Kevin Bresnahan

I watched the guy fix my speakers so I could see that alignment would be a "gotcha". First thing they do is remove the old foam surround material. They used a razor blade, but it didn't look to be very sharp. Removing it from the paper cone looked like an acquired expertise. The guy carefully shaved off the old foam until it looked like he had it down to paper. I imagine the better you get it cleaned, the easier it is to glue the new surround. Next they removed the center dust cap. They were pretty cavalier about it, simply sliding an old razor blade under an edge and popping it off. I imagine they use a dull razor blade to avoid cutting the paper cone. FWIW, it turns out that the reason they are cavalier about it is that they simply replace it with a new one if they damage it. After the dust cap is removed, they take these plastic sleeves that look like a cut-up drinking cup. These pieces are slightly curved to the approx radius of the inside of the woofer. They slide several of these down into the opening. Each piece looked to be about 1 inch in width. They stuck 4 or 5 of them in them while carefully checking that the cone was still centered in the voicecoil. You have to use enough material to "bind up" the cone. Once you have it "frozen", pull the cone up until it sticks out of the basket about at the maximum throw. With the woofer at this extended position, the you can glue in the new surround. From the looks of it, more goopy glue is better and don't skimp or you'll leave air holes. I suppose air holes are less important on a ported speaker, but mine were acoustic suspension so air holes would kill the sound. I think the guy at New England Speaker went a little overboard with the glue as there is a lot of it showing near the surround but since the speakers sound great, it really shouldn't bother me. After gluing the surround, wait at least a day to take out the shims. When you take out the shims, the woofer cone will try to pull back in as far as the foam will allow. This tension is what makes the cone "float" in the voice coil. It should be able to freely go in & out in the voice coil. If it doesn't, your alignment is off. I don't know how they fix this... it must be a "trick of the trade". Glue the dust caps back on when you're satisfied that the cone is freely moving and after that glue dries, you should be good as new. Kevin

There's a place about 10 minutes from my work in Stoneham, MA called New England Speaker. They came highly recommended. I brought in two woofers and by the next day, I was listening to my old Boston Acoustics A-100s like they were new. I had forgotten how good the bass was. I believe they charge $45 per woofer. Not cheap, but when they're done, you have new speakers. I watched them do my speakers. I imagine there are two keys to doing it right. First, you have to make sure you apply the adhesive and set the foam suuround with the cone "locked" in the "out" position. If you don't, the woofer excursion will be limited. They use curved pieces of plastic in between the voice coil and the magnet. They next most important thing is that when you "lock" the woofer in place, if must be as near to centered as possible or it will bind up and not work right. I actually had to get one of my woofers re-aligned after I got it back because there was a slight buzz in one of them. They say it wouldn't have happened if I had waited a couple of days before using it, so mail order repairs shouldn't have this problem. Kevin

Apple computers sort alphanumerically by default as well. I said "Windows" because the original poster mentioned WMP. The last I knew, WMP does not work on a Mac. I know this may give some readers a headache, but it's relatively simple to set up MusicMatch to create mp3s with tracks named "01 - Track One", "02 - Track Two" in a folder named "Album" nested in a higher up folder called "Artist Name". Cick on Options=>Settings Go to the tab labeled "Recorder" Click the button labelled Tracks Directory... Check the boxes Artist and Album under "Make Sub Path using:" Leave the Separator box as - Check the box next to Track Number and Track Name The only "trick" you may need to know is that you want the track number box at the top. To get it there, check it and then hit that little up arrow next to it. It will move it to the top. When you're done, the window should look like this:

Windows and Windows-based file management systems (like most mp3 players), use an alphanumeric sort algorithm. They start with numbers 1-9 and then go to letters a-z. In order to use this to your advantage to get the CD played back in "LP order", you have to name the files as Claude mentioned i.e. 01 Track Name, 02 Track Name, etc. Be sure to use 01 and not 1. If you use 1 and there are more than 9 tracks, the order would be 1, 10, 11, 12, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and not what you want. BTW, to make it even easier on yourself, create folders for each artist and in each artist's folder, create a subfolder for album name. Then put your tracks into this subfolder. I've never found an mp3 plyaer that couldn't handle these nested folders so don't worry about that. However, when you use this filing convention, it makes it very easy to drag and drop whole albums without having to find the tracks. Just drag and drop the whole folder over to the mp3 player and they should be there. FWIW, once they're in the player, the track tag info takes over, it's not filename related at all. Kevin

