Are all these pressing just garbage & are they the same company ??

I was trying to find email addresses to send over some rants about the Vinyl quality , seems there is no "contact" on verve & the blue note website is just down & has been for who knows how long :nono:


well i posted about the new Diana krall lp i got yesterday , pretty crappy quality , "Hair" coming off the edges that i had to peel off the vinyl , unfinished edges , pops ticks etc.

well i also got my order from soundstage direct yesterday & in it were two blue note albums

Grant green - Green street

and

Wayne shorter - Night dreams

what awfull quality pressings !! same as the Krall but worse , the grant green has a "staic bar" through half of side one , all kinds of pops & ticks & both lp's have all that "hair" hanging off the side & jagged edges , The Shorter Lp has a gouge in it that's pretty deep .

I guess i got taken on this , I feel bad as if i return it , then i have to pay return postage & soundstage has to ship me new ones back & i'll probably get the same problems & it's certainly not their fault .

should i be going back to Cd's for my Jazz listening ?? are all the pressings on these 2 labels crap ?

I haven't tried any of their new pressings, but I have quite a few older records on both labels that sound superb.

I have several vintage recordings on the Verve label and they all sound excellent.

I have several vintage recordings on the Verve label and they all sound excellent.

My experience as well.

I think the real issue is that although the vintage pressings were good,the new ones are the problem.

I got Somethin' Else, reissue on Blue Note from Soundstage Direct. It was very inexpensive. I've only spun it twice so far. Generally speaking it sounds very good to me. No visible signs of defect that I've seen on some other new stuff. I did hear some weird static in a couple spots. I'm assuming that was the dirty volume pot on my receiver.

Also I got Verve Remixed 4 several months ago and it is perfect as far as I can see and hear.

I think the real issue is that although the vintage pressings were good,the new ones are the problem.

Also here-- unfortunately like most I can't comment on recent pressings, but I have blue notes and verves from the 50s to the 80s that are great.

I walked into this thread being like "what the hell kind of April Fool's joke is this? What kind of rube is asking about verve and blue note like he's never heard of them before?"

But your Q makes sense- I wouldn't be surprised if quality has dropped off.

should i be going back to Cd's for my Jazz listening ?? are all the pressings on these 2 labels crap ?

The answer here is "NO". Buy older pressings. I've been particularly impressed with early verves actually....they can get pretty dinged up and still sound better than most companies stuff, imo.

This has seemed to be a problem for alot of the cheaper jazz re-issues. There are a couple firms out there putting out piss-poor quality re-issues as they are literally using a another record (not the original tapes) from which to make the new metal master. They are back-house industries that are trying to captialize on the growing vinyl "craze". I would without a doubt send them back to SSD and make sure that they are very aware of the QC problems. Furthermore, THEY should eat the shipping as one is actually damaged (the gouge)! I would further ask for a full refund as they WILL send you other copies from the same batch.

I know this is not "their" fault, but they are purchasing sub-par product from questionable vendors and should have to eat the cost as opposed to you. If enough people send the product back, they will cut off that vendor as the relationship will not be profitable.

I buy from Acoustic Sounds, asn every album I have purchased from them, with the exception of 1, has been pristine and an absolute pleasure. I buy exclusively classical from them (the best new and re-issue classical inventory I have found on the web), but have a friend who is addicted to their Blue Note 45rpm re-issues. The one album I did get that was an issue was a RCA LSC re-issue, that had edge warp. I asked them to check another copy for me before they shipped it, and they discovered that the entire batch of that title had the same warp (most likely bad storage at the warehouse). The refunded my money without question...that's the way it should be done!

James R.

David -- I've purchased a handful of new Blue Note pressings and I've had great luck. In fact, the Blue Note reissues are some of the best quality jazz album's I've purchased (Wayne Shorter's "Speak No Evil" Herbie Hancock's "Maiden Voyage" and Cannonball Adderly's "Somthin' Else").

I've been burned a couple times by shoddy quality, but not from Blue Note. Sorry to hear about your bad luck, but from my experience it's not across the board, but more hit and miss or maybe they're coming out of different pressing plants?

