Need Help. Best sounding Jimi Hendrix CD's

[sethrhf]

Ok I tried seaching all yesterday for information. I'm sure there is a thread somewhere. But I came up with too many different results, and haven't been able to find the answers I'm looking for.

My main focus is on these three albums.

Are You Experienced?
Axis: Bold as Love
Electric Ladyland

Does anyone have any opinions on what version on cd sounds the best?

[JWB]

I think the Experience Hendrix discs sound good - they're just mastered a little agressively. The artwork is beautiful.

The Mark Linnett MCA remasters sound similar - and less aggressive. The liner notes are far more informative - but the artwork is butt ugly.

Eddie Kramer claims that he used the original masters for the first time on the Experience Hendrix discs - but Mark Linnett claims that he used them too - a familiar story.

The older Reprise discs are noise reduced - if I'm not mistaken.

I'd be interested in what other people's opinions are.

[davenav]

I'm not happy with any of them. But, I'm open to suggestion if there *is* a good sounding cd out there. Thank God for vinyl...

[Dave]

The absolute best sounding Jimi Hendrix on CD is the W. German Polydors. Not perfect mind you, but still the best mastering I've heard so far.

[Leppo]

Originally Posted by Dave

The absolute best sounding Jimi Hendrix on CD is the W. German Polydors. Not perfect mind you, but still the best mastering I've heard so far.

I'm with Dave!

[Metralla]

I quite like the Eddie Kramer remasters. If you have an aggressive system without total control of the top end they may not suit you. I haven't heard any others; I have the records for posterity. I'll see if I can find one of the Polydors mentioned above just to make a comparison.

[therockman]

Right now I have exactly 87 Jimi Hendrix CDs, including 5 copies each of:
ARE YOU EXPERIENCED
AXIS:BOLD AS LOVE
ELECTRIC LADYLAND

The absolute worse sounding CD versions are the new Experience Hendrix remasters. They are extremely compressed, and maxed out to the bone. These discs make my ears hurt. Other than these CDs, everything else is pretty good, depending on what sound you are looking for and what price you are willing to pay. The 1993 MCA remasters were done by Joe Gastwirt and are highly prized by Hendrix collectors for their unique cover artwork, done by Gered Mankowitz. These remasters actually sound very good, not compressed, but still a little fuzzy. These Mankowitz releases (as they are called by Hendrix collectors) are actually the Cadillacs of Hendrix CDs, and they are going up in value.

Following is my list, from best to worst, of the Hendrix CDs.


1. Japanese Plydor P20P series. Any title that you find from this very rare series of discs that came out between 1984 and 1988 are the very finest sounding Hendrix on CD. Expect to pay about $30 to $150 per disc, depending on title and condition.


2. Japanese Polydor P33P series. This series came out between 1984 and 1988 and sound fantastic. Collectors of Hendrix feel that the only difference between the P20P series and the P33P series is just manufacturing quality, because the master tapes that were used are identical. The P33P series can be had now for between $15 and $90 per disc, depending on title and condition.


3. West German Polydor. These CDs sound very good, but you can deffinately tell that they are not the same quality as the Japanese CDs. These titles are going fairly cheaply, and can be bought right now for between $5 and $50 depending on title and condition.


4. Australlian Polydors. These are collectable and sound good, and have unique artwork only avaliable to Australia, but they sound identical to the West German Polydors. Some titles are pricey because of the artwork, (they all have picture discs).


5. The original USA or Canadian Reprise Warners. These discs sound OK, nothing to write a letter home to Mom about. You can pick these up cheaply, don't pay more than $15 for a mint condition title.


6. The Mankowitz MCA remasters. These titles sound good, and they were all released in a little slipcase box. Buy these titles now, they are very collectable.

7. The new Experience Hendrix remasters. These are the worse CDs avalable of Hendrix material, and sound ear-bleedingly loud and compressed. If these are your only option, skip them and don't listen to Hendrix. These titles are so bad, it is considered to be an insult to Hendrix fans.


