Definitive Audiophile pressings

Mather said:
Confused, what does that have to do with jacket pressing numbers not correlating with disc pressing order?
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"Evidently, it matters at AS and some other places." Lots of people who shop at AS who will pay a premium for anything and have more dollars then sense. I misinterpreted what TrainFan was saying.

IIRC one of a few cases where numbers correlated to discs off the press was something Neil Young did and it seemed like immediately after, they were like FUCK THAT.
 
MikeH said:
Hoffman isn't really an engineer though really. He's kinda like whatever Joe Harley is--a reissue producer I guess? I have a lot of KG/SH cuts that are really fantastic. I often seek out cuts that he did with KG for certain labels. A bunch of his AP work like the Nat King Cole reissues are amazing. The DCC stuff I have heard is all great. The Chess Masters reissues he oversaw were really awesome. He did need KG for various reasons (including the fact that labels wouldn't let him touch tapes after the whole stolen tape drama) but the combo of the two works really well IMO for many releases.

He's definitely high on the list of people I would never want to hang out with though hah. Don't blame KG for ditching him.
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The difference between Joe Harley and Hoffman is that Joe never claimed to be a mastering engineer, and has a long history as an actual record producer.

When Music Matters fired Hoffman, KPG had no further reason to endure him. His editorializing in mastering sessions was just a constant annoyance. And, he trashed KPG on his forum, making it seem like he was the talent and KPG wasn't any good on his own.

There are multiple reasons labels would not work with Hoffman after DCC. First - DCC went bankrupt. That's a problem for the labels, who lost money.

Sure, there was the fast fingers issue.

But even more, it was the forum. It's just a vile place, and record labels, particularly majors, steer clear because they don't appreciate the assholes there picking apart every last nuance and continually complaining and trying to kill their sales. Not to mention the personal trashing of their employees, mostly house engineers, which Hoffman let run rampant as it served to elevate his self-curated stature.

A very sick place, a very sick guy.

You know Hoffman hasn't worked in over a decade, right? He derives his entire income from his forum.
 
Jbraswell said:
The GH comp RKS cut in 2017 is fine for me.

Now, if they did some authentic AAA, I could be swayed.
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American Idiot was recorded in ProTools, hence no AAA cut of this one. It'll be interesting to see if Dookie is AAA since I believe they recorded that to tape. I'm probably still out on that one since I'm not a huge Green Day fan. I'm happy that this type of music is getting the high quality treatment though. Someone needs to start doing more modern stuff and seems like BSM is going for that market.
 
MikeH said:
American Idiot was recorded in ProTools, hence no AAA cut of this one. It'll be interesting to see if Dookie is AAA since I believe they recorded that to tape. I'm probably still out on that one since I'm not a huge Green Day fan. I'm happy that this type of music is getting the high quality treatment though. Someone needs to start doing more modern stuff and seems like BSM is going for that market.
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There's definitely a point in that period where everything started transitioning.
That's what makes the latest STP reissues so cool.
 
Welp, I sold a few more records and caved and bought Eastern Sounds, Bluesville Skip and Folsom Prison 45 Mofi just for the hell of it. Not expecting much from Folsom but hopefully the stage is massive and that will be fun as hell with that crowd (even though some of the crowd noise is fake)... So time to do shootouts for all 3 with my existing copies.
 
MikeH said:
American Idiot was recorded in ProTools, hence no AAA cut of this one. It'll be interesting to see if Dookie is AAA since I believe they recorded that to tape. I'm probably still out on that one since I'm not a huge Green Day fan. I'm happy that this type of music is getting the high quality treatment though. Someone needs to start doing more modern stuff and seems like BSM is going for that market.
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I would consider Dookie but only if they can restore the original back cover featuring Sesame Street’s Ernie in a mosh pit.

www.altpress.com

There’s a hilarious reason why Green Day had to change some ‘Dookie’ art

Billie Joe Armstrong has been throwing it back a lot recently. At the start of the month, the Green Day vocalist threw it back to 1981 and performed Kid Wilde’s “Kids In America” for his “No Fun Mondays” cover series. Now, Armstrong is revealing some behind-the-scenes secrets about their 1994...
www.altpress.com www.altpress.com

If not, then the $20 KPG cut pressed at RTI with the edited back cover will just have to do.
 
Mather said:
Welp, I sold a few more records and caved and bought Eastern Sounds, Bluesville Skip and Folsom Prison 45 Mofi just for the hell of it. Not expecting much from Folsom but hopefully the stage is massive and that will be fun as hell with that crowd (even though some of the crowd noise is fake)... So time to do shootouts for all 3 with my existing copies.
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I have the KG cut on Folsom. I recall it was pretty inexpensive.
I'm doubtful it's from tape but curious if it's in the shootout.
 
Portland Sheriff said:
You have much, much more insight on and experience with this than I do, but one thing that’s always been indicative is his shitting on RVG about compression, compromises for gear of the age, etc.

All of that may be true, but my thought was/is/always will be … who cares? How does it sound? I often (not always) prefer the livelier sound of RVG stamped vinyl over modern reissues. If compression or some other technical issue is the reason or was involved in the process, so be it, I guess I might, sometimes, just prefer music that suffers from what are now considered technical limitations. I think the modern reissues generally sound fantastic — incredibly refined, detailed, wide, etc. But I miss some of the energy and liveliness from some (not all) vintage presses.

Not to mention compression is not always a bad thing. Producers who think the “compression wars” suck/ed use it for legit, sonically valuable reasons that may involve a give/take with other production elements but can, on balance, be preferable.
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I'm always leaning to the OG, but I gave up on the jazz.
They flooded the market with fantastic reissues and I just stopped looking.
 
Jbraswell said:
I have the KG cut on Folsom. I recall it was pretty inexpensive.
I'm doubtful it's from tape but curious if it's in the shootout.
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I have original 1968 Santa Maria stereo pressing that must have only been spun a handful of times. The jacket even looks practically new. I was lucky enough to pick it up from Half Price Books for around $20. I initially just assumed it was reissue given the price and condition, I was pleasantly surprised when I got home and checked the runout.
 
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I've had a few of those Sundazed KPG etched albums and I've not been impressed with any of them. I don't know if I just got the ones where he didn't master and only cut the lacquer but the San Quentin, Santana Self Titled (Lion cover) and Dick Dale Surfers Choice were all really average to me.
 
Mather said:
I've had a few of those Sundazed KPG etched albums and I've not been impressed with any of them. I don't know if I just got the ones where he didn't master and only cut the lacquer but the San Quentin, Santana Self Titled (Lion cover) and Dick Dale Surfers Choice were all really average to me.
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Im not sure what the deal is there. They can be hit or miss. His Buck Owens stuff is good. The Sly Riot is a little flat but I think that album is a bit of a mess from the way it was recorded.
 
Mather said:
I've had a few of those Sundazed KPG etched albums and I've not been impressed with any of them. I don't know if I just got the ones where he didn't master and only cut the lacquer but the San Quentin, Santana Self Titled (Lion cover) and Dick Dale Surfers Choice were all really average to me.
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Or he just got shit files and had to do the best he could.
 
Mather said:
Totally, I mean I love KPG and I've probably just gotten the iffy ones, but after those first 3 I just stopped looking for them. Probably just bad luck on my part...
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I had to go back and look. I have the afterlife plates from the QRP run.
No idea who pressed it after QRP.

But I am sure it came from one of those target sales.
 
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