Beatles Remasters?

[sonicvoodoo]

I'm just curious if any of you guys are excited about the soon to be released Beatles Remasters? I know from previous discussion that some people on here feel the Beatles are no longer relevant so I was wondering if there are people who are eagerly anticipating the remasters.

I have the Dr. Ebbetts pindrops but even the good Dr, himself says these new releases are 'sposed to be amazing.

[HBlack]

Wonder if it'll be worth it to replace all their albums I have currently on my computer with that.

Thoughts on the Love album? I thought they did an amazing job with it.

[blm14]

I have the "naked" version of let it be, which is pretty good.

My thing is I have all the albums on LP, and most of them are in VG+ to mint condition, and the original mono recordings sound pretty damn good to me.

I'll be curious to listen to them but my guess is that I wont buy them - especially if they don't release them on wax.

[sonicvoodoo]

I have every Beatles album, even the mono releases and prob have every bootleg. I have the Dr. Ebbetts box set of bootleg remasters and they sound fucking GREAT, (Google Dr. Ebbetts and you'll see what i'm talking about) and Dr. Ebbetts himself has heard the new remasters and says they sound incredible...so I can't wait for the release...will buy them if the box is cheap enuf or DL the lossless files when available

[jeepster]

I dunno

last time they "remastered" them when they transferred to CD they came out sounding like complete shit

the "Purple bootlegs" that were floating around a while back were pretty immaculate but Apple ordered a cease and desist and it's nearly impossible to find them unless you already have them.

[sonicvoodoo]

http://www.thebeatles.com/core/news/

pple Corps Ltd. and EMI Music are delighted to announce the release of the original Beatles catalogue, which has been digitally re-mastered for the first time, for worldwide CD release on Wednesday, September 9, 2009 (9-9-09), the same date as the release of the widely anticipated "The Beatles: Rock Band" video game. Each of the CDs is packaged with replicated original UK album art, including expanded booklets containing original and newly written liner notes and rare photos. For a limited period, each CD will also be embedded with a brief documentary film about the album. On the same date, two new Beatles boxed CD collections will also be released.

The albums have been re-mastered by a dedicated team of engineers at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London over a four year period utilising state of the art recording technology alongside vintage studio equipment, carefully maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the original analogue recordings. The result of this painstaking process is the highest fidelity the catalogue has seen since its original release.

The collection comprises all 12 Beatles albums in stereo, with track listings and artwork as originally released in the UK, and 'Magical Mystery Tour,' which became part of The Beatles' core catalogue when the CDs were first released in 1987. In addition, the collections 'Past Masters Vol. I and II' are now combined as one title, for a total of 14 titles over 16 discs. This will mark the first time that the first four Beatles albums will be available in stereo in their entirety on compact disc. These 14 albums, along with a DVD collection of the documentaries, will also be available for purchase together in a stereo boxed set.

packaging

Within each CD's new packaging, booklets include detailed historical notes along with informative recording notes. With the exception of the 'Past Masters' set, newly produced mini-documentaries on the making of each album, directed by Bob Smeaton, are included as QuickTime files on each album. The documentaries contain archival footage, rare photographs and never-before-heard studio chat from The Beatles, offering a unique and very personal insight into the studio atmosphere.

A second boxed set has been created with the collector in mind. 'The Beatles in Mono' gathers together, in one place, all of the Beatles recordings that were mixed for a mono release. It will contain 10 of the albums with their original mono mixes, plus two further discs of mono masters (covering similar ground to the stereo tracks on 'Past Masters'). As an added bonus, the mono "Help!" and "Rubber Soul" discs also include the original 1965 stereo mixes, which have not been previously released on CD. These albums will be packaged in mini-vinyl CD replicas of the original sleeves with all original inserts and label designs retained.

Discussions regarding the digital distribution of the catalogue will continue. There is no further information available at this time.

Dr Ebbetts pin drop is by far the best Beatles rip you can get (remastered in 2006).

Dr. Ebbetts has heard the Beatles remasters: He's retiring!

Dear friends,

I sincerely hope all is well with you and yours.

Indeed, this is an unexpected mass-mailer. Please forgive the

unsolicited rambles that follow.

To start, there are many of you who have outstanding orders with me at

this time. Some of you have been waiting for a while, and I wish to

apologize for that. Please don't worry. Each and every one of these

outstanding orders will be tended to this week. You have my word.

