Steely Dan AJA - Do I Need The Vinyl?

I have the original Japan for USA pressing on CD (Oldschool CBS / Sony pressing CSR Compact Disc) and it sounds great, but I'm wondering If I would find even a bit more nuance from the vinyl. I hope you know what I'm talking about?

Also, is there a particular vinyl pressing I should look for? Something special in the dead wax?

Thanks!

 

I have a vinyl copy on the original 'ABC' label, and it sounds incredible. It's all I need. At one time in the past, I had a clear yellow colored vinyl copy, again, on the 'ABC' label, and it sounded pretty sweet too.

 

It's widely available for $2. So give it a try.

 

Like Mikey said, readily available for $2. A demo quality vinyl IMO. Try and find a nice, clean yellow/red label, which should be an early pressing.

 

Yup, original USA or Canadian Red vinyl are very good.

But, if you have Steve's mastering on CD you are very close..

 

Steve's CD sounds worlds better than my original ABC pressing...

 

I've the original US vinyl and it sounds great. I paid about two euros for a near mint copy. For the price you can get it easily it's a no-brainer.

 

Picked up a really nice ABC pressing last night for $3.25.

Sounds great, and the slight crackles makes me feel like it's 1977 again.

 

Original LP

I have only known the sound of the original LP that I bought when it came out, until I tried a Canadian remastered CD earlier this year. The sound was so much brighter, the cymbals so much more prominent, and the differences so disturbing that I haven't played it since. This LP has always had a slightly muted sound, a bit of a midrange hole, perhaps. To hear it now with modern mastering style applied is too jarring for me.

 

i agree. my Japanese first pressing and Canadian red vinyl are both better than any US pressing i've heard. this is one title for which there are probably great-sounding US copies; however, i've yet to hear one. Steve's CD is still on top of the totem pole.

 

I've got an original US pressing and it sounds great. Very nice thick jacket and artwork printing also.

 

I picked up AJA on ABC vinyl not long ago, and really like it. The used record store I went in had about 3 copies for sale for one dollar each, and each one looked mint. I should have bought all 3....

It sounds really good on my POS turntable too, so I can only imagine how it would be on a top-notch system.

AJA seems to be the vinyl most readily available of all the Steely Dan catalog; you can tell it was a good seller.*



*possible exception: the Greatest Hits package.

 

A good ABC copy is reference quality stuff.

I had a buddy over on Wednesday and I'm trying to sell him my Thorens TD-160 (I have too many TTs) and I put that one for an audition. He was knocked out and insisted on listening to both sides of the LP. And he wants the table.

 

Awesome choice for a musical exhibition. Side one is SO good you have no choice but to turn the record and play side two... especially since it starts out with Peg.

Although I don't really mind the few snaps, crackles and pops my copy produces, I think it needs to be cleaned as the vinyl itself looks near mint... just a bit dusty.

 

guys, tell me what to look for in the dead wax. i want to hunt a good-sounding copy down ASAP.
thanks.

 

The vinyl is definitely worth hunting down!

Just make sure you get a copy of Aja with the ABC "target" label and the ABC logo inside bars and not inside of a note. The album was cut by Bernie Grundman and his distinctive hadwriting can be seen in the dead wax. My copy also has two machine stamped "union jacks" (British flags) on each side.

 

It's the yellow label, and the numbers are AA or AB - 1006 . Generally one side or another will have a (re-1) or (re - 2) on it. I'm sure I've seen copies with AA crossed out and AB written in. The cover may be marked AA or AB. (may have been a typo, I don't think there's any other ABC discs with an AA number..)

http://www.bsnpubs.com/abc/abc900.html shows the logo, which is on this:
http://www.bsnpubs.com/abc/abc1000.html label

Some pressing plants may just have used whatever style label they had lying around.

I have the red wax Canadian copy, but haven't played it yet. This one is supposed to be pretty good.

I have Steve's mastering of the CD, and it is probably better than the vinyl - it takes a lot of turntable and cartridge to hold on to the hi-hat on the title track. I've heard it done. On the other hand, reliably finding Steve's mastering is just as much trouble.

 

Man, the more I play this record the better it sounds.

I also have Steve's CD, but I just don't listen to CD's that much anymore (no matter how good they are). I'm 100% in love with vinyl!

 

alright, i put down the computer, went to Amoeba and found a M- copy of Aja with the following handwritten matrix info:

Side A: T5 AA 1006(RE-3)-A T5
Side B: T1 AA 1006(RE-3)-B-1

on both sides, after the two A's, a 'B' has been crossed out.

the label is the gradient-colored concentric circles ABC original.

this copy sounds great, indeed, even without a bath. not bad for $3. thanks!

 

Eddie, as a recent returnee to vinyl can you point me to instructions on how to give my vinyl a "bath"?

 

This one is in the same league as the ELO Out of the Blue Stan Ricker pressing. They boith sound amazing and can be found dirt cheap. Most used record stores have copies of Aja for 2-3 bucks. Go for it. You will no be disappointed if you find an original ABC.

 

here's a comprehensive article:

http://www.musicangle.com/feat.php?id=54

 

I hear ya on both counts Frank. I am growing more, and more in love with vinyl by the hour. Now I look at my CD's, and I think I kind of feel sorry for them, since it's going to be quite a while before I pull any of them off the shelf.

As for the alpha/numerics in the dead wax of my 'Aja' LP.....

LP jacket has 'AA-1006', and 'ABC Records' inside two bars. LP is a gate-fold with a two page story about 'Aja' from ABC Records president.

Dead Wax, side A: AA 1006 -A (RE-1) 1A
Dead Wax, side B: AA ('B' is scratched out) 1006 (RE-2) -BA ('A' is scratched out)

This LP sounds remarkable, and with all due respect to Steve, I don't see myself reaching for the CD for a looooooooooong time. It's also nice not to have to get caught up in the "Is This Steve's 'AJA'?" bologne, anymore.

 

Thread Resurrection...

I was listening to Steve's CD version of Aja, and it sounds just wonderful. Doing a little reasearch on the forum, I came across this post from Steve in a previous Aja LP thread:

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showpost.php?p=254996&postcount=8

My question.... what are the matrix codes for the first pressing, and how do I know a record was cut at ABC Mastering?