Acoustic Sounds Newstag:news.acousticsounds.com,2024:/Audiophile Related News and Interesting StoriesMango 1.6Sonoma, Acoustic Sounds team for AXPONA Model One launchurn:uuid:51648FB1-973F-44F9-7E3BED66B5CE952D2017-04-19T04:04:17-05002017-04-19T05:04:00-0500<h3>Sonoma Model One Electrostatic Headphone System ideal for hi-res</h3>Acoustic Sounds
<p>Chicago — April 22, 2017 — Two leaders in playback equipment and hi-res audiophile music content are teaming up to set a new benchmark for great digital and analog sound, making the Sonoma Model One Electrostatic Headphone System the ideal listening system for hi-res content.</p>
<p>Sonoma Acoustics is partnering with Acoustic Sounds of Salina, Kansas, to offer the Model One Electrostatic Headphone System at the AXPONA (Audio Expo North America) high-end consumer audio show being held at The Westin O'Hare in Rosemont, Illinois, from April 21-23, 2017. The M1 system will also be available for preorder through Acoustic Sounds' website at acousticsounds.com, or by calling customer service at 800-716-3553.
<br />
<strong><br />
The M1 system will be in use with Analogue Productions Ultra Tape reissues and Acoustic Sounds Super HiRez download files in both Room 404 by Sonoma Acoustics, as well as at the Acoustic Sounds marketplace booth!
<br /><br /><img src="/assets/content/headphones4_17.jpg" alt="" /></strong><br />
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“We've known Chad Kassem, the owner of Acoustic Sounds, since the days when we were
all working on the Super Audio CD (SACD) project at Sony,” said David Kawakami, GM,
Sonoma Acoustics. “Back when record retailers weren’t giving us the time of day, Chad
stepped up and made SACDs available to audiophiles through Acoustic Sounds. Now he’s
helping us again by offering the Model One to early adopters while we build our
<br />
distribution.”<br />
<br />
The Model One is the first electrostatic headphone system to utilize the revolutionary
High-Precision Electrostatic Laminate (HPEL) transducer developed by Warwick Audio
Technologies in the UK. In addition to being shown and demonstrated in Room 404 by
Sonoma Acoustics, it will also be on display in the Marketplace at Acoustic Sounds.
Sonoma Acoustics has just begun shipping its first production units of the M1 in the US,
UK and Japan. The MSRP for a complete M1 system is $4,995 in the US.<br />
<br />"I've been working with David and Gus since the beginning of the SACD days," said Kassem. "All they're about is the highest quality. David was the head cheese and driving force behind SACD. Gus is a big part of our team with tape, our Super HiRez files and recording our Blues Masters concerts in DSD. Basically, working with these guys is an easy decision for us."<br />
<br />Skinas, of the Super Audio Center in Boulder, Colo., is a long-time associate of Acoustic Sounds, authoring hi-res files for SACD production via the Sonoma DSD workstation, as well as prepping DSD files for distribution via the Acoustic Sounds Super HiRez website. He also supervises and produces the transfers in real time for Acoustic Sounds' Analogue Productions Ultra Tape reissue series. Using ATR-modified Ampex Tape Machines with flux magnetic heads at Blue Heaven Studios in Salina, Kansas, each Ultra Tape is a 15-inch-per-second, ¼-inch analog tape copy produced from a safety master of the original analog master tape. Ultra tapes come packaged in deluxe, custom-designed slipcase covers, and are priced at $450 a copy.<br />
<br />
Sonoma Acoustics Inc. is a new company founded by members of the SACD Project to
design, manufacture and sell audio playback equipment that is optimized for hi-res
music listening. The company is based in Boulder, Colorado.<br />
<br />
Starting from his apartment in 1986, Chad Kassem has built Acoustic Sounds into the
world’s leading provider of audiophile vinyl LPs, SACDs, reel-to-reel master tape
reissues, DSD/PCM hi-res downloads and high-end playback equipment. The company is
owned and operated by Chad Kassem and is located in Salina, Kansas.<br />
<br />* * *<br />
<br />For more information on Sonoma Acoustics, please visit <a href="https://www.sonomaacoustics.com/">www.sonomaacoustics.com </a><br />
For more information on Acoustics Sounds, please visit <a href="http://store.acousticsounds.com/">www.acousticsounds.com</a><br />
<br />For more information on the Model One Electrostatic Headphone System, please contact: David Kawakami at <a href="mailto:david@sonomaacoustics.com">david@sonomaacoustics.com</a><br />
