Definitive Audiophile pressings

Excellent, honestly my main concern was that Third Man pressed the Ramones but there seems to be near universal praise for the mono so I'm gunna grab it, it doesn't need to be perfect. Just not a disastrous TMR press...
 
Mather said:
Anyone got any of the Rhino Reds series that I only discovered existed 20 minutes ago? Specifically the Ramones ST mono?
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I got the first wave of releases they did -

Aretha Franklin – Soul '69
Love – Da Capo
The Doors – Golden Album
Otis Redding – Love Man

All are fine. Nothing bad about them, but nothing that stands out, either. I didn't pick up that Ramones because I didn't really think I needed a mono copy that seems to just be a mix made in 2016 - not really an original mix.
 
LeeVing said:
I got the first wave of releases they did -

Aretha Franklin – Soul '69
Love – Da Capo
The Doors – Golden Album
Otis Redding – Love Man

All are fine. Nothing bad about them, but nothing that stands out, either. I didn't pick up that Ramones because I didn't really think I needed a mono copy that seems to just be a mix made in 2016 - not really an original mix.
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Yeah I read this from the original engineer Craig Leon and figured ok that's good enough for me. Plus everyone says the mono sounds great so I figured what the hell, but I totally get it, it's not the OG mix.

“The mono is a remix recreated from my original notes and referenced against early monitor mixes that I did in ‘76. On the early monitor mixes the placement is virtually mono. The overall mix is done partially through an EMI TG12345 (great model number for this record!) console, API modules and the EMI Altec compressor. At that time the band and I wanted to go for two releases… a stereo that was extreme and attention getting but also showed the triangular approach to how the band would be set up live. Bass on one side drums in the middle guitar on the other. And a large impact mono. Like the dual versions of albums from the 60s. Of course this was deemed to be impractical because mono was “dead” in 1976. No one had mono players any more (at least in the U.S.). I find that as the years went on and different remasterings were done, the intention of the original album got diluted quite a bit. I’m really thrilled that Warner Music with a great push from Mickey Leigh and Dave Frey, gave me the opportunity to restore our intentions on this set.”
 
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Mather said:
Yeah I read this from the original engineer Craig Leon and figured ok that's good enough for me. Plus everyone says the mono sounds great so I figured what the hell, but I totally get it, it's not the OG mix.

“The mono is a remix recreated from my original notes and referenced against early monitor mixes that I did in ‘76. On the early monitor mixes the placement is virtually mono. The overall mix is done partially through an EMI TG12345 (great model number for this record!) console, API modules and the EMI Altec compressor. At that time the band and I wanted to go for two releases… a stereo that was extreme and attention getting but also showed the triangular approach to how the band would be set up live. Bass on one side drums in the middle guitar on the other. And a large impact mono. Like the dual versions of albums from the 60s. Of course this was deemed to be impractical because mono was “dead” in 1976. No one had mono players any more (at least in the U.S.). I find that as the years went on and different remasterings were done, the intention of the original album got diluted quite a bit. I’m really thrilled that Warner Music with a great push from Mickey Leigh and Dave Frey, gave me the opportunity to restore our intentions on this set.”
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The mono mix is fun. Not sure I’d say it’s better or worse than the original mix. The original mix has that vintage wide stereo separation that they were influenced by with the 60’s girl groups and the Beatles. The mono mix is sheer power and probably more representative of how they sounded live.
 
Mather said:
Yeah I read this from the original engineer Craig Leon and figured ok that's good enough for me. Plus everyone says the mono sounds great so I figured what the hell, but I totally get it, it's not the OG mix.

“The mono is a remix recreated from my original notes and referenced against early monitor mixes that I did in ‘76. On the early monitor mixes the placement is virtually mono. The overall mix is done partially through an EMI TG12345 (great model number for this record!) console, API modules and the EMI Altec compressor. At that time the band and I wanted to go for two releases… a stereo that was extreme and attention getting but also showed the triangular approach to how the band would be set up live. Bass on one side drums in the middle guitar on the other. And a large impact mono. Like the dual versions of albums from the 60s. Of course this was deemed to be impractical because mono was “dead” in 1976. No one had mono players any more (at least in the U.S.). I find that as the years went on and different remasterings were done, the intention of the original album got diluted quite a bit. I’m really thrilled that Warner Music with a great push from Mickey Leigh and Dave Frey, gave me the opportunity to restore our intentions on this set.”
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So do you want it in Mono?

I have the 2011 CB cut and it sounds really good to me.
 
Maybe I’ll give it a headphone listen for you in the next couple days. Again it’s not awful, just those two - Doors Golden Days or whatever it’s called and Ramones - didn’t punch me the way I expected them to, if that makes sense. I agree with @LeeVing and @Joe Mac about the rest of them though. They’re perfectly serviceable.
 
@Mather
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@Mather
Yeah it’s fine. There’s not a lot of noise. It’s crisp. Just seems like the guitars are pulled back in the mix a bit and it isn’t as visceral as I’d like. It does sound like it was recorded in a big empty room though. Retains its “live” sound. I’m probably wrong and you’ll love it.
 
MyWifeHatesTrain said:
@Mather
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@Mather
Yeah it’s fine. There’s not a lot of noise. It’s crisp. Just seems like the guitars are pulled back in the mix a bit and it isn’t as visceral as I’d like. It does sound like it was recorded in a big empty room though. Retains its “live” sound. I’m probably wrong and you’ll love it.
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Well thank you for giving it a spin, I appreciate it. I have a mono switch and I really do find it makes a big difference so it'll be an interesting listen for sure. I generally don't like mono but if there's any band I probably don't mind it with, it's the Ramones...
 
Mather said:
Well thank you for giving it a spin, I appreciate it. I have a mono switch and I really do find it makes a big difference so it'll be an interesting listen for sure. I generally don't like mono but if there's any band I probably don't mind it with, it's the Ramones...
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Yeah mono switch is something I’ll want when I upgrade stage. Otherwise, I might go dual tables when I upgrade it and install a mono cart on this.
 
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