Rolling Stones Vinyl Box Sets Nov 2010

I agree. They're missing an ideal opportunity to join The Beatles and Dylan on the mono re-release bandwagon. The Stones vinyl box just isn't offering anything much that is new. I think it's a big mistake to repackage the same stereo LPs that people will own already, and I'm not seeing too much enthusiasm for this box set around here.

 

Anyone else also prefer the mono Aftermath to the Stereo ???
The Decca pressings ....

 

Since I have all the Decca, US Mono and Stereo and MFSL set, I have to pass.

 

For me, the mono mix is the way to go for "Aftermath".
No doubt about it!
Although I'd be the first one to scream "Bloody Murder" if the stereo version was no longer available.

 

What about Flowers? I love that album, even if it is a compilation!

 

I played the mono Aftermath the other night - maybe for the first time, I don't remember playing back when I bought and cleaned it. The first thing that struck me was how much more presence it had than the stereo. It has more 3 dimensionality than the stereo I thought.
I have several copies of the stereo, but only one of the mono.
If I was to put it on again, I'd put on the mono now.

 

I have mixed feelings about the UK mono Aftermath. I prefer the sound on the first side of the mono mix to the stereo version, but side 2 is mastered poorly. I find it hard to enjoy.

It would have been great if the Stones decided to reissue the mono mix.

 

OK an interview with Tony Gillis in the latest issue of "Music Connection" has him saying the following after being asked what the biggest challenge he's ever faced as a mastering engineer...

"The Rolling Stones vinyl for ABKCO. Bob Ludwig was overseeing it, I'd sent him a ref, he'd review it and we'd discuss it. That was very involved We had two mastering consoles on the go and they didn't want to use a digital delay, which was a simple way of using one signal path. We had two mastering rooms set up: one for the preview channel, one for the cutter channel. There were a lot of moves on the fly, such as changes in EQ from track to track."

Do you think he's talking about the NEW versions? I think so actually...

 

He may be talking about the new one because my understanding is that Bob had nothing to do with the 2003 vinyl reissues from Abkco other than having mastered the DSD sources used by Don Grossinger, who then remastered them for vinyl.

This is also interesting because Bob Ludiwg supposedly got out of the vinyl mastering business quite some time ago. I once read that he did so after the 1994 post-Abkco Stones remasters were given to someone else and not him then botched.

 

So the story goes, Bob Ludwig did the remastering for the 1994 vinyl reissues (Virgin) of Exile, Some Girls and I think one other. He sent off the acetate or whatever of Exile to Virgin after mastering and Virgin completely botched it. That 1994 "Exile" 180g "Audiophile" pressing was flat, lifeless and generally no good.
Apparently Bob Ludwig decided then and there that if he could not control and manage every step in the analog chain, he wasn't going to do it. Imagine, you get a clear shot at remastering for vinyl one of the greatest rock albums of all time, with newly mixed tapes! And the record company botches it.
He then sold his lathe.
Bob, if you ever read any of these posts - or anyone reading this stuff knows Bob - IT WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU WOULD START DOING ANALOGUE MASTERING AGAIN!!!!
Particularly Exile...

 

I would buy a Rolling Stones MONO BOX!

 

A bit of information on what is coming can be found here:

http://store.universal-music.co.uk/...4-1969-vinyl-box-set-2010/invt/0018771881919/

http://store.universal-music.co.uk/...1-2005-vinyl-box-set-2010/invt/0602527467108/


Finally we will get the correct catalogue on vinyl. Universal has stepped in and correcting the mess ABKCO has created, good.
I hope they would do the same thing on the CD's as well

Jan Richards

www.stonesondecca.com
www.stonesvikings.com

 

Will these remasters be from digital sources? I still haven't been able to find any information on this.

 

Because they're not touting "analog" I'm almost certain these will be digital. Hopefully 24-bit at least (not that I'll be buying these before the early monos get broken out separately).

 

Please refer again to post #83 please...

 

It's conceivable that these will be all analog, especially given the quote in post #83. I recall reading that when Bob Ludwig did the 2002 DSD remasters for Abkco, they archived all the original master files they used to 30ips analog tape at the same time they transferred to DSD. They actually considered cutting the 2003 vinyl reissues from these masters but for the sake of consistency with the SACDs, they decided to use the DSD sources. Since consistency with the SACDs wouldn't be an issue with this new box (it's strictly the UK catalog), perhaps they dug out the tapes and used them for the set.

However, that's fine for the Abkco years box, but the post-Abkco box will almost undoubtedly be sourced from the 2009-10 Marcussen remasters. I already have both the Sticky Fingers and Exile vinyl sourced from these and while they improve on their CD counterparts, they're not in the same league as the 2003 Abkco vinyl reissues at all.

I'm afraid I'm with NaturalD on this one, if they're not explicitly advertising the boxes as "all analog" they probably aren't. Maybe the Abkco years box will be, but not all of them.

 

Really!?!
Tell us how did you get them ? Mint means they are still unplayed, so what do you listen to ?
Should be worth a fortune, too and darn costly - unless you were around when they were first released and you bought 2 or more copies of each LP/EP back then...

 

No need to get into a debate on what "mint" means but surely an album can be played and still be "mint" if well cared for.

 

Nope...."Mint" is unopened, unplayed.

"Near Mint" is the term you are describing.

 

Shame they didn't include the original UK Got Live If You Want It EP in that first set... Not a big loss musically speaking, but it still means that we aren't being given the EXACT UK catalog in its entirety.

 

These boxes were both mastered by Marcussen, who was responsible for the "Exile on Main Street" reissue disgrace.
I would assume best case for the early stuff to be the Bob Ludwig DSD transfers. Quite likely is digital transfers at 48/24. Given the "Exile" reissue debacle, 96/24 is probably unlikely.
For the second box, I think it's quite possible the 44.1/16 CD masters will be pressed to vinyl and served up to people not knowing any better. Though I guess 48/24 or so is more likely. You never know though, maybe it will be a listenable 96/24....
Will be interesting to see just how they have been done.

Funny listening to Keith on the Fallon show, when asked what format he likes,
"Vinyl". And goes on to say that Analogue sounds the best. I wonder whether they actually ever listen to some of these reissues.

 

I don't think they do, no.

 

I have the Exile remaster lp. Why no love?

 

Some folks are freaked by the compression and there was a report going around claiming the vinyl was sourced from 16/44.1, which is easily disproven by looking at a spectral view of a needledrop (lots of musical information above 22k, which is impossible with a 44.1 file).

Seriously, it's no THAT bad. All the Marcussen Stones remasters are louder than they need to be but they're not nearly as bad as a lot of new releases and personally I find that once level matched they're far smoother to the ears than the '94 Ludwig remasters. In fact, I've twice posted a sample on here comparing an Artisan pressing clip of Loving Cup with the same clip level-matched from 2010 vinyl version and they're a lot closer than some would like to believe.

This being said, I still think the post-Abkco box would be a big waste of money. There are lots of mint copies of those Stones albums out there in the used bins and they sound great.

 

Stefan explained it above, but he's right... it isn't THAT bad. I certainly wouldn't call it a "disgrace" or a "debacle" but of course YMMV.