[Mateo Sanboval]

That's a killer record.

[texasvinyl]

I just got the new Sonor reissue of Alessandro Alessandroni e il suo complesso in the mail today. This record was first issued in 1968. Deja Vu Records reissued it in 2005, and Sonor has now done another reissue.

I thought it might be fun to do a blind audio comparison, so in random order I recorded the first 70 seconds of the track "Intimita" from each of the three records -- it is my favorite track on the record, and it is also the last track on the A-side and can demonstrate some possible differences in cutting technique.

So which sample do you think goes with which pressing? And which one do you think sounds the best?

Here is the link to the .wav sample:

https://we.tl/t-GLIvbkRWg6

[havershaw]

It's bonkers the difference between these three.
I have the new one and the 2005, but haven't listened to the new one yet.
I'm not sure which one goes with which pressing (I'm at work and can't compare my actual discs - I can do that tonight though).
BUT because I'm at work, I can do a pretty detailed comparison of the three.

1st sample is a whopping 7.3 dB louder than the 3rd sample and 6.3 dB louder than the second. Crazy that they're so different in volume. Seems like it's got the best low end (by a lot) but I don't think it necessarily sounds muddy - I could call it "smoky," for lack of a better term. Seems like harsh organ notes are tucked in best on this one.
2nd is the brightest, it's got more detail in the top end, but maybe a little harsh. I think it has the most dynamic and sounds the most open. but boy, that bass is wayyyyy back there on this one. A little honky in the mids.
3rd isn't as harsh on top but still doesn't have the low end of the first. it's got more mids and low mids than either of the other two, but doesn't have the detailed top of the 2nd, and I like the top end better on the first.

I'm driving myself insane trying to sort out which pressing is which, though.
The first one is a lot different than the other two, though.
I could see a cutting engineer in 1968 having zero problem getting aggressive with a limiter to control those harsh notes, but I can also see a modern mastering engineer get aggressive in brick wall limiting stuff and adding a ton of low end, so who knows.

Also, the third one seems faster than the other two.
There are good things about all three, so I don't know which one I like best. It is killing me to know that I own two of these and I won't be able to sort out which is which until I get home, though.

Thanks for uploading this - fascinating stuff, @texas!

[texasvinyl]

I kept EQ and output the same for all three. I did have to dial down the output otherwise the first would have a ton of clipping because it is super loud.

1 is dejavu. 2 is the original, and 3 is the sonor.

Listening on monitors, the deja vu is cut way too hot. They added a lot of gain especially low end and it sounds boomy and blares. They cut all the way to the center label which causes some inner groove distortion. The original does need gain on the low end, but this isn't atypical of some of the SR pressings of the era. The SR is the most dynamic pressing if you look at the waveforms especially on the high end, cymbals and vocals, but it does have some of the high/mid harshness inherent to some of these original recordings on SR and deneb. The Sonor is quieter because they left a wide runout after the last track which sacrifices output but avoids the distortion. They were able to smooth out some of that harshness on mids and highs, I think at the expense of clarity/depth.

In my studio I really prefer the original sound over the other two. And the sonor over the deja vu. At some point I will do a comparison of the covers. Dejavu and sonor both did a nice job with repro covers, but sonor went the extra step of doing repro labels too.

[havershaw]

I was wondering if 1 was Deja Vu because it’s the only version I’ve heard and it sounded “familiar” to me. I definitely hear clipping on the stuff that was harsh that they’ve limited down, and I thought to myself “yeah this could be mastering in 2005,” lol.

Also, Sonor seems...fastest?? Like I don’t hear a real difference in pitch, but Deja Vu and the OG stayed closer to being together than the Sonor did (I put them all on separate tracks in pro tools to A/B quickly). Seemed like that one didn’t take long to get a whole bar ahead.

[havershaw]

The Sonor does sound a lot more similar to the original, with more mids.

[Mateo Sanboval]

I kept EQ and output the same for all three. I did have to dial down the output otherwise the first would have a ton of clipping because it is super loud.

1 is dejavu. 2 is the original, and 3 is the sonor.

Listening on monitors, the deja vu is cut way too hot. They added a lot of gain especially low end and it sounds boomy and blares. They cut all the way to the center label which causes some inner groove distortion. The original does need gain on the low end, but this isn't atypical of some of the SR pressings of the era. The SR is the most dynamic pressing if you look at the waveforms especially on the high end, cymbals and vocals, but it does have some of the high/mid harshness inherent to some of these original recordings on SR and deneb. The Sonor is quieter because they left a wide runout after the last track which sacrifices output but avoids the distortion. They were able to smooth out some of that harshness on mids and highs, I think at the expense of clarity/depth.

