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Your favorite "premium vinyl reissue" labels?

kasperhauser

kasperhauser

pfm Member
As distinct from, say, "small batch" labels that only produce original recordings of their own, albeit of a very high quality.

I've only tried a few of the usual suspects – MOFI, Sheffield Labs, Sound 80, 4MWB, maybe a few others.

So far I don't think I've heard a Nautilus Super Disc that I didn't like, but admittedly I only have maybe four or five.

What am I missing? Are there any that always "get it right"?
 
I wouldn’t call 4MWB a premium reissue label. They aren’t forthcoming on their sources, so they might all be cut (and not very well, in my experience) from CD.

I’d add Speakers Corner and Pure Pleasure to your list. ORG and Craft as well, mebbe. I like a lot of my Classic Records pressings, but they’ll be unobtanium new nowadays.

And sometimes, sometimes even a major gets it right, e.g. Island’s Nick Drake reissues.
 
IIRC 4MWB are often if not always digital source, I view them as an equivalent to Simply Vinyl etc. Decent enough pressings, but not audiophile cuts.

I’ve got quite a substantial collection of audiophile issues/reissues; Nimbus Supercut, Crystal Clear* (direct cut), DCC (Hoffman), MoFi, Alto Analogue, Classic Records, Org, Craft/Jazz Dispensary, Night Dreamer* (direct cut), Tone Poet, Acoustic Sounds, Analogue Productions, Speakers Corner, Pure Pleasure plus many Japanese issues/reissues. They are a mixed bag, some really are absolutely stunning, others I’d swap for a mint first pressing in a heartbeat. As an example I have a lot of Classic Records and Tone Poet Blue Notes, they are really good, but I’d swap every one for a mint RVG-stamped US 1st pressing (and often a later Liberty pressing). The reason I buy them is I can’t find mint US first pressings at all, let alone at a price I am prepared to pay! These audiophile cuts are a superb second option when genuinely mint originals are likely £300+ a pop unless you get real lucky. Many of them increase in value hugely too, so like 1st pressings they can be a great investment.

PS The ‘*’ is just to indicate these labels are original content, not reissues. Crystal Clear in the ‘70s recorded stuff by Charlie Byrd, Taj Mahal etc, Night Dreamer is current and has many superb titles, e.g. Emma Jean Thackray, Maisha & Gary Bartz, Seun Kuti etc.
 
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Back in the late 1990’s when I first started buying mail order from printed newsletters from Diverse Vinyl and Vivante (what a quaint idea!) it was MoFi, DCC, Absolute Analogue and Classic Records. I would also add Speakers Corner to that list.
 
Classic were superb for a long while, but once they got to the 200g stuff the quality control got lost somewhere with stitching, infill, and I’ve got some where they didn’t even get the hole in the middle, which irritates me hugely as I’ve a reasonable sense of pitch!
 
Would also add The electric recording company , Fone. , Analogphonic & Impex are a top tier AAA labels
 
I would Music Matters that are not listed above.
Jazzman has also done some good reissues including the superb Don Rendell, Ian Carr Quintet reissues.
Decca have have started to reissue some rare British Jazz records in excellent quality. They started with the Tubby Hayes box set.
 
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I’d add Gearbox to the list. They issue modern Jazz but plenty of archive material and, imho, they are responsible for the top quality of the recent Decca reissues as they are mastered & cut at Gearbox’s studio. The Analogue Production/ Verve reissues are top notch as well.
 
I would add Sunbeam Records to that list although they don’t promote themselves as a premium label. Their pressings are very good (flat and quiet), they come well packaged (decent inner sleeves) and usually have superb outer sleeves.
 
The classic of classics in this field is of course MoFi as they started the whole thing in the late 1970's. The Japan pressed ones was really stunning, the current output less so.

In the days when Linn did cut discs (as opposed to mastering), the Swedish importer did a couple of reissues from the Decca classical catalogue, the label was Recut Record.

TonyL already mentioned DD discs, my favorites are the label East Wind, with world class jazz musicians like Joe Sample, Ray Brown and Shelly Manne.

BTW, when I get a record with an off center hole I enlarge it with a file and fiddle with it until it's perfect. Then (please don't tell the 'serious' audiophiles) I record it digitally, making it AAA-D ;)
 
I’m far too much the record collector to ever go hacking at records with files! The detachable spindle on the old Xerxes was superb in this regard as it allowed re-centring with a bit of patience, the deck’s one redeeming feature!
 
Tony L said:
I’m far too much the record collector to ever go hacking at records with files! The detachable spindle on the old Xerxes was superb in this regard as it allowed re-centring with a bit of patience, the deck’s one redeeming feature!
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Yes, that's the solution. I knew the Swedish Radio (in the days the still played proper records) had under sized spindles and the sound engineers where trained to do centering 'on the fly'!
 
Thanks - many of these are new to me. Lots to explore. A quick scan of the Speakers Corner offerings alone suggests I may have started a thread I can ill afford.
 
All the Craft Recordings vinyl I have has been excellent. I’ve got a fair few ORG, Music Matters and Analogue Productions jazz too. I prefer 33rpm for ease of use and retaining the original side 1/side 2 programme, but the 45rpm stuff often sounds fantastic. The Ben Webster and Oscar Peterson 45rpm Verve reissues on Analogue Productions are some of my favourite records.
 
mikechadwick said:
I’d add Gearbox to the list. They issue modern Jazz but plenty of archive material and, imho, they are responsible for the top quality of the recent Decca reissues as they are mastered & cut at Gearbox’s studio.
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Well worth visiting their mastering suite if you ever get the chance. Lots of serious vintage R2R tape machines as well as their Scully lathe. Plus Audio Note gear for playback.
 
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