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Your thoughts on reissues, is it worth it to track down old/original pressings?

Fopp

Fopp

Scientist
I was just in a record store here in the city. It's the kind of place that has stacks and bins full of original pressings or old pressings (pre-bar code era). I believe it's the only one of its kind here in New York. Anyway, I was talking to the woman who owns the store, and we got in a conversation about jazz and rock reissues. I told her about how there are some good ones out there, such as the Classic Records "Kind of Blue", and various Impulse reissues. She said to me, "If you're coming in here and telling me that modern reissues sound good, that's fine, but you're not an audiophile."

I was taken aback. Sure, I'm not the kind of guy who has a $10,000 stereo, but I can appreciate good sound. I didn't argue with her, I figured there wasn't really a point. We continued talking about records and such (she was pretty nice, aside from that comment), and I ended up buying an original pressing of Marquee Moon, and an older pressing of Blue Train, both in great condition. I chose these two in particular because I know for a fact that their modern reissues sound horrible.

I just finished listening to both of them. Regarding Blue Train, I never knew Jazz could sound that good on my stereo. I rank it my best sounding jazz LP yet. Marquee Moon blew me away. I won't go into specifics on the sound, but I'm starting to wonder if there's some logic in spending crazy money for original pressings.

Are you the kind of person who seeks out original/old pressings, or do modern reissues satisfy you, as long as they're done well?
 
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I go for the best sound I can get for the least amount of money. Usually that means getting an older pressing, but not always.
 
The ones i purchased recently sound terrible compared to the original pressing, i think its because some smart aleck think its about the vinyl and not the mastering:thumbsdn:
 
I know as far as metal theres a few labels putting out reissues and the sound quality is definitely lacking. I have boughten a few from one label in particular and theyre so bad I would rather wait and hunt down the originals then buy any of their reissues ever again. I dont necessarily have a problem with reissues especially if its an out if print/hard to find album but if your gonna take the time to reissue something then at least make the audio quality equal the original
 
Modern reissues, when they are released on 180g especially, are usually satisfactory if not great. In fact they're 10 times better than warped, damaged originals in my experiences.
 
No unless the lp I want is unobtainable. Re-issues are mostly hit or miss, miss in my case. I'll take an original pressing over any audiophile tweaked lp ;)!
 
Can't argue with what's already been said by others.

I own quite a few Mobile Fidelity, DCC, Classic records, Mercurys in my collection, and basically I am very happy with all of them. Some are even said by others to be the absolute best of any issue of that particular record.

As one example, is my DCC re-issue of Jethro Tull Aqualung. This is one LP they did get right, and I'm glad I got this no longer made record when I did, because prices for it now are quite high.

But, as other examples go, I once found a mint original Steely Dan Aja for a $1 at the thrifts, and I'd rather have this, than the re-issue, which I hear is not all that, for $25-$30.

Other considerations should as well be taken with many original copies, that many find there are usually a plethora of these out there as well, either different lables, and as well, different countries of origin.

Japanese, German, UK, etc pressings, and in some cases, some of these better what was issued here.

I guess the most imprtant thing of it all, is have fun, that often costwise, it is much more fun to luck into the originals for a song, rather than shelling out the big $$$ for the re-issues.

Again, as some have already mentioned, the vinyl quality of today may be better in most cases with the re-issues, but with poor, or exagerated re-mastering, sometimes that magic is lost, and the music seems to be only a shadow of what it should've been, considering. Mark
Mark
 
"If you're coming in here and telling me that modern reissues sound good, that's fine, but you're not an audiophile.".......Said the record Monger.

If you are going to spend $30 on a re-issue LP. $40 sometimes, and I even paid $65 for new issue Porcupine Tree which isnt as good musically as their previous.........

Point is, that if you look thru all the listings on ebay, thats usually what the "mint" copies of the original regular titles are going for.
Im a very patient person and I wait for the right one to come around. I recently found a sealed, Ray Charles "Whatd I Say" for $60.
(1) Thats not much more than the re-issue.
(2)You cant get better than the sound from a spankin' new 60's mono Atlantic LP.
(3) In the end, the original will always be worth more in the same condition.

