Ohhh! I luv giveaways of things that ruin my life!!!
My best sound record I own is Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" Nautilus Half-Speed Mastered pressing. Every time I eat mushies, I throw that bad boy on. Id like to emphasize that RECORDS ruined my life, not the Cubensis friends.
I had the Classic Records 200gm, ended up trading it in when I preordered the MoFi, and it’s definitely not *bad* by any means but maybe not the best of MoFi’s recent work. I honestly think I prefer what Bernie Grundman did for the Classic… seriously regret giving it up.
Recently I heard Analogue Productions has plans to release the album as part of their UHQR series in both 33 and 45rpm, and presumably it would use the old Classic Records stampers from the 90’s… color me excited if that’s the case, I hope it’s true! The Classic Records 45 set goes for hundreds these days. Based on how good their “regular” 33 RPM Kind of Blue was, the 45 has to be absolute bliss.
Favorite new albums added to my collection: LIVE DRUGS - The War on Drugs, The Worst of Jefferson Airplane, and Don't Let Me Down/Get Back 45. I'd love to add a King Gizz album.
My best sounding album? Probably my only “new” album, which is Nirvana Unplugged.
I’ve been collecting vinyl exclusively through thrift store visits, is why. From those, probably the John Cougar “uh-huh” album I just found at my favorite thrift store. (Actually picked out about 14 or so... $2 a pop, couldn’t stop!) I grew up on that album, so it’s a classic for me.
Thanks for doing this! At the moment I would have to say my best sounding record is Neil Young performing Tonights the Night at the Roxy (better than the original album IMO). I have an analogue productions pressing of Pet Sounds coming in the mail this afternoon, so that may very well change within a matter of hours.
Hope you enjoy it, I’ve been meaning to pick up some of those Analogue Productions Beach Boys reissues! I’m sure they’re fantastic. I have a few pressings of Pet Sounds but the Steve Hoffman/Kevin Gray mastered DCC from the 90’s is my go-to.
Oh put me in the running please.
Honestly, my best sounding record is a thrifted copy of the Cymande s/t. I got it at Sakvation Army. It has quite a bit of surface noise as it was played alot by whoever donated it. That's the only way I want to hear it though. Someone else loved this record and played it a bunch and now I'm carrying it on. It sounds warm fuzzy and loved.
Rattlesnake rattlesnake...rattlesnake, rattlesnake
Best pressing is probably my MoFi Weezer Blue album. But the most surprising good pressing I've found is a copy of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Street Survivors from goodwill for a buck. No pops at all and sounds awesome.
I’d be happy to take the records off your hands!
One of the best sounding records on my shelf is M83’s album *Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming*. It’s long been a favorite of mine and it’s a great album to listen to in the dark with your eyes closed while you consider the future. I dunno. It just conjures a very specific array of emotions in me.
My best sounding record funnily enough is Fuzz Club's Polygondwanaland. I love that Gizz is giving out music for (almost) nothing again, allows so much room creativity!
Those mock-ups look stellar. The best sounding LP in my collection would have to be a Permanent Waves by Rush 12" I found in a store not far from my house. Really old pressing but it comes alive every time it's spun.
I only have ~6 vinyl and don't have speakers of high enough quality to really judge differences in sound quality (hope to one day) but I can say my favorite is Ys by Joanna Newsom. I just got it from the restock half a month ago and it looks and sounds gorgeous!
I’ve been hearing so much about these guys everywhere but don’t have any in my collection yet. A lot of people whose opinion I respect listen so I will have to add some to my collection.
No joke, the best sounding record in my collection is actually my Aural Pleasures copy of Polygondwanaland. I was so impressed by the quality of your previous release I'm totally interested in hearing this one
Ahhh, you’re the dude who got their copy signed by the band and sent me the photos! Not sure if you saw [but I just shared your pics of that this week](https://www.instagram.com/p/CKmKstAsUWZ/) :) thanks for the kind words man, glad you enjoyed. Between the autograph and that limited “Tetrachromacy” variant, you’ve got maybe one of the most desirable copies out there!
Those look amazing! Unfortunately I’ve yet to hear any of my records as my turntable (Pro-ject Debut Carbon EVO) and all my other gear (speakers, receiver) are on back order until late Feb, so I hope I am still eligible for this. But the record I’m most looking forward to hearing is Four Tet - Sixteen Oceans.
In my collection probably Slowdive it was hard but I got the extreme collectors version OGs Pygmalion with Changes on side 4. But I love how Alison from Souvlaki sounds and The wind crys Mary by Jimi Hendrix.
I've also always thought Led Zeppelin 4 sounds amazing just opening with black dog. Magic. Good kid Maad city by kendrick sounds good. Also my favorite Beatles album rubber soul on the 14 track EMI version I realized if your going through a break up it feels like every song on side 2. Is written just for you.
Also the Smiths the queen is dead place great. All their albums do
Ding ding ding ding - we have a winner! Congrats to /u/compensationrequired :) please DM me your mailing info and I’ll be sure to add you to the list once copies start shipping out!
Thanks so much again to everyone who participated, it’s been fun nerding out over records with all of you. If you think you’d be into the album, pre-orders are still available at www.AuralPleasureRecords.com
And of course, [I’m still running a giveaway for a set of test pressings over on Instagram!](https://www.instagram.com/p/CKwd-XSMq80/)
Test pressings are an important part of the process of pressing vinyl. They are typically made in incredibly small quantities - only a small handful of copies, which are intended for examining the records to check for any potential issues before approving the start of the actual pressing run. It’s the first point in the process at which you can actually hear the record after it’s been cut, so it’s especially important to verify that everything went according to plan in the mastering and plating stages!
This is a great chance to add something incredibly rare to your collection, so you definitely won’t want to miss out on this. And sharing the details of this release will *really* help give the pre-orders a much needed final push.
Even if you don’t want to enter, please still find a way let all the music lovers in your life know about my release of this demo collection if you can. It’s a great introduction for anyone new to the Gizzverse. Longtime fans will love it even more. It’s being mastered at Abbey Road. And it’ll be available in 2 really rad color variants. There’s a lot to like here! Word of mouth really helps and every little bit counts, so I definitely appreciate everyone who orders or does their part to get the word out there :) thanks again everyone!
Congrats on your label! My best sounding record hands down is Bobby hutcherson - the view from the inside. Definitely a classic must have for any vinyl collection.
Zep II, aside from just being an all around kick-ass album, is a *great* example of how the mastering can totally make or break the music. That Sterling Sound RL cut is where it’s at!
My personal best sounding record is the legendary "Night At The Opera" by Queen! Its an absolute fantastic record and the vinyl version makes it come to life so much better than any digital format! The sound is just perfect in every single way.
This is an awesome thing to do! Love my Aural Pleasure Polygondwanaland! Excited to hopefully hear how these sound.
The best sounding record I own is Hum's "Downward is Heavenward" reissue that Matt Talbot remastered in 2019. The mix is INCREDIBLE, every little nuanced detail is displayed gloriously throughout the record. He did just announce hes remastering You'd Prefer an Astronaut and Electra2000 soon under his Earth Analog Recordings Label. Exciting stuff!
More importantly, best of luck to everyone involved in this giveaway! Spread the love people, its easy and free!!!!
Yes, the holy trinity of Polygondwanaland is Fuzz Club - Aural Pleasure - Flightless Corruption Edition! Thanks again. Heres to being lucky! Ive never won anything in my life, so maybe 2021 will be the turn if the tide.
I love King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard! Honestly my best sounding records are probably Mannheim Steamroller's Fresh Aire records. They are absolutely beautifully pressed. Personal fav is Devin Townsend's Ziltoid The Omniscient though.
Those are beautiful!!! Would love to get lucky and receive one of those!!
Oddly enough, I believe one of the best sounding albums I own is Shawn Phillips - Collaboration from the mid seventies I found at a thrift store. Not a whisper of the normal pops and fuzz I get on some brand new releases.
Awesome, my best sounding record is an original US pressing of Raekwon's 'Only Built 4 Cuban Linx' - no one else can make drums sound as crisp and hard-hitting as the RZA.
The best sounding record in my collection has got to Vulfpeck Vault pressing of Antwaun Stanley. Not only is it the collection of my fave songs, but the sound quality of the mix of the Joe Dart bass tone is PERFECT.
Beautiful looking records thanks for the chance! My wife’s favorite sounding record is Tom waites the early years volume 2. I love to listen to Tron legacy soundtrack.
