Beatles Reissues on VINYL Finally


Set to ship on November 13th, 2012.

The Beatles Stereo Albums 180g 16LP Limited Edition Box Set, plus available as individual LPs.

All 12 Studio Albums plus Magical Mystery Tour and Past Masters in a Stereo Box Set.

Sourced from the Original Master Tapes.

Cut at Abbey Road Studios by a First-Rate Team of Producers and Engineers.

Proper care and a painstaking series of steps were taken to ensure that music lovers would hear the Fab Four in all their glory. With EMI’s legendary Abbey Road Studios providing the backdrop, the four-year restoration process combined veteran expertise, state-of-the-art equipment, vintage studio gear, and rigorous testing to net what is without doubt the highest fidelity possible and authentic, jaw-dropping sound guaranteed to rival the original LPs. There is no longer any need to pay hundreds of dollars for Japanese pressings.

At the start of the restoration process, engineers conducted extensive tests before copying the analog master tapes into the digital realm using 24-bit/192 kHz resolution and a Prism A-D converter. Dust build-ups were removed from tape machine heads after the completion of each title. Artifacts such as electrical clicks, microphone vocal pops, excessive sibilance, and poor edits were improved upon as long as it was determined that doing so didn’t at all damage the integrity of the songs. Similarly, de-noising technology was applied in only a few necessary spots and on a sum total of less than five of the entire 525 minutes of Beatles music. Compression was also used sparingly and only on the stereo versions to preserve the sanctity of the dynamics.

A rigorous string of checks and balances ensured that the results exceeded expectations. Subject to numerous playback tests, songs were auditioned by the remastering team to determine if any lingering mistakes needed correction. The restored versions were also compared side-by-side against the original vinyl pressings (loaded into Pro Tools), and then again auditioned in the same studio where all recent Beatles projects, including Love, were mixed. Once all EQ issues had been addressed, another round of listening litmus tests occurred in still another location. Finalization required the approval of everyone involved in the remastering process. For this project, there was no such thing as too many cooks in the kitchen. Yes, it took a village to get it right.

Each album features original U.K. vinyl album artwork, original U.K. track listings, expanded booklets containing original and newly penned liner notes, recording notes, rare photos, and fold-out packaging. Everything comes housed in a tall, glossy, hard black lift-top case augmented with a magnetic clasp.
128x128mofimadness

Showing 3 responses by stevecham

Ditto what Jwm said - recently picked up a Dutch Blue Box set from 1978 in mint plus condition and still can't believe how good that little band sounds.
Agreed about the mono mixes. That was the primary goal back in the day of three track recording and it should be the goal of these releases i.e. to be as authentic to the master tapes that were the primary focus. There may be a marketing group perception that the buying public won't buy mono because they fear it won't sound good, when in fact there is considerably more coherence in a mono mix than panned mono or duophonic. Plus, once one's ears settle into mono, the room itself imparts a "stereo" like spread and the increased depth of soundstage contributes to the sense of L/R space. Plus nothing beats the punch of Paul's bass and Ringo's drums in mono.
Got Magical Mystery tour because my 1978 Netherlands blue box set didn't have it. Upon first listen the sound is quite good and detailed, the opening horns, drums and bass are all solid and confirm how heavy the Beatles were. The artwork and graphics are all great and well done. I'm satisified with the MMTour at least.