I bought a Blue Note Reissue of Lee Morgan Candy. Don't know who did it but luckily it only cost me 8 bucks. It was warped and has a static fuzz band on the first side and some really strange sounds on the beginning of the other side. Almost like a squeeking sound that made me think my turntable needed lubrication!

Not a rant so read this with a smile on your face.

I doubt Blue Note and Verve are the same company they once were. Chances are very good that the rights to the name have been sold off or leased for profit.
When Im looking thrue the bins, boxes and cabinets in search of treasure, Verve, Impulse, Blue Note, Philips, Vox and the occasional 6 eye always catch my attention.
Because of the label line ups and because of the general quality being better than a dynagroove or CBS etc.
I too have been disappointed by the quality of the re-issue vinyl. Ive noticed that the covers are deplorable too. They look like someone is using a 1970's Xerox machine to make them. Some tout "180 gram vinyl" like it is special or something. Its stiffer than a 80's flexy disc but the average for the media is 200g. Ive got a 1999 pressing (independant label) that could be used as a saw blade and its so very sweet sounding.... its amazing at 290 grams. I thought it was acetate at first.
I think re-issues are a general rippoff.
I wont buy them anymore.
The latest re-issues Ive found to be OK are the Pablo's. But their jackets are still junk. The vinyl isnt forgiving either.
I guess Im saying that Id rather hunt down a good used copy of the original. It satisfies on many levels.

As a matter of fact Im setting the hook on a vinyl collection find for this weekend. "A professor of the arts" estate to be sold soon. Im sure I'll find some satisfiing spinny stuff there.

Screw the re-issues.

You can stop smiling now.:D

My experience as well.

Mine too!

James R. & everybody else , thanks for all that Info , that's crazy of them pressing of other lp's & yse my covers the backprint is all smudged & such I mean each lp was only $13 , but it's still $13 .

I have been looking for older pressings but locally come up with nothing & anything good online like ebay 1980's pressing seem to go for $25 + & the 50's & 60's i've seen go to $900 on some , most top out at about $75 .
Hopefully i fidn some good yard/estate sales this summer , i love listening to good Jazz on an lp with a Nice cup of coffee ..........but not with all the scratches & noise :nono:


I got the Rhino version of Coltranes "giant steps" & that is a really good pressing , also got the Miles Kind of blue on blue vinyl in the boxed set , that's nice as well .

Estate sales are where you find the good stuff. Check Craigs list in the garage sale area. They never mention LP's but they're there somewhere in every older house. Estate sales arent seasonal either.

But Im not one to gossip so you didnt hear it from me.

Estate sales are where you find the good stuff. Check Craigs list in the garage sale area. They never mention LP's but they're there somewhere in every older house. Estate sales arent seasonal either.

But Im not one to gossip so you didnt hear it from me.

Thanks for the tip ! i always browse Craiglist for lp's got some good rock one's 3 weeks ago , but never thought to look for garage/estate sales on it .

who usually runs an estate sale , the family ? & do they have set prices or do you go "haggle" ?

I buy only used lp's and new cd's and am very satisfied with my music.

That works except when you're looking for artists with no vintage lp's out there like Diana Krall.

I know that Blue Note, and I believe Verve, are both offering two tiers of reissue vinyl right now. One is priced $10-15, one is on 180 gram priced closer to $20-30. I've had good luck with the latter. On the former, you pays your nickel and you takes your chance.

Thanks for the tip ! i always browse Craiglist for lp's got some good rock one's 3 weeks ago , but never thought to look for garage/estate sales on it .

who usually runs an estate sale , the family ? & do they have set prices or do you go "haggle" ?

Many are run by estate sale companies, similar to auction companies. Usually they are anxious to unload stuff, but the first day of the sale the prices may seem high (not always). Estate sale holders usually have established followers and email lists for heads up etc. These sales require diligence in pursuit combined with a little luck. You may need to get there an hour prior to the posted start time for decent ones. They often give out numbers for entry if there is a crowd. Dealers frequent these things as well, and the sellers become friendly with their regular buyers so the playing field isn't always 'level'.