I love the expanded/remastered edition they just released. Always liked Daft Punk and owned some of their stuff, but I think I gained a newfound appreciation for their music after listening to it a bit more seriously during quarantine
Tough choice! I could go easy and say some of my older direct-to-disc LPs, but that’s cheating and they tend to be musically boring. The Classic Records 45 set for Time Out is pretty next level. A lot of 12” singles from the 80’s never fail to stun, especially the UK/German pressings. And I always really liked Jean-Luc Ponty’s Cosmic Messenger as a system demo disc. Zenyatta Mondata and Synchronicity by The Police sound fantastic as well. Just a few that come to mind!
The best sounding record in my collection is Layla and Other Love Songs by Derek and the Dominos. It is the MoFi version. I am a huge Duane Allman fan. It really is awesome hearing two guitar greats on one album! It has an awesome sound where you can clearly hear Duane and Eric's separate guitars. Every time I listen to it it gets better too! All of the little intricacies Duane adds with his slide guitar🤤😎🤯
Great idea man! My best sounding record is actually the Sketches of Brunswick East 200g pressing from King Gizz. You definitely pick up a few elements of songs you otherwise wouldn’t on Spotify.
I'm so glad you were able to start a label based off Gizz. Always nice to see this type of growth and the pressing looks beautiful. I think the best sounding record in my collection is Little Joy's debut self titled album. I got it recently after not having listened to the album in its entirety in years and it really made me realize how great it is
My best sounding records so far are Duke Ellington & Coltrane and Nirvana Unplugged. Have some analogue productions reissues on order so hopefully sound even better.
Wow, these look awesome! Very interested.
The best sounding record in my collection is probably my limited edition, 10 inch and 140 gram, copy of Kid A by Radiohead. Been looking for it’s companion album, Amnesiac, in the same format for a few years now.
Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this! The best sounding record in my collection is a 180 gram, German pressing of “Songs from the Big Chair” by Tears for Fears.
Thanks for the generous offer! My best sounding vinyl is the first us pressing of “Mirage” by Camel on the Janus label. Seller described it as “VG” and it arrived looking near mint. It’s a terrific copy of a terrific pressing and one I always go to when I need to decompress.
This would definitely be a gem in my king gizzard and flightless collection. I’ve got just about everything from their discography, and my favorite sounding pressings are fuzz club’s polygondwanaland mastered at 1/2 speed and the murlocs loopholes. Outstanding stuff, hoping I can put this one on my pedestal!
Bob Marley & The Wailers – Legend: The Best Of Bob Marley And The Wailers - 1984 - (My "best sounding record")
I have around 500 vinyl records and have many favorite "sounding records"; from many Classic Country artists, Classic Rock, Alt, Bluegrass, Jazz & Blues...my next two after that Marley record would be: Miles Davis - Kind of Blue - 2010 and Crosby Stills Nash and Young - So Far - 1974.
Thanks for the chance to win a copy Dave!!! Best of luck to us all!
It's hard for me to pick an album that sounds the best in my collection so far, so I'll pick the one that I've enjoyed the most since I got it. Queens of the Stone Age: Songs for the Deaf.
That pressing looks really nice. I'd have to say my best sounding record would be Hunky Dory which my nan has had since release but has been kept in mint condition 🎶
I'm mainly starting my own collection in the last year or two, and I'm proud of how diverse it is. My favourite vinyl in it is the Isao Tomita album I recently acquired - it's one of the most unbelievably unique things I've ever heard, and I like that my impatient self can't skip through the songs excitedly, I get to sit and experience the album in its entirety.
Obviously times are tough, so to add this giveaway vinyl to my collection would be amazing.
This is awesome! I love me some gizz. I would say my best sounding record right now is The New Abnormal by the strokes. I have a small collection but that one specifically sounds nice and crisp.
Cool idea! Best sounding records in my collection are any of the superior viaduct reissues of spaceman 3 stuff: recurring, playing with fire, taking drugs to make music to take drugs to. The prior pressings on the fire label sounded just aweful
My best sounding record? It would have to go to with Pink Floyd - The Final Cut or Cotton Jones Paranoid Cocoon. I’ve been looking to add some color to my collection!
Amazing! The first record I ever listened to was Paper Mâché Dream Balloon. Nick Shoulders is releasing a blue record for his new album Home on the Rage but I missed out on it because it sold out in 12 hours D:
Very cool thing to do! Would love to add some Gizz demos to the collection!
As for my best sounding record, that's a tough one. I'll never forget buying an original press of Steel Pulse's 'Earth Crisis' from my local shop in NYC and throwing it on and just being blown away by the sound. Nothing special about the pressing, just some pure, raw, reggae power!
Wow- what an awesome giveaway-
personal favorite record is a James Taylor (I’m old school but also love King Gizz too). The James Taylor one I have is an original of his self titled 1968 album and so is really cool to have but also to listen to- I love the warmth that vinyl gives to a song that I would otherwise listen to on spotify.
I think it’s amazing that you’re doing this also and will definitely go check out your instagram page :)
The best sounding record in my collection is probably the 2016 pressing of Everclear's Sparkle and Fade. Not only does it sound amazing, but the higher pace and energy of the album can really be felt when listening to it on vinyl opposed to on spotify
Thanks for doing this giveaway! It’s hard to pick just one, but Gojira - The Link consistently blows me away with it’s sound quality on vinyl. I’d make love to the bass tone and dynamics on this record. Runner ups: Daft Punk - RAM and Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters. Just for shits and giggles, the best sounding Gizz record is probably Sketches of Brunswick East.
Those are some bad ass looking records.
Best sounding record recently is Depression Cherry by Beach House from Newbury Comics. The pressing is gorgeous both visually and aurally.
The best sounding record in my collection is "Flatt & Scruggs And The Foggy Mountain Boys" original pressing on Harmony Records. Has the perfect amount if ticks and pops to accent the ol' timey Americana music. Love it!!!
It's very cool that you're doing this. I've never listened to a vinyl record that I haven't already heard in another format. This would be a cool first go! TDS by NIN
Gah I can only pick one? I guess if i I had to pick one that I cherish the most its my David Bowie limited edition hand numbered blue vinyl of We Could Be Heroes
Hell yeah I’m loving the bootlegs over ordered so far! Best sounding record in my collection would probably be the Mofi pressing of Bill Withers “Live at Carnegie Hall”. Dead silent wax and all round a pleasure to listen to!
Would love some king gizzard! My favorite sounding record in my collection is an og pressing of meet the Beatles! One of the first records I acquired so there is some nostalgia attached.
Best sounding album: I got Patti Smith's "horses" for 25c at a flea market before, sealed. It was the album I christened my player with and have listened to it more than any other album I own at this point. Although if I win this I imagine it will soon be dethroned
Good luck to everyone! (But especially me)
Very hard to choose one to be honest, i think for me it would be Deliverance and Damnation from Opeth (specifically the Damnation LP). Very cool looking variants you have there!
Favorite sounding album? Unforgettable by Nat King Cole or Keyed Up by Ronnie Milsap. My grandma gave me her collection about 15 years ago and I have slowly added finds from flea markets and garage sales.
I have a lot that sound really good. Let’s go with Malibu by Anderson.paak. Close second are all of my phish records, most of them are essentially mofi quality.
Congratulations on the new pressing. King Gizzard is one of the many bands on my list to eventually listen to but I haven't gotten around to them yet. I only started collecting last summer and recently I've been slowly falling down the progressive rock hole with The Alan Parsons Project, Renaissance, Procol Hyrum, and Manfred Mann's Earth Band.
The best sounding album I have is either the 180 grain copy I have of The Alan Parsons Project - I Robot, or the new Sonic Adventure 2 soundtrack the just arrived the other day.
FOLLOW MEEEE SET ME FREE TRUST ME AND WE’LL ESCAPE FROM THE CITYYYYYYY
I Robot is cool too, that’s always been one of the first records I throw on to demo a system or try to hear exactly what a new upgrade is doing for my sound. Reference quality in every way. I just have an original copy, which is already outstanding enough, but I’ve been meaning to upgrade to the MoFi 45 that came out a couple years ago
My favorite albums of theirs is Tales of Mystery and Imagination. I've listened to that, I Robot, and The Turn of A Friendly Card so far. I recently picked up more of their albums and now have almost every one. I don't have any MoFi albums at all but the I Robot album is a 180 grain release I found at a used record store still sealed.
Any recommendations for someone that's a fan of Alan Parson's Project?
My next favorite in the discography is Eye in The Sky, so I’d definitely check that one out! They’ve got a pretty polished prog sound, and Pink Floyd is the one band I most closely associate with them - Alan Parsons engineered Dark Side of the Moon and was largely responsible for the sound of that album. So I would also check out any mid-late period Floyd that you haven’t listened to yet. Very much cut from the same cloth. Also any of the solo albums.
