Abbey Road

[admin_exported]

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking for a copy of Abbey Road on vinyl and I've seen a new(ish) Capitol release on HMV for 9.99 brand new. I think this was a reissue made about 10 years ago or so.

Does anyone have this issue? Is it a good quality mastering/record? Or would I be better off sticking with an original copy in excellent condition? Although these are pricey, and rare...

Hope someone can help!

Many thanks,

Chris.

 

[MajorFubar]

I haven't heard that particular pressing, but it's very likely to have been cut from the 1987 digital masters, of which I personally am not a fan (other opinions are available). My only vinyl copy of AR is on MFSL, which again is another pressing which seems to vocally polarize opinions, but I know I'm happy with it.

 

[Anonymous]

I may be wrong (as they seem to have disappeared from Amazon), but weren't the stereo remasters all being released on vinyl this year?

 

[MajorFubar]

Yeah I though that too, as they were on Amazon for a while for pre-order. IIRC they were pencilled in for some time in September.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the tips guys. Interesting in the new reissues, but always cautious about he sound quality of new reissues!

I've just bought some beatles on original pressings -costing between 5 and 10 pounds each and they have the obvious cracks and pops on them. Paul's voice sounds crackly on most of them, which is a shame. I guess you have to pay morre for better condition records of that era.

One of them has a scratch on one side that made the record play in a loop! Not good... :'(

I love the open sound of vinyl, but getting good quality records of my favourite classics seems to be very hard.

 

[Anonymous]

I have a copy of the newer pressing and it sounds pretty good, doesn't seem like they played around with the mastering but I could be wrong. For 9.99 what have you got to loose?

 

[lindsayt]

I've just Googled some info on the Abbey Road I bought last year for about £2 (from the car boot sale where I buy about 300 lps per year from various sellers).

It's a first pressing - but not a true first pressing (whatever that means?) due to the apple being aligned properly on the back cover and no Her Majesty on the label.

I was surprised at how good it sounds as the previous time I'd heard this album was 25 years ago on my first hi-fi system when I wasn't impressed with the sound quality, which at that time I felt was rather vintagey.

I now realise that it's a powerful, full frequency range recording.

I'd be quite happy to Come Together with anyone else on this forum for an Abbey Road listening session to compare versions / pressings.

 

[DIB]

I've just Googled some info on the Abbey Road I bought last year for about £2 (from the car boot sale where I buy about 300 lps per year from various sellers).

It's a first pressing - but not a true first pressing (whatever that means?) due to the apple being aligned properly on the back cover and no Her Majesty on the label.

I was surprised at how good it sounds as the previous time I'd heard this album was 25 years ago on my first hi-fi system when I wasn't impressed with the sound quality, which at that time I felt was rather vintagey.

I now realise that it's a powerful, full frequency range recording.

I'd be quite happy to Come Together with anyone else on this forum for an Abbey Road listening session to compare versions / pressings.

Interesting, I've just checked out my copy that was a Xmas present in 1969, and I've got the mis-aligned Apple on my back cover and no "Her Majesty" listed on the label. I must have a "true" first pressing then, however it is pretty scratched so it wouldn't be worth much if I was that way inclined, which I'm not.

Damn fine record though, played constantly as a young teenager on my old Dansette

.

 

[Anonymous]

I've just Googled some info on the Abbey Road I bought last year for about £2 (from the car boot sale where I buy about 300 lps per year from various sellers).

It's a first pressing - but not a true first pressing (whatever that means?) due to the apple being aligned properly on the back cover and no Her Majesty on the label.

I was surprised at how good it sounds as the previous time I'd heard this album was 25 years ago on my first hi-fi system when I wasn't impressed with the sound quality, which at that time I felt was rather vintagey.

I now realise that it's a powerful, full frequency range recording.

I'd be quite happy to Come Together with anyone else on this forum for an Abbey Road listening session to compare versions / pressings.

Interesting, I've just checked out my copy that was a Xmas present in 1969, and I've got the mis-aligned Apple on my back cover and no "Her Majesty" listed on the label. I must have a "true" first pressing then, however it is pretty scratched so it wouldn't be worth much if I was that way inclined, which I'm not.

Damn fine record though, played constantly as a young teenager on my old Dansette

.

When I think of some of the rubbish gear (cheap BSR's with no brand cartridges) I've played my records on its amazing they're not in worse shape.

 

[DIB]

I've just Googled some info on the Abbey Road I bought last year for about £2 (from the car boot sale where I buy about 300 lps per year from various sellers).

