45rpm pressing of Fleetwood Mac Rumours

I have both the original and the Steve Hoffman pressings and actually listened to both versions yesterday, back to back. The Hoffman pressing has a more robust bass and perhaps a bit more seperation bewtween the musical elements. The original pressing has much more presence and punch in the upper-midrange. The original is a great, great sounding recording.

On balance I will take the original as I assume it consitutes the sound the band wanted. And it is a great sound. The Hoffman pressing is a fun variant but I miss the punch and presence of the original (I assume this is a function of the master-tape deterioration, and not any choice that Steve made).

I have the new 45rpm version and I think that it sounds very good. I also have an original copy from the 70's. I haven't actually compared the two versions yet but once I do I will post my impressions...

I'll have listen to my original to compare, but I played the 45 rpm last night.

Overall, I think the new version is the one to have. There's no question that it's got much more bottom end going on. That being said, I think the improvements are much more prominent on certain songs, like "Secondhand News" and "The Chain".

And from what I can tell, there are many varying levels of quality on an "original", so one dude's 1977 pressing could sound like garbage compared to the Hoffman version.

Thank you for your response, I think I was expecting to much out of the 45 rpm pressing. Greg

The albums that I have purchased(three to date), that Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray have had their hands on, have been a MAJOR disappointment. I'll never buy another production of theirs. The pressing and vinyl quality were excellent. It's the mix & EQ that stank on all three.