"New" Mobile Fidelity Vinyl Pressings
- Thread starter rockitman
- Start date
The original mixes of Eat a Peach are not great, it will never sound as good as say Idlewild South. I preferred my original early stamper Monarch pressed Atcos for their first album and Idlewild South compared to the two Mofi reissues. So it was third times the charm for Mofi to get one right.
This one?
Yowzer. Not talking about sonics, haven't listened to it in years, but it's got alot of great music, and has the Boz/Duane cut. I don't think it is terribly expensive to find an old pressing, it's not like the pink label Capricorns of the "Fillmore" record.
I've got the two-fer Beginnings, that I bought back when. I guess I'm gonna have to go track down the Monarchs of the individual albums now. Probably not cheap either, huh....
What didn't you like about the MFSL? I have an early Idlewild South in Calgary, so no access at the moment and don't know what pressing it was.
I'll look for copy....added!
(damn....my buy list is getting bigger than wallet has cash).
The Mofi Idlewild South sounds flat and lifeless. No bloom or realism like my original pressing.
I'm playing my MFSL copy right now as I type this and it sound alright.....of course, I can't compare. I do find that a lot of MFSL's are a bit thick sounding in general and certainly when compared against other reissues or originals as well.
Is anyone planning to get the MFSL 45 rpm reissue of Blonde On Blonde? I would be interested to hear what you think.
I'm a bit gun shy given some of their recent reissues. Plus it is using the remix done in the 90s, and I haven't heard a reliable source say that remix was done to tape and not digital. It was not done by Mark Wilder, who usually remixes to tape.
I'm a bit gun shy given some of their recent reissues. Plus it is using the remix done in the 90s, and I haven't heard a reliable source say that remix was done to tape and not digital. It was not done by Mark Wilder, who usually remixes to tape.
Did you read Fremer's review?
http://www.analogplanet.com/content/blonde-blonde-47-years-later-45rpm-triple-lp-sounds-better-ever
I have the Sundazed mono of BOB. I'm got my eyes out for a two eye original, but finding one in great condition isn't easy.
There were some comments on the Hoffman site dissing the MoFi BoB. I haven't heard it. I do like the Talking Book reissue they did; for the other Stevie Wonders, I have Kendun mastered pressings.
I bought the self-titled Allman on MoFi, just to hear the original mix. I'm still looking for a Monarch pressing of that one. I have an ATCO copy of Beginnings, the sound of Idlewild South wasn't tampered with as far as I know, it was just the self-titled album they messed with on the two-fer. And so it goes....
There were some comments on the Hoffman site dissing the MoFi BoB. I haven't heard it. I do like the Talking Book reissue they did; for the other Stevie Wonders, I have Kendun mastered pressings.
I bought the self-titled Allman on MoFi, just to hear the original mix. I'm still looking for a Monarch pressing of that one. I have an ATCO copy of Beginnings, the sound of Idlewild South wasn't tampered with as far as I know, it was just the self-titled album they messed with on the two-fer. And so it goes....
I have, I don't mean any disrespect to Michael, but he and I don't focus on the same thing when critically listening. I'm more interested in drive, midrange realism/complexity and overall instrument/vocal tone more than detail, imaging, bass clarity, etc. You can have all of the latter and have an uninteresting sounding record. In the review he also mentions only having 3A pressings. The stereo remix that followed immediately after the very first 1966 stereo mix is actually a 2A/C/D stamper and is not that uncommon.
Bill you're right finding a clean playing 2-eye BOB isn't easy. Those pressings were cut quite hot, so the inner tracks would have been a pain to track on 60s setups which would often cause groove damage.
There are two Sundazed mono masterings- the first one done by Bob Irwin and a more recent one pressed at QRP mastered by Kevin Gray. I have the mono version from the box set which George Marino mastered. I'll need to play this one again to see what I think of it.
Unfortunately I don't have that ability. I did want to get the Pete Riggle VTAF that works on Rega arms, but was told by Pete it wouldn't work on my Rega/Nottingham combo. If you know of any other aftermarket VTA devices I could install, I'd be all ears.
Hvbias- there seems to be a lot of dispute over which stereo mix is the best. I gather the original stereo mix was the one that was lost, as Myles said, and may or may not be preferable, but later copies had some tracks with the original stereo mix and some with a late 60's stereo remix. Then there are other mixes done later. I gather then one on the MoFi is an attempt to recreate the original stereo mix. So, even trying to find an 'original two eye' stereo copy (rather than the mono) is a bit hit and miss in terms of which stereo mix is involved. (I don't know the matrix numbers for the various versions of the early stereo mixes).
For now, I'm just gonna stick with my mono Sundazed (it's the later version that QRP pressed) and look for an original mono copy. If I decide I really need to have this record in stereo, I suppose I'll spring for the MoFi and try to sort through the thicket on the 'original' stereo mixes. None of that tells you how the MoFi version sounds- the complaints on Hoffman (which I am sure you read) seem to have more to do with the mix than the pressing. I don't know if Myles knows more. My buddy Rob is a Dylan encyclopedia but I'm not sure if he knows the details of the various mixes on stereo. I'll ask him.
For now, I'm just gonna stick with my mono Sundazed (it's the later version that QRP pressed) and look for an original mono copy. If I decide I really need to have this record in stereo, I suppose I'll spring for the MoFi and try to sort through the thicket on the 'original' stereo mixes. None of that tells you how the MoFi version sounds- the complaints on Hoffman (which I am sure you read) seem to have more to do with the mix than the pressing. I don't know if Myles knows more. My buddy Rob is a Dylan encyclopedia but I'm not sure if he knows the details of the various mixes on stereo. I'll ask him.
I have no problem with Mofi choosing to use the 1999 remix (assuming it was done all analog), I'm mostly interested in the sound quality of the reissue.
I've never heard the very first stereo mix, but I did have a 2C/2C/2C/3D 2-eye pressing which is the second stereo remix (with the exception of side 4) and it sounded pretty decent. What Steve Hoffman says is true, it has that sort of bright early stereo Columbia signature and is compressed. This would be roughly 1967/68 release. This is an album I have a really hard time deciding if I like the mono or stereo more. If the vocals on the Mofi reissue sound unnatural, this is not how they sound on that '67 second stereo reissue. On the Mofi Blood on the Tracks the vocals sound a bit lackadaisical compared to the US first pressing (this might be due to a touch of compression in the first pressing), but it is a minor difference. And the Mofi makes up for it in other areas.
So, i managed to grab a very early copy of BOB, with the Claudia Cardinale images that were excised pretty shortly after the first release. I'm curious to compare this to the Sundazed I have. I don't have any stereo copies of this album. If you buy the MoFi, let us know what you think, and I'll report back on the early mono pressing after I get it.
I'm listening to the MoFi vinyl of the self-titled Allman Bros album- the mix is definitely better than the remixed version on the two-fer. Sonically it sounds very smooth, maybe i am missing the bite of the old ATCO pressing, but this is a good pick-up if you don't nave the original ATCO before it got remixed.
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