I look in the ebay stores first if Im looking for a mint album.

Too many good originals around. I'll stick with them for now.

..
 
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I have had great luck with many reissues I have bought. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, Classic Records, Analogue Productions, BoxStar, and Rhino just to name a few. There's also a site called AudioPhile USA where I have found sealed albums 30-40 years old at a fair price.
 
It entirely depends on what the original is, and what the reissue is.

But often, the tape is no longer fresh, and a good reissue is simply not possible.
 
It depends on the record. Some reissues are easily bested by a nice original, some are close to a good original, on occasion some will even slay one sonically. On pressings, Classic was a crapshoot until the late ones. Some could be excellent, but they had their fair share of stinkers in the pressing department. Sundazed for me is usually decent. Mobile Fidelity pressings are great but some of the masterings have too much smiley face EQ applied. The new Mobile Fidelity titles are in general are very nice sonically.
 
i'll buy an OP over any reissue any day.
i prefer to listen to the original sound when it was pressed on the best analog equipment of it's time. i'm a professional engineer and producer working in the business since 1986. i know for a fact that there are only 3 or 4 known mastering lathes in existence today that have a true analog signal path. i know this from conversation's i've had from some of the most famous "old school" mastering engineers like george marino, dave collins, greg calbi and john dent. these guys have mastered bowie, hendrix, led zeppelin, dylan and the list goes on. most of the lathes these days have a digital converter in the path because most people are mastering from the digital masters. some record companies claim they're mastering from the original tapes, which could be true but unless they're using one of the lathes i mentioned, there is still a digital converter in the path. labels like blue note, impulse, etc and reissue labels like mofi are trustworthy but i'd be wary of others. john dent of "loud mastering" in the UK is one person in particular that i know who has an original lathe. and i believe EMI still has their original lathe from the beatles days.

i found a sealed copy of nina simone's "i put a spell on you" on ebay and i won the auction for $61. also found a sealed copy of John lennon's imagine in the UK and after shipping i payed about $80. but it was sealed with the original poster. for me it's worth it to wait for just the right copy of a favorite album. another example, a mono copy of dave brubeck "time out" $30. i put that on and i just couldn't believe the sound. i've tried the reissue's but most of the time not very satisfied. but i'm also being very critical when it comes to having the original sound and not a "remastered" version. i've had good luck on ebay and i don't have to go sifting through the bins like in the old days.

in comparison, pink floyd's "dark side of the moon" reissue sounds like it's slightly different mixes compared to the original pressing. there are subtle things in the mix like the reverb or the eq and even the level of an instrument that didn't translate in the reissue. also the warmth and depth was not the same.
 
agypsy said:
SNIP...
also the warmth and depth was not the same.
Click to expand...

This is exactly the way I feel about most of the few new pressings I own. I only have one reissue... "A Love Supreme," and superficially it sounds fine but I find I don't get involved with the music like I do on most all of my other LPs. I can't put my finger on what it is exactly about new pressings, but "the warmth and depth was not the same" pretty well sums it up. I'll freely admit that it could be in my head, though I think it isn't. My copy of "Let It Be... Naked" is a recent pressing and I don't find it to be as un-involving as the others I own.
 
JonL said:
This is exactly the way I feel about most of the few new pressings I own. I only have one reissue... "A Love Supreme," and superficially it sounds fine but I find I don't get involved with the music like I do on most all of my other LPs. I can't put my finger on what it is exactly about new pressings, but "the warmth and depth was not the same" pretty well sums it up. I'll freely admit that it could be in my head, though I think it isn't. My copy of "Let It Be... Naked" is a recent pressing and I don't find it to be as un-involving as the others I own.
Click to expand...

This is typical of the subtle tape degradation I was talking about. It still sounds OK, but the finest details have vanished from the oxide particles over the years.
 
For my money, the best-sounding jazz pressings are usually the 1950s and '60s originals, if you can find them in good shape. I have a handful of near-mint original Columbia six-eyes, and they're among the best-sounding LPs I own.
 
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