How many times have you ...

That’s exactly what they do. Its natural to assume that pressing a record is so perfect a process that what you get is down to the quality of the master tape used. Natural, but wrong. Not even close.

In spite of buying lots of MFSL and other "audiophile" reissues going back to the 70’s it was only the last year or so I was able to figure out what’s really going on.

Pressing a vinyl record turns out to be so fussy and technical a process where getting a really good copy requires so many stars to line up that it hardly ever happens. Having a great master tape, great virgin vinyl, great stamper, and exercising extreme care in the entire process are only a start. Then comes the fact, hard to accept but irrefutably true, that no two copies ever sound exactly the same.

A fact I’m sure you like me find hard to believe. So I went to my collection, pulled out all my dupes, and started listening. Sure enough, not only were no two the same, but listening to them side by side the differences were stark enough its kind of a surprise I never noticed before. Well, how many times have YOU played the same damn record back to back like this? Right. Me neither.

This all came about after learning by accident about the Hot Stampers sold by Tom Port at BetterRecords.com The claims on the site sound way too good to be true. The records seem way too expensive to ever be worth it. But you have 30 days and can return for any reason, even if it turns out you just don’t like the music. So I decided to try and see.

My favorite record is Fleetwood Mac Rumours. I have it on an original purchased back in the day, a Nautilus half speed mastered, and a 45 rpm reissue, but when I played the White Hot Stamper I was floored. The sound was so much more detailed and dynamic, with a solid foundation of bass, and such crazy good inner detail it was more like a whole new system than just another record. None of the others come anywhere close. So much better in fact it took me quite a while just to get my mind around how much better it is.

Since then I’ve added Fleetwood Mac, Taproot Manuscript, Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player, Honky Chateau, So, Help!, and a few others I’m drawing a blank on right now. Some are Hot Stampers, some Super Hot, a few White Hot, and yes indeed you hear the difference. I always thought my original Taproot Manuscript was a pretty good copy, but it is nowhere even close to the Hot Stamper. Night and day. And "Hot" is the lowest grade!

Every once in a while you get a reissue like the Brothers in Arms MoFi 45 worth buying. By and large though I am so sick and tired of paying $30-60 for reissue crap that $350 for a truly awesome experience is well worth the money. I mean, I have several reissues that are so much worse I heard it on first play, even when it was months since the last time I played my other copy! Reissues are that bad!

This thread will generate a bunch of uninformed comments along the lines of oh its just the stamper, read the hot wax, yada yada. Sorry. I’ve eyeballed these things real good. There’s just no way of knowing without listening. And you could buy and try a LOT before finding one Hot Stamper quality. Do your own due diligence.

So its no wonder almost all the new reissues are crap. For one thing the master tapes, even if original, are old. And yes they do degrade. For another even using all the exact same equipment, and guys like Chad Kassem are to be applauded for their efforts, but the inescapable conclusion is those guys back in the day were practicing an art and just as anyone can buy the paint and brush not anyone can paint the Mona Lisa so not anyone can press a pristine record.

Or so it seems.

That makes the touting of “original master tapes” as the source of dubious value except to the hot stamper crowd.  The lack of talent or technique in the pressing is keeping us from original copy quality which is readily available regardless of the degradation of the masters if a perfect copy LP is available.  Blaming the master is a common misconception then, generally speaking.

That makes the touting of “original master tapes” as the source of dubious value except to the hot stamper crowd.  The lack of talent or technique in the pressing is keeping us from original copy quality which is readily available regardless of the degradation of the masters if a perfect copy LP is available.  Blaming the master is a common misconception then, generally speaking.

Well yes and no. "Original master" isn't dubious at all. Its the essential first step. But only the first of many. "Touting" it however is perfectly sound marketing. Like megapixels for people who don't know nearly as much about photography as they think they do, original master is a selling point for, you know, same reason.

Also in case you missed it there is no such thing as "original copy quality". The whole point of my post is every single individual copy is its own unique example. No two ever exactly the same means no two ever exactly the same. I could explain all day, or you could play a couple dupes and see for yourself. If you do, as hard as this is to get your mind around reading words suddenly it will all become very obvious when you actually hear it.

The one thing we can say for sure generally speaking is there's nothing we can say for sure, generally speaking. Some masters are indeed superb. Some for sure are not.

This gets obvious real fast when you get into Hot Stampers. My White Hot Rumours was so awesome I couldn't wait to hear Peter Gabriel's So. But while the stamper quality is just as awesome they are two very different recordings. Nilsson Schmilsson is another one, astounding in its awesomeness yet completely different.

I prefer and search for original pressings. Still, paying hundred for a particular copy of Rumours seems questionable! I am not that neurotic!