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Hi,Anyone have experience with Japanese Blue Notes, Prestiges, Bethlehems etc?
How do they compare with the "standard" reissues?
Follow Ups:
...there have been about 17 different pressing runs of japanese blue note titles, alone, spanning over 30 years. generally speaking, the vinyl is clean (not noisy).of course, the specific japanese pressing matters, but as a general rule the japanese vinyl does sound quite good and is easier to find in top condition. better than originals? no, not really. if you hear them side-by-side in comparable condition, you will hear why originals are 'better' -- but if you never hear the original you probably won't know the difference. also, if you are attempting to find originals in top condition, you will pay 3-20 times as much as you would for a japanese pressing of the same material.
I own several hundred Japan pressed LPs, "King" presses being the best, Toshiba-EMI, Victor, et. al. have v. v. few clunkers regardless of year of manufactureJapan is the only country thats ever drafted a production standard into industrial law (JIS, Japan Industial Standards) for vinyl production; since around 1971 the "JIS" mark will appear in the dead wax, except on those Jazz reissues where the manufacturer has been so anal about reproducing the look of the original cover and center label that this will have been ommitted
If you can find a Tina Brooks "True Blue" you'll pay US$2,500 and up in decent condition, a Japanese release ( and there are several ) maybe $60-$70 and will be NM-
Grins
...but some japanese BN vinyl has been digitally mastered (and actually still sounds good).for every record like true blue (US2,500 for an original, as grins points out), there are originals where the original costs the same as (or less than) the japanese copy. yes, these are often for the 4200 or 4300 series.
much of the BN LT series was issued first in japan; you'll pay $100-200 for it sometimes as a japanese release... but they're quite inexpensive (when you find them) as US releases.
My brother lives there; I visited him several times over the last few years. I found shelves of Blue Note CDs in stores (even dept stores), many of them not issued in North America. The big Tower Records in Tokyo had an entire floor just for jazz and world music. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. I wasn't into vinyl at the time, so didn't look for it (plus it's more difficult to get home).I've somewhat jokingly talked of going back for a few days just for CD and record buying. It's a great place to visit, and not that expensive. (I think Vancouver is more expensive these days.) New Blue Note CDs there were about 1500 yen, or about CDN$15. I'll happily guide anyone who wants to pay my way...
:-)
that would make sense
Tower Records are still going strong in Japan, and there are Disc Union stores for vinyl
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