Beatles Reissues on VINYL Finally


Set to ship on November 13th, 2012.

The Beatles Stereo Albums 180g 16LP Limited Edition Box Set, plus available as individual LPs.

All 12 Studio Albums plus Magical Mystery Tour and Past Masters in a Stereo Box Set.

Sourced from the Original Master Tapes.

Cut at Abbey Road Studios by a First-Rate Team of Producers and Engineers.

Proper care and a painstaking series of steps were taken to ensure that music lovers would hear the Fab Four in all their glory. With EMI’s legendary Abbey Road Studios providing the backdrop, the four-year restoration process combined veteran expertise, state-of-the-art equipment, vintage studio gear, and rigorous testing to net what is without doubt the highest fidelity possible and authentic, jaw-dropping sound guaranteed to rival the original LPs. There is no longer any need to pay hundreds of dollars for Japanese pressings.

At the start of the restoration process, engineers conducted extensive tests before copying the analog master tapes into the digital realm using 24-bit/192 kHz resolution and a Prism A-D converter. Dust build-ups were removed from tape machine heads after the completion of each title. Artifacts such as electrical clicks, microphone vocal pops, excessive sibilance, and poor edits were improved upon as long as it was determined that doing so didn’t at all damage the integrity of the songs. Similarly, de-noising technology was applied in only a few necessary spots and on a sum total of less than five of the entire 525 minutes of Beatles music. Compression was also used sparingly and only on the stereo versions to preserve the sanctity of the dynamics.

A rigorous string of checks and balances ensured that the results exceeded expectations. Subject to numerous playback tests, songs were auditioned by the remastering team to determine if any lingering mistakes needed correction. The restored versions were also compared side-by-side against the original vinyl pressings (loaded into Pro Tools), and then again auditioned in the same studio where all recent Beatles projects, including Love, were mixed. Once all EQ issues had been addressed, another round of listening litmus tests occurred in still another location. Finalization required the approval of everyone involved in the remastering process. For this project, there was no such thing as too many cooks in the kitchen. Yes, it took a village to get it right.

Each album features original U.K. vinyl album artwork, original U.K. track listings, expanded booklets containing original and newly penned liner notes, recording notes, rare photos, and fold-out packaging. Everything comes housed in a tall, glossy, hard black lift-top case augmented with a magnetic clasp.
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Showing 3 responses by sonofjim

I decided to try Past Masters because it's a unique collection I don't have elsewhere (non-LP singles) and I was curious about these reissues. Mine was at 1/2 Price Books of all places. They seem to carry more new vinyl these days. Anyway, I'm pleasantly surprised by the sound. I don't know if I'll buy any more because I have the Blue Box which is better. I also have the original Capitals and Black and Yellow Parlophones. It's hard to beat the old Parlophones but each one is a $100+ gamble to find a clean sounding one.
I'm sorry to hear about the Abbey Road problems because that's another I would be tempted to try.
Any feedback on Sgt. Pepper? A good copy of that can sound amazing. Paul's bass can have a full tubey quality that's rarely encountered. If this reissue reproduces that well it's worth $22 just for that.
For the whole set I would go with the Blue Box. Made from the original analog masters, last time that will ever happen.
Audiotomb,
I sprung for the Seargent Pepper reissue and have just been comparing it to my Blue Box copy. I couldn't agree more. The reissue is just not as dynamic which IMO is what makes this title fun to play. The solid tubey thump of Paul's bass just doesn't come through as palpably. The rest of the tonal balance just isn't as good either and the vinyl from my Blue Box is much more quiet. The vinyl was also not flat. This was one of Fremer's favorites from the new box so I would guess it's a fair representation.
I got Past Masters as well and am not sorry due to the unique mix of songs it contains with descent sound. Seargent Pepper will at least look nice framed on the wall. I think this set will still appeal to those with nothing else to go on. As for me, I'm done with it.
The Blue Box is still very obtainable and clearly superior IMO. It will run slightly more expensive than the new set now days and I expect that the prices on it will only be going up as a result of this release.