Vinyl TSS

[SMiLE Brian]

Will be on the lookout for those! When work picks up again I'm definitely adding quite a few more BB albums to my collection.

I got a vintage Friends pressing last month as well - sounds pretty damn good, I think I'll spin that one tonight.

I just remembered, I have friends from the Warner two-fers, which are great deals if found in a vinyl store. Smiley Smile after the TSS was odd to to say the least.

[drbeachboy]

Will be on the lookout for those! When work picks up again I'm definitely adding quite a few more BB albums to my collection.

I got a vintage Friends pressing last month as well - sounds pretty damn good, I think I'll spin that one tonight.

I just remembered, I have friends from the Warner two-fers, which are great deals if found in a vinyl store. Smiley Smile after the TSS was odd to to say the least.

Smiley is in Duophonic on that Brother/Reprise 2-fer, as well.

[SMiLE Brian]

Will be on the lookout for those! When work picks up again I'm definitely adding quite a few more BB albums to my collection.

I got a vintage Friends pressing last month as well - sounds pretty damn good, I think I'll spin that one tonight.

I just remembered, I have friends from the Warner two-fers, which are great deals if found in a vinyl store. Smiley Smile after the TSS was odd to to say the least.

Smiley is in Duophonic on that Brother/Reprise 2-fer, as well.

Your right, the sound quality wasn't great, but the real reason I thought Smiley was odd because its stripped down nature after the studio glory of TSS.

[drbeachboy]

Yeah, you really hear the difference in musical direction Brian took after abandoning Smile. I have to say though, I think Good Vibrations sounds great on that 2-fer.

[Freddie French-Pounce]

gnerally, unless at school in a free with my iPod, I only really play vinyl. I have every Beach boys album on vinyl U.K first pressings!) (SIP obviously not included, would love one though), and the Pet Sounds stereo mix. Why I listen to vinyl I cannot actually fathom, but i just prefer it. CD's have no real thrill to me, but I still get them!

[DonnyL]

vinyl is a living, breathing thing ... you will hear things differently and it feels more 'real' ... my basic point is this will happen even with the exact same source.  i.e., you could take a CD and press the vinyl from it, and it'll still have this effect.  although it's even better with an all-analog singal chain from microphone all the way to vinyl ...

While what you say is true, there is more to it than that. A well mastered and pressed LP will allow you to hear things you simply cannot hear on the CD. Things that are there on the master tape.

What I'm getting at is that many vinyl reissues are actually cut from the CD master ... perhaps even most of them.  The only way it would allow you to hear 'more' (as opposed to a different kind of sound and artifacts, etc.) would be if the CD player that was being used to play the CD the laquer was being cut from was better than your CD player, and your record player is of a higher quality than your CD player.

the 3D depth that you're referring to comes from an all-analog signal chain in my opinion.  Beyond that, vinyl sounds better to some (including me) due to the limitations, artifacts and physical nature of the medium as well.  Yes, a digital master can be improved upon by pressing to vinyl (especially if using higher resolution files, or going to tape first), but that very special magic comes from the 'analog only' pressings.

I'm not trying to burst your bubble; I'm just saying a record cut from a CD doesn't contain anything that isn't on the CD except vinyl artifacts and perhaps some differences in mastering.  And we don't know what master was used for 'The Smile Sessions' vinyl.  To my ears, it sounds like the same one used for the CD (perhaps they used higher res files ... but I remember reading somewhere that Capitol actually cuts from 16-bit CDs ... of course they could have made an exception in this case.  Regardless, its a digital master for sure).  I even remember posting on here when I got that Cabinessence/Wonderful 45 last summer that it sounded very 'analog' ... I think they just did a really good job.

I listen mostly to vinyl myself and I record my own music on tape only ... and i've pressed vinyl too.

Donny

[?]

The Smile Sessions wasn't cut in-house at Capitol.  It was mastered by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman.  In my opinion, it blows the cd away.  Not even close.

[Alan Smith]

I got a vintage Friends pressing last month as well - sounds pretty damn good, I think I'll spin that one tonight.

Cool, I hope you enjoyed it, was it good - that piece of vinyl  been eluding me (in relation to what I'm willing (allowed) to pay)

[hypehat]

I got a vintage Friends pressing last month as well - sounds pretty damn good, I think I'll spin that one tonight.

Cool, I hope you enjoyed it, was it good - that piece of vinyl  been eluding me (in relation to what I'm willing (allowed) to pay)

Me too! Only seen it once, and it was £40! Now I love Friends.... but damn.

[absinthe_boy]

vinyl is a living, breathing thing ... you will hear things differently and it feels more 'real' ... my basic point is this will happen even with the exact same source.  i.e., you could take a CD and press the vinyl from it, and it'll still have this effect.  although it's even better with an all-analog singal chain from microphone all the way to vinyl ...

While what you say is true, there is more to it than that. A well mastered and pressed LP will allow you to hear things you simply cannot hear on the CD. Things that are there on the master tape.