I appreciate your patience and understanding.

Second, there has been considerable buzz surrounding the new Beatles

remasters, due for release in September. There should be. We have all

been waiting for this day, and it is about to arrive - finally! Thanks

to a long-time supporter and friend to this project, I have had the

opportunity to hear genuine samples of the new remasters due out in two

months.

They are good.

Very good.

Those of you who will be buying them - and those of you who have already

preordered - will not be disappointed.

In fact, I will venture to guess than many of you will be more than

pleasantly surprised at how good they sound.

And with what promises to be outstanding packaging all around, it will

be a collector's nirvana.

From the outset of the Dr. Ebbetts Sound Systems project, I swore that

once EMI did the right thing and released remasters to be proud of, I

would not continue doing what I was doing. After all, the only reason I

did this was because Apple/EMI/Capitol would not - and because I so very

much love the Beatles.

While my love for the band has not changed, everything else has.

EMI/Capitol began their release of the American LPs on compact disc a

few years ago, and now EMI has tackled the British catalogue in fullest

detail.

It's what we all wanted. As Beatles fans, it's what we've prayed for.

To that end - and with the heaviest of hearts - effective immediately,

Dr. Ebbetts Sound Systems will cease operations.

Many of you will recall that the entire purpose of the Dr. Ebbetts

project was to make available to the public the best sounding versions

of the Beatles' original LP releases - with emphasis on the American and

British catalogues. Believe me, it wasn't a hard thing to do considering

the substandard quality of the original CD catalogue from 1987 onward.

The fact of the matter is, the Dr. Ebbetts material does not - and will

not - sound better than what is coming commercially in September. People

I trust agree with me. The remasters sound remarkably well balanced,

with solid, punchy bass, smooth mids and not-to-harsh, yet crisp highs.

In comparison, many of the Ebbetts masters fall short - weaker bass,

dimished mids, and often too-bright highs.

It's a given that the remasters will not please everyone, but they will

be good enough to make the Ebbetts catalogue solidly inferior.

The artwork and packaging of the EMI material will prove to make current

Dr. Ebbetts releases look like Xerox machine fodder.

It pains me, seeing as I have invested so much time in this thing, but I

humbly and officially put this nearly-fourteen year project to bed.

I have outlived my usefulness in this hobby.

I know there are many who will ask why I just don't continue releasing

titles that are NOT being put out by Apple/EMI - foreign releases, rare

pressings, etc..

My reasons are complicated, but they are what they are. In short, if the

Dr. Ebbetts BLUE BOX set is not the definitive sounding version of the

original UK stereo LPs, then why issue them at all?

Many will remember the original BEAT CDs of the 1990s that presented the

Beatles US LPs sourced from cassettes. I surely do. They became

immediately obsolete with the advent of Dr. Ebbetts. No one bought those

BEAT CDs anymore when I came along. Why would they? At the time, my

material was far superior.

The Ebbetts BLUE BOX series was only issued because Apple/EMI's versions

were substantially inferior to anything I - or any number of

needledroppers - were putting out. The Ebbetts BLUE BOX set is at THE

HEART of the Dr. Ebbetts Sound Systems collection, in my estimation. If

that set is now inferior to the commercial release, then it has no

business existing. Suffice to say, I would not release the BLUE BOX set

today if new remasters were already commercially available.

I would have no need.

And if my CORE SET is inferior, I don't wish to have the rest of the

catalogue branded as such either.

Therefore, it is time to put it all on the shelf.

I am requesting that all of you who have LPs with me contact me as soon

as possible and let me know which ones are yours so that I might send

them back to you. I promise I will get those to you in short order.

So that your return LP requests will not be lost in what promises to be

a hectic e-mail shuffle, please put "MY LPs" somewhere in the subject

line.

Your generosity, kindness and willingness to share your treasured

possessions with me is something I shall never forget.

To each and every one of you who has supported me and befriended me

throughout the years, I wish to extend my deepest gratitude. Your

loyalty has moved me beyond words. This entire project began as a

fanciful hobby many years ago and has mushroomed into something far

beyond anything I could have imagined.

From every corner of the entire world, I have been blessed to meet some

of the best Beatle people out there. I will never forget you.

But now it is time to make way for the "big boys."

Please be sure to secure your copies of the remasters. I guarantee they

will replace your Dr. Ebbetts CDs in your rotations and playlists - as

they should. Display them proudly and let people know who the greatest

band of all time is.

