Kevin Bresnahan

As I sit here typing, I'm listening to mp3's of "Rolling With Leo" off my PC. Hey, I had to have these tunes at work. They lift me up when I'm sick of work. These Leo Parker Blue Note dates swing like mad. My foot starts 'a tappin' from the opening beat and by the end, I'm smiling. Parker's affinity for the blues helps a lot. The slower tunes don't come across as funeral dirges but real head-nodding blues vehicles. Play "Talkin' The Blues" and tell me your head ain't bobbin'! Play it, Leo, play it! Of course, it could be that I just love Leo's bari sound. He plays a bit like Hank Mobley plays tenor... just a hair behind the beat. Yeah, that's it... Leo's the "Hank Mobley of baritone". "Rolling With Leo" didn't sit in the can because it was a bad date but because Leo Parker died shortly after it was recorded, at least according to the liner notes. It even had a Reid Miles cover designed and it appeared on other LPs' inner sleeves showing upcoming releases. Later, Kevin Oh, I just love "Talkin' The Blues". Blow them blues, Leo!

I heard back from Ron McMaster that he has not used Sonic Solutions for nearly three years which would put the Grachan Moncur set (issued in 2003) right near or at the point he changed over to a Pyramix Mastering System. He mentioned a lot of other stuff but I didn't get his OK to post it all. One thing he did mention that I don't think he'd mind repeated is that when he remasters a tape he likes "staying all analog except for the very last part and that is the analog load into the computer with all of the eq settings etc. done in analog." So what I think Ron is saying is that he queues up the master on the machine and plays it back to adjust the sound he wants off the analog tape. After he tweaks it to make it sound right, he digitizes it using the Pyramix Mastering System. He doesn't futz with the sound in digital. Kevin

If I didn't have it, I'd buy it in a second for $20. This sucker never shows up in the used bins! And I must say, it's one of my favorite Blue Notes... well, both Parkers are up there for this bari sax fanatic. If you decide not to buy it, yes, it will eventually get reissued. However, it won't be for many months in the least. $20 is cheap for a rarity like this when you consider that many new releases sell at a $17.99 list. Heck, I once paid $32 for a Japanese Blue Note that I really, really wanted. BTW, the Japanese CD will be missing a bonus track. Kevin

It made sound like No Noise was used, but it wasn't. I asked Ron McMaster about this back when we debated last January. Ron told me, "The version that you hear on the Mosaic Select is from the original RVG master tapes. The track (as well as all the others on this release) are just ever so slightly eq'd so as to sound as they did when they were originally recorded. They contain no NoNoise processing of any kind. This is the closest to the original as you can get". Quite honestly, I don't think the Mosaic Select sounds bad at all, but then again, everyone's system is different so we are comparing apples to oranges. I should pick up this RVG to hear it. Rudy seems to do a nice job with Hutcherson's vibes. Kevin

Thank you... thank you... thank you!! I thought I was going crazy! I tried every note I could and couldn't help but think "How the hell would someone transcribe this?" Next time I listen, I'll see if I can hear the two tones. Of course, with rumors rampant that almost all radio stations are using mp3 files for their playback medium, I may never hear it on the radio. Kevin

So I'm driving into work today with Loren & Wally on the radio (love those "Men From Maine" skits) and they play The Doors' "Love Her Madly". Well, I singing along with it and when the harpsicord/Mellotron/organ(?) solo comes along, I cannot get the right pitch no matter what I do! Drives me nuts. Help me out here... is it because people can't whistle flat? Or sharp? What is it about this tune?

Whoa, be careful with that, some car polishes have a grit in them. Make sure if you're going to try this, check that the polish says it's safe for "Clear Coat" finishes! I've used SoftScrub (works, but the disc looks crappy after) as well as Crest toothpaste (doesn't work no matter how hard I tried). I've been told glass polish will work but it takes a lot of "elbow grease".

EAC can extract data from scratched discs. I have done it before. There are also refinishing services out there. I've never used them but I've heard good things about them. It should set you back about $5.00 to get it resurfaced. I would try to extract the music using EAC before sending it out. FWIW, I would not recommend buying/using one of those "Disc Doctor" machines that they sell at most chain stores. Those things just scratch up your CD more than it already was. Go the professional route where they use glass polishing machines. Kevin

I've bought a lot of gear off of sellers on Audiogon. However, in two of the purchases, I found an Audiogon seller who was local so I could see the items first. In looking around there today, I see a SONY DVP-555ES in silver for $300 in San Anotonio and another that just went for $230(!). Kevin

Oh. I saw "Den Haag" and immediately saw "Copenhagen Denmark" for some reason! I guess Denmark and Copenhagen fooled my eyes. Doh. Well then, have the three tracks from Royal Jazz's "Live In Copenhagen" ever shown up elsewhere with extra material? As I said, Trane goes nutso on these three tunes so any extra material would be welcome. BTW, it sounds like I should look for this Paris material but can you guys recommend the best version? You know: best sound, all of the tunes, good price, availability, etc. Kevin

