Great recording labels

MylesBAstor

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Maybe missing the most obvious...:D

Rudy Van Gelder on the Blue Note label..:D:D

I listed many of RVG's recordings: Blue Note, Impulse, Verve. He also did work for Bethlehem and Jazzland and a few other jazz labels too.
 

MylesBAstor

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Apr 20, 2010
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Full list from the FIM SACD JATP :

Neumann U47's , KM56 's and M49 cardioids
NAGRA IV x2 (2 track 15 ips 1/4" Nagra curve)

Curious that we read in many sites that it was a Revox A77 ...


Now the nice extra - Paul Stubblebine (of Paul Stubblebine Mastering and Tapeproject ) did the re-mastering for the SACD FIM version.

BTW, Steve, do you still remember your listening session of 1" tapes at Paul Stubblebine Mastering?

Interesting, could have sworn that Proprius album notes mentioned using a Revox R2R. Took a look through my Proprius LP collection and didn't see the Revox listed.

What I did find on JATP. I have three Proprius releases including JATP and two later issues of more material from those two days including Good Vibes at the Pawnshop Jazz Club and Jazz at the Pawnshop 2. The only one that lists the gear used in the two day recording session is the Good Vibes and you're correct about the Nagra tape machine. The album also lists 2x u47s as the main mikes and a Studermixer.
 

microstrip

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What I did find on JATP. I have three Proprius releases including JATP and two later issues of more material from those two days including Good Vibes at the Pawnshop Jazz Club and Jazz at the Pawnshop 2.

Since I feel no more guilty of also having all these LPs I will add a detail - the JATP inner notes specify that it was recorded at 14-15 Dec, Goodvibes lists it was the second session, recorded at Dec. 7, and JATP2 states it was recorded at 6-7 December , as well as JATP. The FIM SACD JATP says is was recorded at 6-7 December. There is a mistake somewhere!
 

MylesBAstor

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Since I feel no more guilty of also having all these LPs I will add a detail - the JATP inner notes specify that it was recorded at 14-15 Dec, Goodvibes lists it was the second session, recorded at Dec. 7, and JATP2 states it was recorded at 6-7 December , as well as JATP. The FIM SACD JATP says is was recorded at 6-7 December. There is a mistake somewhere!

Yeah, I noticed that too :) Maybe it was a leap year :)
 

ack

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My favorite 'great' labels; the top two stand out way above all else for classical...

1) RR
2) Dorian - the original label, pre RR merge and self destruction. No idea what the new Dorian releases are all about and who's behind them...
3) Chandos
4) Harmonia Mundi
5) ECM
6) BIS
7) Proprius
8) Mercury
9) RCA Victor

I left out Pope since I only have a couple of titles.
 

Bruce B

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Apr 25, 2010
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I'd have to add 2 more since I've been doing these transfers lately.. Pentatone and Channel Classics. Someone mentioned BIS.. it think it's a hit/miss with this label.
 

MylesBAstor

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I'd have to add 2 more since I've been doing these transfers lately.. Pentatone and Channel Classics. Someone mentioned BIS.. it think it's a hit/miss with this label.

Yes, I find Bis a bit on the thin and edgy side.
 

MylesBAstor

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Apr 20, 2010
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My favorite 'great' labels; the top two stand out way above all else for classical...

1) RR
2) Dorian - the original label, pre RR merge and self destruction. No idea what the new Dorian releases are all about and who's behind them...
3) Chandos
4) Harmonia Mundi
5) ECM
6) BIS
7) Proprius
8) Mercury
9) RCA Victor

I left out Pope since I only have a couple of titles.

Think there were only a couple of Pope issues :) Maybe four or six before they closed their doors?
 

jadis

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Apr 28, 2010
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Think there were only a couple of Pope issues :) Maybe four or six before they closed their doors?

I had 2 Pope Music CDs of Lori Lieberman and a classical CD, I forgot the title.
 