There is one lonely audiophile disc available, it is JIMI HENDRIX THE ULTIMATE EXPERIENCE which was part of the Mankowitz MCA remaster series but done in HDCD. This is very rare, there were about 2,500 made. But these discs do change hands occasionnaly, and expect to pay about $40 for a pristine copy.


Well there you go. That is how the Hendrix CDs rate, IMO, from a guy that has several copies of each title.

[Chris M]

Originally Posted by JWB

I think the Experience Hendrix discs sound good - they're just mastered a little agressively. The artwork is beautiful.

The Mark Linnett MCA remasters sound similar - and less aggressive. The liner notes are far more informative - but the artwork is butt ugly.

Eddie Kramer claims that he used the original masters for the first time on the Experience Hendrix discs - but Mark Linnett claims that he used them too - a familiar story.

The older Reprise discs are noise reduced - if I'm not mistaken.

I'd be interested in what other people's opinions are.

I think it was Joe Gastwrit, not Mark Linett, that mastered the first 3 JHE albums in the early 90's with the new covers. Joe said he used the 2 track stereo masters for AYE and EL, he claimed that the Axis master was lost years ago. Eddie Kramer said Joe used production copies and that the Experience Hendrix versions were the first time the masters were used. The Experience Hendrix people claimed that they bought the AYE stereo master from a private collector in Texas. Kudos to EH for not using any noise reduction. I also like the EQ choices Eddie Kramer and George Marino made but all of the EH discs are mastered LOUD. I have a letter somewhere from EH or Sterling Sound (where they were mastered) that indicates that they have NO IDEA about clipped or square waveforms on the EH discs. I'll see if I can find it.

Chris

[Chris M]

[quote=therockman]


6. The Mankowitz MCA remasters. These titles sound good, and they were all released in a little slipcase box. Buy these titles now, they are very collectable.
[quote]

These are the Joe Gastwrit remasters right? IIRC thsoe discs had some noise reduction but I sold mine long ago.

Chris

[peter]

therockman:

Wow! Thank you for the informative post. Most of my Hendrix is vinyl, including all of the Exp. Hendrix LP's except the 2 Greatest Hits ones. I only have 1 JPN CD (BOG) and one W. German Polydor (TCOL). I like them both VERY MUCH. Bought them new in about 1994. I don't plan on getting into Hendrix on CD as much as you have, as I love my vinyl, but I wanted to thank you. I had no idea the Exp. H. CD's were so bad!

Maybe one day you could post a discography of these JPN. and W. Germ. CD's?

[ascot]

Rocky,

When you say The Ultimate Experience CD is the "lonely audiophile" disc out there, you're not talking about this one, right?




To all: keep in mind there have been several titles issued on CD over the last 20 years, some of which were not issued in the US. Some have been pirated so be careful! I am referring to things like In the West, Loose Ends and War Heroes.

I don't know if we'll ever see Crash Landing, The Jimi Hendrix Concerts, or the Stages box again. If you're a completist you may want to grab the first cheap one you see. These were all issued in the US and I have no other copies to compare for sound quality.

[Chris M]

Originally Posted by ascot

I don't know if we'll ever see Crash Landing, The Jimi Hendrix Concerts, or the Stages box again. If you're a completist you may want to grab the first cheap one you see. These were all issued in the US and I have no other copies to compare for sound quality.

I hope we don't see Crash Landing again since compiler Alan Douglas mixed out the original backing tracks and overdubbed session musicians in place of Mitch and Noel and Buddy and Billy. They even mixed out some of Jimi's guitar lines and replaced it with some other guitar player The original, unaltered versions circulate and they are MUCH better in every case.

The Jimi Hendrix Concerts has some GREAT performances but they added tons of echo to the Winterland and Randell's Island tracks to make it seem like they came from the same concert. Also, the Royal Albert Hall tracks didn't come from anywhere close to the master. I think they just used the audio from the film soundtrack. In any event they didn't use the Wally Heider 8 tracks. Forum member John Buchanan knows more about this than anyone. The Stages box is nice. I like the mixes of the San Diego stuff but they used noise reduction.