It's a first pressing - but not a true first pressing (whatever that means?) due to the apple being aligned properly on the back cover and no Her Majesty on the label.

I was surprised at how good it sounds as the previous time I'd heard this album was 25 years ago on my first hi-fi system when I wasn't impressed with the sound quality, which at that time I felt was rather vintagey.

I now realise that it's a powerful, full frequency range recording.

I'd be quite happy to Come Together with anyone else on this forum for an Abbey Road listening session to compare versions / pressings.

Interesting, I've just checked out my copy that was a Xmas present in 1969, and I've got the mis-aligned Apple on my back cover and no "Her Majesty" listed on the label. I must have a "true" first pressing then, however it is pretty scratched so it wouldn't be worth much if I was that way inclined, which I'm not.

Damn fine record though, played constantly as a young teenager on my old Dansette

.

When I think of some of the rubbish gear (cheap BSR's with no brand cartridges) I've played my records on its amazing they're not in worse shape.

Tell me about it!

It's my biggest regret (hi-fi wise anyway) that I didn't look after my records better all those years ago. Parties, lending them to mates, leaving them lying around on the floor etc etc. Like you, I'm amazed just how good most of them still sound today, though with a few inevitable pops and crackles.

.

 

[shropshire lad]

I've just Googled some info on the Abbey Road I bought last year for about £2 (from the car boot sale where I buy about 300 lps per year from various sellers).

It's a first pressing - but not a true first pressing (whatever that means?) due to the apple being aligned properly on the back cover and no Her Majesty on the label.

I was surprised at how good it sounds as the previous time I'd heard this album was 25 years ago on my first hi-fi system when I wasn't impressed with the sound quality, which at that time I felt was rather vintagey.

I now realise that it's a powerful, full frequency range recording.

I'd be quite happy to Come Together with anyone else on this forum for an Abbey Road listening session to compare versions / pressings.

Interesting, I've just checked out my copy that was a Xmas present in 1969, and I've got the mis-aligned Apple on my back cover and no "Her Majesty" listed on the label. I must have a "true" first pressing then, however it is pretty scratched so it wouldn't be worth much if I was that way inclined, which I'm not.

Damn fine record though, played constantly as a young teenager on my old Dansette

.

When I think of some of the rubbish gear (cheap BSR's with no brand cartridges) I've played my records on its amazing they're not in worse shape.

Tell me about it!

It's my biggest regret (hi-fi wise anyway) that I didn't look after my records better all those years ago. Parties, lending them to mates, leaving them lying around on the floor etc etc. Like you, I'm amazed just how good most of them still sound today, though with a few inevitable pops and crackles.

.

Most of my old LPs still sound pretty good . That's because I had no mates and didn't get invited to parties !

Nick

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah being unpopular can pay off in the long run, these days I don't give a hoot about that stuff.

Some of my favorite LP's have distorted sound on passages with high amounts of needle modulation. Clearly this is where the cheap stylus I used thought "to hell with this I'm cutting my own groove" Fortunately for me I've discovered Discogs.

 

[lindsayt]

The good news with records that have been played with an old spade of a stylus is that they can often sound fine with a high quality cartridge. This is because the high quality cartridge is likely to have a different tip radius and therefore sit in an unworn part of the groove.

 

[Anonymous]

Funny that LP playback is reaching its Zenith now.

 

[shropshire lad]

Funny that LP playback is reaching its Zenith now.

So , do you think it is now as good as it is going to get , or is it possible for more improvements ?

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Guys,

I did some digging into the vinyl releases and it seems that there are no plans to release Vinyl this year (there's nothing on Amazon anymore). Possibly next year to coincide with the 50th aniversary of the first Beatles' release...

Can I ask - where is the best place to buy old classics like Beatles albums?

I went into Beatdown records in Newcastle the other day, and they had some ranging in price from a tenner up to about 40 quid. But i"m not experienced enough in records to know what I'm buying yet. How do I know what I'm purchasing is going to sound OK?

Most of them had stickers on saying VG+, I assume this is a minimum quality for buying old records??

Is Discogs the best place online to buy old classic LPs?

THanks!

 

[lindsayt]

eBay used to be really good for buying collections of 1000 lps for £35, but these sort of deals seem rare these days - unless you're into easy listening or country and western.

Try your nearest large car boot sale. Chances are, you'll find some weeks where you buy nothing and other weeks where you buy 60 lp's for £95.

It helps a lot if you've got some way of cleaning your purchases - eg record cleaning machine.

 

[Anonymous]

eBay used to be really good for buying collections of 1000 lps for £35, but these sort of deals seem rare these days - unless you're into easy listening or country and western.

