New pressings suck?
108.180.220.12 |
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| Posted on April 15, 2017 at 18:16:11 | ||
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Posts: 1523
Joined: March 31, 2010 |
Yesterday I experienced a bit of a shock. I purchased a brand new, sealed LP "Abbey Road" by the Beatles. It is a 2012 180 gram pressing from the 2009 remastered source. The outer shrink wrap had a label "Made in Germany", which, to my mind, spells quality. I washed the new LP, vacuumed it, rinsed it with distilled water, vacuumed again, and then sat down for a listen, expecting to be blown away. Hmmm, for some reason the LP sounds kind of dull. Muddy, murky. Yes, the bass is voluminous, deep and strong, but where is the sparkle? OK, maybe I'm imagining things. I pulled my old scratchy Abbey Road copy, the one I bought many moons ago on a garage sale, simply for the iconic cover. I put that sorry old beater of an LP on, and my jaw dropped on the floor -- this old LP sounds so superior compared to the brand new remaster, that it is simply unreal! How can this be? The bass is much deeper, much stronger, the highs are crystal clear, the entire sound is so much livelier. Yes, the record is horribly scratched, was obviously badly abused in its previous life, but nevertheless it still sounds brilliant. This made me wonder: is it perhaps true that all the good pressing plants are now history, that even in Germany one cannot get a decent LP pressed anymore? Or is this wimpy pale sound caused by the digital source -- the remaster used for cutting the LP is a digital remaster from 2009? Any ideas?
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| Its not the pressing plants..., posted on April 16, 2017 at 02:54:29 | |
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Posts: 6828
Location: Glen Burnie, MD USA Joined: December 18, 2003 |
Most likely, the quality of the master tape has deteriorated. If you want pressings of old LPs that were mastered from analog stereo masters, there is a weakness. Each time the master tape is hung up on the playback deck and played back to cut another lacquer, the tape degrades slightly. The use of the tape plus the age of the analog master makes for a master tape that becomes duller and loses the "reality" of the sound. If the master tape in question is digital, your have other issues. If the digital master was a copy of an analog master, the condition of the analog master when the digital copy was made is captured on the digital copy. Also, the digital master tape degrades over time too. A digital tape can suffer from drop outs where the sound hits gaps. Tape playback is not perfect and the quality of the master tape is dependent on the type of tape used (some formulations age better than others) and how the tape is stored. Many times a LP is cut from a copy of the original stereo master tape because the original master is not available to the mastering facility. Subsequent copies of a master tape sound duller too. Beatles master tapes are ones that are carefully guarded and it would seem that mastering by Abbey Road studios would indicate that they used the original master tapes. I would check to see what they used in the mastering and then the LP can indicate what kind of condition the tape is in. The original pressing of any LP is usually the best pressing available. There are exceptions so this is a guideline not a rule. If you can get to a used LP store and do some digging you can be rewarded. Before you go to the store, know what LPs you are looking for and do some research as to what the deadwax says on the original pressings. Look for the oldest pressing of the LP you are looking for that is in good condition. Yes, I agree with you that the old scratchy sounding LPs have much better sound lying in the grooves. The trick is to find one in decent condition. LPs can degrade over time but do not degrade the way tapes do. If a LP is taken care of and the playback gear is maintained well, the LP can last many lifetimes. Vinyl is a very resilient medium that last almost forever. If you find an original or something that was pressed from an original master tape many years ago, you will likely get rewarded with better sound. Just remember that LP manufacturing is a business and the quality of the sound is not always an important factor in making another copy of the LP. Poor quality master tapes and amateur mastering can make for a lousy pressing. Finding a pressing that was made long ago can be a real ear opener. Good luck finding a good quality original, Ed Life is analog...digital is just samples thereof
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| RE: have you heard it?, posted on April 16, 2017 at 20:53:12 | |
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I have several different pressings. UK, French, US and the MoFi. My preference is the MoFi. -Steve
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| Agree! (nt), posted on April 16, 2017 at 21:19:02 | |
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Posts: 14371
Location: East Coast Joined: October 4, 2001 |
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| A Japanese pressing will give the MoFi a run for it's money. /nt, posted on April 17, 2017 at 04:29:43 | |
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Posts: 7527
Location: Portland, Oregon Joined: January 27, 2002 |
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| Agreed..., posted on April 17, 2017 at 04:29:45 | |
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Posts: 6828
Location: Glen Burnie, MD USA Joined: December 18, 2003 |
I also have several pressings of Abbey Road. My original 1st UK pressing is the best sonically but it is not in great condition. You can still hear the superior sonics but its not a great listen with the poor condition of the LP. The MoFi is a very good pressing. I don't know how it could be considered a bright pressing. It is not bright IMO. I currently have the UK 1st pressing, the UK blue box pressing and the MoFi. I believe that I have another in a pile of used LPs I have not gone through yet but I cannot say which pressing it is or how it sounds. Ed Life is analog...digital is just samples thereof
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| The MoFi is a Japanese pressing...nt, posted on April 17, 2017 at 04:33:57 | |
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Posts: 6828
Location: Glen Burnie, MD USA Joined: December 18, 2003 |
nt
Life is analog...digital is just samples thereof
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| That's the one. /nt, posted on April 17, 2017 at 06:37:00 | |
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Posts: 7527
Location: Portland, Oregon Joined: January 27, 2002 |
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| RE: That's the one. /nt, posted on April 17, 2017 at 15:36:21 | |
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Posts: 576
Location: Cork, Ireland Joined: June 4, 2007 |
That is the one I have too!
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| It's a good one, eh?, posted on April 18, 2017 at 05:52:28 | |
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Posts: 7527
Location: Portland, Oregon Joined: January 27, 2002 |
I like the way it sounds. Punchy.
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| +1 on the purple large logo label, posted on April 18, 2017 at 07:26:58 | |
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Posts: 7527
Location: Portland, Oregon Joined: January 27, 2002 |
I have several of those and they sound good.
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| ditto nt, posted on April 24, 2017 at 20:49:29 | |
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Posts: 215
Joined: March 2, 2008 |
nt
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