”. After looking up
the process on Wikipedia, I could see why the sound was so good. This could easily ascend to near the top of my current favorites! Will be looking up more from BGP Records!

It turns out that several of the titles in my collection have benefited from direct metal mastering. Almost all of them I have were produced by WaxTime.

After a brief search of this site, I have found several other references to DMM. What are some of the DMM favorites in your collection?

 

[dansomeone]

Rush - Moving Pictures, sounds fantastic.

Rush - Moving Pictures

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2019 Vinyl release of "Moving Pictures" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

 

[Colonel4Bin]

I have this one and love it. May test it against the BN Classic version if I purchase it but don’t feel like I need to with how good this sounds.

Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1985 Vinyl release of "Somethin' Else" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

 

[Vinyl&Kicks86]

Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1988 Vinyl release of "Tracy Chapman" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

Tracy Chapman self-titled '88 LP sounds amazing and it's a DMM.

 

[mitchwagz]

I’ll second Tracy Chapman, also The Dead’s In The Dark:

Grateful Dead - In The Dark

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1987 Vinyl release of "In The Dark" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

 

[waruv]

I'll third Tracy Chapman, specifically her S/T but Crossroads is pretty solid too.

I'll also say Whitney is good as well, though Whitney can't really sound too bad.

Whitney Houston - Whitney

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1987 Vinyl release of "Whitney" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

 

[mitchwagz]

I'll third Tracy Chapman, specifically her S/T but Crossroads is pretty solid too.

I'll also say Whitney is good as well, though Whitney can't really sound too bad.

Whitney Houston - Whitney

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1987 Vinyl release of "Whitney" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

Similarish to that, Madonna’s Like A Prayer is quite good too. Bob Ludwig master. Plus the OG has essential oils mixed in with the ink on the inner sleeve and it surprisingly still has the smell to this day

 

[Angsty]

I’ll add another favorite to the list: Shelly Manne “2-3-4”. I was very happy to have found this one new and unused.

Shelly Manne - 2-3-4

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2013 Vinyl release of "2-3-4" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

 

[AnthonyI]

Rush - Moving Pictures, sounds fantastic.

Rush - Moving Pictures

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2019 Vinyl release of "Moving Pictures" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

This applies to the 2015 DMM Remasters as well, I have these and they sound fantastic

Rush - 2112

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2015 Vinyl release of "2112" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

Rush - Fly By Night

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2015 Vinyl release of "Fly By Night" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

Rush - Moving Pictures

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2015 Vinyl release of "Moving Pictures" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

Rush - Permanent Waves

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2015 Vinyl release of "Permanent Waves" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

 

[JohnnyCashFan]

Ive had a few of the jazz releases over the years but they were always bit thin and bright for my ears tbh so got traded in once replaced.

 

[Colonel4Bin]

Rush - Fly By Night

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2015 Vinyl release of "Fly By Night" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

I have this one and it’s fantastic.

 

[bettim84]

Ive had a few of the jazz releases over the years but they were always bit thin and bright for my ears tbh so got traded in once replaced.

DMM Jazz has been hit or miss for me. I have an excellent 80s DMM pressing of Wayne Shorter’s Juju… but I was also happy to trade away a DMM Coltrane that had the exact problem you described (tinny, bright sound).

 

[mitchwagz]

DMM Jazz has been hit or miss for me. I have an excellent 80s DMM pressing of Wayne Shorter’s Juju… but I was also happy to trade away a DMM Coltrane that had the exact problem you described (tinny, bright sound).

I used to have a handful of those DMM Blue Notes and they were alright. I had Juju and once I found a Van Gelder earlier pressing I got rid of it. The earlier pressing was much better. Generally bright and thin like what has been mentioned but not horrible.

 

[JohnnyCashFan]

I used to have a handful of those DMM Blue Notes and they were alright. I had Juju and once I found a Van Gelder earlier pressing I got rid of it. The earlier pressing was much better. Generally bright and thin like what has been mentioned but not horrible.

I think it was probbaly a marketing thing to help in some way try keep up with early cd/digital when vinyl fell off the face of the earth.

 

[Angsty]

Just arrived today is a copy of “Kelly at Midnite” by the Wynton Kelly Trio. It sports the “Jazz Classics” red, white and black sticker but does NOT appear to be DMM. The rear says it is produced by “Jazz Wax Records” not WaxTime.

I’ll give it a spin tonight to hear how it sounds. The point for this thread is that not all red and black stickered “Jazz Classics” are DMM by WaxTime.

 

[Lee Newman]

Just for general purposes, Wax Time appears to be a grey label.

 

[Angsty]

DMM Jazz has been hit or miss for me. I have an excellent 80s DMM pressing of Wayne Shorter’s Juju… but I was also happy to trade away a DMM Coltrane that had the exact problem you described (tinny, bright sound).

When I did a Google search on “DMM Blue Note”, I found lots of discussions out there I was previously unaware of.

I’d summarize what I found to say that DMM is a process that can lead to great fidelity, but there’s more to manufacturing a great record than just the mastering process itself.

 

[Angsty]

Just for general purposes, Wax Time appears to be a grey label.

I’m still less than 300 albums into my analog journey; please do tell me more.

 

[mitchwagz]

Just for general purposes, Wax Time appears to be a grey label.

Yeah they definitely are. Sun Ra’s Jazz in Silhouette is on that label I believe and is DMM I think. It sounds really quite good. I’ll never be able to afford an OG and the Impulse reissue is pretty unaffordable as well so that’s the one the majority are stuck with. I normally stay far away from labels like that though.

 

[Lee Newman]

I’m still less than 300 albums into my analog journey; please do tell me more.

Grey labels are European labels that use the different copyright rules in other countries to release material without paying out to the labels/estates/artists responsible for the material.