Remember, quoting my project motto from all those years ago, it is ONLY

about the music.

That is why I do what I do today.

Now go put your hard-earned money to good use!

God Bless.

Drew"

[blm14]

I have every Beatles album, even the mono releases and prob have every bootleg. I have the Dr. Ebbetts box set of bootleg remasters and they sound fucking GREAT, (Google Dr. Ebbetts and you'll see what i'm talking about) and Dr. Ebbetts himself has heard the new remasters and says they sound incredible...so I can't wait for the release...will buy them if the box is cheap enuf or DL the lossless files when available

I am by no means a completist. Beatles collectors are nutcases - I've seen people pay like $10,000 for a first state butcher cover that was in absolute CRAP condition. If you attempt to collect every single release in every country and every version, etc it's just not worth it. I have the stuff that my parents gave me (including a second state butcher cover), as well as about 100 LPs and 7"s that I got from aging ex-hippies in brooklyn at stoop sales, but there's a few things that I would never want. NOT a fan of Lenon's stuff, esp. anything involving yoko. In fact, I never much liked any of the stuff after they split.

Lets just say the most I ever spent on any of my beatles stuff was probably $20 or so... I don't have a ton of rarities or anything, but I have a few. I like them well enough, but with 60 crates of records in a small NYC apartment and varied tastes I can only set aside so much space for the beatles, heh

[sonicvoodoo]

nah, Ben, my stuff is all digital..most of it lossy. I gave away all my vinyl years ago. I have about 1 1/2 terabytes of all genres. I gave up on wax. I love it but I just can't be bothered storing, maintaining and playing it

[Francis Xavier]

I'm just curious if any of you guys are excited about the soon to be released Beatles Remasters? I know from previous discussion that some people on here feel the Beatles are no longer relevant so I was wondering if there are people who are eagerly anticipating the remasters.

I have the Dr. Ebbetts pindrops but even the good Dr, himself says these new releases are 'sposed to be amazing.

Anybody who claims that the Beatles are no longer relevant is desperate for attention.

[blm14]

nah, Ben, my stuff is all digital..most of it lossy. I gave away all my vinyl years ago. I have about 1 1/2 terabytes of all genres. I gave up on wax. I love it but I just can't be bothered storing, maintaining and playing it

I hate to hear stories like that. You could have given it to me!

I feel like owning a record makes it more important. I really have the original material... I like the experience of maintaining and playing it (if not so much storing heh).

I'm with you on the digital music. I have shit tons of that also. At work I think I have like 500gig, and at home I have TONS of cd-rs that I've burned over the years. Like thousands. No idea how much gigs it actually is.

But if you're REALLY serious about sound quality, sonic, I'm rather surprised that you are willing to settle for lossy formats. At least get your digital music in something like Vogg Orbis which is lossless. There's no point in having something all specially remastered if you then immediately compress it down to some low 320k bitrate

[sonicvoodoo]

Anybody who claims that the Beatles are no longer relevant is desperate for attention.

I believe the person in question is not with us at the moment

@blm

Most of my stuff is ~aps or better VBR. I'm not gonna get into the whole lossy/lossless argument but I've seen enuf ABX tests to feel that a well ripped VBR is virtually indistinguishable from lossless. it's good enough for me anyway. I have the pin drop set in both lossless (if I can find it) and VBR and they both sound fantastic and much, much better than either the orig vinyl or the currently released CDs

As far as original vinyl goes, I agree with you but it's just not practical for me. I was always terrible at handling records and would scratch them almost immediately; not to mention that portability is crucial today.

[headcoat]

sonic has fond memories of seeing them live on ed sullivan.

[blm14]

You know it's funny. I don't buy the portability argument. I see all these people wearing their earbuds while biking/rollerblading/jogging which is borderline dangerous, or while riding the subway/walking around which I find cuts you off from the world around you. I've made so many friends, and had so many great conversations with strangers which I would have missed out on if I were listening to my music, in a world of my own.

To my mind there's really only a few times that it's acceptable to wear headphones:

- At the gym

- While studying/reading in a public place

- On a subway during rush hour when it's super super crowded

Even that last one is a stretch...

RE: bitrates - if you have a good stereo you can hear the difference, especially in the very highs. If you're just wearing crappy earbuds then it doesn't really matter, but even my headphones are these:

and I can hear the difference...

