MO FI Iron Butterfly, records compared, Review
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- Опубліковано 10 вер 2024
- On this channel i give my opinion on how various record pressing sound, how they compare, also record reviews,and comments on hi fi gear.
link to Santana Review • Santana 2LP 45 RPM co...
I was slow to pull the trigger on this Iron Butterly reissue and was kicking myself after it had sold out so quickly. Now I don’t feel so bad about it! Lol. You are on a roll, Ron! Some great videos!
Thanks brother
Rockoli Records But the mofi is an excellent sounding record
I’ve learned allot about mastering and labels thanks to you. So when I play my records especially my us pressings I try to read any info to see where they were made. I was playing my Styx paradise theater and read it was mastered by sterling sound in 1980. I always thought it sounded pretty good. Now thanks to your info all of my records have new insight than ever before. Sorry my comment has nothing to do with your video. I was excited about telling you hope you read my message. Thanks for all your help in helping all of us especially myself.
your comment has everything to do with the video it's about what records sound better than others and why. I had been thinking about this and researching it for a long time. thanks for watching and letting me know You appreciate it. I appreciate your feedback
just to confirm i've 'liked' all of your videos as it is my favourite channel on UA-cam.
Thanks Barry One of the faithful always appreciate you and your feedback and your likes Cheers brother
Your videos are so informative and my vinyl journey has been greatly enhanced due to your extensive knowledge and obvious enthusiasm. Hope you and your family stay safe Ron.
Right? Mine too. He is so fabulous. Been watching him for years on my other channel.
Liked this video very much! So much interesting material about MoFi. Going back to the iron butterfly album, an interesting point here is that this is a great example of how the Japanese pressings can sometimes be the best. I’ve seen a few videos (which you may also have seen) criticizing them for being overly EQ’d , especially at the top end. But for a record like this which was recorded terribly this could be a really good thing. Also as this album is a true classic, I’m glad to know there’s a good pressing out there for me to go after as I don’t yet own a copy as I’ve been too put off by the negative reviews on the sound recording of this album.
Get the mofi. It’s a terrific sounding record.
@@mikejeffries8630 Thanks, I'll take a look at it, but Ron was saying it wasn't that great and he's usually spot on.
@@hemantishwaran5741 Here's the deal about that fellow who was criticizing the Japanese records except the one that was a first edition re master he loved that 1 all the rest of the records he had against his wall he was talking about were 2nd and 3rd editions and yes they don't sound good how many US pressings that are 2nd and 3rd reissues sound great I don't know of any
Nice video. I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for the Iron Butterfly album as it was the first LP I ever bought in 1969 as a 14-year old.
Thanks again for your informative insight into this pressing. These MOFIs are around $100 by the time they get to Australia which is ridiculous. You have saved my hard earned money again. Cheers, looking forward to the next instalment 👍👍👍
I always enjoy your videos a lot Ron. They are always interesting. I’ve still never bought a Mofi release yet. In Australia they aren’t very common to see & way to expensive with postage. Keep up the great work.
I think the intention behind the Silver Label is to diversify MoFi’s offerings and attract a wider audience.... but I agree that it’s a shady use of the branding because new customers aren’t going to know that this series isn’t cut from the original master tapes (which is inferred with the MoFi branding). Great video, Ron!
Whoops! I realize I put my comment on the wrong video. Lol Sorry, Ron!
I'm watching all of your videos on BOTH of my channels ! I don't always comment, but I watch!
vinyl city 2 the loyalty!
Maybe LSD is the missing component. Was there ever a mono pressing? Mofi was hit & miss for a while with me but the 45's restored my faith. Loved my Dylan, Doors, The Band, Fleetwood Mac Releases. Sorry to hear this was a dud. We are lucky to have you running recon for us. Stay safe😷
I do not believe there was a mono release. Michael from poetry in plastic just set me message telling me that he has got a lot of the latest Mo fies and Krieg has been doing a good job he agrees that this Iron Butterfly record was a dud so it's the exception rather than the norm thanks for watching glad you're enjoying the videos
@Evan thanks
Thanks...I was just about to order the re issue of the album from MOFI. You saved me. I'm also sceptical about some of their issues. I bought all the new Dire Straits releases. The first album is terrible..bass thumps all the way through. Comminque, however, is excellent. My Yellow Brick Road doesn't compare to the remaster done a few years ago and nothing like the 1st pressing from the UK.
Great overview Ron.
Too bad about the MFSL. Im guessing what the bottom text means is that Rhino hired MFSL to do the remaster and such but Rhino distributed it perhaps.
I think whats happening with the reverb is that there isnt so much on the tape and they just chose to not add any like other originals did. I usually like reverb a lot but I see many complain in forums so perhaps its for those people. I havnt heard this one so I could not say.
And yes, Krieg is their only engineer anymore so his way of mastering is what you get and it will fit less or more depending on the album.
