Classic Blue Notes on SHM-CD

[skeith]

I've used SAL and seem to get discs to UK in about 7-10 days, it's cheaper than Airmail (500 yen vs. 750 yen for 1 CD) and only slightly slower. Packaging always the same b℗mb-proof standard.

thanks for the information

[JSngry]

I use EDS for CD Japan,and things usually get to the DFW area in 5-7 days. Seems like the best balance between cost and efficiency for me.

[Aftab]

Hey all, wondering if any of you have picked these up from HMV? I just ordered some Blue Note NOW series CDs from them that got here (Chicagoland) in 6 days, and at what I think is a decent price too. Just curious, as I haven't seen much discussion about HMV. Thanks.

The first three of this series that I have ordered arrived this past week: Jimmy Smith's A New Sound, A New Star, Jutta Hipp's At the Hickory House, and Sam Rivers's New Conception. At this point I'm more interested in getting Blue Note titles that I've never heard before rather than upgrading on the classics I already have. Tonight listening to the Hipp, I find myself really impressed and excited by both the music and the quality of the sound. Will they be doing an SHM release of the second volume?

This is my approach as well. Looking to get Contrasts and the Blue Mitchell title. Picked up the Patton, Rivers and Wilson already. Great stuff!

[David]

Aftab, I have used both CD Japan and HMV. While HMV's prices can be lower, their shipping costs tends to be higher than CD Japan's, and they don't offer my favorite shipping option -- SAL, which is noticeably cheaper.

At least for me, the main factors why I choose CD Japan over HMV are the customer service and the superior packaging. Any time I have had any problems or issues, CD Japan has been very quick and responsive, and willing to "make things right." HMV on the other hand is hit or miss.

Additionally, CD Japan's packaging, as Clunky alluded to, is excellent. HMV's packaging is on par with what I usually receive from Amazon's Prime Service -- good, if not excellent, but not in the same league as CD Japan.

In short, I only use HMV when they have items that are unavailable at CD Japan.

[skeith]

Thanks to others who commented on shipping with CDJapan.

Placed my first order with CD Japan. I did not see that the number of discs ordered has anything to do with the shipping cost, right? It seems to be a set cost per order - so I guess it makes sense to order as much as possible in order to save on shipping.

I do not get the bonus points system - none of the cds tell you have many points you need to buy them and can you apply partial points to a cd if you don't have enough points to get it?

[erwbol]

You apply points on checkout. You should have 300 free points in your account as a new customer. On checkout you also get to know how many new points will be added to your account once your order ships.

[erwbol]

They do have an expiration date (a year or so).

[Clunky]

They do have an expiration date (a year or so).

I realised that too late and lost a bunch !

[erwbol]

They do have an expiration date (a year or so).

I realised that too late and lost a bunch !

I saved up some points recently to have John Coltrane's Cosmic Music (SHM) delivered for free. I used to simply apply them to the next order.

[skeith]

You apply points on checkout. You should have 300 free points in your account as a new customer. On checkout you also get to know how many new points will be added to your account once your order ships.

It did say I had 300 free points as a new customer but would not allow me to apply the points to my first order.

But again, how many points does it take to buy cds?

Also, did you see my question about shipping costs and whether the number of cds has anything to do with it?

thanks

[erwbol]

You can apply as many as you like. Each point is one Yen discount.

The more CDs you order, the higher the price of shipping, though shipping each CD separately is more expensive.

Edited February 19, 2014 by erwbol

[Aftab]

Aftab, I have used both CD Japan and HMV. While HMV's prices can be lower, their shipping costs tends to be higher than CD Japan's, and they don't offer my favorite shipping option -- SAL, which is noticeably cheaper.

At least for me, the main factors why I choose CD Japan over HMV are the customer service and the superior packaging. Any time I have had any problems or issues, CD Japan has been very quick and responsive, and willing to "make things right." HMV on the other hand is hit or miss.

Additionally, CD Japan's packaging, as Clunky alluded to, is excellent. HMV's packaging is on par with what I usually receive from Amazon's Prime Service -- good, if not excellent, but not in the same league as CD Japan.

In short, I only use HMV when they have items that are unavailable at CD Japan.

Thanks for the info. I originally was going to place my order w/ CD Japan, but the items weren't in stock. They were at HMV so I went with them. I was very surprised at how quickly they got here. I ordered on the 13th and they were delivered today.

[Clunky]

You apply points on checkout. You should have 300 free points in your account as a new customer. On checkout you also get to know how many new points will be added to your account once your order ships.

It did say I had 300 free points as a new customer but would not allow me to apply the points to my first order.

But again, how many points does it take to buy cds?

Also, did you see my question about shipping costs and whether the number of cds has anything to do with it?

thanks

Each point is one yen ( I think) . For shipping to the UK the cost varies with CD numbers. I don't recall seeing a listing of shipping charges bit I worked it out by adding CDs to a draft order and seeing what happened to the shipping. For me SAL is the most cost effective option mainly because customs charges pretty much force me to order single CDs.

[skeith]

You can apply as many as you like. Each point is one Yen discount.

The more CDs you order, the higher the price of shipping, though shipping each CD separately is more expensive.

thanks

When I got to the shipping cost screen - it just had totals for the various shipping methods so I guess they had already taken into account the number of cds I had ordered. It was not clear to me from that screen whether you could figure out what the per cd cost is or whether there is some optimal number of cds to order that gives you the lowest shipping cost.

[erwbol]

On any subsequent order you will be taken immediately to the final screen in the checkout process, much like Amazon. There you will be able to apply points and make changes.

