in his autobiography, keef states that at least early on the stones were going for the chicago chess records sound--big, dense, thick--as opposed, i suppose, to the more nuanced recordings of their peers. that said, i don't think the stones were especially well served by their producers--exile is a notoriously murky record, and their original producer, andrew loog oldhman, was more of an impressario than a musician. i do think their classic late 60s stuff (sticky fingers, beggars banquet, let it bleed), which i think we're done by jimmy miller and glyn johns, sound really good.
Why do my rolling stones albums sound bad?
When I first got into vinyl a few years ago, I purchased a few stones albums. I thought they sounded good at the time but now that I have collected quite a few more records the stones albums sound bad in comparison. A few that stand out to me are the sticky fingers re-issue by mobile fidelity and let it bleed by abkco circa 2003.I am really disappointed with both of those.
The MoFi pressing sounds like the vocals are in the background and it sounds overall muddy. This surprised me because of all the MoFi pressing I own of various artist, this stones album is the only one I was not satisfied with. Really sub par compared to the rest of their work I have. I don't own the original so I can't compare the two. I would hope the original sounds much better.
The abkco pressing is a DSD. I didn't know this at the time of purchase or I might have avoided it. I do own a few other DSD pressings of other artist and they sound pretty good. Let it bleed from abkco (2003) sounds like mick is singing underwater. The instruments sound really flat in this one as well.
I also own hot rocks from abkco (2003) which is also a DSD. It sounds a bit better than the let it bleed album but still nothing to be impressed with.
I thought the MoFi pressing would sound better because it is mastered from the original tapes and done AAA. In my opinion it has the worst sound quality of the pressings mentioned here.
I would love to have some stones albums that sound great but, I have been reluctant to purchase any more of them for fear of getting the same sound quality of the other pressings. Are there stones albums out there that sound really good? I want something I can be impressed with. What would you guys and gals suggest. What stones albums do I need to be on the lookout for. Thanks in advance.
Andy
The MoFi pressing sounds like the vocals are in the background and it sounds overall muddy. This surprised me because of all the MoFi pressing I own of various artist, this stones album is the only one I was not satisfied with. Really sub par compared to the rest of their work I have. I don't own the original so I can't compare the two. I would hope the original sounds much better.
The abkco pressing is a DSD. I didn't know this at the time of purchase or I might have avoided it. I do own a few other DSD pressings of other artist and they sound pretty good. Let it bleed from abkco (2003) sounds like mick is singing underwater. The instruments sound really flat in this one as well.
I also own hot rocks from abkco (2003) which is also a DSD. It sounds a bit better than the let it bleed album but still nothing to be impressed with.
I thought the MoFi pressing would sound better because it is mastered from the original tapes and done AAA. In my opinion it has the worst sound quality of the pressings mentioned here.
I would love to have some stones albums that sound great but, I have been reluctant to purchase any more of them for fear of getting the same sound quality of the other pressings. Are there stones albums out there that sound really good? I want something I can be impressed with. What would you guys and gals suggest. What stones albums do I need to be on the lookout for. Thanks in advance.
Andy
- ...
- 84 posts total
- 84 posts total