I generally prefer to buy original ones, or from the year of production. But of course if the price is above 100 euros, I get the reissue.
Just bought the Wendell Harisson/ Phil Rahelin , Message from the tribe ( 1973). Pure Pleasure reissue, around 40 euros.
There’s one original on Discogs for 1,5 k !
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This type of subject has always grated on me and the type of people it attracts. Funny that I have a sea of ‘Hidden reply’ in this whole thread. I have little idea what’s been said. Luckily.
I’ve been drawn here because this thread has been at the top for a while and I’ve seen the MOFI statement on other sites. This no doubt has been made due to that terrible American forum. I took a quick look over there, but can’t take more than 5 mins.
The process of pressing records from scratch is very complex and the advantages/disadvantages of certain things could be discussed to death on every album. At the end of the day, if it sounds good, it sounds good. If I was in MOFIs position, I think I would be vague as to the details. It does no one any good knowing how the process was achieved. You have to put faith in the company. Naim don’t tell you much and good luck to them, it doesn’t stop you buying their products. MOFI produce great pressings and I have loads, but there is a small % of my mind that wishes the next statement would be that they’re telling everyone to shove it and close down. Then the people can carry on discussing whose famous Birthdays are today.
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Sorry to disagree here. I have some lps made from hires that sound very good, but they sound quite the same as the hires digital album through my Nds. I stopped buying them because I don’t see the point to throw 40/50 euros on the vinyl which sounds very similar to the 1/3 price digital file.
Pure analog lps have something more to my ears, a kind of naturalness and freshness that doesn’t exist with these digital transfers albums, even if the sound is very clean and dynamic.
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Except he did admit that ‘Song for my father’ had to be repaired/corrected via digital means due to the condition of the original master tape. He was pretty transparent about it as he made the remark in a public forum and this was a rare instance and regretably they had to do it.
Tone Poet series is under a different management from the MM so not sure. I feel tho, that the original MM releasee picked the best of the best in terms of the sound and the musical performances. I know they are trying to duplicate the formula MM did but somehow they don’t have the same impact on me.
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I have a fair few MoFi and the SQ varies.
I have two Dire Straits 45 rpm’s - “Dire Straits” and “Communiqué” which are really good as are Elvis Costello’s “Armed Forces” and Supertramp’s “Breakfast In America”.
The B-52’s and Pretenders offerings - B-52’s, Wild Planet, Cosmic Rock, The Pretenders and Learning To Crawl are ok, as is Echo & The Bunnymen’s “Heaven Up Here”.
I have the One Step of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Couldn’t Stand The Weather” and it is breathtakingly good. The best sounding album in my collection. The only other One Step I have is Janis Joplin’s “Pearl” and it is awful. Much, much worse than my late 70’s “Nice Price” copy.
After hearing the SRV One Step I thought that One Step would guarantee quality sound. Pearl is so bad I vowed to never buy another and after the recent revelations I doubt I’ll buy another MoFi title.
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Is Song For My Father actually a Tone Poet though? I’ve seen it offered as a Classic, but never as a TP…
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@SteveO… total agree with your comment regarding the MoFi one step Pearl after suffering buyers remorse regarding this £160+ purchase in December . I also will not be giving MoFi any more of my cash for there snake oil products.
ATB Graham.
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I just ordered Texas Flood, Pure Pleasure reissue. I hope it will sound good. As it was produced in 1982, I wonder if it was originally made on master tape or digitally.
Anyone knows ? My 1982 Holland copy is average.
No. It was a MM release. But Joe Harley was involved in production.
I have the MM Song for My Father and it’s one of the best sounding records I own. If there’s even a trace of a digital signature there, these ears cannot detect it.
I say that as someone who, faced with a choice between e.g. a 1970s Blue Note “big b” pressing and a top quality modern reissue at a similar price point, would go for the older one nine times out of ten.
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Personally I don’t really feel hoodwinked by mofi because I didn’t really examine how their records where made I bought them because of of a belief based on previous experience that they would sound very good but having said that I sold my KOB and Carole King Tapestry because I didn’t like how they sounded and initially was not at all impressed with the One Step Marvin Gaye.
Anyone who refuses to buy a record because of some digital element in the chain even though it sounds better than what’s come before is a bit daft in my opinion but having said all of the above Mofi haven’t just been a bit vague they’ve been outright shady and on top of that acted appallingly by throwing those three Engineers into the spotlight.
Would it stop me buying their products no it wouldn’t if they bought out a One Step Quadrophenia or Who’s Next I’d snap one up.
I think I’d have to get my credit card out too if that were the case!
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I have the Pure Pleasure double LP reissue of Couldn’t Stand the Weather and it sounds really great to me - definitely good enough not to feel the need for the AP (or MoFi One-step). No idea of the source although the PP hype sticker says “Analogue”, but that could mean anything. Have a look and see what info you can glean from Discogs.
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So do you have any of the mofi releases that are from digital? If so did you spot that they were digital before the news broke? I completely disagree with mofi’s stance and the fact they have not been transparent about all this an it will affect my future purchases for that reason but I am pretty sure my ears are not good enough to spot a digital vinyl in a blind test
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I’m a long time collector of vinyl but I’ve never really been one who looked at how it was recorded, who mastered it and where it was pressed until quite recently.
I thought, rightly or wrongly, that Dire Straits Brothers In Arms was the first all digital release. That would lead me to believe that as Texas Flood pre-dates BIA it will be analogue. I’m sure someone will shoot me down within seconds …
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As much as I’d love a better sounding copy of Who’s Next I wouldn’t be able to justify the cost given the huge disparity in the quality of the two One-Steps I own. If it was as good as Couldn’t Stand The Weather I’d love one. If it was the same as Pearl, I honestly wouldn’t give a tenner for it.
Funnily enough, I have a standard version of SRV’s Couldn’t Stand the Weather, which sounds superb. The album was used as a demo record at shows long before MoFi got hold of it.
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Clive, I assume you have the “Sterling” cut pressing. I agree it’s excellent.
I have Abraxas, I know it’s from digital now. I would prefer to have an original one but the prices are too high to find a Mint condition.
Jeff Beck Blow by blow and wired, Dire Straits first album : they sound very good indeed. More dynamic to my originals ones. But I prefer however my originals, I can’t explain really why, but they sound more real to me.
Isaac Hayes live, 2 tracks : this album doesn’t exist apart the MOFI one. So I am happy to have it.
Conclusion : i will buy reissues from MOFI or others only if the original album is too pricey. The MOFI polemic will not stop me buying from them, if I can’t purchase the original album.