The "Pet Sounds" One-Step "Controversy" Has Gotten Way Out of Hand

so here you can listen to a track from many PS reissues and the O.G.

The lies being told online about me, about Tom 'grover" Biery, about the new DSS version of Pet Sounds, about the "One Step" process etc. etc. are just getting to be TOO MUCH for me. So I've made this one take soliloquy in an attempt to set the record straight about Pet Sounds, about reissues, about "One Steps" about people with no resumes pretending to be authorities and a lot of others stuff.

I'm fed up with all of the nonsense! Please watch and then after I'm done you will hear the track "Here Today" from the O.G. from the '72 Brother Records version, from the DCC Compact Classics, from the Analogue Productions version, from the Vinylphyle edition and then from the DSS.

I'm sorry but it appears that the Vinylphyle version isn't identified. It begins around 31:00 minutes into the video. My apologies.

What's truly crazy about this is that both the DSS and the Vinylphyle versions were cut from tape copies. The Vinylphyle from the N.Y. tape probably also used by Kevin Gray for the Analogue Productions reissue, and the DSS from the the equalized Dolby copy prepared by or for Brother Records in 1972.

Despite this and despite that Tom Biery made clear that he'd used an equalized copy, all hell broke lose. Also my claim that the '72 tape was what Brian Wilson probably wanted people to hear created a firestorm.

Why? The Beach Boys had bought the rights to the tapes from Capitol in 1969 and3 years later issues their own Pet Sounds. Who does anyone think prepped the EQ'd tape? A stranger? Who does anyone think approved the EQ'd tape? If not the boys themselves, namely Brian and Carl? What a mess...

There are no tricks or shenanigans. Each file was loudness normalized then amplified to make the levels match so volume doesn't affect what you hear. Whichever you prefer IS FINE. Please watch this video and thank you for your attention to this matter!

Comments

2026-05-31 02:10:16 AM

JEB-42 wrote:

Great video! I appreciate the amount of time and information provided here. I hope the background information you give helps belay the silliness out there. Most important is the end sound of the product. What ever you prefer becomes your reference. Just sit back and enjoy!
2026-05-31 05:07:29 AM

Jake wrote:

I had a quick listen to the video today while doing some yard work, when the DCC started playing it stood out for me. Will have a proper listen again to compare the DCC with the DSS and the AP. Thank you for uploading the video
- 2026-05-31 05:56:46 AM
  
  Come on wrote:
  
  Yeah on the iPhone/airpods the more boosted ones mostly sound better, but it’s meaningless. The setup usually tells another, more detailed story.
2026-05-31 05:43:26 AM

Anders Sørensen Uth wrote:

Sounds like the influencers has been at work. The quacks of our time.
2026-05-31 09:20:52 AM

Come on wrote:

Interesting background! I also think there's no better guess than that the Beach Boys wanted us to hear what they released after buying the tapes.

Who am I to give advises, but I have 2:
1. DON'T care about youtube comments, even if the one has a channel. It's beneath you! It's as if Nelson Pass would react on youtubers questioning his capability of developing efficient amplifier circuits.
2. When you're at the High End show: I'm sure you get many hints but I stronly advise to consider this one, after I discovered it recently (and I don't sell them): There's something, someone like you MUST know of (in case you do not already). Get your hands on a SCHNERZINGER Reflector set (active ultra HF noise cancelling in the room) and try it at home. They usually are in the Zellaton room. I promise you, you get floored. It's about what we all are after and don't get in this way even with all money spent on equipment. It's about ultimate realism. Will be the only hint like this I'll ever give.
Have fun at Vienna!
- 2026-06-02 12:59:30 PM
  
  Jeff 'Glotz' Glotzer wrote:
  
  Schnerzinger's cable design and materials manufacturing are revolutionary. Other areas remind me of Synergistic Research, but each business possesses brilliant engineering. The Reflector and the rest of the line-up are maximally seductive. Part Time Audiophile did a review last year.
  - 2026-06-02 02:03:02 PM
    
    Come on wrote:
    
    Yes, it’s simply pointless to spend hundreds of thousands on equipment and be at the top of the high-end scene like Michael without having experienced that - which is why I highly recommended it to him. With this Schnerzinger stuff you can achieve a level of realism in an affordable system that’s usually missing even in systems costing a fortune.
2026-05-31 12:21:59 PM

Nicholas Paredes wrote:

It was really great to hear these comparisons. I was too young (1yo) to experience this album as a new release, but a used copy of the Good Vibrations 45 was my first purchase at 9yo. I was very into the B and BB sound as a child. They were hard to miss in the period.

So, I’m happy with this purchase have a few copies of the record around as well as an assemblage of Good Vibrations cuts. The original Capital release sounds flat. The Brothers copy sounds bright. The new release feels like a good balance on intention without pushing too hard. One misses the background instruments on the original release. The balance on the DSS is very well done.

I played the 45 on a Dual turntable, Pioneer tuner, with Advent speakers at 9. Ha.
2026-05-31 02:40:59 PM

Silk Dome Mid wrote:

The "...thank you for your attention to this matter!" at the end cracked me up. You should have thrown in some Random Capitalization.
2026-05-31 06:33:21 PM

Dan wrote:

I went over to the guys YouTube channel to listen and read the comments. I think the people who are following this person are people who are new to buying vinyl, and unlikely to invest the money in a one-step anyway. And this guy is obviously trying to stir the pot, playing on people's lack of understanding of the tape/pressing process in order to build his platform. It's hard to listen to people who want to believe there is a conspiracy, and we have learned that people will believe what ever they want to believe.
2026-06-01 08:48:20 AM

Tom wrote:

