Top Engineers – Bill Porter

Chet Atkins – We Were Wrong about Christmas with Chet Atkins

More of the Music of Chet Atkins

More Vinyl Arcana You May Find of Interest

In 2006 we wrote the review you see below for an orange label RCA reissue of the album.

Recently we did a shootout for the album and only one side of one of the later orange label pressings earned a Super Hot grade.

Our system was noticeably darker and clearly far less revealing than the one we have now, and those two qualities did most of the heavy lifting needed to compensate for the shortcomings of the reissue reviewed below.

What I couldn’t hear on my system back in those days (and even as late as 2006) no doubt explains most of these kinds of errors. That’s why we are constantly harping on the idea that audiophiles would do well to get good sound before they spend a fortune on vinyl.

Higher quality playback is what makes it possible to recognize and acquire better sounding records.

Live and learn is our motto, and changing one’s opinion after having made some audio progress is a feature, not a bug, of record collecting at the most advanced levels. (“Advanced” is a code word for having little to no interest in any remastered pressing marketed to the audiophile community. If you want to avoid the worst of them, we are happy to help you do that.)

And please don’t get us wrong — there are currently 171 reissues that you can find right here on thr blog that have the potential to sound better than the best originals we’ve played to date (keeping in mind that we could be wrong about any of them!).

Our Review from 2006

This is an RCA reissue LP with DEMONSTRATION QUALITY SOUND! I can’t believe how good this late reissue sounds! It may not have all the Tubey Magic of the best originals, but it does have the Tubey Magic that Bill Porter recorded and that the RCA engineers managed to transfer accurately to this LP. I can tell you I’ll never pass up another one of these. Without a doubt this has to be the best sounding Christmas record we have for sale.

Sleigh Ride sounds amazing, but, as you can see in the reviews for his other classic recordings, most everything sounds amazing on these Chet Atkins records engineered by Bill Porter.

Further Reading

Robert Brook has encountered his own share of problems in audio and record collecting. To get to the next level, he approached the problems he ran into scientifically, methodically and carefully, along these three fronts:

We also have plenty of advice to share along the same lines:

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Chet Atkins / Christmas with Chet Atkins

More Chet Atkins

Reviews and Commentaries for the Music of Chet Atkins

  • Christmas with Chet Atkins is finally back on the site after a two year hiatus, here with INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) Living Stereo sound throughout this original pressing
  • Both of these sides are shockingly clean, clear, spacious and present with plenty of bottom end weight
  • You won’t believe how natural, rich, tonally correct and Tubey Magical this copy is – until you play it, of course
  • Our best copies had both the original Living Stereo label (1961) and the later Stereo label (1965) – the lucky buyer of this copy will discover which pressing earned these grades when he gets it on his turntable
  • 4 1/2 stars: “One of the most underrated holiday platters of all-time… this disc should be rated up there with such fodder as Charlie Brown Christmas. Gorgeous.”

Without a doubt this has to be the best sounding Christmas record we have for sale. Sleigh Ride sounds amazing but, as you can see in the reviews for his other classic recordings, most everything sounds amazing on these Bill Porter engineered Chet Atkins records.

Tubey Magical acoustic guitar reproduction is superb on the better copies of this recording. Simply phenomenal amounts of Tubey Magic can be heard on every strum, along with richness, body and harmonic coherency that have all but disappeared from modern recordings (and especially from modern remasterings).

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Chet Atkins – Caribbean Guitar

More Chet Atkins

More Recordings in Living Stereo

  • You’ll find superb Double Plus (A++) grades on both sides of this famous TAS Super Disc RCA Living Stereo LP
  • Plays fairly quiet too – about as quiet as these RCA pressings from the early 60s ever will
  • If you have ever heard one of our luscious Living Stereo Chet Atkins records, you know what to expect – off the charts Tubey Magic unlike anything made in the last fifty years, or more!
  • Engineer Bill Porter just doesn’t know how not to make an amazing sounding Living Stereo recording – everything the guy touches is gold
  • If you’re a fan of the smooth guitar stylings of Mr. Atkins, this is a classic from 1962 that belongs in your collection.