Usually he does cut whats on the tape though, like with Breakfast in America, one of my favorite modern MFSLs, but it has more distortion on the drums of the opening track than any other version, I guess because he didnt decide to mask it.
Thanks Leon Yeah that bit about adding the reverb makes sense, but why do I now here a drop out when it's missing, And it sounds Messed up. Hope you and yours are doing well. Cheers Ron
7:48 if you think the limited edition # is indexed to the copy that came off the presses, you are mistaken. I can assure you that they are not that diligent in their manufacturing processes. I can guarantee you that the jackets and vinyl are produced at different vendors. Then get married up with a jacket at random during an later process, probably during final inspection. Your #192 jacket might be with a 2000th pressing. Just saying...
Yeah I knew they weren't in exact numbered match but I didn't think it was that far off but yeah I understand exactly what you say thanks And thanks for watching glad you're enjoying the videos appreciate your feedback Brother
I skipped the Iron Butterfly Mofi, because I was happy with the Chris Bellman reissue from a few years back.
You are lucky those jokers are like hens teeth. I can't even find 1 to purchase now and if I could, I probably couldn't afford it. Hey I know, maybe in about 6 months when I sell them mo fi for 100 bucks then I can get the bellman Sounds like a plan Thanks for watching Freddy glad you're enjoying the videos
I cant find that bellman one here...it’s been quite the brutal quest.
You know what Ron, i understand what you’re saying about the Dire Straits Making Movies only being a little bit better. What needs to be considered though is what the master tape or source sounds like. The new Mofi might have got as close to the source as possible and the ceiling of potential is only so high for certain titles. The better the sound of the master tape, the more potential for better sound i guess. Im not convinced that you could get much more out of Making Movies....the same as Brothers in Arms. If Making Movies is the best copy out there, then they will have succeeded. Ive heard Communique is the one with the knock out sound. Maybe the master just sounds that bit better on that one?
Yes bit of a conundrum I don't understand why the blood sweat and Tears and the Santana 45 rpm are so much better then the original Columbia 2 eyes and those Colombia 2 eyes had great sound on them as well and some of these other titles don't have the same order of magnitude level of improvement
Great video with great info Ron, as always 👍
Thanks Dave always appreciate your feedback
Wow you've been busy making videos. So, I do agree with you about this new pressing of Iron Butterfly. I have a yellow label ATCO pressing, and to my ears that sounds better. Now, I don't know if its always right to blame the engineer when that happens, the way tapes age can have a lot to do with loss of fidelity. I have many, many other mofi reissues mastered by Kreig and they are very, very good. Carole King Tapestry, Elvis Costello Punch the Clock and Imperial Bedroom, Curtis Mayfield Superfly, Weezer Blue Album and Pinkerton, and of course the knock out Miles Davis, Bob Dylan and Grateful Dead reissues. I have about 50 mofi releases cut by Kreig, and I think I can count the duds on one hand.
Yeah leave it to me to pick up the dud. I don't have any of those other it records, Thanks for your very informative learned knowledge Michael, because to me this was bit of a conundrum. Why does the Santana sound so fantastic and the other couple of records that I've got don't have the same order of magnitude of improvement? Then this comes along and it's awful surroundings. So thanks for shedding some light on this.
I think I am right about the fact that mo fi released this record and realized it was a dud, and stopped pressing them.
what's up with their quality control? when they let junk like this out. But again not all people think it's junk. I remember reading on the Forms before I got the record a lot of people thought it was really good. OK so Krieg as been the The mastering engineer for all the latest Mo fi releases. I do believe some of the releases you're talking about were half speed mastered correct?
And about the master tape degrading and blaming the engineer well why are they remastering this old record that didn't have good Hi fi to start with?
like I said can't he hear how badly hIs re master sounds. what is he using as his reference If they're worried about degradation of tape quality they should have an original LP to compare to.
I would Like to know your thoughts on this stuff thanks for your help Cheers
@@RocknRonni
According to discogs, mofi seemed to stop their half speed masters around 2010. The last half speed I own is Elvis Costello's "This Year's Model". My other Costello albums from them are not half speed, but to my ears they sound of the same high quality. Like I said, my copy of Punch the Clock is astoundingly good, and that is not marked as half speed. It also looks like they still use Shawn Britton for a select few releases where he is co-credited with Kreig. Rob Loverde's also done some work for them. I see half speed mastering as a technique, but not an end in itself. I've heard great half speed mastering and ive heard terrible half speed mastering (those 80s CBS mastersound LPs). My guess is that mofi decided to prioritize the end result over the technique used to get there, and I think they've done just fine without it. Those Bob Dylan releases are easily the best versions ever done, my MoFI copy of Desire blows my original Columbia clear out of the water. Yes the Iron Butterfly to me is slightly underwhelming (mostly in tone/timbre, I find the bass to be an improvement though), but the reissue they did of Blue for Allah right before that is reference quality compared to my 70s pressing.