<br />For more information on HPEL transducers, please contact: Martin Roberts at <a href="mailto:m.roberts@warwickaudiotech.com">m.roberts@warwickaudiotech.com</a><br />
<br />Sonoma™ and its logo are trademarks of Super Audio Center LLC, Colorado, USA and are used under license. HPEL is a patented technology developed and licensed by Warwick Audio Technologies Ltd., Henley-in-Arden, UK</p>
Acoustic Sounds transforms home audio again!urn:uuid:D4F261AF-A7B5-5832-BEA3669D289045EC2016-10-05T09:10:09-05002016-10-05T11:10:00-0500<h3> Analogue Productions Ultra Tape debuts with 12 killer titles</h3>Acoustic Sounds
<p>From Acoustic Sounds, the world leader in audiophile music sales, comes the highest quality analog reel-to-reel tape, album reissues — <strong>Analogue Productions Ultra Tape!</strong> Twelve masterpiece titles are featured in a new reissue series, each a 15 inch-per-second, 1/4-inch analog tape copy sourced from a copy of the original analog master tape. Transferred real time, using an ATR-modified Ampex Tape Machine with flux magnetic heads. Each copy is housed in a custom slipcase cover.<img style="border: 0; margin: 5px;" src="/assets/content/reel-2.jpg" alt="" width="530" height="150" /></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The first two titles — Janis
Ian's <strong><em>Breaking
Silence</em></strong> and
Ben Webster's <strong><em>Gentle
Ben</em></strong> — are
slated to be released before 2016 ends. Analogue Productions is the
vinyl, SACD and now audio tape reissue label owned by Acoustic
Sounds. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The
remaining titles include: Rickie Lee Jones' <strong><em>It's
like This</em></strong>
/ Hugh Masekela's <strong><em>Hope</em></strong>
/
Rachmaninoff's
<strong><em>Symphonic Dances</em></strong> (the
famous Turnabout recording)
/ Fritz
Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's <strong><em>Scheherazade</em></strong>
(RCA
Living Stereo) / Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's
<strong><em>Pines
of Rome</em></strong>
and <strong><em>Fountains
of Rome
</em></strong>(RCA Living Stereo) / Leopold Stokowski's <strong><em>Rhapsodies</em></strong>
(RCA Living Stereo) / René Leibowitz and the Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra <strong><em>The
Power of The Orchestra</em></strong>
(RCA Living Stereo) / Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra's <strong><em>Lieutenant
Kije</em></strong>
and Stravinksy's <strong><em>Song
of the Nightingale </em></strong>(RCA
Living Stereo) / Abel /Steinberg - <strong><em>Beethoven
Violin Sonata</em></strong>
(Wilson Audio) / and Lowell Graham's <strong><em>Winds
of War & Peace</em></strong>
(Wilson Audio).<br /><br /><img style="border: 0; margin: 5px;" src="/assets/content/reel-1.jpg" alt="" width="530" height="398" /></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Each
reissue copy is priced at $450. The entire series is available by
subscription and subscribers will pay for 11 titles and receive the
12<sup>th</sup>
one free!</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“For more than a year, at every trade
show and on more and more phone calls and emails, our customers are
asking us: 'When are you going to start selling tape?!” says
Acoustic Sounds owner and CEO Chad Kassem. “Audiophiles are buying
tape machines but they have hardly any music to play on them. They've
got the cars, but they need the fuel. We're working to satisfy that
demand.”</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Acoustic Sounds has enlisted Gus
Skinas, of the Super Audio Center in Boulder, Colo., to handle the
tape transfers, which are made using the Ampex Tape Machines in the
control room at Blue Heaven Studios in Salina, Kan.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal;">Simple
reasons make tape the next big thing in high-end audio. Tape offers
greater dynamic range, especially at the frequency extremes — it's
the closest to hearing the master tape. Tape requires minimal signal
processing. And no amount of upgrading a home audio system will
improve the sound quality as much as putting on one of the Ultra
Tape reissues from Analogue Productions. This truly is recorded music
the way you've never heard it before!</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p>
<p> </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p>
Unauthorized vinyl giving quality album reissues a bad rapurn:uuid:9B3EFC40-B4FA-CD0B-CC79B580456F54DC2016-03-24T09:03:41-05002016-04-13T11:04:00-0500<h3> Protect yourself, look for quality LP cues</h3>Acoustic Sounds