When the sale is winding down is when your low ball offer will get you a box full of records for $2. If they don't sell they will end up in the dumpster or as a donation, so they will deal. You can offer to buy bulk if you see a box full early in a sale, but expect to get a lot of stuff you don't want which will elevate the cost per album for those you want.

TMI?

Sorry about getting off topic. Verve and Note are excellent labels, but as pointed out, the vintage stuff will likely provide you with a more reliable pressing, if you can find them in good shape. They also will have plenty that you won't find in current re-issues

I have several vintage recordings on the Verve label and they all sound excellent.

Plus one...:yes:

The trick with Blue Notes is to get the division of liberty reissues (typically later 60's issues) or the dark blue label reissues. I've had decent luck with some of the early UA reissues. I've also had great luck on the blue note two-fer reissues from the 70's. Japanese pressings are also great and usually under $20, along with some of the French pressings. These don't typically have the "collector value" of the first pressings, and can usually be found pretty cheap. Many times are in mint condition too. I went to my local shop last weekend and got 3 liberty blue notes of lee morgan, 2 art blakey riversides done by orpheum, and a few other cats and dogs, for about $5 a record. I also went to the Orange County record show on Sunday and picked up several Japanese reissues in perfect condition, some mingus reissues (monterey, europe) for a song. I can't believe how little I paid for this stuff. After a clean up on the VPI, every one of these sounds better than the recent reissues I have of the same artists. Don't let marks and dinged up vinyl scare you on these older records, they clean up very nicely. The $50 "audiophile" issues will sound good too, but I got 10 records that sound great for the same price as one 45rpm remaster.

I noticed you live in Mass, there HAS to be shops in the Boston metro area that have this stuff. Living in LA we have vinyl shops a-plenty.

When looking for Verve and Blue Note, remember that many, if not most, of the classic Jazz sessions were recorded in stereo or even three track by Rudy Van Gelder.

Don't pay a premium for mono.

Also, the 70s reissues of many Blue Note classics are quite good. I prefer my 70s LP of "Kind of Blue" to the SACD (even with the resolved pitch issues in the SACD).

Ken

One thing to keep in mind when talking about new pressings these days is that there are fewer and fewer pressing plants. This means that records for many different companies come from the same factories; so even if Verve and Blue Note aren't under the same corporate conglomerate (and I don't know that they are or aren't), it is entirely possible that the records are coming from the same factory.

As has been mentioned, I too have had some great luck with 70s and even some 80s reissues, some more recent ones have been hit and miss: *sometimes* you can tell the crappy ones by the feel of the vinyl and the cardboard sleeve, they don't feel quite right, they feel cheap.

A common problem that bugs me with the many new reissues is that they sound like garbage as you get closer to the center.

Ive bought alot of the $9.99 german ojc pressings, they are light weight with cheaper covers, but all of them (10-20) sound excellent.

edd

I have several Verve records I have purchased used and they are fantastic. Unfortunately I purchased the Blue Note Copy of Norah Jones-Come Away With Me and side 2 is trash. Lots of static in one side. I tried having it cleaned on a RCM and it made no difference. I guess if you only want to listen to one side it's great.

I purchased several of the 140g (not the 180s) re-issues of Blue Note, Verve, and Riverside recordings. All have been excellent quality.

Ive bought alot of the $9.99 german ojc pressings, they are light weight with cheaper covers, but all of them (10-20) sound excellent.

edd

OJC pressings I have always had good luck with. Especially the older ones.

The "bad blue notes" tend to be what is believed are Scropio pressings. These are usually the $10 new reissue blue notes with no markings of any other presser. OJC are always marked OJC. I've also had some crappy Rhino reissues.

the early 80's & 90's blue note reissues sounded pretty good to me...original verve lps in good condition always seem to sound good too..

Try looking for older Verve Sessions Albums. They were excellent. The new pressings? I don't have the money for crappy pressings.

That works except when you're looking for artists with no vintage lp's out there like Diana Krall.

Yeh , this is true & most of her lp's are $40+ a pop too !