@@poetryonplastic Thanks buddy I guess my 1st edition original Japanese pressing will disappoint Any other at this point. There is apparently a re master by Chris bellman From the original analog tape, but yes about impossible to find.
Somebody commented here tonight that if it says they used The Gain 2 system that's Mo Fi speak for half speed mastering that's what they're telling you. I don't know for sure. I looked on eBay tonight there was an original Atco Pressing of the Iron Butterfly record it was on a bright yellow about the same yellow that older epics on and it didn't have the Atco color symbol on it it was just yellow. And I was like 5 bucks.
I was reading somewhere tonight that all those eighties CBS half speed masters were The label's 1st attempt at doing digital records. And the Pink Floyd CBS 1/2 Speed wish you were here, was a digital record. I thought it sounded better than my original pressing but when I heard the original Japanese SO P0 100, I found that to sound much better. Then you have the master sound Japan record and I was afraid to buy that because A lot of those other master sounds were digital sourced and in their information it said digital tape even on that Pink Floyd master sound record. And now of course they want the moon for those I did buy the 1st EMI digital reissue It was around 2010 I thought that sounded really good and I kept that record and I sold my So P0 100 Of course I didn't know at the time it was digital but it sounds good to me
@@RocknRonni Ah you're right, it seems all their stuff is still done half-speed then!
@@poetryonplastic How did you Confirm the information
Hi Ron, wonderful video! I am fortunate enough to own the first US pressing on ATCO plum label, and it definitely sounds better than the later yellow ATCO labels. The vinyl is still a bit noisy but it is what it is. In terms of the MoFI reissue, I am very surprised to hear about the poor mastering. KW masterings are supposed to be the best! I have the Santana record you have shown and LOVE it!!!! God knows what is happening at Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab. It seems like we are back to the 80's where MoFi issues were hit or miss. Looking forward to your videos, Ron!
Thanks Richard yeah that plum label is probably = my Japanese pressing the best out there Glad you're enjoying the videos, thanks for watching Cheers
Yeah but the mastering on the new mofi is not poor. Just because Ron (whose opinion I do respect, btw) says it is doesn’t make it necessarily so.
I agree with you on the CD.
Vito Andolini from Corleone you have the best yt name ever. Hahaha
The copy that I have of In A Gadda Da Vida is one that Rhino did back around 2017. Cut by Chris Bellman from the analog tape and it comes on colored vinyl. It sounds decent but it’s all down to how the recording was done so it can only be so good. Not sure how it can compare to the MoFi. Not sure if they are maybe running out of ideas for albums to license or what sources they can get (hence the Silver Label). After all it’s all down to the EQ and what the mastering engineer prefers.
Chris bellman is a good mastering engineer and I suspect the reissue you own sounds very good. But like I said In my opinion this never was a fantastic sounding record to start with.
Michael from poetry in plastic said his yellow Atco sounds better then the Mo fi
I haven't bought an MFSL record in years, very overpriced in the UK and crazy prices on Ebay, I am buying lots of Speakers Corner, great pressings and sensible prices.
Don't waste your money on later pressings. Go buy the first pressings or the first CD pressings. The new remasters mostly use compressors & limiters to squash the music to make it louder thereby destroying the dynamics of the originals. At my channel I feature stuff that undo's the damage. But you made a great video & I subbed! ;)
Thanks for the valuable insight and appreciate this sub So glad you're enjoying the videos Cheers
Ron great Mofi Subject I've always dug their mastering I only have a few of the old one like Rolling Stones Some Girls, Beatles Magical Mystery Tour I sold my MFSL White Album I thought the mix wasn't great I was astounded when I heard the 1985 German DMM pressing it kills that MoFi White album. Years later I started getting Mofi Miles Davis , Dylan Blonde on Blonde man those pressings are great I guess its hit or miss. That Dire Straits Brothers in Arms is magnificent now I'm tempted to get the One Steps but that packaging is not worth the money the Super vinyl is good I passed now I'm interested again Ron is it worth the jump I see you did a video on Yes Fragile One Step video I'm really leaning for the Stevie Ray - Texas Flood One Step 2 45RPM
It's one of those things where they're very expensive I have listened to 2 of them and it depends what your version. if you've just got a domestic copy original then the 1 step is going to be a lot better but if you've already got some type of Audiophile press then the upgrade is not as dramatic.
if it's a band you really love. Then it might be worth The high price that's why I had to get the Yes Fragile one step its one of my favorite L p's.
@@RocknRonni thanks for your honesty Ron I ordered Texas Flood by Stevie ray One Step I dont own any other pressing this is my first One Step cant wait to get it next week love your channel I been learning alot from you thank you .lovellandrew
lovell andrew The one step Blood on the Tracks is magnificent. The Iron Butterfly is terrific, btw.
