Hot Stamper Pressings of Jazz Recordings Featuring the Saxophone Available Now
Here is how we described this wonderful reissue of the 1955 recording of Lee Konitz with Warne Marsh:
Incredible MONO sound throughout this reissue copy of Lee Konitz with Warne Marsh (only the second to hit the site in years).
Exceptionally spacious and three-dimensional, as well as relaxed and full-bodied – this pressing was a big step up over every other copy we played.
If you want to hear the Tubey Magic, size and energy of this wonderful session from 1955 – originally recorded by Tom Dowd and expertly remastered by George Piros – this pressing will definitely let you do that.
I hope these notes are able to speak for themselves. If you have trouble reading them, please drop me a line and I will translate them for you.
The horns are breathy and clear, yet full and rich as can be. There may be a good reason that this pressing sounds as good as it does: it was remastered by one of the greatest mastering engineers of all time, George Piros.
Tom Dowd is the original recording engineer, and this one album should be all the proof you need that when it comes to jazz in mono, the guy is hard to beat. Rock in stereo, there the record is quite a bit more spotty (see, or better yet, listen to Cream, The Young Rascals, Delaney and Bonnie and too many others to list).
UPDATE 2025
The listening panel for this record listened to it with the mono switch in as well as with the mono switch out on the EAR 324p phono stage we use.
Somewhat surprisingly, the sound got worse on this mono pressing playing with the mono switch activated.
That’s not supposed to be the way works, but in the world of records, when has that ever counted for anything?
Just another reminder to always stay skeptical. Never believe anything anybody tells you about audio. Test everything for yourself, and that includes our Hot Stamper pressings. Play them against the best other pressings you can find. We will happily take back any record that doesn’t trounce anything you have to play head to head with our records.
Another amazing recording from the 50s, brought to you by your vinyl-loving friends at Better Records.
- The three-dimensional space and Tubey Magic are jaw-dropping on this copy.
- When you’ve critically auditioned records by the thousands, you’re bound to run into this kind of Demo Disc sound from time to time – this is what makes record collecting fun for all ages.
- It’s an amazing find, the kind of record we live for here at Better Records.
Here It Comes
You know what’s unusual about these notes?
They’re the kind of notes we’ve never written for any Heavy Vinyl reissue, even for the one that won our shootout not long ago.
They are the kind of notes that make it clear to us what a sham the modern Heavy Vinyl pressing tends to be, even those that are done right.
No modern record we’ve ever played has ever had anything even approaching this kind of big as life sound, and we doubt one ever will.
Records like this vintage vinyl pressing are thrilling in a way that very, very few records ever are.
Surprisingly, many of the most thrilling records we’ve ever played came from the same decade this record came from: the 50s.
Once you hear sound like this, you are not likely to forget it.
It sets a standard that the modern remastered record simply cannot meet.
Further Reading