Chris

[therockman]

Yes, the picture that you showed of THE ULTIMATE EXPERIENCE is indeed the title that I am talking about, but because of contractual agreements, this title is the very last Polydor title ever, as well as the very first MCA title, (MCA having won domestic distribution rights from Warner Reprise). Thus, this title can be found in the US MCA version, both standard and HDCD, as well as West German and Austrailian Polydor versions, but no Japanese version for this title (that I am aware of).

[Damián]

Originally Posted by therockman

There is one lonely audiophile disc available, it is JIMI HENDRIX THE ULTIMATE EXPERIENCE which was part of the Mankowitz MCA remaster series but done in HDCD. This is very rare, there were about 2,500 made. But these discs do change hands occasionnaly, and expect to pay about $40 for a pristine copy.

Is this for real? It just happens this is the only Hendrix CD I own.

[therockman]

Damian, If you have one of the discs that has the HDCD logo printed on the rear cover and on the disc itself, then consider yourself very fortunate.

[Damián]

Originally Posted by therockman

Damian, If you have one of the discs that has the HDCD logo printed on the rear cover and on the disc itself, then consider yourself very fortunate.

Yes, that's it. The one with the clear tray with the b&w photo of Jimi behind the disc, clear space in the spine reads 'SPECIAL EDITION PICTURE DISC' in black-on-white type.

Disc has the same artwork as the cover insert and the HDCD logo is at least on the back insert, maybe somewhere else too.

20-page or so booklet with a page-long blurb on each song and some rather tiny pics here and there.

What's funny is that I'd been told this disc used NR . My ears have fooled me before (hearing nothing when a disc was drowning in NR) so I don't trust myself anymore.

I never knew this was valuable (to an extent). Mine and 20 cents would probably get me a cup of coffee by now, since it's been around quite a bit, although I do take care of my discs and thus the CD should be in good shape.

[poweragemk]

There are two editions of Reprise discs, IIRC. The first editions are not no-noised, the second are. I have AYE on 1st edition Reprise and it sounds swell, and a Polydor nudie Electric Ladyland which sounds about as good as it's going to get. Axis I only have on vinyl thus far...
There's a BIG thread on this in the archives, dudes. Search and ye shall find...

[ascot]

Chris, just to clarify, I realize that Crash Landing and others were the handiwork of Alan Douglas and have been compromised in some form or another. I mentioned them only for those who must have everything.

Rocky, sadly I do not have the HDCD version.

[Mr. Winston]

Originally Posted by Chris M

The Jimi Hendrix Concerts has some GREAT performances but they added tons of echo to the Winterland and Randell's Island tracks to make it seem like they came from the same concert. Also, the Royal Albert Hall tracks didn't come from anywhere close to the master. I think they just used the audio from the film soundtrack. In any event they didn't use the Wally Heider 8 tracks. Forum member John Buchanan knows more about this than anyone. The Stages box is nice. I like the mixes of the San Diego stuff but they used noise reduction.Chris

You know, I've had this for years and wondered why the audience and echo on this CD is in stereo while the performance is in mono. Could it be that Alan Douglas only had mono dubs of the masters and not multi tracks?

[Chris M]

Originally Posted by Mr. Winston

You know, I've had this for years and wondered why the audience and echo on this CD is in stereo while the performance is in mono. Could it be that Alan Douglas only had mono dubs of the masters and not multi tracks?

I know he didn't have the multi's of the Royal Albert Hall show. Bleeding Heart and Stone Free on the JHE Concerts come from the 2/24/69 Royal Albert Hall show. I think the rest of the tracks were remixed from the multi's but there is so much echo on everything that I can't enjoy it. BTW, the word is that EH/MCA has the multitracks to the JHE's 4/68 performance at the Miami Pop Festival. Collectors have a few songs from the JHE's set and they are absolutely ***** hot. Hopefully EH will get it together and release this. There are rumors that the entire Miami Pop Fest was filmed Woodstock style. The guy that put Woodstock together (Micahel Waldeigh) also did the Miami Pop Fest in '68 as a sort of precursor to Woodstock.

Chris