December 19th, 2023
Category:
InterviewsEnjoy a behind-the-scenes "look" at the creation of Steely Dan's classic Aja album with Donald Fagen and award winning recording engineer Bill Schnee and mastering engineer great Bernie Grundman in conversation with Tracking Angle's Fred Kaplan and Analogue Productions' own Chad Kassem.
2023-12-19 12:26:08 PM
Jim Shue wrote:
Chad is the man! The UHQR Aja is indeed an 11/11. So far all the A75 series LPs I've received are all killer. When does Chad sleep :-)
2023-12-19 03:41:25 PM
bwb wrote:
Interesting how many say 11/11 when to my ear it isn't anywhere close. An 11 for music is completely a matter of personal taste so no argument with however anybody wants to rate it, but not the sound. A record that is 11 for sound is one that you pull out to impress people. An 11 for sound is a very rare thing, one of the best sounding records of all time. This is not that record.
IMHO people who love the music have gotten swept up by the fact that it sounds better than it has ever sounded. It sounds quite good. It is not a reference quality recording.
2023-12-20 09:42:14 AM
Come on wrote:
Since long I understood those sound quality ratings related to the era of the recording or even related to the sound quality of other releases of the same recording so far. Otherwise they make no sense, I agree.
That the music ratings often just match a very personal taste and who‘s a young lion or not is a different topic ;-)
But the most important question: why does DF wear sun glasses at home?
2023-12-19 04:00:41 PM
Seamus MacGleannain wrote:
Totally engrossing video. These guys know their stuff!
2023-12-19 04:58:47 PM
Phil Barton wrote:
Hmmmmm…..so the tape was actually an EQ’d tape that Bernie EQ’d over again and NOT a non - EQ’d tape copy like originally stated by Chad and AP. Probably an honest mistake but it was sure covered - up like it wasn’t. The guy who reported this on Steve Westman’s Youtube show took tremendous heat on various forums and nasty text messages. Looks like those owe him an apology if they are big enough to own up to it. As for transparency and honesty in audiophile releases as to their tape provenance, etc……it’s still sadly disappointing.
2023-12-19 04:58:48 PM
Phil Barton wrote:
Hmmmmm…..so the tape was actually an EQ’d tape that Bernie EQ’d over again and NOT a non - EQ’d tape copy like originally stated by Chad and AP. Probably an honest mistake but it was sure covered - up like it wasn’t. The guy who reported this on Steve Westman’s Youtube show took tremendous heat on various forums and nasty text messages. Looks like those owe him an apology if they are big enough to own up to it. As for transparency and honesty in audiophile releases as to their tape provenance, etc……it’s still sadly disappointing.
2023-12-20 03:27:54 PM
Jeff wrote:
I believe rating a “pop” record from the 70’s an 11 for sound is not saying it’s comparable to sitting in the 20th row of Symphony Hall. They’re saying that it’s exactly what the engineers put on tape (in my opinion).
2023-12-20 05:51:24 PM
bwb wrote:
completely disagree.. As a consumer who relies on reviews to guide him to great recordings, your definition does me no good.
using your definition of sound = 11 then it could be "this recording sounds like crap, but it's the best this crap has ever sounded."
the only reasonable definition for sound = 11 is it is one of the best sounding recordings of all time
2023-12-20 06:34:17 PM
Come on wrote:
I think both definitions are valid. Yours (which most of us probably see) would mean, that most of the reviews here and elsewhere are graded way too high in sound quality.
I adjusted my expectation to the practice.
2023-12-26 05:41:19 PM
Come on wrote:
Citing Steve Hoffman on Aja (from his forum) is maybe an interesting addition to our discussion. It kind of underlines an “era-related 11”. ;-)
Cited: “It's not a bad recording, it's just, well, 70's. Has that sound. As I mentioned, when I got my ABC album in 1977, I thought my stereo was broken or something. The sound was hollow, no top end. Like a blanket over my tweeters. Turns out that's just how it sounds. A great album but let's get real..
Probably the most fussed over mix in music history though; each segment of each song mixed separately and them spliced together for the biggest pain in the butt tape restoration of all time.
That being said, my kids love friggin' AJA and it is played every day at the Hoffman House.”
2023-12-20 04:42:35 PM
Come on wrote:
Wow this was a great team! From the all time hero Donald over the nicest guy Bernie, very sympathetic Bill, genius Fred and incredibly dedicated Chad, I love you guys, please repeat this! Waiting for the next UHQR releases. Will support your work where I can.
Would appreciate to know what happened with the Pretzel remastering. We read here and there that people with the necessary connections would get back with some info, but this usually never happens then.
2023-12-23 11:04:34 PM
John Hudson wrote:
Like everyone else I was thrilled that so many talented people got on board to to make this an outstanding reissue series and I have not heard this record in any other system than my own, but within that limited context it comes off as overtly energetic in the treble to the point of aggrivation and fatigue. The rest of the tonal spectrum sounds very good so I am left with the impression that there was perhaps too much pressure to make this more than it could be, considering that it was not first generation and that a special preamp was built or adjusted especially for it. Without having my own tone control, which I don’t, the Cisco is, as it is - a bit rolled off, the best version I have. We don’t really know enough about their process to understand what took place, and this sort of comment can be meaningless but I think they are trying to get as close the edge as possible and for some of us at least they reached too far.
2023-12-24 01:59:11 AM
bwb wrote:
I agree with your assessment of how this sounds. To my ear the three Steely Dan I have are in a similar vein.
perhaps Bernie Grundman's almost 80 year old ears play into that somehow ??
The "Elephant" UHQR sounds much , much better. Excellent in fact. Could it be related to the fact the guy who mastered it is much younger?