There's lots of smiley faces and back slapping whenever anyone recites the mantra, "It's about the music". But what many contributors to this thread fail to realize is that most Jazz reissues have been somewhat immune to the "LOUDNESS WARS". It's bad in the rock genre. So bad, that it's ALL about the music... sounding crappy! These new "maximized" CDs sound like dog doo doo in most cases. Almost anyone who hears one the first time thinks something is weird. The "sound" is there, but it's constant, loud & in your face. It's particularly bad on guitar. If this trend makes it to Jazz, it'll be too late for us. We'll be stuck looking for older remasters too. Kevin

I know this thread is meandering here but who cares... Lon, I think we've discussed this a bit, but I think all listening preferences are system dependent. I still think your system has a bit of a roll off at the high end since your preference is RVG remasters, which many people find too bright. The fact that your system may have this roll off DOES NOT mean that it is a "bad" system, and you've made it perfectly clear that you like it the way it is. All it means is that you & I have to take each other's recomendations on sound with a grain of salt. FWIW, from what I hear in your listening preferences and what I've read over on the Hoffman forums, you & Steve Hoffman have very similar home systems. He also shows a definite preference for brighter mastered CDs. It's because of this that I rarely follow his recommendations for preferred pressings too. BTW, to give an analogy, I love jammy red Zinfandel wine from California. Black in color with huge, sweet fruit like strawberry jam in your mouth. The reviewers at The Wine Enthusiast hate this style of Zin and they always give these "fruit bombs" very low scores. I usually have my local wine shop bring in a couple of these low scoring wines and I almost always love them. The sad thing is, many Zin makers have tried drying out their wines so they get the better rating. It's getting harder for me to get fruit bombs. I hope this doesn't happen with my music. Kevin

I contacted Ron and gave him the gist of our discussion here, including the graphic of "Caravan". We've talked about the industry trend toward loud CDs before. He replied once again that there is pressure to up the levels. FWIW, Ron does appreciate criticism if it's justified, so don't think he's upset at us for talking about his work. Like any professional, he is striving to do the best job he can. BTW, in my E-mail to him, I also complimented him on his recent work on the Ike Quebec "45 Sessions" Connoisseur. I think these CDs sound very good. I will post some of the pertinent stuff from his E-mail. Later, Kevin From Ron McMaster: The "Level Wars" as they are called have been going on since the early days of 45's. Everybody wants their song to be louder than the other guys. What makes today's levels go beyond the limits is the technology and equipment that makes the music that the consumer buys. I told you that as mastering engineers we are always getting demands to raise the level or make it "hotter". I hold the line at a reasonable level and DO NOT give in to levels that flatten and distort the files. That means that in no way do I Maximize the files! I cannot stand that program/software. What you must realize is that comparing CD's that were made by engineers in the mid 90's verses CD's that were made more recently is that you will see more overall level gain. Equipment has improved and consumers expect a certain degree of louder overall volume level. Why they can't use the volume control is beyond me. As an engineer that is very sensitive to this subject I try to walk the line and keep all parties involved happy, most of all myself, and not give way to distorted sounding albums! In looking at the file you sent me it does look full and over. I would have to hear it to judge if it went beyond the limit of excessive level. I have seen much worse. However, it still must be listened to for possible clipping and distortion on the track. Many times a file will look just as the picture you sent but it will in fact sound fine. I'm not making excuses, just stating a fact. I'm sorry to hear that a critic of my mastering thinks "Caravan" sounds "absolutely awful, bright LOUD and no dynamics". I will have to pull this album out to see what this person is talking about. It's important to note that the producer has the final say so on any project. I know that Michael (in this case) would not approve any CD from any mastering engineer that was "absolutely awful, bright LOUD and had no dynamics". He knows how the music should sound and believe me when I tell you he will reject albums that are not to his liking. Ron

The tiny url link just goes to Comcast when I click it.

