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Collecting Blue Note Jazz

I have decide to start building up a collection of Blue Note Jazz LPs, of which I have very few. What is the best way to go on what can be a sizeable investment. I am willing to spend for great music/sound quality, but cost is a factor, especially when originals are so expensive. I see many options, of which standouts include:
1. New Music Matters 45 RPM reissues.
2. Original Pressings ($$$)
3. Affordable but relatively early reissues (e.g. Blue Label, Liberty Pressings..maybe from the 70's or even early 1980s)
4. Just buy SACDs, since the LPs will not sound that great anyway.
The website www.dccblowout.com touts hot stampers. As I understand it, this site recommends shunning recent reissues and buying perhaps five or more original LPs or reissues (e.g. Blue Label) and keep the best sounding of the lot, while selling the rest. I've noticed that none of the Blue Note LPs I have so far offer sound quality on par with my LPs by the Contemporary Records label. Any recommendations? I have a pretty decent system for both LP and digital. Any advice would be much appreciated - Mark
mcmprov

Showing 2 responses by jj2468

jj2468
280 posts
 
I too have complained about the piano in RVG vinyl recordings. By way of serendipity, I installed a Denon 103r and my complaint is gone. I know my old cartridge was worn. But, and just in my situation, I have found much more detail and high end in a new cartridge. Perhaps it is just a better match for my situation. But, I suppose I'm saying I found the dull piano to be coming from something other than the record. And I imagine there are recordings where the piano is just recorded dull. But, if the piano always sounds dull (and perhaps the high hat cymbol sounds dull), you may want to investigate elsewhere.

I think I used 100 words when 10 would do :-)

Jeff
jj2468
280 posts
 
My experience with vg+ vinyl is very similar to Grimace's report. Like a b+ insurance company rating, it often means its a "D" or an "F".

Having said that, I've found a lot of really nice NM and NM- records on eBay in the range of $5.00 to $15.00 or so. If you are in SoCal, I also recommend Atomic Records. They are on the web too, but save their more expensive stuff for eBay.
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