PSA: Skip the Craft reissue of Wes Montgomery's 'Boss Guitar'

@lpluvr never had bad experience with Craft and Kevin Gray mastering. I punched it into Gemini…

The Craft Recordings / Original Jazz Classics (OJC) AAA reissue of Wes Montgomery’s Boss Guitar (released in late 2025, mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, and pressed at RTI) has drawn widespread criticism from audiophiles for its bizarre, heavily skewed soundstage balance.

Here is exactly what is happening with that pressing, why it occurred, and how it compares to older cuts:

The Channel Balance Issue

On this particular Craft OJC reissue, Wes’s guitar is severely shifted toward the left channel, leaving the right channel feeling incredibly thin, hollow, and texturally featureless. Jimmy Cobb’s drum kit also suffers, with key elements of the percussion getting nearly lost in the lopsided mix. 

This isn’t a standard, intentional "hard-panning" choice typical of early 1960s stereo jazz records. Instead, it is a significant mastering/source tape oversight where the stereo image is fundamentally skewed and out of balance, destroying the natural depth and transient impact of Wes’s thumb-plucking technique.
 

I suspect KG made a deliberate choice not to correct the flaws of the original master tape and decided not to remix it. Furthermore, Gemini states the 2015 OJC version doesn’t suffer from this. I guess whoever mastered that one had the recording remixed? Who knows 

@audphile1 I saw a similar AI response when I Googled for information on the issue.  That's what lead me to some postings on Discogs discussing the problems with the Boss Guitar reissue.  As Gemini stated, the consensus seems to be that the 2015 OJC reissue is the better choice.  I'm going to pick one up and check it out for myself. 

Skip the Craft reissue of Wes Montgomery’s ’Boss Guitar’

@lpluvr 

"I could hear almost no sound from the right channel while listening to the LP.  I moved closer to the right speaker and could hear some sound, but it had a muffled quality."

@audphile1 

"I suspect KG made a deliberate choice not to correct the flaws of the original master tape and decided not to remix it."

Artists, producers and engineers have always had very specific ideas about how they wanted to record and present their art. Artistic expression you could say. It doesn’t surprise me that some listeners have such a "dim" (as in the character in A Clockwork Orange) view. Its akin to putting a letterboxed movie on the TV that was filmed in a 1:33 or 2:35 aspect ratio and hitting the zoom button because it doesn’t fill the screen!

@faustuss if the master tape is damaged there is nothing you can do. As to picking up a version that’s remixed to better balance the channels, why not…it’s a personal choice. 
 

Btw…I suspect Dim is short for Dimitri and it happens to be a smart play of words. Could be my own conspiracy theory though given the use of Russian language throughout the book and the movie. Great movie…but off topic. Lol

Did anyone ever try playing that LP with mono switch engaged or with a mono cartridge?