Mostly every Connoisseur CD has been mastered by Ron McMaster. I have not had any problems with the sounds on them. However, if Ron McMaster starts pushing his levels up past 0 dB and the resulting waveform looks like the one posted in this thread, I know it's going to sound crappy. The mastering engineer does not matter. If Hoffman, Dennis Drake, Bob Ludwig, Bob Norberg, Vic Ansemi... ANY of them pushes the levels up that high, it will sound worse. Many of the people who dig Hoffman's remasters don't always agree with his EQ choices but he does give you a very dynamic sounding CD. He does not believe in compressing the music. If every remastering engineer would stick to this, we'd get much better CDs. BTW, the worst thing about this recent trend of "maximized CDs" is that most people are keeping their ancient masterings. So now, people are forced to keep a first generation digital remaster that probably causes ear bleeding in some animals because the latest remaster is so maximized that you get fatigued listening to it after about 10 minutes. Want an example? The beautifuly clear-sounding Jimi Hendrix remasters from the Hendrix Experience team. They sound great. But yet, they have no dynamic range. It's all one wall of sound. No quiet parts, only loud. After a few minutes, I can't listen to them. It's worse with headphones. Kevin

Don't reply to the e-mail, that just tells them they have a live one! What I do is follow the link and log in as Screwu with a password of eatshitanddie. The next screen will come up with an entry screen for all kinds of stuff. Social Security number, mother's maiden name, etc. Have fun with it. I typically use sports figures for personal information. Father's name: Larry Bird.

I'd be willing to bet the music program you hear today was recorded a good two weeks ago. Formats like this cannot react quickly to a situation. They may have a Jackie Mac tribute in a week if you're lucky. BTW, I've only heard XM in my father's car and what I heard didn't impress me. Sirius Radio on the other sounded pretty damn good the few times I've listened. If I were to choose a satellite service based only on Jazz programming, Sirius would be it.

Let me ask those outraged at this lawsuit a question: What if the driver of the vehicle was sober? Would this lawsuit be "OK" then? Yeah, a drunk driver filing this lawsuit is pretty dumb if he thinks he's got a chance at winning, but someone's got to get the police to implement a policy change to stop this from happening again. Maybe it'll be your wife and child who gets killed when the next cop pulls a U turn on a highway? This cop pulled a U turn in the middle of a highway and got killed. He did screw up and he paid the ultimate price for this screw up. If this lawsuit gets a couple of other cops to think a half second before doing this in the future, then maybe something good can come of this moron's lawsuit. I've seen the police pull stunts like this and nearly cause multi-car pile-ups... at 7:30 in the morning and everyone sober. If a friend or family member got killed because of an asinine stunt by a stupid cop, I'd be pretty upset.

I can! (the cut off corresponds to ~0dB, the RED zone we were taught the tape deck meter should not linger) I sent a copy of this plot to Ron to get his opinion of it. He's been pretty responsive in the past. I'll let you know if I hear from him. BTW, I've let him know in the past when people have complained about some of his remastering work and this is one of the first times that I was able to show him what you guys were hearing. Kevin

I haven't heard anything from Michael to tell me that these won't be done by Ron McMaster. They seem to use Ron for anything that's a simple tape transfer. Malcolm Addey is used when they need a new mix so maybe he'll get that Evans disc if they need to re-mix from three track. I'll try to ask Michael about it today. Kevin

Lon, I hope you realize that there are a lot of us here who are pulling for you & your wife as you go through this difficult time. We're here for you. Given my wife's family history, I live in fear of finding myself in a similar position. If I ever do have to face this, I hope I am able to handle as well as you. Kevin