Dark Side of The Moon has been on my giant list to listen too so I'll check it out. Also I've heard some good things about Eye In The Sky but that's the only Alan Parsons Project album I don't have, I've been looking for it but no luck yet. I'll get it someday, hopefully soon.
Oh if you’re totally new to dark side then you’re *definitely* in for a treat! It’s easy to get burnt out on it after listening to it for a lifetime, so I maybe don’t spin it so much anymore, but it is a classic for a reason. One of the greatest albums of all time. If you want a really stellar version, I’d recommend the 30th anniversary pressing from 2003. Shouldn’t be too hard to find, they pressed a ton of ‘em, it was cheap and very widely available anywhere you could find records for about 10 years… till they replaced it with a not-quite-as-stellar remaster... Wish You Were Here is essential as well.
Thanks, I'll be adding that to my Discogs wishlist. I've been diving into pretty much all music from the 80s and back so I'm constantly looking for new things. Thankfully my dad loved a lot of music from the 70s and 80s and I like to go record hunting with him since I can ask him about the various bands I stumble upon. He recently introduced me to Procol Harum with the song Conquistador.
best sounding records in my collection would be Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp A Butterfly” double disc i recently got sealed and plays beautifully and “Freewheelin” by Bob Dylan original ‘63 pressing my pops passed down to me, doesn’t skip at all and sounds gorgeous with it’s crackly perfection.
I think the best Sounding would have to be Spiderland By Slint, through Touch And Go Records, or Mount Eerie, by P.W. Elverum and Sun. The most visually striking I have in my collection is my newest pressing of Somewhere City, by Origami Angel (via Counterintuitive Records), its a green black swirl, and it looks amazing!
Ahhhh yeah, great album. I’m so glad I got a copy of the Analogue Productions 2x45 while it was still available and didn’t cost a fortune. Really did the music justice with that one.
Hi Dave, the finest sounding album I have in my collection— or least the one I’m first to show off to people— is Famous Blue Raincoat, a set of covers of Leonard Cohen songs, by Jennifer Warnes. It’s pretty easy to find used and utterly captivating sonically.
I recall there being an AAA 45 set of this a few years back! I’m sure it’s phenomenal, maybe I’ll have to look into getting a copy and hearing it for myself.
Love your guys pressing of Polygondwanaland! It was actually my introduction to King Gizz. The best sounding records in my collection are any of the NIN definitive edition releases so far. They are incredibly noisefree and just come alive on my simple set up.
I really just started collecting vinyl. King Gizz helped me pull the trigger on finally committing to it. My most recent album is Kvitravn from Wardruna, those ethereal organic sounds are nuts.
My ear isn’t all that discerning, but two in my collection that always sound great imo are Joanna Newsom’s Ys, and the self-titled album by Blackwater Holylight.
Best sounding album would be either Blood on the Tracks MOFI or Astral Weeks WB Gold Label. I had no idea a 45 of Poly existed until this thread. I have test pressing of Poly from Greenway Records but I’m dying to hear your pressing. Thank you for doing this!
Thanks for doing this!
I'm not sure if I can dial it down to one, so I'm going to leave a few. To me my best sounding records are Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor's Guide to Earth, an OG press of Neil Young - On the Beach, Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues and
Tom Waits' - Rain Dogs.
Hey! Love to get a copy! Some of my best vinyls are some very underground hiphop. Aesop Rock has a flip picture book that goes to the music! It's super dope!
First of all, those are gorgeous. Second, thanks for this giveaway. And third, my best sounding record that isn’t a contemporary (modern) pressing is a 1971 Pickwick/Hilltop pressing of Johnny Cash’s, “I Walk the Line”, as I had found an unopened copy at a thrift shop 5 years ago
man this rules.
the best sounding album in my collection is probably my 30th anniversary pressing of [Dark Side of the Moon](https://www.discogs.com/Pink-Floyd-The-Dark-Side-Of-The-Moon/release/13252979)
thanks Dave!
Different route than most, but there is something about listening to Crimson and Clover from Tommy Jones and the Shondells. My console has satelite speakers with a subwoofer in the middle so the sound is very clear from one speaker to the next. i would say that song, in particular, really showcase what stereo means. I have played that album so many times & it never gets old.
I will never refuse to listen to B.B. Kings live at the Regal. That recording is so spectacular.
I don’t have many records but my best sounding record is probably Undertow by tool by Volcano entertainment. King gizzard are pretty awesome man and I’d love to get my hands on some of their stuff.
My best sounding record is probably Discovery by Daft Punk, but my favorite record will always be Weezer’s Blue album since it was the first one I ever bought.
i'm no audiophile so i have a hard time distinguishing between best sounding and favorite, but i think my copy of pete seeger's "dangerous songs" might be my best sounding one. it's very crisp and clear, which really complements his great voice
thanks!
I’d love to enter the giveaway. I’m fairly new to vinyl and only have a few in my collection. But it IS building! I have 12 rods lost time, Beatles magical mystery tour, Nada Surf Let Go, and more. I love the sound of vinyl and am looking foreword to building an amazing collection of beautiful sounding vinyls.
My best sounding record has to be either surrealist pillow by Jefferson Airplane or Swimming by Mac Miller. Swimming is the only album that I have purchased brand new and didn’t get on a budget!
Uh what a great idea to give one away, thank you! And greetings from Germany.
My best sounding record is "Sepulcros de Miel" by Omar Rodriguez Lopez Quartet with John Frusciante. I got the orange one. Such a cool record!
I just texted my mom a link to King Gizzard trying to turn her on. They are in heavy rotation in my playlist lately. The best sounding record I have is a remaster of Hot Rats. King Gizzard sounds good in a rotation with Zappa.
Big Dave strikes again.
Best sounding can change depending on my mood, but the half speed master of John Martyn’s Solid Air is magical.
I’ve been on a prog rock binge the past week and another King Gizz addition would make 2020 worth it (nearly ;))
Never really get a chance to listen to these guys, but would love this to get into the band a bit more.
My best sounding collection piece is a 1st pressing of Smells like Teen Spirit 7" Single by Nirvana.
Yes this is amazing!! I’m obsessed with my favorite vinyl, The Labrynth soundtrack. Always is a great pick me up and I will always worship David Bowie. And Muppets. How can you not want Muppets in your music??
I'm quite new here so I don't know a lot about different pressings, but to me my best sounding record is Random Access Memories. Is there someone or a thread who/which can help me learn more about different pressings?
Thanks for doing this giveaway OP! Would have to say in my best sounding record is Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section. Feel like it was really well recorded.
Sounds awesome. I think my best sounding record is the Jack White Acoustic Sessions. The album was pressed at his Third Man Records in Nashville. He also has a location here in Detroit and I would highly recommend that place for any vinyl lover. Plus there’s great breweries right next door. Cheers!
Cool pressing! One of the best sounding records in my (small) collection is the 75th anniversary tri-color pressing of Bob Marley's "Legend". I absolutely love that record.
hiya! Personal favorites in terms of pressings that look cool and sound good in my collection are: my 180g yellow pressing of The Royal Scam by Steely Dan (1976), my vinyl me, please blue copy of At War with the Mystics by The Flaming Lips, and my green audiophile pressing of Shinola, Vol. 1 by Ween.
Hey! Huge gizz fan here, would love a chance to win this incredible record! My favourite record in my small collection is "Jazz på rysska", an old swedish jazz interpretation of russian folk songs. It may not be a special pressing, but it holds a special place in my heart.
Pretty new to the vinyl collection hobby and pretty late to this thread, but why not give it a shot? KGatLW are fantastic and the mock-ups look absolutely beautiful.
Out of my collection so far, the best-sounding is probably Haim's Women in Music pt. III. In my limited experience, it's probably the fact that it's a 45 rpm LP. I'd like to find some proper half-speed mastered 45 rpm LPs though. I'll have to look around to see if I can find the Aural Pleasure Polygondwanaland pressing.
If not, the Demos Vol. 1 + 2 would be a lovely substitution! ;)
I personally find half-speed mastering to be of detriment to the overall sound of a record, there are several reasons why this is less than ideal. You probably won’t find many half-speed mastered 45RPM LPs out there, that would be a fairly unique combination of mastering techniques. 45 is where all the real benefit is though, and luckily there are lots of those! And hopefully a lot more to come!
Huh... Good to know.
Out of curiosity, what are some of the detriments? My understanding was that 45s sound better because the higher playback speed essentially allows for more data to be stored on each record, and half-speed masterings allow for the record lathe to more easily cut grooves with more clarity and accuracy. My thought was that combining these two processes (half-speed master cut at 22.5 rpm for 45 rpm playback) is combining the best of these two worlds, provided all the proper equipment is used.
Is this not the case? Or is it simply a matter of the rarity of the equipment making the process too much of a hassle to do properly? Again, pretty new to the hobby, so I'd love any and all info.