@@mikejeffries8630 great to know I'm going to go for the dylan One step
@@MrLovell1971 Yeah if that blood on the tracks is a record you really love Jacob Murphy from rockoli records and I left a link in the description earlier on my 1 step video he says that record is phenomenal the one step of blood on the tracks much better than his half speed master MO FI
I agree with ya. It’s bass heavy and lacks the highs. Also did you notice that the channels are swapped? Not sure anymore if MOFI is worth the money.
I was just talking about this with my friend and MO FI is still bragging about their Gain 2 system. That's what they were using 30 years ago.
When Kevin Gray was at RTI With Steve Hoffman they may great sounding records, but the records Kevin is making currently at coherent audio are even much better because he has all new equipment high end audiophe cabling Excetera.
thespaceace2112 But the channels are correct. That’s what’s on the tape.
Good ron. How’s your system doing now.
Thanks for asking yet it's sounding very good right now been doing a few little more adjustments with the tone arm and Cartridge alignment, now that this suspension has broken in has broken in I needed to do a little more Find turning
Just a theory, without listening to these albums. Dire Straits are known for generally having really great sounding recordings. Maybe it is just hard to really improve upon something that is already excellent. I have an original pressing of their first album and it sounds great. I might get the Mofi, just to have the definitive copy, but I wouldn't expect a night and day difference.
The conundrum that I am having is the 1st blood and sweat and tears LP Was a really good sounding 33 and a 3rd record one of my best then it was released on 45 rpm and it was mind boggling how great it sounded big difference then I listened to the Santana record my 33 and a 3rd had really good sound on it as well then the 45RPM came out and was again so much better so I'm wondering by some of these titles are a order of magnitude better then the original LP that was already a good sounding record And then others don't seem to have that same order of magnitude improvement Thanks for watching I appreciate your input and feedback Cheers
japanes?
I have a nice US 1st press but I don't remember how it sounds. Lol. I hear RTI is shut down now. The record business for the next few years is going to be a mess I fear.
Now I wouldn't listen to someone that's trying to Stir up business for his record store That's the people I feel sorry for hes trying to make a living online Instead of relying on all that foot traffic that him and a lot of retailers of lost right now Also there is a lot of folks out of work They are not buying records right now but that $1200 a lot of folks got I magine some records are getting purchase with that money so hes got a Stir up that online business Cheers my friend I sure hope the record business doesn't go to "%
"I know what it says to me, but it doesn't make sense." Okiiiii
What it's saying to me is that Mobile Fidelity is a rhino entertainment company which I don't think it is.
I'd like some clarification Please
I remember my old vinyl copy of this album skipped at the part that sounds like a screaming pterodactyl dinosaur bird. Over and over and over....
Funny
All of MFSL records are halfspeed mastered, thats what "GAIN 2 ANALOG SYSTEM" is, even the sliver labels are halfspeed mastered,
Just got my stereo setup today so I should be doing a new room tour video very soon I hope got to find my camera still unpacking
So many of the early CDs were terrible. Too bad the MoFi Iron Butterfly is not good. I’m looking for a good copy of that album. Yesterday I received my first two albums from Mobile Fidelity.
It looks like Krueger Wunderlich mastered The Allman Brothers at Fillmore East and Bob Dylan Basement Tapes.
@@vinylrichie007 Yeah hes the guy that's been doing All their mastering over at mo fi for quite a while now. It was reported back to me here on this video by someone who's bought about 50 records in the last 10 years from mo fi. That for the most part hes doing a good job, the records sound pretty good.
Is that the 2 records you bought how do they sound to you?
Both sound good. Basement Tapes isn’t really an audiophile album anyway.
Vinyl Richie But remember that this is Ron’s opinion in a context of his preferences, expectations and equipment. I think the mofi lp sounds excellent and so does the SACD.
That is a fair point.
Bummer the album sounds bad, thanks for the review.
You're welcome I was also disappointed
Michael Kelly But it doesn’t sound bad. It sounds really great
hmm sounds like i should cancel my order and save the money for something better :-/
Hey bro just giving some feedback on this record and I saw your comment did you ever get the record?
@@RocknRonni hey.. no its still not in stock at my mailorder service and i really think about getting my money back and spend it on a old version ... the one i have is cut from tape at burnie grundman´s .. but it sounds digital to me :-( www.discogs.com/Iron-Butterfly-In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida/release/9641670
so i canceld my order and orderd boston dont look back masterd by kevin gray :-)
Octago? Dafuk is Octago? Do you mean Atco? Why do you seem to be talking over your intelligence level? I truly think I need to stop clicking on your posts. Oh, and BTW, they’re back in stock as of last week!
Sorry I miss pronounced Atco my friend, only things I talk about is my experience with listening to records