[sonicvoodoo]

I maintain that you think you hear a difference but if you did a properly performed ABX test you would find that you don't

I understand your point on listening to music in public and I don't do it all the time but when I do, I'm glad I can....def the gym for sure.

I used to have a couple of full Sennheiser's. now I just have my Shure SE530's and i'm happy

[mpcec]

Anybody who claims that the Beatles are no longer relevant is desperate for attention.

Seriously...

Anyways, I'll probably buy Rubber Soul and I'll probably buy my brother some since he lost all his Beatles albums after moving. I can't wait to hear Norwegian Wood remastered.

[chronoaug]

I'm definitely excited but also kinda depressed because i know i don't have any equipment to properly listen to these and get the most out of the remastered releases.

I hear you guys on the vinyl though. I have a small collection of like 50 currently (used to be more) i think and they're a bitch to move. During my most recent move i had to part with some of them because i simply didn't have room in my car to transport them. Gave them to my friend since i knew they'd have a good home. I only have a small mediocre sounding portable record player with built in speakers just to have something to use them on. I enjoy having them and also the process of going to 2nd hand record shops and thrift stores. Found a lot of great albums for 99cents at a few thrift stores in florida.

The music in public convo is interesting. I don't like it as much for just walking around a small area like a campus, busy street or downtown where you will be shopping and stuff. I do use headphones (or earbuds since i lost my nice headphones) when taking public transportation a good ways and for when i have long walks alone through sparse areas between subway/bus/metro stops and my house.

[freecat]

as long as it's not as loud as the recent remasters that's great. i've got all their studio LP and i grew up listening to them, they sound way better than any remastered cd i got to listen to.

[AstroWolf]

i would think yall would be using some grados or some UE10's... i have the ue10's and i love them... had a pair of grados, but they were too big to carry around.

and for me the only thing that dates the Beatles is the sound of the singing, the music is pure rock and roll (for the most part) and completely timeless... aside from the high pitched singing, i cant say they are anything but relevant. love em.

[chronoaug]

i would think yall would be using some grados or some UE10's... i have the ue10's and i love them... had a pair of grados, but they were too big to carry around.

and for me the only thing that dates the Beatles is the sound of the singing, the music is pure rock and roll (for the most part) and completely timeless... aside from the high pitched singing, i cant say they are anything but relevant. love em.

Modern indie bands don't have hi pitched singing and weird vocals? :confused:

[AstroWolf]

Modern indie bands don't have hi pitched singing and weird vocals? :confused:

good point, but i have to say, its different now, the pitch has changed and feels less chipmunky.

shits the same, but different, but i still think the vocals sound dated... the lyrics on the other hand, despite being tripped out, are super ace.

i lack the musical knowledge to articulate my point any better than this.

[zackl111]

has anyone listened? they are unbelievably good. I feel as though i have been listening to neutered versions of the albums my entire life.

particularly sgt. peppers. just wow.

[sonicvoodoo]

pretty damn good

i grabbed the V0 rips for mobile use. they sound amazing as well

[entropy kid]

Never before have I bought a box set, never before have I willingly bought mono, when stereo was available...

I was totally blown away when I listened to both box sets at the store yesterday; you CAN hear that the Beatles spend more time on the mono mix than on stereo, at least for the earlier records.

This stuff doesn't sound as "modern" as the last remastered version but much more like the vinyl I inherited from dad. I love it.

[sonicvoodoo]

i know i'm gonna come off sounding like an old fuck who is worshipping the past, but, you kids need to buy, download or at least listen to this stuff.

if you do, you will understand the legacy and genius of The Beatles and why they have impacted every musical act that followed.

lossless and lossy files are freely available on usenet & a torrent near you..i'm not sure about the quality of the usenet vbr files. mine were gotten elsewhere but they are worth a try.

[readytoignite]

yoko bashing

beatles the greatest band ever

vinyl better than digital

wow every single nugget of received boomer "wisdom" all in one threak... has anthony lane weighed in yet?

[jyoni]

I'm curious about the mono re-releases but would they come across well on modern equipment?

I've got some mono Beatles LPs that sound awesome on my old shortwave console, but the speaker on that thing is fucking huge and could fill an aircraft hangar with sound, probably latter-day mono goods.

[16steps]

how much do you think an original abbey road vinyl from 1969 is going for these days?