Great sounding new vinyl

beatles love double lp has awesome sonics...best fidelity these songs have had and great mix for open minded music lovers

The new Classic Records "Clarity" vinyl seems to be very promising and superior to black vinyl. First title out is John Coltrane / Blue Train 4 single sided 45 RPM.
Has anyone heard it ?

Just bought Atlantic reissue of John Lewis & Sacha Distel reissue and sounds wonderful. I have been rarely disapointed with any Atlantic originals or reissues.

Me too. That's the thing about this. You learn more as you go. Now I pass up a lot of the ones I would have bought before.

I know about the markings but I bought many records before I found out about them.

You can't know for sure sure what you have until you clean it and play it but the information on the audio asylum thread can serve as a guide. None of it is a secret but the thread is a nice concise collection of useful information. For example, anything mastered at Sterling or Masterdisc by Robert Ludwig is worth checking out. But there are many others like KP(Ken Perry), LH(Lee Hulko), GK(Gilbert Kong). Discs mastered at Kendun(Mushroom's Dreamboat Annie for example)usually a good bet. I used to think The Eagles Long Run and The Guess Who's Greatest Vol 1 were good sounding discs until I found pristine copies that were flat sounding. Turns out the good ones I have bear the TML(M or S)stamp(The Mastering Lab)Same for James Taylor's JT. No guarantees, just other indicators along with early pressings, no barcodes and good condition. Look up the thread. It details more than I can.

are all records numberd how do you no your getting a good copy before the molds a getting wornout

Hevac1,
I'm a little embarrassed to say that I have never learned how to create these links. I just looked up the post on audio asylum though and it's still there. You may have more luck if you click on vinyl to get to the vinyl asylum first, then in the "text to find" box enter "Hot Stampers Secrets Revealed". Rwwear, look up this information and then re-examine these good copies you've found accidently. I'm guessing most of them bear one or more of these initials/marks. If so, you should be able to use some of this information to help you start having these happy "accidents" more often.

Sonofjim
I put in Hot Stampers Secrets Revealed and found nothing at Audio Asylum. Please add link to l;ocation.
Thanks

Also important to notice is the original Label the LP was recorded. For example the majority of Jazz recordings on Candid, Contemporary, Strata East are very good and so the reissues.

I agree Sonofjim. I have found some great sounding albums accidently.

I don't believe Hot Stampers are snake oil and I don't blame those who prefer to buy records that way. I do believe finding your own hot copies is easier and more fun than advertised. No record is guaranteed to sound good even if it has all the right markings but there are some tell-tale marks that will put you in the right ballpark most of the time. I won't detail all of this here nor do I claim to have all the answers. For those interested, a few of the things to look for in the dead wax have already been posted on audio asylum under the heading "Hot Stampers Secrets Revealed" No guarantees but time and time again when I pull out my favorite sounding copies I find one of these indicators. What I once thought was a random search has now taken on more of a pattern. It at least gives you some indication of which ones to bother with. Best of all, your local record store doesn't know the difference(or care) so won't charge any more for the good ones. Tom Port knows more about this than probably almost anyone and he'll find them for you if you want. It's not snake oil, more like a service.

good info

I bought a few hot stampers before the prices went through the roof and they can be amazing. The big problem with vinyl is the molds wear out and the early production copies sound better.

yeah man

Hot stampers sounds like snake oil for people with money to burn (unfortunately not me in this economy). I too love the thrill of the hunt. Some of my favorite finds have been at thrift stores.

sounds like you have the right plan hot stampers sound like just a nother way to say a good recording

The new Music Matters and Analog Productions 45 Blue Notes sound great.
The new 200 gram Japanese imports also sound very good.

Originals may or may not sound best but paying $200.00 plus for hot pressings especially for used records that are in an abundant is nuts in my opinion. Most systems sound different from one another. One system could have great midrange and treble but no bass. One could have great bass and midrange but bad treble. Buying an item because someone said they are hot stampers on their system is asking for trouble.

I have the most fun going into record store and purchasing used records between $1.00 & $8.00. Then finding my own hot stampers. It may take me weeks to play what I purchase but for the same $200.00 I can have 50 albums instead of one.

any one try better records hot stampers?

I purchased two new Blue Note LPs last week (the cheap $10, not the 45 RPM heavy vinyl) and had to return both. One (Hank Mobley Roll Call) was so warp I didn't even try and play it (I think the shrink was way too tight...as it is on all domestic pressings). The other (Cliff Jordan Cliff Craft) had two visible/audible scratches (brand new!!!) and so much surface noise that it was a distraction. Conversely I bought two 180 gram LPs, Mingus Pithecantropus and Willie Nelson's Reggae album, both of which sounded fine. Moral of the story, I will probably only buy new vinyl that is an audiophile pressing or from Sub Pop.

