Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Charles Mingus Available Now
In general it is best to avoid pressings with the round sticker you see to the left, the one attached to the Columbia Special Products bargain reissue series.
They are rarely much better than awful, although there are a few exceptions to that rule. (There are almost always exceptions to the kinds of rules collectors use to find the best sounding records.)
The 6 Eye label domestic stereo pressings of Mingus Dynasty win our shootouts, in this case without exception.
On this title, the 360 label pressings, Black Print or White Print, can sound very good, but they never win shootouts.
We’ve identified a select group of reissues with the potential to do well in shootouts, typically earning a grade of Super Hot (A++) when up against the best originals, which are the only ones that seem to have the potential to earn our top grade, White Hot (A+++).