I know that Blue Note, and I believe Verve, are both offering two tiers of reissue vinyl right now. One is priced $10-15, one is on 180 gram priced closer to $20-30. I've had good luck with the latter. On the former, you pays your nickel and you takes your chance.

Good to know , the ones i bought are pretty heavyweight at least 140 , i have seen the 180's , i just know my luck i'd get crappy one's , i wish the 2 lp 45 speed one's were a bit cheaper but $50 is a lot of $$$

Many are run by estate sale companies, similar to auction companies. Usually they are anxious to unload stuff, but the first day of the sale the prices may seem high (not always). Estate sale holders usually have established followers and email lists for heads up etc. These sales require diligence in pursuit combined with a little luck. You may need to get there an hour prior to the posted start time for decent ones. They often give out numbers for entry if there is a crowd. Dealers frequent these things as well, and the sellers become friendly with their regular buyers so the playing field isn't always 'level'.

When the sale is winding down is when your low ball offer will get you a box full of records for $2. If they don't sell they will end up in the dumpster or as a donation, so they will deal. You can offer to buy bulk if you see a box full early in a sale, but expect to get a lot of stuff you don't want which will elevate the cost per album for those you want.

TMI?

Sorry about getting off topic. Verve and Note are excellent labels, but as pointed out, the vintage stuff will likely provide you with a more reliable pressing, if you can find them in good shape. They also will have plenty that you won't find in current re-issues


Thanks for all that info , i'll keep my eyes open this summer & hopefully build up my Jazz collection a bit more 90% of what i own is on cd's & they sound good , but compared to an Lp , no contest .

When looking for Verve and Blue Note, remember that many, if not most, of the classic Jazz sessions were recorded in stereo or even three track by Rudy Van Gelder.

Don't pay a premium for mono.

Also, the 70s reissues of many Blue Note classics are quite good. I prefer my 70s LP of "Kind of Blue" to the SACD (even with the resolved pitch issues in the SACD).

Ken


Funny you should mention this , i have been seeing people pay $900 + for Mono copies of that stuff on ebay & then did some online reasearch & found an interview with Rudy van gelder & he was kinda laughing at these people as anything i think from 1958 on was originally done in stereo ? & the Mono one's were just cheap "foldover" mixes done quick so he doesn't understand why everyone wants the mono one's .

The worst part is I've purchased 20+ lp's $12.96 to $19.95 which were great. My really bad ones were the $40. purchases

I just picked up 4 Blue Note Reissues:

John Coltrane - Blue Train
Mcoy Tyner - The Real Mcoy
Herbie Handcock - Maiden Voyage
Joe Henderson - Page One

All four of mine are decent quality. Perhaps not as thick as my old 60's Blue Note recordings but they sounded great. They had a one or two clicks per side but I haven't cleaned them on the RCM yet, may have been dust.

I'm happy!! They only cost $15 CDN each at Sam the Record Man and they came with the CD inside!!!

So I think there are a couple of weird static spots on Side 2 of Somethin' Else, after all. If this were a $30+ LP I would be sending it back. It is really annoying that new LP quality is so hit or miss.

The reissues that come with the CD, I believe, are not done by Scorpio. I have a couple of those and they do sound better than the Scorpio pressings.

Shimniok, that "weird static" sound is exactly what I get on a few of my $10 blue note reissues.

I buy from Acoustic Sounds, asn every album I have purchased from them, with the exception of 1, has been pristine and an absolute pleasure. I buy exclusively classical from them (the best new and re-issue classical inventory I have found on the web), but have a friend who is addicted to their Blue Note 45rpm re-issues. The one album I did get that was an issue was a RCA LSC re-issue, that had edge warp. I asked them to check another copy for me before they shipped it, and they discovered that the entire batch of that title had the same warp (most likely bad storage at the warehouse). The refunded my money without question...that's the way it should be done!James R.

Cool - this is good to know. I'll add them to my list that I feel comfortable to buy from.

Thanks,
db

I noticed you live in Mass, there HAS to be shops in the Boston metro area that have this stuff. Living in LA we have vinyl shops a-plenty.

