Coltrane "Coltrane" AP 45 rpm Is it really THIS bad?

[1stpress]

I was considering buying the John Coltrane 45rpm Analogue Productions "Coltrane" until I found this review. Is it really as bad as this guy claims? He found the 45rpm "A Love Supreme" to be superb, but thought that this one was awful:

http://robertmusic.blogspot.com/2009/10/more-thoughts-on-analogue-productions.html#!/2009/10/more-thoughts-on-analogue-productions.html

[jazzbo]

May not get many replies here. Have you tried the Steve Hoffman forum?

Okay I see you have posted there.

[J.A.W.]

The review was written by Robert Hutton, a one-time member of both this board and the Hoffman board. He was booted from the latter and hasn't posted here in a long time. He has always been extremely critical of masterings done by people like Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray. At one time I got the impression that it was personal.

Edited September 11, 2013 by J.A.W.

[bogdan101]

I have this particular issue and while I don't remember anything bad about it, I'll give it another listen and let you know my impressions.

Edited September 11, 2013 by bogdan101

[1stpress]

  On 9/11/2013 at 3:56 PM, jazzbo said:

May not get many replies here. Have you tried the Steve Hoffman forum?

Okay I see you have posted there.

I was just banned over at the Steve Hoffman site for asking this question, so discouraging. Wow, I can't even ask a question about one of their records, I guess it's strictly a worship site.

[jazzbo]

Deplorable tactics. Sorry to hear that. Welcome to posting here.

[J.A.W.]

  On 9/11/2013 at 8:19 PM, 1stpress said:

May not get many replies here. Have you tried the Steve Hoffman forum?

Okay I see you have posted there.

I was just banned over at the Steve Hoffman site for asking this question, so discouraging. Wow, I can't even ask a question about one of their records, I guess it's strictly a worship site.

Your membership profile is still up at the Hoffman board, so are you sure they banned you? They did delete your thread about the Coltrane record, though; it doesn't appear when you click on "postings" in your profile.

[1stpress]

  On 9/11/2013 at 9:17 PM, J.A.W. said:

May not get many replies here. Have you tried the Steve Hoffman forum?

Okay I see you have posted there.

I was just banned over at the Steve Hoffman site for asking this question, so discouraging. Wow, I can't even ask a question about one of their records, I guess it's strictly a worship site.

Your membership profile is still up at the Hoffman board, so are you sure they banned you? They did delete your thread about the Coltrane record, though; it doesn't appear when you click on "postings" in your profile.

Positive, when I try to log in I get a big red "You have been banned!" warning. Not a very welcoming site, I wasn't even critical of Hoffman or Gray. I actually hold them both in high regard, that's why I posed the question!

Edited September 11, 2013 by 1stpress

[J.A.W.]

  On 9/11/2013 at 9:24 PM, 1stpress said:

May not get many replies here. Have you tried the Steve Hoffman forum?

Okay I see you have posted there.

I was just banned over at the Steve Hoffman site for asking this question, so discouraging. Wow, I can't even ask a question about one of their records, I guess it's strictly a worship site.

Your membership profile is still up at the Hoffman board, so are you sure they banned you? They did delete your thread about the Coltrane record, though; it doesn't appear when you click on "postings" in your profile.

Positive, when I try to log in I get a big red "You have been banned!" warning. Not a very welcoming site, I wasn't even critical of Hoffman or Gray. I actually hold them both in high regard, that's why I posed the question!

I see. Didn't they tell you why exactly you were banned? I think you have a right to know. Maybe it's just a misunderstanding.

[sgcim]

I just got fined two points on TGP for writing the quote:

"I don't play jazz, because it's old antiquated music that is not creative." Al Dimedouchebag (Al DiMeola).

Sure, I was wrong, but it was worth it!

Edited September 11, 2013 by sgcim

[Eric]

this version sounds great

http://store.acousticsounds.com/d/77091/John_Coltrane-Coltrane_Prestige-200_Gram_Vinyl_Record

(I've got it - it really does)

Edited September 11, 2013 by Eric

[1stpress]

  On 9/11/2013 at 11:32 PM, Eric said:

this version sounds great

http://store.acousticsounds.com/d/77091/John_Coltrane-Coltrane_Prestige-200_Gram_Vinyl_Record

(I've got it - it really does)

I couldn't agree with you more, I have that record it sound great. I'm actually asking about the other "Coltrane" though:

http://store.acousticsounds.com/d/55936/John_Coltrane-Coltrane-45_RPM_Vinyl_Record

[clifford_thornton]

Wow, that stinks, but as with the old BNBB, one can't shit where one eats I suppose. In other words, it's basically a company's forum for their own products and they seem to take themselves really seriously. As a seeker of vintage (or vintage-ish) pressings I've never had any use for Hoffman and related vinyl reissues, but they do sometimes look nice. 45rpm 12"s are something I remember from the punk/post-punk/indie era, but I don't think I have any that are longer than about 8 or 9 minutes a side (and a lot of those sound great). I think 14 minutes would be pushing it.