This is one of Chet Atkins’ best albums. Sonically, it’s right up there with The Other Chet Atkins and the Hollywood album. It seems like Bill Porter just doesn’t know how not to make an amazing sounding Living Stereo recording. He knocked this out of the park.

I suppose we owe a debt of gratitude to Harry Pearson for pointing out to us with his TAS List what a great record this is, although I’m pretty sure anybody playing this album can tell after a minute or two that it’s in that very special class of great recordings.

This album is a little more lively than some of his other recordings, which can be criticized for being a little too laid back. For example, try side 2, cut 2 where Chet actually jams.

The last track on side 2 where Chet is joined by a trumpet player is my favorite on the album. That guitar-trumpet combination is pretty magical on that song. And you’ve got to love the kind of sound Bill Porter get from a trumpet. That’s the kind of sound we audiophiles drool over. I do anyway.

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Chet Atkins – The Other Chet Atkins

More Chet Atkins

  • Rich, smooth, sweet, full of ambience, dead-on correct tonality — it’s all here
  • Need a refresher course in Tubey Magic after playing too many modern recordings or remasterings? This record is overflowing with it
  • It seems as though Bill Porter just doesn’t know how not to make an amazing sounding Living Stereo recording. Everything the guy touches is GOLD!
  • If you’re a fan of Chet Atkin’s album from the Golden Age of the 50s and 60s, this vintage Living Stereo pressing from 1960 surely belongs in your collection

I suppose we owe a debt of gratitude to Harry Pearson for pointing out to us with his TAS List what a great record this is, although I’m pretty sure anybody playing this album would have no trouble telling after a minute or two that the recording is very special indeed.

Amazing Acoustic Guitars

Acoustic guitar reproduction is superb on the better copies. The harmonic coherency, the richness, the body, and simply phenomenal amounts of Tubey Magic can be heard on every strum.

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Chet Atkins – Chet Atkins in Hollywood (1961)

More Chet Atkins

More Recordings in Living Stereo

  • Both sides of this vintage RCA pressing were giving us the big and bold Living Stereo sound we were looking for, earning seriously good Double Plus (A++) grades
  • What we are offering here is the superior sounding re-recording from 1961, produced by Dick Peirce
  • Chet took the master tapes back to his home studio in 1961 and re-recorded his parts over the orchestra, and we think he managed to do a much better job the second time around
  • This superb recording will have you asking why so few Living Stereo pressings actually do what this one does. The more critical listeners among you will recognize that this is a very special copy indeed. Everyone else will just enjoy the hell out of it.
  • 4 1/2 stars: “If the cover of At Home evokes the 1950s, the music on In Hollywood IS the 1950s: a warm, cozy, sophisticated album of mood music in the best sense.”

You can feel the cool air of the studio the minute the needle hits the groove!

I suppose we owe a debt of gratitude to Harry Pearson for pointing out to us with his TAS List what a great album this is, although I’m pretty sure anybody playing it would have no trouble recognizing that the sound is very special indeed.

Sorry, Harry

The pressing that Harry seems to have preferred — it’s the one recommended on his list, along with the Classic Records repress — is the inferior-sounding original recording, the one with the cover showing a guitar superimposed over the cityscape.

Leave it to us, the guys who actually play tons of records and listen to them critically, to recognize how much better sounding the 1961 version is when compared to the original from 1959. (For those of you who prefer the arrangements on the original, we offer those from time to time as well.)

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Chet Atkins – The Most Popular Guitar

More Chet Atkins

More Recordings in Living Stereo

  • An original RCA pressing with superb Living Stereo sound from start to finish – just shy of our Shootout Winner
  • If you have ever heard one of our luscious Living Stereo Chet Atkins records, you know what to expect – off the charts Tubey Magic unlike anything made in the last fifty years, or more!
  • This record will have you asking why so few Living Stereo pressings actually do what this one does. The more critical listeners among you will recognize that this is a very special copy indeed. Everyone else will just enjoy the hell out of it.
  • “Chet Atkins hit the jackpot with his 12th 12″ LP release, Chet Atkins’ Workshop, which soared into the pop Top Ten, and RCA Victor Records hopefully released his 13th one with the title The Most Popular Guitar and adorned it with a cover picture of a comely girl in a negligee.”
  • If you’re a fan of Chet’s Guitar Pickiing, this Top Title from 1961 belongs in your collection.
  • The complete list of titles from 1961 that we’ve reviewed to date can be found here.

