Ron S

ah, the possibilities ... btw, be careful, very careful, when doing a Google image search for "whipped" ... Reminds me of my FAVORITE Cat Shatner photo... Some day I'd love to hear the story behind the creation of Cat Shatner.

As my man Ralph Kramden says "I'm the King of my castle!" Yeah, but who's the landlady?

You have to read the fine print, Chuck. The official title, I think, is The Complete Verve Master Takes* *that fit on 3 CDs ...and that we didn't miss due to sloppiness... But it has such a cool metal box (and it doesn't rust, either).

I should add to my previous post: it takes one to know one.

Rooster's new avatar:

Well EXCUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSE ME!

Thanks, Brad. I guess my question was heard only as far away as Jersey, and not Texas.

It's pretty simple--if you send them an email stating the order number and the problem, they'll send you a return email with a link to a COD USPS return label. You just send the set back with a copy of your email stating the problem. I didn't hear from them for a couple of weeks after I sent the CD back, so I bugged them again and they immediately sent me a new CD. At that point, I received it quite quickly.

Sounds like it happened in manufacturing. If it's a problem for you, Caiman does take defective stuff back, and even pays for return shipping. I returned something to them once at their expense, and they sent me a brand-new replacement.

Plus, things always sound different in Austin.

But you should still grab it at that price (even if it does have another goofy Verve box).

I got it when if first came out and it's great. But see if you notice a difference in sound between sessions. As I recall, the first couple of discs have terrific presence and clarity, whereas the sound on a couple of the others are still good, but not as great as the first 2. I assume it's related to the original source tapes.

Could it be wiped off? I think those sometimes get on the CD's when the sets are assembled, especially small issues like Mosaics. You said "almost" exactly--were there any other differences?

You'd think that anyone who'd (1) pay these high prices for Mosaic sets would (2) be aware of the value of these sets and what they are and hence (3) would be aware of Mosaic's web site (including current listings). But not on Planet Ebay, where the laws of physics do not apply.

You notice how Allen has a lot of $900 bills to spread around? That's the bill with Millard Fillmore on it, isn't it?

I have a pair of NHT SB-3 speakers. These are phenomenal bookshelf speakers that have incredible bass response for their size--down to 39Hz, which is lower than many towers! Also, they're acoustic suspension and not bass reflex (no reflex port), so the bass is really tight even with that incredible range. They've gotten some great reviews. They're not cheap (list at $600/pr., I paid about $450), but give great sound for the size--meaning they pass the Wife Test when larger speakers may not. You can read more about them on the Audio Advisor (great high-end audio net dealer) site located here. And here is NHT's SB-3 page.

Thanks for the scoop on MusicMedia. I'll have to check them out. Speaking of Florida, I know that in addition to MusicMedia and Caiman, there is at least one other substantial Amazon merchant--CDQuest, maybe?--that is there. Also, I know that Tower.com has a lot of imports drop-shipped from a 3rd-party warehouse in south Florida. I wonder if maybe at least some of these storefronts are using the same distribution facility in Miami (a major import/export center) for their CD distribution, especially imports.

Looks like a perfect set-up.

Then let's see you start Photoshopping THIS:

My wife was going to buy me a Mosaic Select for Valentine's Day, so I ended up ordering this instead on Monday. Thanks for the heads-up Ron! Your welcome, Jeff. Let us know what you think of it.

Now that I've finished listening to all 7 discs of the Tal Farlow Mosaic, I just wanted to reiterate what a terrific deal is to be had by purchasing this set from Caiman through Amazon. Of course, the music is phenomenal, as is the Malcolm Addey-mastered sound. And the Universal/Verve European edition is identical in every way to the US edition, and is in fact manufactured in the U.S. The ONLY differences are: 1. the set doesn't have the Mosaic 224-MD-CD number; 2. the booklet isn't individually numbered, but just says that it's one of a limited edition of 10,000 (Mosaic actually numbers each of the US booklets at the time it's shipped to the purchaser, which can't be done with the European edition since it's sold by a variety of retailers); 3. the spine of the box says "Concert Band" as discussed above (and I haven't heard from anyone whether the US version also has this error); 4. rubber-cemented to the back of the box (presumably so it can be easily removed) is a copy of Mosaic's description of the set from its catalog and web site (since people considering buying the set in a store otherwise may not see it). The best part is that Caiman now has this set--brand-new and factory-sealed--for $50.45 plus $2.49 shipping. Here is their listing. And believe me, this IS the genuine article--a Mosaic through and through with slight numbering modifications to allow Verve/Universal to distribute it abroad. But, if you just MUST have that "224" on the spine of your box, and the individual number scrawled on the inside of your booklet by someone in Mosaic's shipping department, then you should spend the extra $76.06 and order direct from Mosaic. Personally, I'd rather do as tranemonk did, and put that extra money into another Mosaic.

They do list some--it's probably hit or miss as to whether they're in stock. But they give accurate stock info--in fact, you can't even order something unless it IS in stock. VERY occasionally, I've ordered something that went out of stock, but you're notified of that as soon as your order is shipped within 2-3 business days, and they just cancel that item from the order. Out of the hundreds of CD's I've ordered from them, that's happened maybe 2 times. But their prices are generally excellent for domestic issues, including RVG's and 20-bit K2's. It takes them a few weeks to stock a new issue, but if you check the label and issue date in the CD info, you can figure out whether it's the reissue you're looking for.

You know, you could get a lot better prices on at least some of those at AllDirect.com, where I do most of my buying. For example, the RVG's are typically $7.99 each, and you get free shipping on any order over $99 (FedEx Ground, which takes 2 business days to get from Nashville, where AllDirect is, to me in Philly). It takes them 2-3 business days to process an order, but they don't charge your card until they ship. I've purchased literally hundreds of CD's from them, and never had a problem. All their stuff is brand-new, but their return policy is great for the occasional defective CD, including refunding the return shipping cost. Highly recommended.

What are those, Lon?

I think he already sold it to Allen Lowe for $900. But Allen's only taking it so he can sell it on Ebay for $1500, so you'll have another shot at it.