MEP asked me to explain how i use 'Malletoba Spank' from Ellington's 'Jazz Party in Stereo' as a reference cut, and what i listen for here.
current available 33rpm pressing;
http://store.acousticsounds.com/d/15512/Duke_Ellington-Jazz_Party_in_Stereo-200_Gram_Vinyl_Record
coming soon the ORG 2 disc 45rpm pressing;
http://www.originalrecordingsgroup.com/htm/comingsoon.htm
what i use (since 1997), the Classic 5 disc 45rpm pressing (a 33rpm two sided pressing, and a 4 disc 45rpm single sided pressing);
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Duke-Elling...3055188?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item231ef25c54
and i suppose one could always find an original pressing too.
there are few points i'd like to make about references; and specifically about vinyl references. i have plenty of digital references....some really good ones. and they are what i use mostly for system checks....particularly if i'm doing alot of back and forth. in the context of system checking, such as cables, or speaker placement, or amp or preamp investigation, i use many digital references, and then confirm things with vinyl references. digital references are predictable; i know how they will sound consistently. high level digital players have a small degree of variance, and even over years the digital has not appreciably changed.
OTOH we are still discovering just how much information can be discovered in the grooves of vinyl. so it does not surprise me when i hear not subtle improvements in a vinyl reference. this has really been brought home to me in the last few years first with all my different tt's, arms, cartridges, and phono stages.....and then with the Durand Tonearm development i've watched in my room. i have spent many hours in critical listening mode at the top of the vinyl foodchain. and identified certain records that tell me things.
i have found a few records which happen to be (1) great recordings (2) great music with phenominal musicianship (3) great software with low noise, high level dynamics, and seemingly unlimited detail there to be uncovered, and (4) the type of music which highlights precision and ultra detail. i might call these 'test pattern' cuts. it's like looking at a video test pattern. the most nuanced differences jump right out at you.
i am not a quick listener compared to some. i have a few 'golden ear'd' friends who can listen to almost any type of music and pick out things quickly. for me; it takes either much longer, or i need to have my mind quiet, and be in my seat, relaxed, and listen to my particular reference cuts. so understand that i don't claim any special skills other than i've been exposed to lots of high performance gear and taken alot of time to really listen closely. and whenever i do listen critically, i always try to step back and listen non-critically too, so the bigger picture musical message is not lost. sometimes the emotive force of music does not allow me to listen to the sound or detail as detail. fine. good. no probem. come back to the question later then.
so what do i listen for in 'Malletoba Spank'?
this is Ellington Big Band, recorded magnificently, and that ought to be enough. but on this date he also used a vibraphone, a xylophone, another vibraphone, another xylophone, a glockenspiel and a marimba.....surrounded on one side by the Ellington band and on the other side by an assortment of kettle drums, bongos, a tamborine, and a triangle.
i just listen and enjoy the degree of nuance that the vinyl playback system can deliver on the overwhelming amount of information that is on this recording. if you ever want to hear what digital cannot do; this is one of the cuts that will etch that into your skull. because all that percussion reveals what gear can make it sound real. what gear blunts the leading edge, what gear smears the decay of the xylophone, what gear can't resolve the triangle. then there is the tonal richness and vivid harmonics that come alive the more vivid and natural the presentation. i use the term 'image focus' to refer to the degree of precision that comes thru. this cut really demands excellence in precison and it is easy to hear smearing and lack of focus.
and lack of precison is distortion. there is nothing else to call it. naturalness comes from accuracy and the ability of gear to resolve nuance precisely. but precise is not edgy or rough. OTOH if the transients are blunted or lacking dynamic life that is also distortion. when this cut is done right it has all the energy and subtle detail, but remains natural.
listen once to this and you will 'get' it's value to separate different pieces of analog gear.
you think you've heard it the best it can possibly sound; and then something better reveals another level of nuance and expression. so far i've not found the limit of what is there to hear.
and make no mistake; this cut can sound perfectly precise, and natural. if it's a bit hashy and nasty, that just means your vinyl playback can get much better.....good news for you.....now go fix it!