Try your nearest large car boot sale. Chances are, you'll find some weeks where you buy nothing and other weeks where you buy 60 lp's for £95.

It helps a lot if you've got some way of cleaning your purchases - eg record cleaning machine.

Well, I've bought most of my (so far) collection from charity shops (about 20 records) with the exception of a couple of Pink Floyd records that I bought from a record shop.

The thing is firstly, most of the charity shop purchases are not that great, aside from the usual crackle and hiss, they can distort, too. Plus, the selection is usually not that good.

Sometimes they are not that cheap - most charity shops now charge 3 - 6 pounds for a record.

I don't see the point in forking out a fiver for a knackered record that sounds turd. I'd rather spend more and get something playable, especially for classic albums like Floyd and The Beatles, etc., that I'll play again and again

I don't have anything to clean my records, apart from a manual method Bretty advised me using de-ionised water and dish washer rinse aid, so I think a Disco Anti-Stat machine should be one of the next purchases I make.

But seriously, I'd happily pay 20 pounds for an album of The Beatles that plays with only a few pops and hisses and has no distortion. Because the amount of enjoyment I will get out of heavily outweighs the price. I'd rather have fewer higher quality albums that more lower quality ones.

Do I make any sense?

My parents, being the kind people they are, recently bought me a couple of Beatles LPs for a fiver at a local market. The thing is they were terribly scratched and battered and almost unplayable when I tried them out. I don't have the heart to tell them...

 

[MajorFubar]

Do I make any sense?

You do, and I feel your pain.With cult artists like The Beatles the problem is there's a W*nker’s Tax (sorry, “collectors’ premium”) on top of what should be the real price, which collectors are prepared to pay. Some if not most of these collectors don’t even actually play the records they buy; they buy them for what they are, not what’s on them, presumably to put away in some UV-resistant hermitically-sealed display case.The good news is, if you're not interested in buying a first-matrix pressing with a misspelled title on one label (etc), you needn’t pay a fortune because collectors aren’t interested. On ebay, look for sellers with excellent feedback who give Record Collector gradings, then look for Ex- upwards.I bought my MFSL Abbey Road from such a seller. For my £35 I got what I consider to be a near-mint LP, even though it too was graded as Ex-.

Do I make any sense?

You do, and I feel your pain.

With cult artists like The Beatles the problem is there's a W*nker’s Tax (sorry, “collectors’ premium”) on top of what should be the real price. Collectors are prepared to pay it, so you can hardly blame the sellers for exploiting them. Some if not most of these collectors don’t even actually play the records they buy; they buy them for what they are, not what’s on them, presumably to put away in some UV-resistant hermetically-sealed display case.

The good news is, if you're not interested in buying a first-matrix pressing with a misspelled title on one label (etc), you needn’t pay a fortune because collectors aren’t interested. On ebay, look for sellers with excellent feedback who give Record Collector gradings, then look for Ex- upwards.

I bought my MFSL Abbey Road from such a seller. For my £35 I got what I consider to be a near-mint LP, even though it too was graded as Ex-.

 

[Anonymous]

Do I make any sense?

You do, and I feel your pain.With cult artists like The Beatles the problem is there's a W*nker’s Tax (sorry, “collectors’ premium”) on top of what should be the real price, which collectors are prepared to pay. Some if not most of these collectors don’t even actually play the records they buy; they buy them for what they are, not what’s on them, presumably to put away in some UV-resistant hermitically-sealed display case.The good news is, if you're not interested in buying a first-matrix pressing with a misspelled title on one label (etc), you needn’t pay a fortune because collectors aren’t interested. On ebay, look for sellers with excellent feedback who give Record Collector gradings, then look for Ex- upwards.I bought my MFSL Abbey Road from such a seller. For my £35 I got what I consider to be a near-mint LP, even though it too was graded as Ex-.

Do I make any sense?

You do, and I feel your pain.

With cult artists like The Beatles the problem is there's a W*nker’s Tax (sorry, “collectors’ premium”) on top of what should be the real price, which collectors are prepared to pay. Some if not most of these collectors don’t even actually play the records they buy; they buy them for what they are, not what’s on them, presumably to put away in some UV-resistant hermitically-sealed display case.

This made me laugh out loud!

[quote

I boughtmy MFSL Abbey Road from such a seller. For my £35 I got what I consider to be a near-mint LP, even though it too was graded as Ex-.

[/quote]

Sorry, what's MFSL?