LL21

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Dec 26, 2010
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anyone sitll have Wyndham Hill recordings? i remember they were very, very popular in the '90s before i think they closed.
 

jadis

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anyone sitll have Wyndham Hill recordings? i remember they were very, very popular in the '90s before i think they closed.

Oh yeah. I bought a lot of them in the 80s. Shadowfax' Dreams of Children, George Winstons' December, Michael Hedges Aerial Boundaries and Windham Hill Live. Some were done at haf-speed. Most dealers would use them to demo audio gears then.
 

jadis

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Apr 28, 2010
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And also American Grammaphon, makers of the Fresh Aire series of albums, 1-7, I think. Fresh Aire 2 and 3 were on HP's Super Disc list for a long time. I had them all before. They were popular too.
 

FrantzM

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Yes, I find Bis a bit on the thin and edgy side.

Some but ALL BIS? I beg to differ, I wouldn't call for example the Bach Cantatas "thin and edgy" by any stretch, nor their Mahler Symphony #9 ... As BruceB said a hit or a miss but that can be said for many labels ...
 

RBFC

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Isn't it true that atmospheric conditions, especially humidity, can affect recording quality? I'd imagine that any label had some mediocre results when attempting to record on-location in different venues.

Lee
 

LL21

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Oh yeah. I bought a lot of them in the 80s. Shadowfax' Dreams of Children, George Winstons' December, Michael Hedges Aerial Boundaries and Windham Hill Live. Some were done at haf-speed. Most dealers would use them to demo audio gears then.

George Winton's December! I remember that one being played over and over...and over...and over...at stores. Funny, i actually looked for old George Winton and i could not find it. i was just curious (since i like the music anyway and wanted to add it to my fairly varied collection since its a little different)...how it would sound on my system since i last heard it when i owned a boombox in college.
 

MylesBAstor

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Some but ALL BIS? I beg to differ, I wouldn't call for example the Bach Cantatas "thin and edgy" by any stretch, nor their Mahler Symphony #9 ... As BruceB said a hit or a miss but that can be said for many labels ...

Well let's put it this way. You try five or six from a label and if they suck, you don't waste any more money. So you're lucky and found 2 out of how many? So it's obviously more miss than hit. BTW, I find the Paniagua (Bis) on HP's list to be very thin too.
 

MylesBAstor

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Isn't it true that atmospheric conditions, especially humidity, can affect recording quality? I'd imagine that any label had some mediocre results when attempting to record on-location in different venues.

Lee

In unexpected ways. Take recording the Utah Symphony in the spring in the AM. It's cold and the orchestra wears coats and hangs them on the back of their chairs. They come back after lunch and it's warmed up and they didn't bring their coats. Totally different sound.
 

LL21

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Maybe missing the most obvious...:D

Rudy Van Gelder on the Blue Note label..:D:D

Totally Agree Davey F! (BTW, did you see D-I-Left Eye's latest post?)
Has anyone heard the Rudy van Gelder Re-masters? 24/96...to my ear, i think they are great. i have replaced a number of my CDs (maybe 10-15) with deigital remasters (Sting, U2, Police) done by people like Bob Ludwig, Rudy Van Gelder Studio...
 

Lee

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Malcolm Arnold's Scottish, Cornish, and Irish Dances was a spectacular LP on Lyrita.

Lee

The CD ain't bad either.
 

garylkoh

WBF Technical Expert (Speakers & Audio Equipment)
Sep 6, 2010
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Since I feel no more guilty of also having all these LPs I will add a detail - the JATP inner notes specify that it was recorded at 14-15 Dec, Goodvibes lists it was the second session, recorded at Dec. 7, and JATP2 states it was recorded at 6-7 December , as well as JATP. The FIM SACD JATP says is was recorded at 6-7 December. There is a mistake somewhere!

This got me curious... so I pulled out the Orange Label 1st pressing. All the inner liner notes are in Swedish, but it does say that it was recorded 14-15 Dec 1976. In the 1997 all-white label German Proprius pressing, it says recorded Dec 6-7, 1976 (in English).
 

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