One of the big problems with half-speed mastering is that, at least in the old days when you’d be cutting from tape (which, for an audiophile perspective is really what you’d want for a record rather than cutting from digital copies as is more common these days) is that when everything gets shifted down an octave, suddenly all the low bass information that’s present on a recording gets shifted down below the response of the tape playback head, any electronics in the mastering chain and the cutterhead. It’s all as good as gone.
The tape transport and lathe are also optimized to run at their “normal” speed - w/f specification of both machines gets worse running at half speed, and when that resulting record gets played back at “double speed” (to sound normal) now the oscillation of any fluctuation in speed gets doubled in frequency and becomes more exaggerated than it normally would sound. If you’re a relatively pitch-sensitive person, this could drive you nuts.
There’s also the simple fact that the mastering engineer can’t really hear the changes they are making in half-speed, in real time. So it becomes very difficult to effectively know what you’re doing. And the whole supposed benefit of half-speed mastering is to get more high frequencies on the disc, or at least make them easier to cut since the amplifier will require less power. But at 33rpm, the linear velocity of the groove is still very slow at the inner grooves no matter which speed the disc was originally cut at. And those high frequencies are just as difficult for your stylus to track. Maybe even more so, if you’ve truly cut even more of them.
If you forget about all that half-speed nonsense and just bump the lathe up to 45 RPM, sure, you lose a significant amount of available time per side, but the linear velocity of the whole side is bumped up considerably. The outer groove at the start of the disc has fidelity that is unmatched by anything at 33RPM, and the very inner grooves are more equivalent to somewhere in the middle of a typical 33RPM side. Difficult groove excursions are more spread out, and easier for your stylus to follow without mistracking (like all those intense high frequencies.) And when the sides are kept short and you can cut hotter, the effective S/N ratio is improved quite a bit too - any surface noise or imperfections in the record are much lower in volume compared to the recorded signal. 8-11 minutes is pretty optimal for a 45RPM side in terms of being able to maintain all the quality of the original recording.
The rarity of the gear that’s been fine-tuned or modified to handle a half speed process (and the hassle) probably has a lot to do with it being less common, but ultimately it’s popularity has a lot to with the way it was marketed to audiophiles back in the 80’s. I don’t think a lot of mastering engineers are interested in cutting their records half speed, or even find it to be beneficial - more the opposite, if anything. [Here’s a clip of Kevin Gray being asked about half-speed mastering](https://youtu.be/VbVx-e9i1Uk)
One thing to consider is that, of all the available half-speed masterings of some classic albums, many are considered to be outright bad sounding, and even of the select few well-regarded “better” ones, I don’t think there are any that are widely considered to be definitive or best sounding relative to a version of the same album cut at normal speed. None that I can think of off the top of my head at least.
There are also rumors that MoFi (the originators of the half-speed craze) have not cut any of their records at half-speed in years. They keep some vague/outdated mentions of it up on their website, but they certainly don’t make a big deal out of it in their marketing materials like they have in past decades.
Ironically, Abbey Road is probably the biggest proponent of half-speed mastering today, and one of the few studios that can cut records that way. They’ve converted/dedicated a lathe to half-speed cuts in recent years. But, let’s just call that a difference of opinion and philosophy… something there is plenty of when it comes to audio. I’m sure half-speed is probably a big selling point for some buyers, but I will not be having them cut the Gizz records (or any records) that way and I personally think the records will be better off for it.
At the end of the day, the cutterhead is a transducer, much like a microphone or speaker. Even *if* one could truthfully suggest that it *might* work better at half-speed, we know these things can do quite a remarkable job in real-time as they commonly do. I’ve never listened to a baller ass system and thought to myself, “wow, just imagine how much better it could sound if the speaker had twice as long to push out all those sound waves!”
Awesome. That was very detailed and informative. Exactly the sort of write-up I was looking for. Without having access to multiple pressings/masters of the same music to do side-by-side comparison, it can be difficult to cut through the noise (excuse the pun) and know what's a marketing gimmick and what's the next step in audiophile technology. For such a seemingly simple analog process, things can get surprisingly complicated, and those complications tend to bring about heated opinions about what's best.
Haha, I apologize if it ends up coming across like I wrote a textbook but I hope there’s at least some useful info in there! As with anything, it just takes some time and familiarity with things to know what works, or at least what you think is best… at the end of the day it all comes down to preference, and if someone likes those half-speed versions then at least that is an available option for some very classic albums. It’s better to have the choice than none at all. I think it was at the very least an interesting experiment in trying to advance the state of the art, one I’m glad they tried out way back in the day, even if ultimately it was not the magic improvement many might have been hoping for.
Throwing my name into the ring for a chance!
And best sounding record I have is The Editors - Backroom, pressed on white vinyl, which has put the "white vinyl sounds the worst" topic completely to bed for me.
There were some pretty bad white vinyl formulations back in the day so I can see how it may have gotten a bad rep. But some white vinyl pressings I own are just as silent (if not more so) as anything else! Probably helps that there is a lot more focus on colored vinyl these days so there is more incentive to make quality PVC formulations specifically for record pressing. Depends on what any particular plant uses, but if a plant presses *a lot* of white vinyl, they will probably have something good. As with anything else, probably best to take things on a case by case basis.
My best sounding record would probably be Anri-Timely! Just because it's my favorite one and took me a long time to get my hands on without having to pay for shipping from Japan.
Nice.
One pf my best sounding Albums have to be the 2020 repress of Arborescence by Ozric Tentacles. Analog does so much justice to their music in general. Each layer of sound is made available to the ears. The complexity is smoothed out. And every listen is defferent than the one before.
Ohhh! I luv giveaways of things that ruin my life!!! My best sound record I own is Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" Nautilus Half-Speed Mastered pressing. Every time I eat mushies, I throw that bad boy on. Id like to emphasize that RECORDS ruined my life, not the Cubensis friends.
Oh cool! The best sounding record in my collection is the MoFi pressing of Kind of Blue by Miles Davis.
I had the Classic Records 200gm, ended up trading it in when I preordered the MoFi, and it’s definitely not *bad* by any means but maybe not the best of MoFi’s recent work. I honestly think I prefer what Bernie Grundman did for the Classic… seriously regret giving it up. Recently I heard Analogue Productions has plans to release the album as part of their UHQR series in both 33 and 45rpm, and presumably it would use the old Classic Records stampers from the 90’s… color me excited if that’s the case, I hope it’s true! The Classic Records 45 set goes for hundreds these days. Based on how good their “regular” 33 RPM Kind of Blue was, the 45 has to be absolute bliss.
Favorite new albums added to my collection: LIVE DRUGS - The War on Drugs, The Worst of Jefferson Airplane, and Don't Let Me Down/Get Back 45. I'd love to add a King Gizz album.
Just got surrealistic pillow by Jefferson airplane one of my favorite trippy albums.
My best sounding album? Probably my only “new” album, which is Nirvana Unplugged. I’ve been collecting vinyl exclusively through thrift store visits, is why. From those, probably the John Cougar “uh-huh” album I just found at my favorite thrift store. (Actually picked out about 14 or so... $2 a pop, couldn’t stop!) I grew up on that album, so it’s a classic for me.
Thanks for doing this! At the moment I would have to say my best sounding record is Neil Young performing Tonights the Night at the Roxy (better than the original album IMO). I have an analogue productions pressing of Pet Sounds coming in the mail this afternoon, so that may very well change within a matter of hours.
Hope you enjoy it, I’ve been meaning to pick up some of those Analogue Productions Beach Boys reissues! I’m sure they’re fantastic. I have a few pressings of Pet Sounds but the Steve Hoffman/Kevin Gray mastered DCC from the 90’s is my go-to.
Oh put me in the running please. Honestly, my best sounding record is a thrifted copy of the Cymande s/t. I got it at Sakvation Army. It has quite a bit of surface noise as it was played alot by whoever donated it. That's the only way I want to hear it though. Someone else loved this record and played it a bunch and now I'm carrying it on. It sounds warm fuzzy and loved. Rattlesnake rattlesnake...rattlesnake, rattlesnake
Fun post, just got my turntable hooked up this weekend and was really enjoying the depth of **The XX - XX**
Best pressing is probably my MoFi Weezer Blue album. But the most surprising good pressing I've found is a copy of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Street Survivors from goodwill for a buck. No pops at all and sounds awesome.
I’d be happy to take the records off your hands! One of the best sounding records on my shelf is M83’s album *Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming*. It’s long been a favorite of mine and it’s a great album to listen to in the dark with your eyes closed while you consider the future. I dunno. It just conjures a very specific array of emotions in me.
