Current recordings on vinyl?

The band Low records on analog and their recordings are strictly AAA all the way though.

Audiotomb - it is not difficult to do digital recording (or analog for that matter) in odd locations so I'm not sure what your comment that it was done in a loft adds to this? In any case the mastering back at the studio could be anything. Unless they claim "absolute all analog start to finish" you can assume otherwise because that is just how things are done nowadays.
I'm not saying digital mastering of vinyl is bad - it's just not significantly different than having the cd.

Regardless how it's mastered, I still find vinyl to be consistently better. I have quite a few of both versions and I usually prefer the vinyl. My SACD/CD is really good but I now will always buy vinyl over cd/sacd when given the choice.

Kenny Wayne Sheppard's "10 Days Out" will be released on Vinyl this march.

Norah Jones was recorded in her Manhattan loft
so I believe it's analog
will have to check the record cover

I would very much doubt that the Blue Note Norah Jones is all analog mastered since none of the other Blue Note LP's issued in 20 years have been. You need to go to the specialty labels (Classic records, Acoustic Sounds etc.) for that. If it doesn't say analog mastered from the original tapes, it is digitally mastered.

Mapleshade did consider going to LP. They polled their customers in earlier days. I love analog sound but I advised them not to when they asked. I feel the vinyl market is too limited for the catalog they have which features not too well known artists rather than hot sellers.

Even with well known artists and great backcatalogue such as Mosaic, they seem to have limited success.

Don't get me wrong, I love my vinyl. But limited space and budget force me to limit my purchases of new vinyl.

I have the new Norah Jones on order, and I'll let you know what it says about the recording.

As a bigger issue...if only the major established artists can insist on analog masters, there can be no future for vinyl. True, boutique labels can, and probably will press fresh vinyl from the old master tapes of great Jazz, classical, and rock titles, as long as there are older guys like me (52 yrs and counting) who will assemble a fine analog rig and spend hours listening, and pay fairly high prices for the vinyl.

But when we are gone, or our hearing goes.....

Its a digital future.

I hope there is enough interest in a really great digital format to have audiophiles in the future. As many of you guys know, when I put on some of my vinyl, the hairs on my neck stand up, because the sound is so vivid, so natural, and I can immerse myself in the performance. It has been so much fun slowly moving up the ladder of analog performance, where I now have finally gotten to that place. Not that there is no room for furthrer improvement (I don't have the Caliburn....yet! Ha Ha).

SACD is pretty darn good...not quite as good as my best vinyl, but still it can do the trick. I need to get a truly high end digital source.

Guy's, it's really not anything out of the ordinary to record 24 track analog. Mix down to analog two track and than make both a digital and analog stereo master.

CHris

I always thought this was kinda weird but, Mapleshade recordings brag about live two channel analog recording and their similar philosophy but, then digitize their sound: No LP releases???

Hdm, I'm honestly not sure about Dylan, but I know Neil Young in his recent work has done both analog and digital masters Ithe analogs being used for the vinyl releases (he's quite anti-digital, and, owns his own recording facilities.)

But as Jaybo implies, only the biggest artists can afford to do that (both.)
.

The new Nora Jones is I believe all Analog with all tube equipment for recording on the Blue Note label.

most new titles and reissues are taken from the same masters used for cd. it isn't financially possible given the quanties to do it any other way.

I think it's been a long, long time since Dylan has released anything mastered in analog. His last 3 releases going back to and including 1997's Time Out of Mind are certainly not analog recordings.

You're right about performances on vinyl which were initally recorded digitally. Which BTW includes all the Telarc LPs which were recorded (mastered) with a Soundstream digital tape recorder before the introduction of CDs!

Many artists (still ;--) recording today don't really like digital and master their work in analog and release vinyl versions (although they do release on CD, they'd be crazy not to.) These include Dylan, Neil Young, as well as many of the younger performers. Some have gone a slightly different route and insist on the HDCD process; Willie Nelson and Chris Isaak are two that come to mind.
.