Blue Note CD-Rs now on Amazon

[Kevin Bresnahan]

Yes, but CD-Rs are more prone to read errors than CDs, so your CD player's error correction may have to guess more of these 1's and 0's because it can't read them properly, resulting in an overall poorer sound.

Sorry to pick on you so much, but I can't help it.

There have been studies done that show that CD-Rs are not any more prone to read errors than regular pressed CDs. In fact, in one study I read, the CD-R had less read errors than the factory pressed CD that it was made from. If you have stuck a few CDs into high speed drives (like in your PC), you probably hear different sounds. Some older, heavier CDs sound like a helicopter is landing in the room. The ability of the CD player to spin the disc up without wobble is one of the most important aspects of good digital playback.

As for bad 1's and 0's resulting in "overall poorer sound", that just can't happen. If a bunch of 1's and 0's were read incorrectly, the resulting music would not have reduced bass or rolled off highs. Enough bad data and you get clicks and drop outs. The flipping of a few 1's or 0's cannot alter the frequency nor the amplitude. That isn't how the audio D/A conversion process works.

Edited January 15, 2009 by Kevin Bresnahan

[ejp626]

2) Buy better blanks. I only buy Taiyo Yuden or Mitsui blanks. Yeah, I pay a bit more, but I worry a lot less about the longevity.

And how are we going to know that the vendor isn't using cheap blanks? I certainly have a handful of CD-Rs where the top layer is peeling around the edges and flaking off, making it difficult for the computer to access the data. It's my experience that CDRs don't last as long as regular CDs, and I think it is kind of crazy to be asked to pay full price for one.

[randyhersom]

While lower pricing would be even better, CDRs plus downloads are an utterly sensible business model for items like J R Monterose and Louis Smith. Beats the heck out of out of print forever and 200 bucks on eBay. Just a coincidence that it comes at a time when in-print availability of the 50s-70s Blue Note catalog was at a peak. (I remember that titles like Larry Young - Unity were excruciatingly rare in the mid 70s!) I don't believe the number of in-print Blue Note stamped CD titles will ever go up again, and CDRs keep the music available. The lumbering behemoth has moved a few millimeters in the direction of reality, give them the tiniest bit of credit.

[Teasing the Korean]

And how are we going to know that the vendor isn't using cheap blanks?

THANK YOU. And we also don't know the mastering/extraction process or software used to make them.

[Kyo]

The only problem I have with this is the pricing for the two-fers. Seriously, $30?

[captainwrong]

2) Buy better blanks. I only buy Taiyo Yuden or Mitsui blanks. Yeah, I pay a bit more, but I worry a lot less about the longevity.

And how are we going to know that the vendor isn't using cheap blanks? I certainly have a handful of CD-Rs where the top layer is peeling around the edges and flaking off, making it difficult for the computer to access the data. It's my experience that CDRs don't last as long as regular CDs, and I think it is kind of crazy to be asked to pay full price for one.

This is my concern as well. Yes, I buy Yuden for all my stuff, but I didn't always and I have a lot of discs I burnt when I first got a CD-R that no longer play. I've had my stuff replicated at a pro replication house and the blanks they used were not Yuden or Mitsui so I don't even know if my own band's discs will be playable in 20 years. No one is going to come out and say "we're using crap blanks" but until you get one, you don't know.

Honestly, I'd rather have some kind of lossless file plus pdfs of the art if we're going this route.

[Chuck Nessa]

If this program bothers you, don't buy the product.

[captainwrong]

If this program bothers you, don't buy the product.

Wasn't planning on it, but doesn't mean I, or anyone else, aren't entitled to an opinion.

[Chuck Nessa]

Did I say something contrary?

I admit I find bitching about this silly.

Edited January 16, 2009 by Chuck Nessa

[mjzee]

A CD-R is only as good as the extraction process that was used with the source, and the quality of the CD-R itself.

I take comfort that Blue Note is standing behind these CD-Rs. They're representing that these are Blue Note quality discs.

[RDK]

I hope they at least fix the "Booby Hutcherson" typos.

[Teasing the Korean]

I admit I find bitching about this silly.

Why don't you pay me thirty dollars for a session you've always wanted. I'll give it to you on a cassette that's been baking on the dashboard of my car all summer.

[sjarrell]

I admit I find bitching about this silly.

Why don't you pay me thirty dollars for a session you've always wanted. I'll give it to you on a cassette that's been baking on the dashboard of my car all summer.

How does baked cassette = CD-R? I'm confused.

[Chuck Nessa]

I admit I find bitching about this silly.

Why don't you pay me thirty dollars for a session you've always wanted. I'll give it to you on a cassette that's been baking on the dashboard of my car all summer.

If I had EVERYTHING else I thought I might want and didn't have the $30, I'd whine. Anything else is .............

[Teasing the Korean]

How does baked cassette = CD-R? I'm confused.

They don't equal each other. Some baked cassettes sound better than some CD-Rs.

Edited January 16, 2009 by Teasing the Korean

[Shawn]

I purchased my first CD burner in 1997, I still have the very first CDR I made and it plays perfectly, in fact I've never had a CDR "go bad" (unless it got badly scratched).

[LarryCurleyMoe]

Ordered the Ronnie Foster "Two headed Freap;" 14.95, I think. Not too much of a risk at this price. We'll see what the deal is when I finally receive it.

[felser]

I purchased my first CD burner in 1997, I still have the very first CDR I made and it plays perfectly, in fact I've never had a CDR "go bad" (unless it got badly scratched).

Same here, never have had a failure.

[A Lark Ascending]

Anyone remember 'Your CDs will self-destruct in 15 years' around the late 80s? A few of mine went brown but that got traced to a particular factory (hyperion discs mainly).

Edited January 16, 2009 by Bev Stapleton

[Stefan Wood]

I purchased my first CD burner in 1997, I still have the very first CDR I made and it plays perfectly, in fact I've never had a CDR "go bad" (unless it got badly scratched).

Same here, never have had a failure.

Ditto.

[BruceH]

How does baked cassette = CD-R? I'm confused.

They don't equal each other. Some baked cassettes sound better than some CD-Rs.

Ah, baked cassettes for supper. Yum!

[clifford_thornton]

I'm all for getting baked and listening to cassettes. Bring it on!

[Cliff Englewood]

I also noticed on that list that they have titles there that are currently available as RVG's like JR Moterose, Hill's Smokestack and Here Comes Louis Smith among others. Why would they make those available at a higher price than the RVG's?

I think this is the weirdest part of the whole deal. Why, why and thrice why???

[funkogre]

Anyone remember 'Your CDs will self-destruct in 15 years' around the late 80s? A few of mine went brown but that got traced to a particular factory (hyperion discs mainly).

I used to work in a library and we had some of those discs go bad. I never knew you could get them replaced.

[CJ Shearn]

maybe they want to give people a choice of masterings?