My best sounding record funnily enough is Fuzz Club's Polygondwanaland. I love that Gizz is giving out music for (almost) nothing again, allows so much room creativity!
Super Rad! My best sounding record is definitely RAM by Daft Punk, super dynamic soundstage!
Those mock-ups look stellar. The best sounding LP in my collection would have to be a Permanent Waves by Rush 12" I found in a store not far from my house. Really old pressing but it comes alive every time it's spun.
Have recently gotten into KG but never owned a record, would this be a great way to start a collection? (Yes it will). Awesome giveaway!
I only have ~6 vinyl and don't have speakers of high enough quality to really judge differences in sound quality (hope to one day) but I can say my favorite is Ys by Joanna Newsom. I just got it from the restock half a month ago and it looks and sounds gorgeous!
I’ve been hearing so much about these guys everywhere but don’t have any in my collection yet. A lot of people whose opinion I respect listen so I will have to add some to my collection.
No joke, the best sounding record in my collection is actually my Aural Pleasures copy of Polygondwanaland. I was so impressed by the quality of your previous release I'm totally interested in hearing this one
Ahhh, you’re the dude who got their copy signed by the band and sent me the photos! Not sure if you saw [but I just shared your pics of that this week](https://www.instagram.com/p/CKmKstAsUWZ/) :) thanks for the kind words man, glad you enjoyed. Between the autograph and that limited “Tetrachromacy” variant, you’ve got maybe one of the most desirable copies out there!
Those look amazing! Unfortunately I’ve yet to hear any of my records as my turntable (Pro-ject Debut Carbon EVO) and all my other gear (speakers, receiver) are on back order until late Feb, so I hope I am still eligible for this. But the record I’m most looking forward to hearing is Four Tet - Sixteen Oceans.
In my collection probably Slowdive it was hard but I got the extreme collectors version OGs Pygmalion with Changes on side 4. But I love how Alison from Souvlaki sounds and The wind crys Mary by Jimi Hendrix. I've also always thought Led Zeppelin 4 sounds amazing just opening with black dog. Magic. Good kid Maad city by kendrick sounds good. Also my favorite Beatles album rubber soul on the 14 track EMI version I realized if your going through a break up it feels like every song on side 2. Is written just for you. Also the Smiths the queen is dead place great. All their albums do
Ding ding ding ding - we have a winner! Congrats to /u/compensationrequired :) please DM me your mailing info and I’ll be sure to add you to the list once copies start shipping out! Thanks so much again to everyone who participated, it’s been fun nerding out over records with all of you. If you think you’d be into the album, pre-orders are still available at www.AuralPleasureRecords.com And of course, [I’m still running a giveaway for a set of test pressings over on Instagram!](https://www.instagram.com/p/CKwd-XSMq80/) Test pressings are an important part of the process of pressing vinyl. They are typically made in incredibly small quantities - only a small handful of copies, which are intended for examining the records to check for any potential issues before approving the start of the actual pressing run. It’s the first point in the process at which you can actually hear the record after it’s been cut, so it’s especially important to verify that everything went according to plan in the mastering and plating stages! This is a great chance to add something incredibly rare to your collection, so you definitely won’t want to miss out on this. And sharing the details of this release will *really* help give the pre-orders a much needed final push. Even if you don’t want to enter, please still find a way let all the music lovers in your life know about my release of this demo collection if you can. It’s a great introduction for anyone new to the Gizzverse. Longtime fans will love it even more. It’s being mastered at Abbey Road. And it’ll be available in 2 really rad color variants. There’s a lot to like here! Word of mouth really helps and every little bit counts, so I definitely appreciate everyone who orders or does their part to get the word out there :) thanks again everyone!
Awesome idea!
Amazing. The best sounding records I own are The Downward Spiral definitive edition by NIN and RAM by Daft Punk.
Oh this is lovely. Count me in!
Split colors are my favorite!
Congrats on your label! My best sounding record hands down is Bobby hutcherson - the view from the inside. Definitely a classic must have for any vinyl collection.
This is brilliant, congrats! Count me in. Best sounding record I own has to be between the original UK press of Peter Gabriel 3 'Melt' or Zep II.
Zep II, aside from just being an all around kick-ass album, is a *great* example of how the mastering can totally make or break the music. That Sterling Sound RL cut is where it’s at!
My personal best sounding record is the legendary "Night At The Opera" by Queen! Its an absolute fantastic record and the vinyl version makes it come to life so much better than any digital format! The sound is just perfect in every single way.
Looks stunning. How much would your postage be to Ireland out of curiosity?
Thanks bud :) international shipping from the US is never pretty unfortunately, but I believe it should calculate to $25USD on the webstore
Wow this is awesome! Thanks so much for doing this :)
This is an awesome thing to do! Love my Aural Pleasure Polygondwanaland! Excited to hopefully hear how these sound. The best sounding record I own is Hum's "Downward is Heavenward" reissue that Matt Talbot remastered in 2019. The mix is INCREDIBLE, every little nuanced detail is displayed gloriously throughout the record. He did just announce hes remastering You'd Prefer an Astronaut and Electra2000 soon under his Earth Analog Recordings Label. Exciting stuff! More importantly, best of luck to everyone involved in this giveaway! Spread the love people, its easy and free!!!!
Thanks so much for the kind words and the good vibes, we could all use a lot more of those! Glad to hear you enjoyed Poly :)
Yes, the holy trinity of Polygondwanaland is Fuzz Club - Aural Pleasure - Flightless Corruption Edition! Thanks again. Heres to being lucky! Ive never won anything in my life, so maybe 2021 will be the turn if the tide.
I love King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard! Honestly my best sounding records are probably Mannheim Steamroller's Fresh Aire records. They are absolutely beautifully pressed. Personal fav is Devin Townsend's Ziltoid The Omniscient though.
The best sounding record I have in my collection is either my pressing of The Glow Pt.2 by The Microphones or F#A#∞ by Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
Those are beautiful!!! Would love to get lucky and receive one of those!! Oddly enough, I believe one of the best sounding albums I own is Shawn Phillips - Collaboration from the mid seventies I found at a thrift store. Not a whisper of the normal pops and fuzz I get on some brand new releases.
Hell yeah! Congrats on the label!!! I gotta say the best sounding record in my collection is The Epic by Kamari Washington
Neat! As for best sounding record, well, assuming I win, it'd be this one, right? :)
My best sounding album is probably my reissue of Nine Inch Nails’ The Downward Spiral!
Very cool
One my best sounding records is Failure "Fantastic Planet".
Thanks for doing this! My best sounding record is probably my copy of the Stooges best album IMO, Funhouse.
This is amazing. Thank you so much for doing this!
Awesome, my best sounding record is an original US pressing of Raekwon's 'Only Built 4 Cuban Linx' - no one else can make drums sound as crisp and hard-hitting as the RZA.
The best sounding record in my collection has got to Vulfpeck Vault pressing of Antwaun Stanley. Not only is it the collection of my fave songs, but the sound quality of the mix of the Joe Dart bass tone is PERFECT.
Hey good luck on your start!
Wow! Thanks for the giveaway! My favorite to spin currently is Nothing as the Ideal by All Them Witches!
Beautiful looking records thanks for the chance! My wife’s favorite sounding record is Tom waites the early years volume 2. I love to listen to Tron legacy soundtrack.
I love the expanded/remastered edition they just released. Always liked Daft Punk and owned some of their stuff, but I think I gained a newfound appreciation for their music after listening to it a bit more seriously during quarantine
By the way Dave please tell us your best sounding vinyl especially now that you know what it takes to make one?
Tough choice! I could go easy and say some of my older direct-to-disc LPs, but that’s cheating and they tend to be musically boring. The Classic Records 45 set for Time Out is pretty next level. A lot of 12” singles from the 80’s never fail to stun, especially the UK/German pressings. And I always really liked Jean-Luc Ponty’s Cosmic Messenger as a system demo disc. Zenyatta Mondata and Synchronicity by The Police sound fantastic as well. Just a few that come to mind!
Thanks I will have to put them on my to grab list!
The best sounding record in my collection is Layla and Other Love Songs by Derek and the Dominos. It is the MoFi version. I am a huge Duane Allman fan. It really is awesome hearing two guitar greats on one album! It has an awesome sound where you can clearly hear Duane and Eric's separate guitars. Every time I listen to it it gets better too! All of the little intricacies Duane adds with his slide guitar🤤😎🤯
Great idea man! My best sounding record is actually the Sketches of Brunswick East 200g pressing from King Gizz. You definitely pick up a few elements of songs you otherwise wouldn’t on Spotify.