In my studio I really prefer the original sound over the other two. And the sonor over the deja vu. At some point I will do a comparison of the covers. Dejavu and sonor both did a nice job with repro covers, but sonor went the extra step of doing repro labels too.

1. Deja Vu
2. OG
3. Sonor

The first sounds blown out, relatively speaking; the second sounds much better, but also like a well worn pressing; and the third sound like a much closer mix to number two, my presumed orgininal, but also much cleaner aka newer.

EDIT: csimiami.gif

[Dollarhyde]

This is cool @texas Will have to have a go at this.

Also saw this through Twitter,.don't know if will be available for long, or.how easy it is to purchase... Or if these prices a good or not, but any way some flirt, canopo og librarys.

http://blog-osaka.diskunion.net/Entry/11357/

[texasvinyl]

Ehhh a couple aren't bad, disagio sociale price is decent

That lightning hopkins I've wanted forever. 200,000 yen though so uhhhh no

[Steve Powder]

Sonor does cut their records hot, some of the records I couldn't even listen to like La Musica Di Puccio Roelens. Not sure if they got better but seems like so. It's a bit ridiculous to cut vinyl hot

[Molnbär av John]

Wonderful job here @texas. Super interesting and very accurate, you should send this feedback to Lorenzo too. I'm sure he would appreciate it.

[havershaw]

Got all of these in the last few days. I’ve been waiting on the Chappell since late November!

Big thanks to @bez for the recommend on this Babylon A.M.C. record - sooooo good.

081DFE7B-B582-4555-BFE8-CF6C9BC2890D.jpeg (810.99 KiB) Viewed 2390 times

These Chappell are so great. I can’t get over what a great listen they are, from front to back.

[Bezulsqy]

Got all of these in the last few days. I’ve been waiting on the Chappell since late November!

Big thanks to @bez for the recommend on this Babylon A.M.C. record - sooooo good.

081DFE7B-B582-4555-BFE8-CF6C9BC2890D.jpeg


These Chappell are so great. I can’t get over what a great listen they are, from front to back.

That is good to hear @Havershaw!

[texasvinyl]

Nice need to check out those dance mood lps you seem to really like them all a lot

[Steve Powder]

wow you got that unknown kenny bird album Haver, how is it?

[texasvinyl]

Sometimes you gotta go for the unknown. I was flirting with blind buy the musax with the lizard on the cover but could never find even a single clip. The copy for sale vanished, but a 10 minute clip was posted a couple of days ago, and it is a jazz rock ripper

[havershaw]

@Steve it’s really great! I ordered the other three already. Really solid all the way through.

Yeah @texas, I think you’d love these Chappell. I’ve been pretty amazed at how cheap they are vs how good they are.

I have 13 of them and I think maybe only 1 or 2 were so-so (or really uneven, at least). All the rest are really consistently great listens, start to finish.

That’s getting more and more important to me - I have a lot of library records that have 1-2 killer tracks but everything else is circus or whatever. (and I’m starting to run out of room on the shelves, again.)

There are a few more I still feel like I I need to get (and I’m still waiting on one from December).

[Steve Powder]

actually had that lizard Musax, but.... I SOLD IT? was a weird move from me.

Also one that I really want is the chapell dance music Les Prospection vol 18

[havershaw]

@steve yeah that one is on my want list too.

[Molnbär av John]

DSC01212.JPG (1.37 MiB) Viewed 2286 times

I keep returning to Tema con Variazioni: "Patetico-Tensivo" - a fantastic Stelvio Cipriani library release on CAM with variations on "Tema Di Anna" on the a-side and "Nei Tuoi Occhi" on the b-side. Really lovely themes and great arrangements with the only problem that some of the tracks could have been a bit longer.

More details here:
https://www.discogs.com/S-Cipriani-Tema ... se/4656611

[Bezulsqy]

^ nice one! Would love to have a re-issue of the digitmovies CD for L’Assassino... è a telefono on vinyl with all these themes added

This arrived today:

[EvanCampbell]

Bez that is a very esthetically pleasing shot to view.

[Bezulsqy]

Bez that is a very esthetically pleasing shot to view.

Haha. Thank you!

[ScoJo]

Bez that is a very esthetically pleasing shot to view.

I'm stiffer than Italian mahogany over here.

[Bezulsqy]

Bez that is a very esthetically pleasing shot to view.

I'm stiffer than Italian mahogany over here.

My equipment does need a thorough clean.