This is terrible news. I know Jackie wasn't a young man and that this event happens to us all, but it doesn't lessen my sadness. Jackie was something to see on a stage. I was fortunate to see him many times. The thing that always amazed me about his playing style was how "solid" it sounded. Jackie really blew that horn. No microphones were needed. I'll always remember that show at the Vanguard a few years ago. I made Josh Heisler sit with me at the table in front of Jackie's microphone. I could read the "Jackie McLean" etched into the bell. What a show!! Jackie with Cedar, David Williams and Smilin' Billy. Now half that band is gone. But they gave me a memory that I'll always have. Thanks Jackie. RIP.

http://www.capitolstudios.com/capitolmastering/mcmaster.html

Chuck, quite honestly, I rarely listen to all of the Carmell Jones Select and when I do, it's almost always the small group dates with Harold Land. Yeah, I missed him there. I don't follow guys who stick to large bands too much and my CD collection reflects this so there are probably a lot of these great session players that are totally unknown to me. This Connoisseur CD may rectify this for good ol' Blackburn. Kevin

Ditto here for the Evans reissue (about time). I am listening to "Lester Leaps In" from New Bottle Old Wine and either it's my computer speakers or when the band is blasting it sounds like an old LP, so let's hope for that sonic upgrade. F I've read somewhere (forgot where) that the tapes were in a pretty poor condition, so I don't think a sonic upgrade will be possible. Let's hope it'll not turn out to be a sonic downgrade, with lots of compression, loudness and high-end boost... I just heard back from Michael Cuscuna about the sound on the Evans CD. He replied: "The old CDs were from stereo tapes. There were a lot of drop-outs in Great Jazz Standards, but I found the three-tracks and that eliminated that problem. The sound is improved, but both of those sessions were strange recordings. Some unusual balance choices and sudden peak distortions. A real drag because the music is so unbelievably great. We did the best we could." So I would think at least "Great Jazz Standards" ought to be improved since they used the original 3 track masters? Kevin

FWIW, I E-mailed Cuscuna about this Fresh Sound CD and he says he's gonna kick their release in the butt because he has the source tapes *and* has an extra track. Kevin

Don't have a clue, but would guess you don't know Freddie Hill either. I definitely don't know Freddie Hill either! Is he Benny's brother? This Blackburn CD looks good. I like the AMG description of his playing style. Kevin

I picked up the CD/DVD-Audio combo pack the other day and I agree it's a very nice date. Very much like Fagan's other solo dates and definitely in that patented Steely Dan mode. The 5.1 24/96 DVD-Audio is very well done too. Nice mix without some of the "gimmicks" that 5.1 mixes can have. He seems to have spread the individual instruments around with some bleed so that it really puts you into the sound. Kevin

I called Michael Cuscuna to ask if he was working on the next batch of Connoisseurs and he surprised me... apparently, the June batch is already decided and well on their way to release. Drum roll please\./.\./.\./.\./.\./.\./.\./.\./.\./.\./.\./.\./.\./.\./.\./.\./.\./ Jackie McLean – It’s Time (6 tunes) Art Blakey – Holiday For Skins (8 tunes) both albums on one CD Lou Blackburn – The Complete Imperial Sessions (19 tunes) Andrew Hill – Pax (7 tunes) the session with Joe Henderson and Freddie Hubbard - "One for One"? Gil Evans – The Complete Pacific Jazz Sessions (15 tunes) Solomon Ilori – African High Life (9 tracks) - includes three usable tracks from unissued session Woo hoo! I am soooo glad I didn't pay those insane eBay prices for "New Wine Old Bottles"! Forgive me people, but why have I never heard of Lou Blackburn? It looks like Fresh Sounds already issued this material too. That's gonna hurt sales. That Hill session must be the date that made up half of the two-fer "One For One" that was recorded Feb 10, 1965. Was that in the Mosaic box? Kevin

I may buy one just to support the cause... I'll just give the CD away at work. I work with several smooth Jazz fans and I'm sure they'd appreciate it. Cancer isn't a laughing matter in my book, and I like to laugh. Kevin

I always wondered if Miles' comment to Alfred wasn't left in there to tweak the honchos at Columbia. Wasn't there some controversy that Miles' contract prevented him from doing this date?