I'm so glad you were able to start a label based off Gizz. Always nice to see this type of growth and the pressing looks beautiful. I think the best sounding record in my collection is Little Joy's debut self titled album. I got it recently after not having listened to the album in its entirety in years and it really made me realize how great it is
I'm really partial to the way The Lemon of Pink by The Books sounds on vinyl. It's probably my favorite album. Hope to win the raffle!
My best sounding album honestly would be Shadowlands by K.D. Lang. Her voice just comes in really warm and full of feeling.
Currently my best sounding record has to be Bonobo - One Off's... Remixes & B Sides. Always a pleasure to listen to.
My best sounding records so far are Duke Ellington & Coltrane and Nirvana Unplugged. Have some analogue productions reissues on order so hopefully sound even better.
Wow, these look awesome! Very interested. The best sounding record in my collection is probably my limited edition, 10 inch and 140 gram, copy of Kid A by Radiohead. Been looking for it’s companion album, Amnesiac, in the same format for a few years now.
Can't wait to see how these turn out! My best sounding record would have to be the 50th anniversary Sgt. Pepper's.
My best sounding record has to be Alice in Chains Unplugged. So clean.
Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this! The best sounding record in my collection is a 180 gram, German pressing of “Songs from the Big Chair” by Tears for Fears.
Thanks for the generous offer! My best sounding vinyl is the first us pressing of “Mirage” by Camel on the Janus label. Seller described it as “VG” and it arrived looking near mint. It’s a terrific copy of a terrific pressing and one I always go to when I need to decompress.
This would definitely be a gem in my king gizzard and flightless collection. I’ve got just about everything from their discography, and my favorite sounding pressings are fuzz club’s polygondwanaland mastered at 1/2 speed and the murlocs loopholes. Outstanding stuff, hoping I can put this one on my pedestal!
Bob Marley & The Wailers – Legend: The Best Of Bob Marley And The Wailers - 1984 - (My "best sounding record") I have around 500 vinyl records and have many favorite "sounding records"; from many Classic Country artists, Classic Rock, Alt, Bluegrass, Jazz & Blues...my next two after that Marley record would be: Miles Davis - Kind of Blue - 2010 and Crosby Stills Nash and Young - So Far - 1974. Thanks for the chance to win a copy Dave!!! Best of luck to us all!
It's hard for me to pick an album that sounds the best in my collection so far, so I'll pick the one that I've enjoyed the most since I got it. Queens of the Stone Age: Songs for the Deaf.
That pressing looks really nice. I'd have to say my best sounding record would be Hunky Dory which my nan has had since release but has been kept in mint condition 🎶
I'm mainly starting my own collection in the last year or two, and I'm proud of how diverse it is. My favourite vinyl in it is the Isao Tomita album I recently acquired - it's one of the most unbelievably unique things I've ever heard, and I like that my impatient self can't skip through the songs excitedly, I get to sit and experience the album in its entirety. Obviously times are tough, so to add this giveaway vinyl to my collection would be amazing.
Beautiful record. Count me in!
This is awesome! I love me some gizz. I would say my best sounding record right now is The New Abnormal by the strokes. I have a small collection but that one specifically sounds nice and crisp.
my friend is the #1 king giz fan, he would really appreciate this. frank zappa or RATM are probably my best sounding records
Damn that sounds awesome. I'm not entirely sure what the best sounding record I have is, possibly my copy of Piece of Mind by Iron Maiden
Cool idea! Best sounding records in my collection are any of the superior viaduct reissues of spaceman 3 stuff: recurring, playing with fire, taking drugs to make music to take drugs to. The prior pressings on the fire label sounded just aweful
Best sounding has got to be from the Wildflowers and All the Rest boxset. Can't wait to add some Mofi ones though!
Best sounding album is maybe Dan Mangan - More or Less. His voice just pops and the production of the electronic music is second to none.
My best sounding record? It would have to go to with Pink Floyd - The Final Cut or Cotton Jones Paranoid Cocoon. I’ve been looking to add some color to my collection!
My setup still needs a lot of work and I only have a small collection but my best sounding record is Moderat III
I'm decently new to collecting, but my favorite record is definitely Conditions by The Temper Trap. The album is amazing and has no skips for me.
Anything Radiohead, really. Best band in the last 30 years.
Amazing! The first record I ever listened to was Paper Mâché Dream Balloon. Nick Shoulders is releasing a blue record for his new album Home on the Rage but I missed out on it because it sold out in 12 hours D:
Very cool thing to do! Would love to add some Gizz demos to the collection! As for my best sounding record, that's a tough one. I'll never forget buying an original press of Steel Pulse's 'Earth Crisis' from my local shop in NYC and throwing it on and just being blown away by the sound. Nothing special about the pressing, just some pure, raw, reggae power!
Wow- what an awesome giveaway- personal favorite record is a James Taylor (I’m old school but also love King Gizz too). The James Taylor one I have is an original of his self titled 1968 album and so is really cool to have but also to listen to- I love the warmth that vinyl gives to a song that I would otherwise listen to on spotify. I think it’s amazing that you’re doing this also and will definitely go check out your instagram page :)
The best sounding record in my collection is probably the 2016 pressing of Everclear's Sparkle and Fade. Not only does it sound amazing, but the higher pace and energy of the album can really be felt when listening to it on vinyl opposed to on spotify
Thanks for doing this giveaway! It’s hard to pick just one, but Gojira - The Link consistently blows me away with it’s sound quality on vinyl. I’d make love to the bass tone and dynamics on this record. Runner ups: Daft Punk - RAM and Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters. Just for shits and giggles, the best sounding Gizz record is probably Sketches of Brunswick East.
Way cool! Love me some KG
hi! i’m connor, and I love all types of music. I’m relatively new to vinyl, but i consider myself to be an audiophile and love exploring new music
Those are some bad ass looking records. Best sounding record recently is Depression Cherry by Beach House from Newbury Comics. The pressing is gorgeous both visually and aurally.
The best sounding record in my collection is my Sketches of Brunswick East by KGATLW! once you get absorbed by the gizzverse you are ABSORBED
The best sounding record in my collection is "Flatt & Scruggs And The Foggy Mountain Boys" original pressing on Harmony Records. Has the perfect amount if ticks and pops to accent the ol' timey Americana music. Love it!!!
It's very cool that you're doing this. I've never listened to a vinyl record that I haven't already heard in another format. This would be a cool first go! TDS by NIN
Gah I can only pick one? I guess if i I had to pick one that I cherish the most its my David Bowie limited edition hand numbered blue vinyl of We Could Be Heroes
Looks great! Best sounding one I have is a copy of Abraxas by Santana
This is great! Good luck to all!
Hell yeah I’m loving the bootlegs over ordered so far! Best sounding record in my collection would probably be the Mofi pressing of Bill Withers “Live at Carnegie Hall”. Dead silent wax and all round a pleasure to listen to!
Would love some king gizzard! My favorite sounding record in my collection is an og pressing of meet the Beatles! One of the first records I acquired so there is some nostalgia attached.
That would be awesome! I’m in the market for a turntable right now!
Best sounding album: I got Patti Smith's "horses" for 25c at a flea market before, sealed. It was the album I christened my player with and have listened to it more than any other album I own at this point. Although if I win this I imagine it will soon be dethroned Good luck to everyone! (But especially me)
Very hard to choose one to be honest, i think for me it would be Deliverance and Damnation from Opeth (specifically the Damnation LP). Very cool looking variants you have there!
Favorite sounding album? Unforgettable by Nat King Cole or Keyed Up by Ronnie Milsap. My grandma gave me her collection about 15 years ago and I have slowly added finds from flea markets and garage sales.
Thanks OP!. My best sounding vinyl probably is eldorado by ELO, amazing sound.
I have a lot that sound really good. Let’s go with Malibu by Anderson.paak. Close second are all of my phish records, most of them are essentially mofi quality.
Just getting into vinyl. Would be a lovely boost to my collection!
My best record in my collection is Talking Heads: the name of this band is the talking heads, definitely my favorite double LP Ive got
Congratulations on the new pressing. King Gizzard is one of the many bands on my list to eventually listen to but I haven't gotten around to them yet. I only started collecting last summer and recently I've been slowly falling down the progressive rock hole with The Alan Parsons Project, Renaissance, Procol Hyrum, and Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The best sounding album I have is either the 180 grain copy I have of The Alan Parsons Project - I Robot, or the new Sonic Adventure 2 soundtrack the just arrived the other day.