Yeh i have been out looking into shopd in boston , i live about an hour out of the city , found 2 really cool stores for rock lp's , but so far nothing with any cool blue note type stuff , more the Metheny / sanborn type stuff , got two metheny 70's ecm lp's that sound amazing compared to the cd's .

Thanks to everybody for all the info on the 70's , 80's & 90's pressings , this is super helpfull , found a guy on ebay that has been slowly getting rid of all his lp's , scored
Freddie hubbard double lp with "here to stay" & "hubcab"
and
John coltrane - ballads , guya has 100% feedback from his past lp sales & he says they are in really good shape so i'll be psyched when they arrive , Hoping to find some Grant green & wayne shorter early stuff .
Gotta email about my retuns now :sigh:

Hey Davidk5...check out The Record Exchange in Salem. Tons of good Verve stuff. Great employees, too!

Hey Davidk5...check out The Record Exchange in Salem. Tons of good Verve stuff. Great employees, too!

Thanks so much for that tip , really appretiate it !

I tried out Cheapo records in cambridge , cool for Rock & pop stuff , reasonable prices & nice people .
Last night we headed over to looney tunes just outside of Harvard square , they rae closing that store so everything is 50% , spent $60 & got some really cool rock stuff i had been looking for & a few jazz lp's , their prices are a bit high , but with the 50% off i got some great deals .

I will check out that store after i save up a little $$$$ :thmbsp:

Well , i did get two Jazz lp's saturday night in the used shop got something i am blown away by :
Hank mobley - Messages 1 & II it's a prestige "2-fer" from 1976 , cover is pretty beat but the two lp's are NM ! spun it last night & it sounded amazing with no noise at all , very psyched ! $4

also someone may know something about this , got a sealed copy of
Lou donaldson - lush life put out on the "Applause" label ? it says it's a re-issue , anyone know anything about this label & what time period it's from ?


Talked with seth today over at soundstage direct & they will send me out new copies of Grant green & Wayne shorter , he says they have had very little returns on the scorpio stuff & also was saying someon on the Hoffman threads Discovered if you play the one's with statice 3 or 4 times they start to play fine ? I'm willing to give it a shot before i send them back , got nothing to lose at this point .
But that's my second time shopping with soundstage & they are great to deal with , quick shipment & good service A++ :thmbsp:

Well thanks again to all the sugestions , iahve picked up quite a few of the 70's "two-fers" that sound pretty amazing & some 90's pressings that are nice .
Still no replacement copies of my grant green & Wayne shorter lp's from soundstage ..... but i have little hope in qulity from the new blue note pressings the more i read about them :sigh:

Notes:

Blue Note/ Originals can be scary expensive! A tip (many BN original pressing titles weren't pressed in high numbers, like 10,000 or less). Buy early Liberty or United Artists (most of these come from original stampers with little wear). Look for RVG or RVG Stereo in the deadwax area. Pressings as late as Blue labels had these stampers in use. Difference is between a $100 record and a $8 record. Just the label design is different. We're buying this to listen to and enjoy so clue yourself to this. Higher demand titles which wore out stampers, look for French or Japanese on a budget. Same goes for Verve. Not unusual for second or third labels to use original stampers and be much cheaper.

My experience with new 180/200gm LP's has been they are essentially unplayable until they've gone thru a good cleaning and static removal. As soon as the cellophane covering is torn off, mine go onto my RCM for the AI 3-step cleaning process, especially a good 2 or 3 minute soak in step 1. Then after step 3 is done and the LP is sufficiently vacuumed I give each side of the LP 3 different shots from a zerostat3. It stinks that all this trouble must be endured, but its been my only solace when NOS LP's arent affordable to me or the artist is newer and no vintage catalog exists.

Notes:

Blue Note/ Originals can be scary expensive! A tip (many BN original pressing titles weren't pressed in high numbers, like 10,000 or less). Buy early Liberty or United Artists (most of these come from original stampers with little wear). Look for RVG or RVG Stereo in the deadwax area. Pressings as late as Blue labels had these stampers in use. Difference is between a $100 record and a $8 record. Just the label design is different. We're buying this to listen to and enjoy so clue yourself to this. Higher demand titles which wore out stampers, look for French or Japanese on a budget. Same goes for Verve. Not unusual for second or third labels to use original stampers and be much cheaper.