[CJ Shearn]

I gotta grab the Rivers, Young, "Juju" when funds allow. I REALLY like the SHM's of "Empyrean Isles", "Speak No Evil" and "Out to Lunch" all huge improvements to the McMaster's and RVG's (though I may have heard a McMaster of the Hancock in passing once).

Do you mean "Contrasts" by Larry Young? I have this on pre-order! Can't wait! Also in the same order, the already released Turrentine's 'Easy Walker' and Pearson's 'Now Here This.'.

Well, that too but I was thinking "Of Love and Peace" since I let the Conn series version of that slip by me. As for the discussion of "Speak No Evil", the SHM is a drastic improvement over the RVG, I prefer the soundstage over Rudy's near mono-- and the treble is not fatiguing to where I have to drop it back. I don't have anywhere near the systems some have here, but I find the SHM to sound great. I'm happy with the RVG of ASE so I won't up that, there's too much other good music out there coming to focus on an upgrade. I gave the RVG of SNE to a musician friend whose wanted the album for a while, ditto "Empyrean Isles", and the McMaster of OTL.

[Late]

I would guess that news of the next (April/May?) batch (if indeed one is coming) would be posted here first ... ?

http://store.universal-music.co.jp/fs/artist/c/bluenote_bnmw

I've been checking (OK, somewhat obsessively) for a while now.

Would be nice to have Booker Ervin's The In Between included.

[etherbored]

9.999 times out of 10 it hits the database of hmv first....

[Stefan Wood]

Listened to "New Conception" and "Odyssey of Iskra" last night. Again, both have a lot of depth to the sound; the placement of instruments is more recognizable; I guess clarity is the operative word here. Rivers' horn sounds gorgeous, up front but not abrasively so. The Iskra disc sounds magnificent. I haven't compared the Rivers to the Mosaic set, but it is easily recommended for those who don't have this album, as it is a beautiful session of standards, which according to the liner notes, disappointed many who had been following Rivers, as they were seeking more adventurous music, and it apparently did not sell well.

I am not looking to upgrade the small remaining Blue Notes in my collection, but based on these discs, I ordered the Dolphy and the other Shorter discs because I think this is a significant sonic upgrade. Take note that I have upgraded elements of my stereo system, and that in many (but not all) instances the RVGs, a lot of the Connoisseurs and some McMasters don't sound as good as the SHM discs. By this I mean they sound flat. This may not apply to your listening experience.

Edited February 21, 2014 by Stefan Wood

[Kevin Bresnahan]

Any further comments on the sonic benefits of Shorter's " JuJu" and "All seeing eye" and Hill's "Grassroots"

My McMaster Juju sounds fragile with splashy cymbals, I'd forgotten it sounded this poor

My RVG ASE sounds basically ok , I'd be hoping for a clearer bass and improved sound stage.

Grassroots Conn sounds pinched and nasal, very narrow sound stage and brittle. Not a good combo, it's no wonder I've played this so little. The music I like but can easily see that if improved it would be spun more often.

These are the only editions I have of these sessions ( along with many other BN dates). I've generally avoided upgrade fever but the down side of my wonderful new DAC is that it reveals all, which some times isn't a good thing.

Which McMaster "JuJu" do you have? The 1st (no alternate takes), the 2nd (alternate takes) or the 3rd (alternate takes with SBM) remaster?

[Clunky]

Any further comments on the sonic benefits of Shorter's " JuJu" and "All seeing eye" and Hill's "Grassroots"

My McMaster Juju sounds fragile with splashy cymbals, I'd forgotten it sounded this poor

My RVG ASE sounds basically ok , I'd be hoping for a clearer bass and improved sound stage.

Grassroots Conn sounds pinched and nasal, very narrow sound stage and brittle. Not a good combo, it's no wonder I've played this so little. The music I like but can easily see that if improved it would be spun more often.

These are the only editions I have of these sessions ( along with many other BN dates). I've generally avoided upgrade fever but the down side of my wonderful new DAC is that it reveals all, which some times isn't a good thing.

Which McMaster "JuJu" do you have? The 1st (no alternate takes), the 2nd (alternate takes) or the 3rd (alternate takes with SBM) remaster?

2nd - alternates, no sign of SBM on disc etc. I've had the SHM CD for a week now and it certainly sounds much better. I realise that relatively poor sound of the McMaster had put me off listening to it over the years. I have plenty of time for almost all CD transfers be they McMasters, RVG , Larry Walsh or what ever. Very few sound bad. I think that's largely down to my HiFi being pretty well balanced.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I hope people are aware that this thread over on the Hoffman forums has more than likely been well scrubbed. Those threads are almost always censored when the discussion touches on Steve Hoffman's work. I am surprised that some of the posts in that thread have remained but I know that several critical posts have been removed.

I don't even comment on threads like that over there any more. Any real discussion about the sonics of a session that Steve Hoffman mastered is pretty much impossible, unless you don't mind getting banned. You really can only say, "It's great," or heavily qualify "It's not so great". You cannot say, "It's bad".

[erwbol]

Have you bought any BN SHMs yet? What's your opinion on this series?

Edited February 21, 2014 by erwbol

[Kevin Bresnahan]

Nope. I have the two Henderson "State of the Tenor" discs in my cart at CD Japan but I haven't pulled the trigger. I guess I'm a little sick of re-buying this stuff. I was looking at my Dexter Gordon section the other day and realized I had 2 or 3 CD versions of several titles. Why? I don't play them all. I typically only play the TOCJ version. I rarely play the RVG or McMaster. I am likely going to pare down my BN CD collection rather than add to it.

Kevin

[jlhoots]

I bought John Patton: That Certain Feeling from Dusty Groove.

Must have been their last copy as it now is listed as out of stock.

Probably paid $2-3 too much but it's one I've always wanted.