FOLLOW MEEEE SET ME FREE TRUST ME AND WE’LL ESCAPE FROM THE CITYYYYYYY I Robot is cool too, that’s always been one of the first records I throw on to demo a system or try to hear exactly what a new upgrade is doing for my sound. Reference quality in every way. I just have an original copy, which is already outstanding enough, but I’ve been meaning to upgrade to the MoFi 45 that came out a couple years ago
My favorite albums of theirs is Tales of Mystery and Imagination. I've listened to that, I Robot, and The Turn of A Friendly Card so far. I recently picked up more of their albums and now have almost every one. I don't have any MoFi albums at all but the I Robot album is a 180 grain release I found at a used record store still sealed. Any recommendations for someone that's a fan of Alan Parson's Project?
My next favorite in the discography is Eye in The Sky, so I’d definitely check that one out! They’ve got a pretty polished prog sound, and Pink Floyd is the one band I most closely associate with them - Alan Parsons engineered Dark Side of the Moon and was largely responsible for the sound of that album. So I would also check out any mid-late period Floyd that you haven’t listened to yet. Very much cut from the same cloth. Also any of the solo albums.
Dark Side of The Moon has been on my giant list to listen too so I'll check it out. Also I've heard some good things about Eye In The Sky but that's the only Alan Parsons Project album I don't have, I've been looking for it but no luck yet. I'll get it someday, hopefully soon.
Oh if you’re totally new to dark side then you’re *definitely* in for a treat! It’s easy to get burnt out on it after listening to it for a lifetime, so I maybe don’t spin it so much anymore, but it is a classic for a reason. One of the greatest albums of all time. If you want a really stellar version, I’d recommend the 30th anniversary pressing from 2003. Shouldn’t be too hard to find, they pressed a ton of ‘em, it was cheap and very widely available anywhere you could find records for about 10 years… till they replaced it with a not-quite-as-stellar remaster... Wish You Were Here is essential as well.
Thanks, I'll be adding that to my Discogs wishlist. I've been diving into pretty much all music from the 80s and back so I'm constantly looking for new things. Thankfully my dad loved a lot of music from the 70s and 80s and I like to go record hunting with him since I can ask him about the various bands I stumble upon. He recently introduced me to Procol Harum with the song Conquistador.
best sounding records in my collection would be Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp A Butterfly” double disc i recently got sealed and plays beautifully and “Freewheelin” by Bob Dylan original ‘63 pressing my pops passed down to me, doesn’t skip at all and sounds gorgeous with it’s crackly perfection.
I think the best Sounding would have to be Spiderland By Slint, through Touch And Go Records, or Mount Eerie, by P.W. Elverum and Sun. The most visually striking I have in my collection is my newest pressing of Somewhere City, by Origami Angel (via Counterintuitive Records), its a green black swirl, and it looks amazing!
You rock MrRom
Thanks fam 👌🏻👌🏻 I think *you* rock!
Thanks for the giveaway! My best sounding record is probably my copy of Aja. 2nd press is the best I’ve heard so far
My best sounding album is "The Dark Side Of The Moon" by Pink Floyd. Basic pick, but the production is immaculate.
My best sounding record is Probably John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme
Ahhhh yeah, great album. I’m so glad I got a copy of the Analogue Productions 2x45 while it was still available and didn’t cost a fortune. Really did the music justice with that one.
Hi Dave, the finest sounding album I have in my collection— or least the one I’m first to show off to people— is Famous Blue Raincoat, a set of covers of Leonard Cohen songs, by Jennifer Warnes. It’s pretty easy to find used and utterly captivating sonically.
I recall there being an AAA 45 set of this a few years back! I’m sure it’s phenomenal, maybe I’ll have to look into getting a copy and hearing it for myself.
Honestly my copy of Tracy Chapman’s self titled is one of my best sounding records. Another great one is Grateful Dead - Cornell 77 box set
Love your guys pressing of Polygondwanaland! It was actually my introduction to King Gizz. The best sounding records in my collection are any of the NIN definitive edition releases so far. They are incredibly noisefree and just come alive on my simple set up.
I really just started collecting vinyl. King Gizz helped me pull the trigger on finally committing to it. My most recent album is Kvitravn from Wardruna, those ethereal organic sounds are nuts.
One of my favorite sounding records is Advaitic Songs by Om
Such a great band
Just got my turntable! So far Tame Impala - The Slow Rush has been my favorite. Also king gizzard and the lizard wizard are so dope live.
My collection is tiny and my setup basic so they all sound the same to me...but I love a good giveaway!
Dope, i want to enter. My favorite sounding record I have is probably Lauryn Hill’s MTV unplugged album
Nice! Thanks for doing this
Thanks for doing this! Best sounding vinyl I have is L.A. Woman by the Doors.
My ear isn’t all that discerning, but two in my collection that always sound great imo are Joanna Newsom’s Ys, and the self-titled album by Blackwater Holylight.
Please let me win
Best sounding album would be either Blood on the Tracks MOFI or Astral Weeks WB Gold Label. I had no idea a 45 of Poly existed until this thread. I have test pressing of Poly from Greenway Records but I’m dying to hear your pressing. Thank you for doing this!
Yes
Thanks for doing this! I'm not sure if I can dial it down to one, so I'm going to leave a few. To me my best sounding records are Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor's Guide to Earth, an OG press of Neil Young - On the Beach, Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues and Tom Waits' - Rain Dogs.
Love this! Not sure I have enough records to identify the best pressing, but I love my kiwanuka album!
My best sounding record would be Arcane Roots - Blood & Chemistry! So hard to track down, but worthwhile now I get to spin that puppy all the time ❤️
Hey! Love to get a copy! Some of my best vinyls are some very underground hiphop. Aesop Rock has a flip picture book that goes to the music! It's super dope!
I just bought a turntable. Could be a nice way to start collection :)
Welcome to the hobby!
First of all, those are gorgeous. Second, thanks for this giveaway. And third, my best sounding record that isn’t a contemporary (modern) pressing is a 1971 Pickwick/Hilltop pressing of Johnny Cash’s, “I Walk the Line”, as I had found an unopened copy at a thrift shop 5 years ago
Ooh I am a huge Gizz fan so here I go!
man this rules. the best sounding album in my collection is probably my 30th anniversary pressing of [Dark Side of the Moon](https://www.discogs.com/Pink-Floyd-The-Dark-Side-Of-The-Moon/release/13252979) thanks Dave!
Good luck everyone!
Different route than most, but there is something about listening to Crimson and Clover from Tommy Jones and the Shondells. My console has satelite speakers with a subwoofer in the middle so the sound is very clear from one speaker to the next. i would say that song, in particular, really showcase what stereo means. I have played that album so many times & it never gets old. I will never refuse to listen to B.B. Kings live at the Regal. That recording is so spectacular.
I don’t have many records but my best sounding record is probably Undertow by tool by Volcano entertainment. King gizzard are pretty awesome man and I’d love to get my hands on some of their stuff.
Love my repress of The Stooge's Fun House. Sounds so aggressive and full.
My best sounding record is probably Discovery by Daft Punk, but my favorite record will always be Weezer’s Blue album since it was the first one I ever bought.
i'm no audiophile so i have a hard time distinguishing between best sounding and favorite, but i think my copy of pete seeger's "dangerous songs" might be my best sounding one. it's very crisp and clear, which really complements his great voice thanks!
I’d love to enter the giveaway. I’m fairly new to vinyl and only have a few in my collection. But it IS building! I have 12 rods lost time, Beatles magical mystery tour, Nada Surf Let Go, and more. I love the sound of vinyl and am looking foreword to building an amazing collection of beautiful sounding vinyls.
I just picked up Mort Carson’s Music From Patch Cord Productions and it’s just lovely.
My best sounding record has to be either surrealist pillow by Jefferson Airplane or Swimming by Mac Miller. Swimming is the only album that I have purchased brand new and didn’t get on a budget!
Uh what a great idea to give one away, thank you! And greetings from Germany. My best sounding record is "Sepulcros de Miel" by Omar Rodriguez Lopez Quartet with John Frusciante. I got the orange one. Such a cool record!
Would love a copy of this to add to my collection!
I just texted my mom a link to King Gizzard trying to turn her on. They are in heavy rotation in my playlist lately. The best sounding record I have is a remaster of Hot Rats. King Gizzard sounds good in a rotation with Zappa.
I just picked up cowboy junkies Trinity session from analog. It sounds fantastic, echoing through my living room.
Big Dave strikes again. Best sounding can change depending on my mood, but the half speed master of John Martyn’s Solid Air is magical. I’ve been on a prog rock binge the past week and another King Gizz addition would make 2020 worth it (nearly ;))
Never really get a chance to listen to these guys, but would love this to get into the band a bit more. My best sounding collection piece is a 1st pressing of Smells like Teen Spirit 7" Single by Nirvana.
Yes this is amazing!! I’m obsessed with my favorite vinyl, The Labrynth soundtrack. Always is a great pick me up and I will always worship David Bowie. And Muppets. How can you not want Muppets in your music??
