Definitive Audiophile pressings

zombie.modernist said:
So this Kevin Gray cut is worth dealing with pressing issues for? I have a clean-ish original but I bet it could sound better. Def one of the best productions of that era, but nothing Motown/Tamala put out BITD sounds great to me including the 80s issues.
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I didn’t have any pressing issues. It was completely flat and had zero noise issues. Aside from the inners, which were easily replaced, the packaging was really nice. A good clean out of the package was needed but I am used to doing that with every new release these days.
 
zombie.modernist said:
So this Kevin Gray cut is worth dealing with pressing issues for? I have a clean-ish original but I bet it could sound better. Def one of the best productions of that era, but nothing Motown/Tamala put out BITD sounds great to me including the 80s issues.
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I think the pressing issues are widely overstated. No pressing issues on mine aside from a very very slight dish warp that DNAP. It's absolutely worth buying. If you're worried about pressing issues, buy from somewhere with easy returns/replacements.
 
Thanks all, I just played my OG and it sounds nice but very mid-bandy and un-dynamic in the way lots of 70s soul records do. I’ll def be getting this soon. Finding a NM OG is next to impossible with Tamala/Motown’s pressing quality BITD so I won’t lose it over a little bit of noise. Plus this is an album it’s acceptable to own a few copies of haha.
 
zombie.modernist said:
Thanks all, I just played my OG and it sounds nice but very mid-bandy and un-dynamic in the way lots of 70s soul records do. I’ll def be getting this soon. Finding a NM OG is next to impossible with Tamala/Motown’s pressing quality BITD so I won’t lose it over a little bit of noise. Plus this is an album it’s acceptable to own a few copies of haha.
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I always thought the original sounded pretty terrible. Dark and muddy kind of like you described. Plus I’ve never found a copy in better than VG condition. I have the John Matousek mastered copy from the mid 80’s that sounded way better than the original and that’s been my play copy for ages. That one sounds very clean and much more detailed but it’s a little polite imo. This KG cut retains the detail of the JM cut while having better bass. Soundstage is a bit narrower but that’s not a bad thing in this case. It makes it a more cohesive listen. Plus Marvin’s voice really jumps out of the speakers. Never heard his voice sound this good on this record.
 
I A/B-ed the One Step and this new KG cut this AM. They are extremely close IMO and almost a matter of preference. The balance of everything seems better to me on the KG cut. Marvin's voice just sounds better on KG's and that sibilance is mostly gone. silbilance is more pronounced on the one step. It almost feels like the bass is boosted on the One Step too. The KG cut seems more natural to me--it doesn't have a super wide soundstage but I don't think it needs it. The separation of instruments seems pretty similar on both. I also really love the extra disc.

The fade out on Flying High really bothers me on the One Step since that whole suite transitions from one track to the next seamlessly. So considering you don't have to interrupt that suite on the KG cut, the balance is better, you get an actual album sleeve/cover, and it's almost 1/10th the price, I'd give the edge to the new KG cut.
 
MikeH said:
I A/B-ed the One Step and this new KG cut this AM. They are extremely close IMO and almost a matter of preference. The balance of everything seems better to me on the KG cut. Marvin's voice just sounds better on KG's and that sibilance is mostly gone. silbilance is more pronounced on the one step. It almost feels like the bass is boosted on the One Step too. The KG cut seems more natural to me--it doesn't have a super wide soundstage but I don't think it needs it. The separation of instruments seems pretty similar on both. I also really love the extra disc.

The fade out on Flying High really bothers me on the One Step since that whole suite transitions from one track to the next seamlessly. So considering you don't have to interrupt that suite on the KG cut, the balance is better, you get an actual album sleeve/cover, and it's almost 1/10th the price, I'd give the edge to the new KG cut.
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To quote Kevin:

kevin-malone.gif
 
Portland Sheriff said:
Just picked up from a local a pristine copy of a 1973 German Press of “Houses of the Holy,” with STERLING stamped and “RL” etched in the runout. The vinly is as minty as a 1973 record is gonna be (sleeves also in excellent condition), and it sounds great (good dynamic range and power), very quiet noise floor, and extremely limited, sporadic surface noise.

One oddity: the label of my version has correct song lengths, but there’s a virtually identical version with a few different (incorrect) lengths on the label. But both are ‘73 German presses with identical runouts, including STERLING stamp and “RL” etch and same pressing plant. I can’t find anything about this online (Discogs just mentions that one version has different song lengths), and I assume this is the result of a printing mistake on the other version, but I’m curious if anyone has any other ideas.

I have nothing else to compare this press to, particularly the Classic Records LZ series, but I‘m very happy with this purchase and highly recommend it. Given the excellent condition, I paid a good price based on current Discogs — without having to worry about accurate grading. But it was a lot more than the $2.95 on this odd looking price sticker.
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What's interesting, and many people don't realize, is that HOTH are almost always Sterling RL cuts.

In fact, I don't remember NOT seeing an RL in the runouts on any copy I have checked.

It's fun to see RL in other releases as you check matrix numbers to catalog them.

For example:
www.discogs.com

Humble Pie - Street Rats

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1975 Vinyl release of "Street Rats" on Discogs.
www.discogs.com www.discogs.com

www.discogs.com

The Band - Stage Fright

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1970 Vinyl release of "Stage Fright" on Discogs.
www.discogs.com www.discogs.com
 
djdavedk said:
What's interesting, and many people don't realize, is that HOTH are almost always Sterling RL cuts.

In fact, I don't remember NOT seeing an RL in the runouts on any copy I have checked.

It's fun to see RL in other releases as you check matrix numbers to catalog them.

For example:
www.discogs.com

Humble Pie - Street Rats

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1975 Vinyl release of "Street Rats" on Discogs.
www.discogs.com www.discogs.com

www.discogs.com

The Band - Stage Fright

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1970 Vinyl release of "Stage Fright" on Discogs.
www.discogs.com www.discogs.com
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I have a Bob Ludwig side A/George Piros side B hybrid of HOTH and it’s pretty great! It’s a good recording all around so I think it’s probably tough to screw up. I think a lot of the later 70’s reissues have this mastering. It was one of the first records I ever bought when I first started collecting.
 
Crabbers said:
mofi.com

David Crosby - If I Could Only Remember My Name

Mastered from the original master tapes and pressed at RTI on MoFi SuperVinyl, Mobile Fidelity's 180g 45RPM 2LP set of the 1971 effort underlines the escapist peace of Crosby's music and brilliance of Stephen Barncard's engineering. Equally important, it reveals Crosby's unsurpassed vocal...
mofi.com
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For any Grateful Dead fans, Jerry and Phil are all over this, as well as Billy and Mickey playing on a few songs
 
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