Is this date correct? I have a three track CD titles "Copenhagen - 1960" on the Royal Jazz label and it says "Recorded in Copenhagen, Denmark, March 24th, 1960". The three tunes are "So What", "On Green Dolphin Street" and "All Blues/Theme". Did they record the band more than once in Copenhagen or is the date wrong on one of these CDs? If these Royal Jazz tracks are the same ones on this Lonehill CD plus "'Round Midnight" from the same concert, I may have to break my vow of non-support for Lonehill as well. Trane is on fire on this and if there's an extra track... well, I wouldn't mind getting that. Kevin

This is weird... this question has come up a few times recently. There may be some confusion that can be easily cleaned up: ALL SACDs have stereo playback. Some only have stereo. Multi-channel playback was added later on due to DVD-Audio's success using this feature. All of the first SACD players were stereo-only. DVD-Audio is also pretty much guaranteed to have stereo tracks. I've never heard of one that doesn't. However, most DVD-Audio discs require some kind of video monitor to make it play back correctly. Not all do, but some automatically default to multi-channel. Having a stereo-only playback system shouldn't dissuade you from considering SACD. SACD sounds very nice in stereo. Multi-channel adds that extra dimension, but many find it "gimmicky" or not natural because it throws the listener into the middle of the band. I happen to like multi-channel rock SACDs. Jazz not so much. Later, Kevin PS. Sorry about derailing your original question. I should have re-read the entire thread before adding what I did about the Hoffman forums. If you check out the Fantasy SACD thread, you'll see that I put those comments were they belonged.

I just recently picked a whole bunch of these Fantasy SACDs. There seems to be a lot of variability in overall sound quality. None of them have been "bad" by any means, but none have gotten a "Wow!" out of me either. I intend to get all of these that they decide to make if only because I generally like the sound of my SACDs. Later, Kevin BTW, regarding the off-topic comments in this thread regarding Steve Hoffman's forum moderators. They seem to have gotten more lenient since I wrote what I did back in this thread in 2004... Either that or everyone's gotten the hang of what can be said. I still don't like the fact that Steve's word is gospel, but I guess that's what happens when you open your own forum. He has some crazy ideas on audio, particualrly his endosement of special rocks that you put on top of your amplifier to make it sound better. But damn, does he know how to make a nice-sounding CD!

Oops! Wrong thread for this comment... I'll go put it where it belongs!

Boy, Matthew, you dredged up an old one with this thread! I think you'll find that Denon's SACD combi-players are very nice. However, the Pioneer Elite Line and Marantz's players have a following. I have also read good things about Onkyo, but I haven't trusted Onkyo for years... they were my favorite many years ago. It may look like Sony is "off the list" but I don't mean it that way. Sony is my first choice for TVs but I bought one of their entry-level SACD players a few years ago and it was a very good SACD player but a lousy CD player. There may be a good model out there now. I just haven't read about it. Later, Kevin BTW, regarding the off-topic comments in this thread regarding Steve Hoffman's forum's moderators. They seem to have gotten more lenient since I wrote what I did back in 2004... Either that or everyone's gotten the hang of what can be said. I still don't like the fact that Steve's word is gospel but I guess that's what happens when you open your own forum. He has some crazy ideas on audio. But damn, does he know how to make a nice-sounding CD!

Weizen, if you truly are going to pick up an SACD player, these 3: are all available on Analogue Productions SACDs and to my ears, they sound incredible. I think you'll agree. They'd probably be cheaper in the end. Kevin

I would be careful ordering from these Amazon sellers. They are not always careful in their choices at listing product. There have been too many instances of people ordering a specialized item (like a gold CD) and getting the standard issue. Kevin

It's funny you mention the XRCD... I just checked my collection and I have the Miles Fantasy box with all the sessions, the Fantasy SACD of "Relaxin'", the AP SACD of "Cookin'" and the DCC CDs of "Workin'" and "Steamin'" and "Miles - The New Miles Davis Quintet". I don't have any of these on XRCD, although my buddy Rob says they sound very nice. SHould I consider... gaaaah, I'm going crazy!! Kevin

Hans, I was very careful when I wrote what I did to avoid "acid". Please don't take it that way. If you can, picture me as smiling when I write these words rather than pounding out stuff all mad! I understand you have an affinity for the DCC gold CDs... and maybe redbook CD in general. I do not want you to think I am upset with your statement. I have many of these myself. I also have no problem with your comment about the redbook layer on these MoFi SACD discs being inferior to their DCC gold counterpart. What I just wanted to point out was that SACD is another digital medium, favored by many music fans, that may be the "superior" "digital version". I prefer many SACDs over all other versions. I think many organissimo forum members would agree. I would hate to see them forego a chance to hear some awesome audio. Also, you have to admit that these MoFi SACD hybrids are currently much easier to buy now than any DCC gold CD, right? These are a less expensive alternative to hearing a very nice sounding version of these classic sessions. Kevin

