Comments on: If It’s Monday it Must be Blue Note

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 20:14:16 +0000

Yep, I wish there was a scientific way to do it. Unfortunately I can’t get my hands on like 10 flawless 10″ and 12″ copies to test it. I wish though. That would be fun.
I’ve found that Blue Note peak of sound quality was in the early 60’s but my opinion is biased due to having more clean nice copies of these sessions than say ones from the mid to late 50s.

By: Mattyman

Mattyman — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 19:59:47 +0000

I hear you Mike. In a way the ‘getting as close to the birth date of the very first master tape as possible’ from that older collector sounded reasonable. But you’re right if pressing quality improved during those days: whatever mistakes they made or whatever new developments came up during the transition from the 10″ to 12″ format must have lead to better sounding pressings in the 12″ domain altogether.

By: Shaft

Shaft — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 19:08:52 +0000

The 12′ releases should sound better – at least at the outer edges where the needle travels far every revelation 😉
Shaft

By: dottorjazz

dottorjazz — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:17:47 +0000

C’mon Maarten,remember that a great collection has to be a never ending story,so you won’t be sad if you begin a new round without having finished the first.
I’m sure noone has got everything:if I had ’em all I’d be depressed.

By: maarten kools

maarten kools — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 15:36:03 +0000

rudolf: you’re right…. but if i admt that to myself i have to collect those ones too… 🙂

By: Rudolf

Rudolf — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 15:13:17 +0000

Maarten: I disagree. Dottore: agree. You both know me pretty well.
Maarten: is not the complete 5000-series also a Gesamtkunstwerk in itself?
Seventy ten inchers highlighting the quintessence of New York fiftiesjazz, incl. work of Gil Melle and Herbie Nichols, which did not come on 12″. All DG, flat edge, Lex adress, ears, you cannot go wrong!

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:05:21 +0000

Mattyman, while I agree that your theory would have an effect there is another effect to consider. The improvement in vinyl pressing quality over the time period from the 10″ to the 12″. It wasn’t that long between when they were issued but my listening experience tells me that in the 50s, improvements in pressing technology were being made. It could be inconsequential, or all in my head though. I do tend to over think these things.

By: Rudolf

Rudolf — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 12:04:36 +0000

in the 1535 case I would agree to have rather the 12″ than the 10″, for the sole reason that one half of the 12″ album was issued nowhere else. It is the Jan. 29, 1955 session, which makes up one side of the 12″ album. Of course, I am happy to have both the 10 and 12″.
When Blue Note squeezed two 10 inchers into one 12″, I prefer the 10 inchers, because in the squeezing process, they usually left some material out. This happened in the case of Clifford Brown 1526 and Lou Donaldson 1537.

By: Mattyman

Mattyman — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 07:53:50 +0000

An older cat once told me why he preferred 10″ Blue Notes over the 12″ releases. From what I’ve read here, I understand that a lot (but not all, if I’m correct) of the initial 10″ releases were later reissued in the 1500 series as 12″. The older cat referred to the master tapes used: the very, very first time they were ever used to make a vinyl record out of them, was to press a 10″. Whatever came out later on 12″ had to be made from the same master tape, which then, naturally, had to be used for a second, third or maybe fourth time. So in his opinion, the absolute best sound quality possible that you can get was on a 10″ vinyl, made from a master tape that at that time was maybe only a few weeks, maybe months, old and still brand new, fresh and crisp. His goal was to get as close the the ‘date of birth’ of the original master tape as possible. Up to this day I don’t know what to think of his theory, ’cause the recent RVG reissues on CD sound stunning to me and have been made from those same masters whenever they were available. At the same time I think that I’m right that already in the 10″ era, Blue Note used that format to reissue original 78rpm recordings, which were cut directly from either the original 78 or a lacquer but not from actual tape, since back in the early days sessions were recorded directly to lacquer in stead of tape; it’s also the reason I think why Bud Powell’s 1503 and 1504 on CD have the remark “disc transfers by Rudy van Gelder”. A long story, but that’s what I had to think of when I saw the 10″ / 12″ answers from the others 😉

By: dottorjazz

dottorjazz — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 21:04:57 +0000

Mike you’re right:sound is generally better on 12″ although I would like to listen to a really mint 10″,original of course.
Anyway I’m not too disturbed with moderate aging of my 10″.
I’m much more disturbed by MY aging !