One record I did pick up an LP recently called Illinoise by Sufjan Stevens. It is an amazing pressing of an already amazing unique album (blows my CD copy away sonically). I highly recommend this LP. I wish all new non-audiophile pressings sounded this good.

Madfloyd,
Click on the first section, "All Vinyl". Scroll down and you'll find links to Recommended classical, rock, pop, and blues on heavy vinyl and even Audiophile recordings of special merit. You're right, he tends to hate most new vinyl but I find when he has anything at all good to say about a new release it proves to be one that's worth the trouble.

SonofJim,

Where on Better Records' site do you find new vinyl? It seems Tom poo poos every new release and only promotes the old stuff.

No, I haven't heard the Vanska recordings. I'll have to see if someone in our local audio group has any of them. Thanks for the recommendation. I don't think the Rajski performances replace any of my long time favorites, but they are refreshing, clean performances in good sound (and on vinyl!).

Have you heard any of Vanska's Beethoven? These are not available on Vinyl, but the SACD's are very good...and the performances are even better. ..just my thoughts

Here's some great new and available vinyl that I've been listening to over the past two weeks:

"Percussion Direct" from Groove Note (AGRN 1041) is very good.

"Little Johnny C" - Johnny Coles - Music Matters Blue Note reissue

The ongoing Beethoven symphony cycle by Kajski and the Polish Chamber Philharmonic Ordestra on the Tacet label continues to be very good. They now have out symphonies 1 & 2, 7, and 5.

The new ZZ Top reissue of "Tres Hombres" from Rhino via the mastering team of Hoffman and Gray.
.

Sorry,
Also meant to say that, although the Classic is getting out of reach for FBR, keep your eyes open for the Cypress. My last two NM copies were $11 and $6, both quite good.

J,

It's easy for people to become jaded toward new vinyl issues after being bitten a few times. It doesn't help that magazine reviewers gush about almost everything they hear. That's why I would steer you toward the Better Records site for recs on new vinyl. The "Hot Stampers" are high priced and probably overhyped but Tom is not afraid to stand up and call a spade a spade. If it doesn't sound good, he'll trash it. Conversely, if he recommends it, you can bet there's something behind it. I buy most of my new releases from him just because I appreciate his honesty.

The recently released Pretenders "Break up the Concrete" is among the year's best rock albums(two 10" 33RPM LPs with CD.) Wide ranging original material feels at turns like Dylan's Highway 61, Lucinda, Janis, Grateful Dead, and british blues like some of Clapton's better material. Some songs are multitracked; others have a great live-in-the-studio sound. Chrissie Hynde has grown considerably as a song writer but her voice is untouched by time. Sonically excellent, though one side had excessive surface noise.

The included CD allows close comparison of RBCD to vinyl. With good front ends, it's remarkable how close the two mediums sound-- with the edge going to the vinyl, of course.

Dear Sonofjim, the Cypress and Classic pressings beeing out of print, they are not "new vinyl" releases anymore and price is out of reach now.
Thanks for inspiring me starting this thread, but I am quite surprised that so few of our vinylphiles friends here want to share their musical treasures...

Thanks for the info. Do you have any other pressings to compare it with?

famousblueraincoat / Jennifer Warnes Cisco 3 x 45 RPM arrived . I can tell you that this is a great sounding album, no surface noise, very well mastered absolutely no defect on any of the 3 LP's. Awesome packaging. Price justified.
Another one: John Heard & Co / The Jazz Composer's Songbook / Classic records

Like I said, I'm interested to hear if this release cuts the mustard(audiofeil, you can quote that too if you want). I knew it would be out soon and was interested to see what the early buzz on it is.

My copy has been shipped (and I didn't preorder it) so I imagine many must have theirs already.

I know someone that actually has a copy.

Making money disappear isn't magic. The @ssholes in Washington and NY are doing that at an alarming rate, and I would call it criminal, not magic.

But anyway, there are some test pressing of the new 45rpm FBR out in circulation, so it is possible that someone has heard it already.

Super.

Send me a copy and charge it to your card.

I just made your money disappear.

That's real magic.

>How could anybody like something that's "soon to be available"?

Magic

>I am interested to hear if anyone likes the soon to be available Famous Blue Raincoat on Cisco 45 RPM vinyl.<

How could anybody like something that's "soon to be available"?

I am interested to hear if anyone likes the soon to be available Famous Blue Raincoat on Cisco 45 RPM vinyl. This is a great recording but the Cisco would have to be something special compared to my Cypress pressings to justify the $80 price. Apparently the 45 RPM of Classic's If Only I Could Remember My Name is amazing if you can find it(out of print) but I've heard it already sells on EBAY for hundreds.