another recording i view similarly is 'Snooky' off the Pablo 'Blues....and some others' by Count Basie. i use this cut as often as 'Mallatoba Spank' for similar reasons. i posted a description of how i used that at the Newport Beach show here if you want to read it;
http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?6835-THE-Show-Report&p=114783&viewfull=1#post114783
current available 33rpm pressing;
http://store.acousticsounds.com/d/15512/Duke_Ellington-Jazz_Party_in_Stereo-200_Gram_Vinyl_Record
coming soon the ORG 2 disc 45rpm pressing;
http://www.originalrecordingsgroup.com/htm/comingsoon.htm
what i use (since 1997), the Classic 5 disc 45rpm pressing (a 33rpm two sided pressing, and a 4 disc 45rpm single sided pressing);
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Duke-Elling...3055188?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item231ef25c54
and i suppose one could always find an original pressing too.
there are few points i'd like to make about references; and specifically about vinyl references. i have plenty of digital references....some really good ones. and they are what i use mostly for system checks....particularly if i'm doing alot of back and forth. in the context of system checking, such as cables, or speaker placement, or amp or preamp investigation, i use many digital references, and then confirm things with vinyl references. digital references are predictable; i know how they will sound consistently. high level digital players have a small degree of variance, and even over years the digital has not appreciably changed.
OTOH we are still discovering just how much information can be discovered in the grooves of vinyl. so it does not surprise me when i hear not subtle improvements in a vinyl reference. this has really been brought home to me in the last few years first with all my different tt's, arms, cartridges, and phono stages.....and then with the Durand Tonearm development i've watched in my room. i have spent many hours in critical listening mode at the top of the vinyl foodchain. and identified certain records that tell me things.
i have found a few records which happen to be (1) great recordings (2) great music with phenominal musicianship (3) great software with low noise, high level dynamics, and seemingly unlimited detail there to be uncovered, and (4) the type of music which highlights precision and ultra detail. i might call these 'test pattern' cuts. it's like looking at a video test pattern. the most nuanced differences jump right out at you.
i am not a quick listener compared to some. i have a few 'golden ear'd' friends who can listen to almost any type of music and pick out things quickly. for me; it takes either much longer, or i need to have my mind quiet, and be in my seat, relaxed, and listen to my particular reference cuts. so understand that i don't claim any special skills other than i've been exposed to lots of high performance gear and taken alot of time to really listen closely. and whenever i do listen critically, i always try to step back and listen non-critically too, so the bigger picture musical message is not lost. sometimes the emotive force of music does not allow me to listen to the sound or detail as detail. fine. good. no probem. come back to the question later then.
so what do i listen for in 'Malletoba Spank'?
this is Ellington Big Band, recorded magnificently, and that ought to be enough. but on this date he also used a vibraphone, a xylophone, another vibraphone, another xylophone, a glockenspiel and a marimba.....surrounded on one side by the Ellington band and on the other side by an assortment of kettle drums, bongos, a tamborine, and a triangle.
i just listen and enjoy the degree of nuance that the vinyl playback system can deliver on the overwhelming amount of information that is on this recording. if you ever want to hear what digital cannot do; this is one of the cuts that will etch that into your skull. because all that percussion reveals what gear can make it sound real. what gear blunts the leading edge, what gear smears the decay of the xylophone, what gear can't resolve the triangle. then there is the tonal richness and vivid harmonics that come alive the more vivid and natural the presentation. i use the term 'image focus' to refer to the degree of precision that comes thru. this cut really demands excellence in precison and it is easy to hear smearing and lack of focus.
and lack of precison is distortion. there is nothing else to call it. naturalness comes from accuracy and the ability of gear to resolve nuance precisely. but precise is not edgy or rough. OTOH if the transients are blunted or lacking dynamic life that is also distortion. when this cut is done right it has all the energy and subtle detail, but remains natural.
listen once to this and you will 'get' it's value to separate different pieces of analog gear.
you think you've heard it the best it can possibly sound; and then something better reveals another level of nuance and expression. so far i've not found the limit of what is there to hear.
and make no mistake; this cut can sound perfectly precise, and natural. if it's a bit hashy and nasty, that just means your vinyl playback can get much better.....good news for you.....now go fix it!
another recording i view similarly is 'Snooky' off the Pablo 'Blues....and some others' by Count Basie. i use this cut as often as 'Mallatoba Spank' for similar reasons. i posted a description of how i used that at the Newport Beach show here if you want to read it;
http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?6835-THE-Show-Report&p=114783&viewfull=1#post114783
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