[J.A.W.]

Didn't Kevin Gray master this 45RPM LP-set? To my ears his masterings generally sound excellent.

Edited September 12, 2013 by J.A.W.

[Deepak]

  On 9/11/2013 at 3:49 PM, 1stpress said:

I was considering buying the John Coltrane 45rpm Analogue Productions "Coltrane" until I found this review. Is it really as bad as this guy claims? He found the 45rpm "A Love Supreme" to be superb, but thought that this one was awful:

http://robertmusic.blogspot.com/2009/10/more-thoughts-on-analogue-productions.html#!/2009/10/more-thoughts-on-analogue-productions.html

I have this 45 rpm reissue and an early non-RVG pressing. The two pressings are a lot more similar than they are different.

The relaxed, laid back in the mix presentation of Trane is pretty much the same on both of them. I imagine it's how the tapes sound. Maybe an RVG LP has him more forward in the mix.

edit: I would have to disagree with Robert's review. This reissue sounds very good to me. However not exceptional like some of the better recorded Impulse! albums. One thing you have to keep in mind is he likes really bright mastering. He will frequently slam Hoffman/Gray and praise Bernie Grundman. He also wrote an article slamming people that disliked RVG's reissued CDs saying it was their system that was at fault. If you go through all his articles you'll see he does have an axe to grind with Hoffman and the members that post on the Hoffman forums. The first time I came across his blog it came off as very negative. I would not take his reviews as unbiased, YMMV....

Edited September 12, 2013 by Deepak

[1stpress]

They reinstated me over at Steve Hoffman. Apparently they thought I was Hutton!

[J.A.W.]

  On 9/12/2013 at 9:37 AM, 1stpress said:

They reinstated me over at Steve Hoffman. Apparently they thought I was Hutton!

That would have been a big mistake, as Hutton never liked first pressings

[jazzbo]

Wow, such precision banning. You'd think they would have investigated a bit. Sigh.

[bertrand]

Memo to self: stay away from the Hoffman forums.

Bertrand.

[jazzbo]

I actually used to feel that way and practice it, but over the last few years I spend more time there than here. It moves fast and covers a lot of ground and relieves my boredom a bit more. You have to stay away from some topics and some posters but with some restraint that's easy enough.

[erwbol]

It's hard to find the jazz related topics, though. I registered, but under a different username. My postcount is still 1.

Edited September 12, 2013 by erwbol

[jazzbo]

Agreed. There's a "Jazz Beat" thread and a few others, and I create them when I want to. But I'm not just a jazz nut so there's more to talk about. And I like to read the non-music discussion, fascinates me what these music lovers think about and write about, and what tv and films they watch and books they read.

[J.A.W.]

  On 9/12/2013 at 1:23 PM, erwbol said:

It's hard to find the jazz related topics, though. I registered, but under a different username. My postcount is still 1.

It is mainly a rock-oriented board, there seem to be very few real jazz lovers. I get the impression over and over again that quite a few members only purchase jazz CDs and vinyl because they were mastered by Hoffman and/or Kevin Gray or because Hoffman recommended them, not because they really like the music. Pre-mid-1950s and post-mid-1960s jazz is usually ignored. Pity.

Edited September 12, 2013 by J.A.W.

[jazzbo]

Well, regardless of musical genres, there are some there that just appear to listen to "masterings" and "re-masterings" for their failings and successes and not just the music. Hey, I've done a little bit of that myself at times. If you only listen to jazz, it's rather a barren place. And if you don't worship certain audio engineer's work it can seem a bit strange. But I enjoy strangeness.

[Eric]

I lurk over there and it is a great place to do "research" on the rock side of things - much in the way this place is on the jazz side

one of the challenges however is the length of some of the threads - say the upcoming Paul McCartney album (yes there is one)

currently they are on page 2 or 3 of "part 4" ... and parts 1-3 had ~ 40 pages each

now granted it is Paul McCartney, but that is a ton of content to sort through