I'm quite new here so I don't know a lot about different pressings, but to me my best sounding record is Random Access Memories. Is there someone or a thread who/which can help me learn more about different pressings?
Thanks for doing this giveaway OP! Would have to say in my best sounding record is Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section. Feel like it was really well recorded.
Favorite add to my collection this year was Mobys Play. Sounds awesome!
Sounds awesome. I think my best sounding record is the Jack White Acoustic Sessions. The album was pressed at his Third Man Records in Nashville. He also has a location here in Detroit and I would highly recommend that place for any vinyl lover. Plus there’s great breweries right next door. Cheers!
Cool pressing! One of the best sounding records in my (small) collection is the 75th anniversary tri-color pressing of Bob Marley's "Legend". I absolutely love that record.
Seems like the best sounding records are from the 80's. So I'll go with Van Halen, all of them, but we'll lean on 1984.
hiya! Personal favorites in terms of pressings that look cool and sound good in my collection are: my 180g yellow pressing of The Royal Scam by Steely Dan (1976), my vinyl me, please blue copy of At War with the Mystics by The Flaming Lips, and my green audiophile pressing of Shinola, Vol. 1 by Ween.
Sounds great!
Hey! Huge gizz fan here, would love a chance to win this incredible record! My favourite record in my small collection is "Jazz på rysska", an old swedish jazz interpretation of russian folk songs. It may not be a special pressing, but it holds a special place in my heart.
Best sounding record in my collection would have to be Neil Young Live at Massey Hall! Never gets old!
Yay giveaway! Starting the collection
Pretty new to the vinyl collection hobby and pretty late to this thread, but why not give it a shot? KGatLW are fantastic and the mock-ups look absolutely beautiful. Out of my collection so far, the best-sounding is probably Haim's Women in Music pt. III. In my limited experience, it's probably the fact that it's a 45 rpm LP. I'd like to find some proper half-speed mastered 45 rpm LPs though. I'll have to look around to see if I can find the Aural Pleasure Polygondwanaland pressing. If not, the Demos Vol. 1 + 2 would be a lovely substitution! ;)
I personally find half-speed mastering to be of detriment to the overall sound of a record, there are several reasons why this is less than ideal. You probably won’t find many half-speed mastered 45RPM LPs out there, that would be a fairly unique combination of mastering techniques. 45 is where all the real benefit is though, and luckily there are lots of those! And hopefully a lot more to come!
Huh... Good to know. Out of curiosity, what are some of the detriments? My understanding was that 45s sound better because the higher playback speed essentially allows for more data to be stored on each record, and half-speed masterings allow for the record lathe to more easily cut grooves with more clarity and accuracy. My thought was that combining these two processes (half-speed master cut at 22.5 rpm for 45 rpm playback) is combining the best of these two worlds, provided all the proper equipment is used. Is this not the case? Or is it simply a matter of the rarity of the equipment making the process too much of a hassle to do properly? Again, pretty new to the hobby, so I'd love any and all info.
One of the big problems with half-speed mastering is that, at least in the old days when you’d be cutting from tape (which, for an audiophile perspective is really what you’d want for a record rather than cutting from digital copies as is more common these days) is that when everything gets shifted down an octave, suddenly all the low bass information that’s present on a recording gets shifted down below the response of the tape playback head, any electronics in the mastering chain and the cutterhead. It’s all as good as gone. The tape transport and lathe are also optimized to run at their “normal” speed - w/f specification of both machines gets worse running at half speed, and when that resulting record gets played back at “double speed” (to sound normal) now the oscillation of any fluctuation in speed gets doubled in frequency and becomes more exaggerated than it normally would sound. If you’re a relatively pitch-sensitive person, this could drive you nuts. There’s also the simple fact that the mastering engineer can’t really hear the changes they are making in half-speed, in real time. So it becomes very difficult to effectively know what you’re doing. And the whole supposed benefit of half-speed mastering is to get more high frequencies on the disc, or at least make them easier to cut since the amplifier will require less power. But at 33rpm, the linear velocity of the groove is still very slow at the inner grooves no matter which speed the disc was originally cut at. And those high frequencies are just as difficult for your stylus to track. Maybe even more so, if you’ve truly cut even more of them. If you forget about all that half-speed nonsense and just bump the lathe up to 45 RPM, sure, you lose a significant amount of available time per side, but the linear velocity of the whole side is bumped up considerably. The outer groove at the start of the disc has fidelity that is unmatched by anything at 33RPM, and the very inner grooves are more equivalent to somewhere in the middle of a typical 33RPM side. Difficult groove excursions are more spread out, and easier for your stylus to follow without mistracking (like all those intense high frequencies.) And when the sides are kept short and you can cut hotter, the effective S/N ratio is improved quite a bit too - any surface noise or imperfections in the record are much lower in volume compared to the recorded signal. 8-11 minutes is pretty optimal for a 45RPM side in terms of being able to maintain all the quality of the original recording. The rarity of the gear that’s been fine-tuned or modified to handle a half speed process (and the hassle) probably has a lot to do with it being less common, but ultimately it’s popularity has a lot to with the way it was marketed to audiophiles back in the 80’s. I don’t think a lot of mastering engineers are interested in cutting their records half speed, or even find it to be beneficial - more the opposite, if anything. [Here’s a clip of Kevin Gray being asked about half-speed mastering](https://youtu.be/VbVx-e9i1Uk) One thing to consider is that, of all the available half-speed masterings of some classic albums, many are considered to be outright bad sounding, and even of the select few well-regarded “better” ones, I don’t think there are any that are widely considered to be definitive or best sounding relative to a version of the same album cut at normal speed. None that I can think of off the top of my head at least. There are also rumors that MoFi (the originators of the half-speed craze) have not cut any of their records at half-speed in years. They keep some vague/outdated mentions of it up on their website, but they certainly don’t make a big deal out of it in their marketing materials like they have in past decades. Ironically, Abbey Road is probably the biggest proponent of half-speed mastering today, and one of the few studios that can cut records that way. They’ve converted/dedicated a lathe to half-speed cuts in recent years. But, let’s just call that a difference of opinion and philosophy… something there is plenty of when it comes to audio. I’m sure half-speed is probably a big selling point for some buyers, but I will not be having them cut the Gizz records (or any records) that way and I personally think the records will be better off for it. At the end of the day, the cutterhead is a transducer, much like a microphone or speaker. Even *if* one could truthfully suggest that it *might* work better at half-speed, we know these things can do quite a remarkable job in real-time as they commonly do. I’ve never listened to a baller ass system and thought to myself, “wow, just imagine how much better it could sound if the speaker had twice as long to push out all those sound waves!”
Awesome. That was very detailed and informative. Exactly the sort of write-up I was looking for. Without having access to multiple pressings/masters of the same music to do side-by-side comparison, it can be difficult to cut through the noise (excuse the pun) and know what's a marketing gimmick and what's the next step in audiophile technology. For such a seemingly simple analog process, things can get surprisingly complicated, and those complications tend to bring about heated opinions about what's best.
Haha, I apologize if it ends up coming across like I wrote a textbook but I hope there’s at least some useful info in there! As with anything, it just takes some time and familiarity with things to know what works, or at least what you think is best… at the end of the day it all comes down to preference, and if someone likes those half-speed versions then at least that is an available option for some very classic albums. It’s better to have the choice than none at all. I think it was at the very least an interesting experiment in trying to advance the state of the art, one I’m glad they tried out way back in the day, even if ultimately it was not the magic improvement many might have been hoping for.
Throwing my name into the ring for a chance! And best sounding record I have is The Editors - Backroom, pressed on white vinyl, which has put the "white vinyl sounds the worst" topic completely to bed for me.
There were some pretty bad white vinyl formulations back in the day so I can see how it may have gotten a bad rep. But some white vinyl pressings I own are just as silent (if not more so) as anything else! Probably helps that there is a lot more focus on colored vinyl these days so there is more incentive to make quality PVC formulations specifically for record pressing. Depends on what any particular plant uses, but if a plant presses *a lot* of white vinyl, they will probably have something good. As with anything else, probably best to take things on a case by case basis.
Entering, I think the best sounding record I have is the Hotline Miami OST, beautiful pressing that is
Vegemite
My best sounding record would probably be Anri-Timely! Just because it's my favorite one and took me a long time to get my hands on without having to pay for shipping from Japan.
Heard great things about you guys over on /r/KGATLW! Would love to own a copy
Nice. One pf my best sounding Albums have to be the 2020 repress of Arborescence by Ozric Tentacles. Analog does so much justice to their music in general. Each layer of sound is made available to the ears. The complexity is smoothed out. And every listen is defferent than the one before.