I'm not bothered about the pressing (i.e. first, second, whatever), per se. I just want the sound quality to be good!

I'm not interested in 'collecting' records for the sake of it, I want to play them and enjoy the music! I'd go the CD route but I just love vinyl and its charms...

How much should I be paying for good (ex- onwards) records of old classics likes FLoyd, Beatles, Stones, Who, etc. etc.?

Chris.

 

[Anonymous]

Do I make any sense?

You do, and I feel your pain.With cult artists like The Beatles the problem is there's a W*nker’s Tax (sorry, “collectors’ premium”) on top of what should be the real price, which collectors are prepared to pay. Some if not most of these collectors don’t even actually play the records they buy; they buy them for what they are, not what’s on them, presumably to put away in some UV-resistant hermitically-sealed display case.The good news is, if you're not interested in buying a first-matrix pressing with a misspelled title on one label (etc), you needn’t pay a fortune because collectors aren’t interested. On ebay, look for sellers with excellent feedback who give Record Collector gradings, then look for Ex- upwards.I bought my MFSL Abbey Road from such a seller. For my £35 I got what I consider to be a near-mint LP, even though it too was graded as Ex-.

Do I make any sense?

You do, and I feel your pain.

With cult artists like The Beatles the problem is there's a W*nker’s Tax (sorry, “collectors’ premium”) on top of what should be the real price, which collectors are prepared to pay. Some if not most of these collectors don’t even actually play the records they buy; they buy them for what they are, not what’s on them, presumably to put away in some UV-resistant hermitically-sealed display case.

This made me laugh out loud!

I boughtmy MFSL Abbey Road from such a seller. For my £35 I got what I consider to be a near-mint LP, even though it too was graded as Ex-.

Sorry, what's MFSL?

I'm not bothered about the pressing (i.e. first, second, whatever), per se. I just want the sound quality to be good!

I'm not interested in 'collecting' records for the sake of it, I want to play them and enjoy the music! I'd go the CD route but I just love vinyl and its charms...

How much should I be paying for good (ex- onwards) records of old classics likes FLoyd, Beatles, Stones, Who, etc. etc.?

Chris.

 

[MajorFubar]

MFSL (Moblie Fidelity Sound Labs) was/is an 'audiophile' record label. Most of their well-known records were pressed in the early 80s, including all their Beatles and Floyd. They made a big song and dance about the fact that they cut their acetate masters at half speed from the earliest-generation tapes they could find, then pressed them to 'virgin' vinyl at JVC's pressing-plant in Japan, which at the time was considered a state-of-the art pressing-plant.

You can usually identify such records brom the yellow banner across the top of the sleeve which reads "ORIGINAL MASTER RECORDING". Not everyone likes the sound of MFSL records, but I do. The vinyl is very quiet, it seems more resistant to wear and degrading than some other pressings, the sound quality is excellent to my ears at least, plus at least you know some care and attention went into the record's manufacture, having been produced towards the end of the period when quality actually counted for something.

 

[Clare Newsome]

I was listening to our Mo-Fi pressing of Abbey Road just a couple of days back - sounds good to me (and it's been played a hell of a lot since purchase - cost per play is incredibly low by now)

I agree re the 'premium' point, though - i'll only pay extra for clearly better quality (sound quality and durability) LPs; there's a lot of nonsense 'collector's' releases where you're paying extra for booklets, rarities etc that more-often-than-not only get a look/listen when you first buy.

Personally i've picked up some real bargain in charity shops, but (as mentioned) some outlets are wising up to pricing. Still, it's all in a good cause...

 

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry to ask such stupid questions, but how much should I expect to pay for these kinds of albums?

20 quid? 30 quid? when does the price get too much?

I also guess it pays to know exactly what album you want and to do a little homework on it before you buy on ebay?

Chris.

 

[MajorFubar]

I'm sorry to ask such stupid questions, but how much should I expect to pay for these kinds of albums? 20 quid? 30 quid? when does the price get too much? I also guess it pays to know exactly what album you want and to do a little homework on it before you buy on ebay? Chris.

Two years ago, I paid £35 for my MFSL Abbey Road. I don't know if that's the normal price, but I was happy enough.

When does the price get too much? No answer to that really: when it passes how much you want to pay, I guess.

Speaking of MFSL, there's a little fabled story which accompanies their pressing of Floyd's DSOTM: rumour has it they accidentally blanked a portion of the original stereo master-tape they'd borrowed from EMI. The missing portion had to be restored from a backup copy that EMI had made to Betamax video cassette. I have never been able to confirm if this 'legend' is true or myth.