Yeh , thanks , i have been finding good sounding stuff for under $10 which is really nice to know you can get them at those prices .

My experience with new 180/200gm LP's has been they are essentially unplayable until they've gone thru a good cleaning and static removal. As soon as the cellophane covering is torn off, mine go onto my RCM for the AI 3-step cleaning process, especially a good 2 or 3 minute soak in step 1. Then after step 3 is done and the LP is sufficiently vacuumed I give each side of the LP 3 different shots from a zerostat3. It stinks that all this trouble must be endured, but its been my only solace when NOS LP's arent affordable to me or the artist is newer and no vintage catalog exists.


Thanks fo all that advise , it is a bummer they come straight out of the wrapper like that ...... i will try some of these tips when i get my replacements .

After taking two BN reissues back due to warps or just plain bad pressings, I have given up on them. I will search for the older reissues, or buy them on CD, SACD, or get the expensive 45 rpm 180-200 gram reissues (if it is a really good album). I have taken so many new vinyl releases back lately, and I just bought another this week, by Antony and the Johnsons, that is suppose to be a high quality copy on 180 g...well side 1 was awesome, side 2 absolute crap, many pops and crackles and fuzzy sounding at times. I have a digital copy so I will live with that. Anyway, I am now at the point where I think I will just buy used and from reputable labels like the indie labels Matador, Subpop or Merge who never quit putting out vinyl and have reliable sources for pressings.

After taking two BN reissues back due to warps or just plain bad pressings, I have given up on them. I will search for the older reissues, or buy them on CD, SACD, or get the expensive 45 rpm 180-200 gram reissues (if it is a really good album). I have taken so many new vinyl releases back lately, and I just bought another this week, by Antony and the Johnsons, that is suppose to be a high quality copy on 180 g...well side 1 was awesome, side 2 absolute crap, many pops and crackles and fuzzy sounding at times. I have a digital copy so I will live with that. Anyway, I am now at the point where I think I will just buy used and from reputable labels like the indie labels Matador, Subpop or Merge who never quit putting out vinyl and have reliable sources for pressings.

Yeh , it;s interesting smaller & idependent labels have lower prices & better qulity , go figure .
I just picked up a new pile of Jazz stuff in boston tonight , all used & much cheaper & better shape than new pressings ....

I alos bought like 20 blue notes on cd the past 2 weeks , borders has been selling them at 50% off & at $5-$6 i'm better off with cd's until i get good used vinyl :yes:

still waiting for my replacement blue note lp's , emailed today , my returns were just sitting there tow weeks & never even checked in , good thing i emailed or i'd be waiting a lot longer :sigh:

A few weeks back i got a 1987 pressing of Miles davis More live at carnegie hall , it's a digital master on vinyl ..... it sounds pretty good , but the high-end does have that digital quality , it was in mint shape for $1.99 .

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21XQQMVR95L._SL500_AA130_.jpg



Still have not gotten my Replacement Grant green & Wayne shorter :thumbsdn:

Well as an Update i got my replacements in the Mail

Grant green - green street

Wayne shorter - night dreams


And as everyone has said on here I ended up with more bad pressings , what a bummer after all that , The Albums came fresh out of the package allscuffed up again , these are better than the last one's , but still poor quality , the Grant one has lot's of pops & clicks & a little static , but it's way better than my last one .
The Wayne S. is awfull , loud static all through it & notes come in on the opposite channel as distortion maybe 1 or 2 seconds prior to when the actual note kicks in , total garbage around , I guess i lose out on this one , but i'm done buying "New" blue note pressings .

I was thinking of buying some new Miles davis pressings like "Cookin" , "Bags groove" , "workin" they all seem to be listed as being on "prestige" or "Columbia" as a label , anyone know if these are pressed by the same that press the blue note stuff ??

Are all these pressing just garbage & are they the same company ??
....well i posted about the new Diana krall lp i got yesterday , pretty crappy quality , "Hair" coming off the edges that i had to peel off the vinyl , unfinished edges , pops ticks etc.