Kevin, You must be thinking of someone else, as I never said or even though about doing that. I have a very good SACD/CD player (Sony XA777), and I enjoy my 170 SACDs a lot. ← That's great to hear, Claude. I was worried that you had gotten rid of your SACD player. I am glad that you can still give me reommendations for SACDs (if they ever come out with any more ). Hear hear! I too find the Fantasy SACDs to be little better than their redbook counterpart, particualrly where there's a DCC version. They do sound a lot better than the standard OJC CD though. We'll have to disagree on the AP SACDs. I love the way these titles sound. Kevin

I loved my Pioneer DV-45A player. I got two years of great music out of it. I only traded it in because I got a great deal on a Denon DV-2900 player that has fantastic video to go with the fantastic audio. If I were "stuck" with that old Pioneer unit, particualrly if I wasn't using it for video, I imgine I would still be very happy. Kevin

"all superior to other digital versions"? I didn't know you had an SACD player? SACD is a digital version. If you don't have an SACD player, you really aren't able to say that every DCC gold is better than every digital version, particularly if you've never heard all those other versions. Sure, Steve's gold CDs are way up there in the audio ranking. I have a lot of them. I also have some incredible sounding XRCDs, JRVGs, AP gold CDs, DVD-Audio discs and SACDs. Steve doesn't have the exclusive ability to make a nice-sounding audio playback. And that's not even getting into the analog vs. digital stuff! BTW, Steve did an incredible job on the Time Sonny Clark SACD. I wish AF would have kept up with the SACD hybrids. Steve remastering talent combined with DSD playback make for some awesome sounding playback. Speaking of comparing multiple digital versions of a session, I am planning to have fun with John Coltrane's "Blue Train" one of these weekends. Maybe when my buddy Rob comes up for a visit. I just picked up the Mobile Fidelity gold CD. Now, I have 6 digital versions of this title! Should make for a fun shoot out. Wait... maybe I should order the HDAD first? Kevin

Interesting that the MoFi redbook layer comes up short. Did the MoFi remastering engineer add reverb like the AP guys did? I only have the MoFi SACD of Sonny Rollins's "Plus 4". I think the SACD layer sounds very nice which is strange considering Steve Hoffman has said that the master tapes for this session are in rough shape. When I pick up these MoFi discs before they go oop, I'll be able to compare with the DCC gold CDs. I hope the SACD layer is better than the redbook. It would be a first if it's not the case. To answer the off topic statement about AP's SACDs... well, we've been over this before, but I just can't agree that the AP SACDs sound inferior to Steve's DCC gold CDs. That hasn't been true in any of the ones I've compared head-to-head. Since we hang out on Steve Hoffman's board, we've been told that AP added some reverb to their SACDs. I didn't even realize it was there until Steve pointed it out. This added bit of reverb was a strange choice by AP and I suppose some may find it detracts from their enjoyment, but on the whole, these AP SACDs sound phenomenal to my ears. You can say you prefer the same material without that reverb but to imply that this reverb makes it sonically inferior doesn't hold up... at least in my system. I think these SACDs are the definitve versions, particularly Cannonball Adderley's "You Know What I Mean" as well as the two Bill Evans Village Vanguard dates. However, I will admit that I have not listened to the redbook layer on any of these discs. Why would I? I have a great SACD player. On top of that, there's the fact that Steve's board seems to have created a huge demand for these opp DCC gold CDs. They are fetching big bucks. I think most people here would be better off finding the "next best" version or else they'll be facing the insanity on eBay like the rest of us loonies. Also Claude, I thought you had said that you got rid of your SACD player? Is that true? If not, I'm glad to hear that you can still listen to the high resolution layer of your SACDs. I have given up on trying to convert anyone over to this format these days, especially since Sony seems to have killed it off, but I do appreciate having some people on the Internet forums that can talk about these discs. Kevin

Nope. yourmusic.com has the picture for the MoFi of "Steamin'" but they ship the regular K2 CD. FWIW, I generally prefer Steve Hoffman's DCC remastering jobs as well... well, at when comparing redbook CD. However, I have yet to hear a regular CD that's sounded "better" than an SACD version of the same title. There have been several discs where there was little difference between the two, but never have I said, "That CD is better than the SACD". There's also the fact that the DCC gold CDs have been oop for many years and that there is a bit of "cult market" that has driven the prices very high. In my opinion, get the MoFi now before it goes oop and you'll have the best currently-available version at a reasonable price. If you have an SACD player, you'll probably have the best version to date. Kevin

The "new" Mobile Fidelity, who restarted the lable about two years ago with a batch of Jazz titles, is about to start deleting a few of those titles as their license runs out. The first couple of batches were SACD/CD hybrids. The titles going oop on November 1, 2005 are: Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Soul Ultradisc UHR™ SACD Miles Davis - Steamin' Ultradisc UHR™ SACD John Coltrane - Soultrane Ultradisc UHR™ SACD Get 'em while you can. I know I will be. Kevin