What I'm getting at is that many vinyl reissues are actually cut from the CD master ... perhaps even most of them.  The only way it would allow you to hear 'more' (as opposed to a different kind of sound and artifacts, etc.) would be if the CD player that was being used to play the CD the laquer was being cut from was better than your CD player, and your record player is of a higher quality than your CD player.

the 3D depth that you're referring to comes from an all-analog signal chain in my opinion.  Beyond that, vinyl sounds better to some (including me) due to the limitations, artifacts and physical nature of the medium as well.  Yes, a digital master can be improved upon by pressing to vinyl (especially if using higher resolution files, or going to tape first), but that very special magic comes from the 'analog only' pressings.

I'm not trying to burst your bubble; I'm just saying a record cut from a CD doesn't contain anything that isn't on the CD except vinyl artifacts and perhaps some differences in mastering.  And we don't know what master was used for 'The Smile Sessions' vinyl.  To my ears, it sounds like the same one used for the CD (perhaps they used higher res files ... but I remember reading somewhere that Capitol actually cuts from 16-bit CDs ... of course they could have made an exception in this case.  Regardless, its a digital master for sure).  I even remember posting on here when I got that Cabinessence/Wonderful 45 last summer that it sounded very 'analog' ... I think they just did a really good job.

I listen mostly to vinyl myself and I record my own music on tape only ... and i've pressed vinyl too.

Donny

Ah...I don't own many reissues. At least not regular back catalogue reissues. My vinyl collection generally consists of original (or at least within a year or two) pressings, or special audiophile editions.

When I say I can hear things that are not there on the CD....I mean you can sometimes hear instruments in the mix that you cannot hear on the CD. With modern digital masters this could simply be due to the tendancy of most CD's to be compressed more than is necessary.

That Lucky Old Sun is a good case in point, the CD is mastered horribly, the vinyl on the borderline of acceptable.

[anazgnos]

I remember reading somewhere that Capitol actually cuts from 16-bit CDs ... of course they could have made an exception in this case.  Regardless, its a digital master for sure). 

The "from the vaults" reissues like the Sunflower & Surf's Up re-pressings are definitely from 16-bit masters.  The current Pet Sounds pressing I think is as well, though it might be a higher-res digital source.  Smile on the other hand being cut at Bernie Grundman, it's a very safe bet they cut from high-res files. 

For one thing the frequency profile of the 'son of albion' rip of the Smile LPs does have high frequency information above what you would see on a 16-bit/44.1kHz source.  Conversely when you look at vinyl rips from the 'vault' reissues, they have the a profile consistent with a CD-resolution source.

[DonnyL]

I remember reading somewhere that Capitol actually cuts from 16-bit CDs ... of course they could have made an exception in this case.  Regardless, its a digital master for sure). 

The "from the vaults" reissues like the Sunflower & Surf's Up re-pressings are definitely from 16-bit masters.  The current Pet Sounds pressing I think is as well, though it might be a higher-res digital source.  Smile on the other hand being cut at Bernie Grundman, it's a very safe bet they cut from high-res files. 

For one thing the frequency profile of the 'son of albion' rip of the Smile LPs does have high frequency information above what you would see on a 16-bit/44.1kHz source.  Conversely when you look at vinyl rips from the 'vault' reissues, they have the a profile consistent with a CD-resolution source.

Good to know!  this is the kind of info that clears up misconceptions.  So yes, there is 'more information' in the Smile vinyl ...  Good for all of us!

[Mahalo]

I just learned all this techy mumbo jumbo when I downloaded Mackerras and the SCO performing Mozart's 41st. (Which is about as good a version as there is, IMO. Not just saying that. I'm not a big fan of his other interpretations of symphonies, but this is real good!) Anyways, I digress.... The download was a FLAC 24bit 88.2kHz gem of music.

After reading some of the earlier posts it occurs to me now why the vinyl re-issues I spent too much money on just didn't wow me the way BWPS and TSS did...not saying it is the reason why but it makes sense if it is!

[Alan Smith]

... and i've pressed vinyl too.

Wow!  What was that like?  Was it pretty straight-forward or complicated to get something that resembled the master? And how buzzed were you you played the first thing you cut?

[DonnyL]

... and i've pressed vinyl too.

Wow!  What was that like?  Was it pretty straight-forward or complicated to get something that resembled the master? And how buzzed were you you played the first thing you cut?

Ah, well still experiencing it actually!  I mean to say, I've pressed vinyl as in, I've released my music on vinyl ... I didn't do the physical pressing myself!  The release date was 1/31 and I'm just now mailing out the records.  It's a 7" ... if you're interested in '60s psych-pop, PM me your address and I'll send a copy to you.

I pushed the limits of what you can fit on a 7" ... the first test pressing was cut too hot, so I had it done again, the 2nd sounds good though!  Definitely a learning experience.  Next time, I'll press 45 rpm instead of 33 1/3 or do a full LP instead of an EP.