I have Diana Krall "Quiet Nights" and as much as I love the album the pressing is total crap. A few tracks are fine but she is spitting at me all through most of the cuts. I have not had the same trouble with Blue Note.

I bought two Norah Jones and a John Coltrane that are beautiful especially John Coltrane "Blue Train" its great. There are a few spots on the Nora Jones LP's that have a scraping sound lasts a fraction of a second but that is it. So that problem may be more random. I am not buying Verve again until I hear a rave here. So, you are not alone my friend just in the same verve groove full of crap and sibilance as I am.

I have Diana Krall "Quiet Nights" and as much as I love the album the pressing is total crap. A few tracks are fine but she is spitting at me all through most of the cuts. I have not had the same trouble with Blue Note.

I bought two Norah Jones and a John Coltrane that are beautiful especially John Coltrane "Blue Train" its great. There are a few spots on the Nora Jones LP's that have a scraping sound lasts a fraction of a second but that is it. So that problem may be more random. I am not buying Verve again until I hear a rave here. So, you are not alone my friend just in the same verve groove full of crap and sibilance as I am.

Yeh i too bought the new Diana krall , it has some cracks & pops in it & there are some marks on the lp , was kinda bummed with that one as well , some of it sounds good & then certain pints it sounds bad .
Was just looking up the Blue notes that come with the cd's in them & those may be different pressings ??

first group in their series of Vinyl + Bonus CD reissues of the cream of the crop classics from the Blue Note Vaults! Each LP is mastered from the original analog tapes by Ron McMaster. Each state-of-the-art CD is mastered in 24-bit by Rudy Van Gelder, the original recording engineer of these historic sessions. These releases are iconic, not just for the music inside, but also for the stunning, legendary album covers, which are works of art in themselves.



Maybe i'll try one of these , i know a few on here had bought some of the Herbie hancock one's & got good pressings .

Yeh i too bought the new Diana krall , it has some cracks & pops in it & there are some marks on the lp , was kinda bummed with that one as well , some of it sounds good & then certain pints it sounds bad .
Was just looking up the Blue notes that come with the cd's in them & those may be different pressings ??




Maybe i'll try one of these , i know a few on here had bought some of the Herbie hancock one's & got good pressings .

The Coltrane LP had a CD in it. Its awesome sounding - I never listened to the CD though. Just following what you said about the CD inside.
You know, I want to buy good LP's not crap. I love my records...

The Coltrane LP had a CD in it. Its awesome sounding - I never listened to the CD though. Just following what you said about the CD inside.
You know, I want to buy good LP's not crap. I love my records...

Yeh , stay away from the pressing that run about $13 without the cd in them awfull quality ...... Gonna try ordering a Hank mobley lp/cd combo , thanks for the tip .

Yeh , stay away from the pressing that run about $13 without the cd in them awfull quality ...... Gonna try ordering a Hank mobley lp/cd combo , thanks for the tip .

Where from?

Where from?

Been getting most of my stuff from soundstagedirect.com

What are people's thoughts on the Japanese 1970's/80's reissues? I have a few and they are super quiet and sound great to me.

What are people's thoughts on the Japanese 1970's/80's reissues? I have a few and they are super quiet and sound great to me.

Any of the Japnese re-issues i've heard sound pretty amazing & are really nice pressings , they seem to be going up in Value the more i look around at used one's .

Japanese Blue Notes: King, Toshiba, etc sound very good. Well worth picking them up if you see them.

I was thinking of buying some new Miles davis pressings like "Cookin" , "Bags groove" , "workin" they all seem to be listed as being on "prestige" or "Columbia" as a label , anyone know if these are pressed by the same that press the blue note stuff ??

I've had very spotty luck with the "cheap" Blue Note reissues. The Impulse reissues same problems. Exactly as you describe. Not accross the board, but it's been spotty. Same as you, I tried exchanging them, same issues. The Blue Notes with the CD in the package, those are different pressings than the ones w/o the CD. I have one or 2 of those, and they seem OK. And you always get the RVG CD as a backup.