For those who are fanatical, there was a extremely limited 7.5 ips commercial release of the Brother records eq’ed reel to reel tape as part of the Carl and The Passions release. IMO IT’s excellent.
2026-06-01 05:55:47 PM

Sam Casanzio wrote:

The only copy to be completely disregarded is the original Capitol pressing. THIN sounding that can heard across the room. The Brother Records 72 and the new DSS sound close. Both clear vocals without the harshness of the OG. The DCC— Steve’s signature is all over it, and in a good way! Damn, if that sound isn’t appealing. Like a fine bourbon it just pulls you in and warms you right up. Outstanding job Steve. The mono AP falls somewhere between all of these. Very good as well. NOW. Let me really throw a wrench into the mix. I own the 72 twofer brother records. It’s good as I have stated. HOWEVER, if you really want the Pet Sounds that will knock your socks off, hands down it’s the AP STEREO 45 RPM pressing! Yes, it’s not the mono that Brian intended, but Brian worked with the original multitrack tapes to create the stereo master. The 45 rpm AP is jaw dropping.
- 2026-06-01 10:16:43 PM
  
  Lemon Curry wrote:
  
  On the samples Michael provided here, I agree with everything you said. I could be happy with pretty much anything here aside from the OG. The One Step has greatest clarity, but musicality is pretty much a 4 way tie.
- 2026-06-05 12:41:15 AM
  
  Malachi Lui wrote:
  
  i'm reviewing the mono/stereo vinylphyle pressing that just came out, and (spoiler alert) the new vinylphyle stereo cut is better than the AP stereo 45. i think the AP stereo 45 is very good too, though that 1996 stereo remix in any form just doesn't have the texture that the original mono does.
  - 2026-06-06 07:34:30 PM
    
    Magic wrote:
    
    I couldn’t disagree with you more. On my system the AP 45RPM pops. Why do you think the Vinylphyle stereo is better?
2026-06-01 06:01:13 PM

Rashers wrote:

I have countless versions of this album on CD, DVA-A, mono, stereo, at least 2 big box sets etc. and, I must confess, that I never thought that the album sounded particularly good. Like, I suspect, many of the gellow lunatics who follow this site, I bought both the One Step and Vinylphyle (mono plus stereo) and compared A vs B vs C. First, there is no question, the One Step is far superior to the Vinylphyle mono NY copy (which still sounds very good, mind). But - the question of what Brian would have wanted - the answer is that he MIXED the 1996 stereo version and it sound marvellous. Yes, it was cut from digital, but all of these discussions have ignored the Stereo and, it is a brilliant. It is strange, though, I listened to 3 versions of the same album today, and they all sounded different. Is the One Step the "ultimate" version - it is the ultimate Mono for sure, but listen to the Stereo version also. It is great.
2026-06-02 03:42:59 AM

WesHeadley wrote:

I checked out the Youtuber's post -- it seems like the main contention is that everyone was told that this 1971 tape was remastered from the original and was logically more of what Brian wanted given the Beach Boys now had control of their catalog -- but that in fact a 1975 EQ'd safety copy tape was actually used. One used before for many reissues. I still can't tell if this discrepancy has been sorted or not. All I can say is that the new OneStep is the best I've every heard this album sound.
- 2026-06-05 12:43:10 AM
  
  Malachi Lui wrote:
  
  'used before for many reissues' is inaccurate, the 1972/1975 tape was used for the 50th anniversary mono digital remaster, but doesn't seem like it was used before that. so this is still the first time that it's been used for a modern all-analog vinyl reissue. but yes, the one-step does sound the best, no matter what that tape exactly is.
2026-06-02 06:35:27 AM

MrRom92 wrote:

Exactly what lies are being spread about you, or Grover, or these records? They must be happening in some corner of the internet I’m not familiar with. I’ve actually seen, to my surprise, nothing but overwhelming praise for the DSS
- 2026-06-02 02:00:07 PM
  
  Todd wrote:
  
  That’s been my impression as well.
- 2026-06-03 11:39:51 AM
  
  Michael Fremer wrote:
  
  it's totally conspiracy laden YouTube channel run by a guy who knows nothing but cloaks his ignorance in pseudo-scientific jargon. Everything is a "scam" he exposes: One-Steps, among them. He's really entered libel territory with some of his charges. He's not talked to anyone, mind you, everything is pulled from the Internet. He almost appears to be A.I. but he's not.
  - 2026-06-05 12:44:06 AM
    
    Malachi Lui wrote:
    
    well, it's possible that the conspiracy youtuber desperate to call everything a 'scam' could be using AI to write his video scripts. some of his comment replies look a bit chatGPT
2026-06-03 09:20:41 AM

Norman Maslov wrote:

While the DSS is the best mono I’ve heard, I still prefer the AP stereo 33. And yes, I know about its much later creation.

The VinylPhyle series has proven itself to release excellent audiophile releases from tape too. I haven’t heard their new version of Pet Sounds, but why did they use a completely different tape, than the tape selected for the DSS? Shouldn’t both versions use the very best tape for their releases?
- 2026-06-03 11:14:53 AM
  
  Michael Fremer wrote:
  
  Both DSS (Tom "grover" Biery) and Vinylphyle (Joe Nino-Hernes) had access to both tapes and made their choices as to which is "best". What I find interesting is that in 2016 when Brian collaborated with Mark Linnett to produce the stereo mix and the 50th anniversary set there also was a vinyl mono release. It was ADA, cut from a digital file from tape. But the tape used was the Warner Brothers tape the DSS uses. The box was a Capitol release. It tells me Linnett and Wilson decided the WB tape was "best".
  - 2026-06-03 12:09:20 PM
    
    Norman Maslov wrote:
    
    Interesting each team chose different tapes as their best, but that’s what subject-ability is all about.
    
    And Linnett did the first stereo mix in 1996.