Listen to Steve Hoffman mastered Katy Lied

Is this identified on the outer packaging or on the disc itself? Would like to know, in case I come across a copy somewhere.

 

The CD inner ring reads "DIDX 373".

 

Guys, I replaced it with an ABC 'Wu' that has peaks normalized to 100%. Check it out. BTW, I also replaced the EAC extraction photo with a new one.

 

It sounds like the packaging is the same as all other early Dan releases, but the disc itself is the giveaway - Leppo, does it have the Digital Audio Disc stuff stamped in the inner (plastic) ring, too?

 

Yes it does. The DIDX inner ring MCA CDs tend to be more difficult to find from my experience. I believe they are among the earliest MCA US pressings.

 

I think in most cases they're the first US pressing - Warners used them at first for their stuff, too. Maybe someone could post a scan of an early MCA DADC pressing? Also, if others have identical-sounding copies but from different pressings, that would also be helpful to know...

 

Now, do you hear how the drums sound like "cardboard" on the ABC LP?
And do you hear how they sound "fuller" on Steve's CD?

 

From my perspective, the ABC LP sounds like the kind of drum sound I've been used to for years, especially on Steely Dan stuff or Trident Studio stuff - very flat and dead. The CD clip sounds like a drum. That's the difference in my mind...

 

Michael, yes that is the difference!

Here's what Steve had to say:

 

This is not the way to approach this at all. Arguing about what is what is not going to get Steve to comment on this thread.

Start another - those with wav uploading capabilities and put up these things, and only these things, ok?

Original JPN Sony/CSR Aja samples.
Original JPN JVC Aja samples

After that is dealt with - remember man, Steve's a busy guy. Let him deal with this one thing at a time.

Next after he has come to a decision about this would be

Original JPN Sony/CSR Katy Lied
Original JPN JVC Katy Lied.

Anything else - U.S. related is not answering or helping - it has not been part of any debate of the original mastering. Stick to the first presses in Japan and make it easy for him.

New thread with just those samples and a response from Steve. That would be it.

 

I think we had about 8,000 threads about the Japanese pressings that he didn't comment on before. Did you listen to the clips? I agree that it would be helpful to post some Japanese pressings for comparison. By your logic (sticking to the Japanese pressings for SH masterings) we'd never have found out that the Canadian Who's Next uses his mastering...
You never know what happens to those tapes. Steve's very well could have been sent to DADC US!

 

sydbarrett, I'm not following your logic?

Steve has suggested that we listen to identify his mastering and besides his CD could have been pressed in both the US and Japan.

Did you listen to the .wav files?

 

He also said in the other thread to put something up. That was his first post on the subject. Yes I did listen to the files. And I own the JPN Sony/CSR's. Steve has said to listen countless times and he actually made a suggestion of putting something up so he could listen to it. All this is continued speculation. And notice, he ain't commenting. My logic is put up in the best quality each version I suggested earlier, get him to identify them, and then follow from there. That is my logic. Check out the "solved the Aja mystery" thread and look at one of his first posts. As I said, let's make it easy on the guy and he will respond.

Hope this didn't come off as bitchy, it certainly wasn't meant to be. And forgive me if it did, please.

 

I still don't think that "Katy Lied" sounds bad, but I would love to be able to hear the pre-processed version.

I've heard a demo of this song, and a new version recorded after the original was erased. Pretty good stuff, easily as good as anything else on "Gaucho".

The guitar solo for "Third World Man" was recorded by Larry Carlton during the "Aja" sessions.
"Third World Man" was written to take the place of "The Second Arrangement" on the "Gaucho" album.

 

No problemo. I'm sure we're all just itchy to figure out which is which and what is what. Have you compared the CSRs against the wav files posted?

 

Yes, I know. That's why I put something up in the first place but unfortunately we haven't heard from Steve since. Please be our guest and put your AJA .wav files up for us all to listen to.

 

I was the one asking how to, but all I was told was, "upload to your server". I don't know how to do this.

And I understand that you put up this first but, you put up U.S. versions first, claiming that they were mastered by Steve. Are you sure? Why do you feel that the U.S. versions are "the ones"? I understand to trust your ears and do not wish to get in a pissing match with you, but first things first. JPN pressings. Then follow from there.

And just to keep it continuitous, let's deal with Aja first. Seeing as this is where everybody gets confused the most.

 

I'm claiming this pressing is Steve's based on his description of the sound. We've been mislead by Japan CDs before.

Let's just have two threads - this one for Katy Lied and another one for Aja. That's not confusing to me and that's why I started this thread.

 

Ok. Cool.

 

It should be noted that there is no Japanese CBS/Sony (CSR) pressing of Katy Lied. Katy Lied was first pressed on CD in 1985, and the JVC plant was open by then. So, all Japanese pressings of Katy Lied were done at the JVC plant.

Aja was first pressed on CD in 1984, before the JVC plant opened. Initial copies were pressed in '84 at the CBS/Sony plant, and subsequent copies were pressed in '85 at the JVC plant.

 

Keith, would that mean that Katy Lied has a JVC # instead of a DIDX #?

 

Does it make sense to compare the sound of the ABC LP and any CD of Katy Lied? Let's say that Nichols mastered the LP (I don't know if he did or not, but someone here probably knows). Nichols could have mastered the CD at a different time and turned out a different-sounding version. Thus, all the CDs we are comparing could be the Nichols mastering, and maybe he just did a better job with the CD. We ought to consider that as a possibility. The LP was released in 1975, and the CD was first released in 1985. Why assume that the same Nichols masterings would have been used for both?

 

Michael, no. All Japanese pressings of Katy Lied bear "DIDX-373" on the disc and inserts. I don't know why this is, but many early non-Sony-label CDs bear DIDX numbers, even though it seems that they were never pressed at the CBS/Sony plant. Perhaps as a torch bearer for the CD format, Sony imposed that all CDs being pressed in Japan bear a DIDX number. Perhaps Sony assigned DIDX numbers in the order that licensing arrangements were worked out. Just a wild theory.

The JVC numbers came later on -- say, '86, maybe?

 

Thanks for the clarification Keith and yes your questions are valid.
But, until we hear from Steve again why compare anything?

 

Well, that's fair. Still, we can apply some reasonable logic. Given that the track times on your CD and my Japan-pressed CD are identical, I have to believe that they were derived from the same master -- either Steve's or Nichols'.