Now there are reissues I have had good luck with: Atlantic, anything on the OJC reissue label (they do a lot of Prestige stuff) and I have the Dylan Columbia reissues that sound very very good to me.

So basically, I stay away from the $10 blue note reissues and the impulse gatefold reissues unless it is something I really want and will buy it to hold me over until I get an original or older reissue.

The real problem here is that good condition originals on a lot of these titles are very expensive. So the trick is to find the 70's blue label blue notes with RVG in the wax. They don't have the collector value, and can be found in very good condition for $10 or less.

Notes:

Blue Note/ Originals can be scary expensive! A tip (many BN original pressing titles weren't pressed in high numbers, like 10,000 or less). Buy early Liberty or United Artists (most of these come from original stampers with little wear). Look for RVG or RVG Stereo in the deadwax area. Pressings as late as Blue labels had these stampers in use. Difference is between a $100 record and a $8 record. Just the label design is different. We're buying this to listen to and enjoy so clue yourself to this. Higher demand titles which wore out stampers, look for French or Japanese on a budget. Same goes for Verve. Not unusual for second or third labels to use original stampers and be much cheaper.

Er, 10,000 or less? I have heard 500 for some of the rarer titles - that's why they're rare!

The first pressings sound fabulous when played on $100K+ systems - you can hear the difference. That's why the buyers aren't quibbling about the prices.

The 10,000 figure I gave you was for moderate selling BN titles. The more obscure titles had as few as 500 copies pressed. Usually, anywhere from 1,000 copies to 10,000 copies were typical for Blue Notes then.

I've had very spotty luck with the "cheap" Blue Note reissues. The Impulse reissues same problems. Exactly as you describe. Not accross the board, but it's been spotty. Same as you, I tried exchanging them, same issues. The Blue Notes with the CD in the package, those are different pressings than the ones w/o the CD. I have one or 2 of those, and they seem OK. And you always get the RVG CD as a backup.

Now there are reissues I have had good luck with: Atlantic, anything on the OJC reissue label (they do a lot of Prestige stuff) and I have the Dylan Columbia reissues that sound very very good to me.

So basically, I stay away from the $10 blue note reissues and the impulse gatefold reissues unless it is something I really want and will buy it to hold me over until I get an original or older reissue.

The real problem here is that good condition originals on a lot of these titles are very expensive. So the trick is to find the 70's blue label blue notes with RVG in the wax. They don't have the collector value, and can be found in very good condition for $10 or less.



Cool , thanks for the Impulse Info , i too have had great luck with the Dylan reissues , sound great , decent pressings .
Just over a month ago i bought John coltrane Giant steps pressed by Rhino & overall that's really good .
I have been slowly collection the 70's pressings , was just spinning a 2 lp Dexter Gordon set i found a few weeks ago last night & it sounds stellar , bought up a few of those from a record store in boston that was closing shop for $4 each ..... covers are beat up , but the Vinyl is in really good shape .

The other thing to keep an eye out for is the Prestige "two-fers" or double LP gatefolds. Blue note also printed these as "the reissue series".Most of these were issued in the early 70's and most often have 2 full albums of a given artist. You need to read the inside to see which ones. Sometimes they are compilations, but I still think they are a good value. I've found the sound quality on these to be pretty good and almost always found in excellent condition.

For example:
Eric Dolphy PRESTIGE 24008
Originally issued as Outward Bound and Out There
"VAN GELDER" stamped into the deadwax

So you're getting 2 of his best albums for probably $5.

Anyway, keep up the hunt. IT's part of the fun. I've more or less given up on buying new jazz vinyl reissues unless its something I REALLY want. Of course, I live in LA, so there are vinyl shops everywhere, so the hunt isn't too hard.

The 10,000 figure I gave you was for moderate selling BN titles. The more obscure titles had as few as 500 copies pressed. Usually, anywhere from 1,000 copies to 10,000 copies were typical for Blue Notes then.

What amazes me is how many people will pay $1,000 + for an original Mono album when the reality is they were taped in stereo & meant to be that way ....