I just wanted to thank everyone for contributing to this thread. As someone who got into vinyl fairly recently and discovered there's a lot of hit and miss, it's been very helpful to read this... albeit rather expensive since I just ordered a bunch of these.... :-)

The Escovedo Blue Note pressing is flat and quiet. This album is well-produced by Tony Visconti. Fairly good sense of sonic realism and excellent separation of instruments within a dense rock mix, probably from a digital source.

IMO the sleeper is Malkmus on Matador. This is by far his best & most mature solo album(also supassing Pavement.) Well-crafted tight angular arrangements surrounded by swirling, psychedelic guitar suites evocative of Doors. Sounds like an analog source.

Dgarretson,

I have the Alejandro Escovedo album as well. The music is great, but I did not include it on my list because the pressing is iffy. Could you let me know if you found a good pressing? If so I will definitely look for another copy.

I was lucky enough to catch him live last month...not to be missed! It's also worth finding the Youtube video of him and Springsteen dueting on "Always a Friend".

Thanks,

You are right, that was a great thread, hope this one will be as long...
Some more recent great sounding releases to please Palasr:
12/ -Eleanor Mc Evoy : Out There / diverse Records- HiFi + favourite, sound++
13/ -Robert Wyatt : Comicopera / Domino - Hypnotising voice celestial arrangements. The 4th side has a poem engraved in the vinyl. Amazing!
14/ -Bob Dylan : Modern Times / Columbia : proof that they can make a good sounding records when they want to. Nice job Bob !
15/ -Michael Cashmore : the Snow Abides / Southern Records - Immaculate white album transcends lyrical new poets of England. Beautiful.
16 / -Donald Fagen : Morph the Cat / Reprise Records - Perpetuates his tradition of great sounding albums, this one is more cerebral...
17 / -Jill Scott : Who Is Jill Scott ? / Hidden Beach Records.- Intelligent, Groovin' we LOVE this great american singer here in Europe ! Sounding +++

That's all for today, great session , good night !

I forgot:

John Haitt: Same Old Man
NIN: Ghosts

Some recent vinyl that hits high by any measure is:

Shearwater: Rook
Wilco: Sky Blue Sky
Ray Davies: Workingman's Cafe
Elvis Costello: Momofuku
Gutter Twins: Saturnalia
Stephen Malkmus: Real Emotional Trash
Alejandro Escovedo: Real Animal
Zooey Deschanel/M. Ward: She & Him
Levon Helm: Dirt Farmer
Plant & Kraus: Raising Sand
Radiohead: In Rainbows
Mathew Sweet: Sunshine Lies

For good vinyl recommendations, don't forget the long lived thread begun by Slipknot1:

Whats on your turntable tonight?

I'm regularly finding excellent recommendations being posted there.
.

Strange how everyone's list (except Jazdoc's) spans the dawn of recorded sound until, oh, around 1987. Recommendations thin out in a hurry thereafter...hey, isn't that around the time digital became the ascendant recording AND playback medium??

Funny how that works...

I'll make a modern-era recommendation: M. Ward - his Merge Records releases have been exemplary (sonically and (for me) musically), with special merit to "Transistor Radio". "Post War", and the recent rereleases of "Duet for Guitars #2" and "Transfiguration of Vincent" are also excellent. Although not easy to peg, I like to classify his music as 'contemporary old-timey' - lots of processed guitar sounds, harmonica, theremin, crickets... Clear as a mudpuddle, right?? Good listening,

-Richard

the universal japan releases are uniformly excellent. quiet as they come. very pricey, but if you find some of your favorites in this line, its worth it. the steely dan- aja is as close to the original abc as they come.

Dave,
You seem to have both olfactory and auditory deficiencies.

Work on both of those ok?

My post is correct as written.

Good newer ones I have personal experience with:

Classic Records:CSN(1st), Norah Jones:Come Away With Me, David Crosby:If Only I Could Remember My Name, Led Zeppelin:1 and 4, Miles Davis:Kind of Blue

Speakers Corner:Supertramp:Crime of the Century, Miles Davis:Round About Midnight, Bob Marley:Natty Dread, Joe Cocker:A Little Help From My Friends

Simply Vinyl:Roxy Music:Avalon, Eagles:Hell Freezes Over

Sundazed:Bob Dylan monos:Freewheelin Bob Dylan, Times They Are A Changin

MoFi:Not many but I like the Alison Krauss LPs:Others diagree

Eric Clapton Unplugged:German Import

Can't remember labels of these but:Beck:Sea Change(noisy but with great sonics), Son Volt:Straightaways, Paul McCartney:Unplugged, Green Day:American Idiot, Nirvana:Nevermind Import with Biem on label

There are many more that I've heard are good but don't have personal experience with. Hopefully this will help some of you find enjoyable pressings of some great music without wasting money on bad ones.