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Chet Atkins – Chet Atkins in Hollywood (1959)

More Chet Atkins

More Recordings in Living Stereo

  • An original RCA pressing of the original mix from 1959 with STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) Living Stereo sound or close to it from first note to last
  • It’s also fairly quiet at Mint Minus Minus, with no marks that play or issues with the inner grooves
  • This TAS List recording will have you asking why so few Living Stereo pressings actually do what this one does. The more critical listeners among you will recognize that this is a very special copy indeed. Everyone else will just enjoy the hell out of it.
  • You won’t believe how natural, rich, tonally correct and Tubey Magical this copy is – until you play it, of course
  • The bass is exceptionally well recorded on this album – it’s so clear, deep and note-like, you may just want to use it as Bass Test Disc for your own system
  • 4 1/2 stars: “If the cover of At Home evokes the 1950s, the music on In Hollywood IS the 1950s: a warm, cozy, sophisticated album of mood music in the best sense.”
  • Follow this link to read more reviews and commentaries for the recordings of Bill Porter

TAS List of course, and full of Living Stereo Magic. You can feel the cool air of the studio the minute the needle hits the groove.

I suppose we owe a debt of gratitude to Harry Pearson for pointing out to us with his TAS List what a great record this is, although I’m pretty sure anybody playing this album would have no trouble telling after a minute or two that this copy is very special indeed.

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Roy Orbison – Mono? Original? What’s the Best Way to Go?

Records that Sound Their Best on the Right Reissue

Hot Stamper Pressings that Sound Their Best on the Right Reissue

If you think that buying original pressings of an album like this one is the way to find the best sound, you are sorely mistaken. The originals and most reissues on the Monument label are rarely any better than dreadful sounding.

The monos sound bad and the originals sound bad, which means that all the conventional wisdom of record collectors and audiophiles alike has failed to produce the desired result: a good sounding pressing of the album. What’s a mother to do? 

Well, you could do what we did: try them all! If you keep at it long enough eventually you will run into the right pressing, and then you can focus on getting a large enough batch which will allow you to find one that sounds great and plays quietly.

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Roy Orbison – The All-Time Greatest Hits of Roy Orbison

More Roy Orbison

Reviews and Commentaries for Roy Orbison

  • You’ve never heard Roy Orbison sound better than he does here
  • Rich, smooth, sweet, full of ambience, dead on correct tonality – everything that we listen for in a great record is here
  • The phenomenally talented Bill Porter recorded many of Orbison’s classic songs from the early ’60s that are found on this compilation
  • 4 1/2 stars: “… no one conveys pain and longing more sublimely or succinctly than Roy Orbison. But his songs are also masterpieces of production: so technically precise that his deceptively simple tunes and lush melodies flow even more smoothly behind his desperate baritone croon and quivering falsetto.”

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Jim Reeves – The Intimate Jim Reeves

More Recordings by Bill Porter

More Living Stereo Titles Available Now

Yet Another Record We’ve Discovered with (Potentially) Excellent Sound…

and One We Will Probably Never Shootout Again

Some records never justified the time and money required to find Hot Stamper pressings of them in order to make it worth our while to give them a second go around. This is one such album, and the link above will take you to many more.

For us audiophiles both the sound and the music found here are enchanting. If you’re looking to demonstrate just how good 1963 All Tube Analog sound can be, this killer copy may be just the record for you.

All the copies we played were stereo. We’ve had very poor luck with mono pressings of Living Stereo recordings and tend to avoid them.

Produced by Chet Atkins in Nashville, 1960, with Bill Porter engineering, this is superb countrypolitan pop by the man who practically invented it.

Jim Reeves is lucky to have had the Bill Porter and his staff of RCA engineers from the era on his team. Although we love to do these vintage Hot Stamper shootouts, finding clean copies of these albums is getting harder every day.

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