<p>Buyer beware!</p>
<p>As vinyl enjoys such a strong resurgence, there are more great records on the market than anytime over the past 30-plus years. That's great news, obviously. Unfortunately, it also comes with a dose of bad news. Unauthorized reissuers aren't missing out on the opportunity to ride this vinyl wave. </p>
<p>
<img src="/assets/content/recordstore2010.jpg" alt="" vspace="5" /></p>
<p>"It's getting worse by the day," Acoustic Sounds owner Chad Kassem says. "There are legitimate distributors and chain stores that are buying and selling these without fear. ... They're coming out with everything and no repercussions." </p>
<p>What makes this such a problem is that the quality of these unauthorized copies are generally horrible. These records are typically mastered from a CD — at best — and pressed on the lowest-quality vinyl by some fly-by-night operation with no care for quality. As such operators aren't going to bootleg a title they don't think will sell, most of these are big titles by big artists. So now you get a totally substandard version of a great record, and that gives vinyl a bad name. </p>
<p>Imagine the customer who's just getting into vinyl. They head to the store and are so excited to find an affordable, sealed copy of one of their favorite records. But when they get home and play the record, it sounds unimpressive at best. A couple of experiences like this and suddenly you have a contrarian to the whole argument that vinyl sounds better. </p>
<p>These unauthorized reissues are all over the place, including in a lot of the biggest record stores. Either the buyer doesn't know better or doesn't care. Either way, it's up to you as the consumer to be the detective and to protect yourself from buying an unauthorized LP. Maybe you don't care that there weren't any royalties going to the artist or songwriter when you buy an unauthorized record. But you likely at least care about owning a quality record. More often than not, the record in question isn't going to deliver.</p>
<p>We're attempting to set our Analogue Productions reissues apart by including stickers alerting the consumer to the fact that this reissue is the real deal. We include language about how the record was mastered and pressed. Beyond that, you can tell by the weight and quality of the jacket. In most cases, an unauthorized copy is going to be flimsy and cheap feeling and looking.</p>
<p>Another conspicuous clue: The record label listed on the jacket or packaging sticker doesn't have an office address or website, and may often come from countries such as Spain and Russia. This <a href=" http://www.analogplanet.com/content/reissue-labels-avoid-and-some-best-proceed-caution#EXfz6DMj81W9Vu8E.97">2012 column</a> by Michael Fremer at AnalogPlanet.com addresses the issue and names some labels he says are best avoided. Here's our list: Doxy (not Sonny Rollins' label — another one using the same name), Dol, Dolchess, Vinyl Lovers, Wax Time, Jazz Time, Pan Am, Blue Moon and Jazz Wax. </p>
<p>So, that's today's Public Service Announcement. There are plenty of good records out there - more than ever. But you're gonna have to sift through the garbage to get to the gold. </p>
<div><br /></div>
A visit with Sterling Sound's Ryan K. Smithurn:uuid:D7D25BE2-D4B7-35C5-D8CB829BA2A1A9BD2016-03-10T03:03:00-06002017-05-25T09:05:00-0500<h3> Mastering mastero cuts for Analogue Productions </h3>Acoustic Sounds
<p>Fans of our
Analogue
Productions reissues are undoubtedly familiar with the excellent
work
of Ryan K. Smith, our go-to mastering engineer at New York's
Sterling
Sound.</p>
<p>Ryan has been with
Sterling since 2002, where he was offered a job as an assistant,
not
long after graduating college and working for a bit at another New
York studio. He's a protege of the late renowned mastering
engineer
George Marino and works today in the same room and with equipment
that George used to cut many of the greatest records of the LP
era.</p>
<p>In this interview
with AnalogPlanet's Michael Fremer, Ryan shares a bit about his
career path and his approach to the mastering engineer's craft. </p>
<p>“I definitely try
to take a 'Do as little as possible' approach to things, but at
the
same time, you want to do what's going to make the record sound
good,
too. Sometimes nothing isn't always the answer,” he says.</p>
<p>About cutting
sides,
and learning the ins and outs of lathe craft, Ryan says it's a
skill
that's perfected with time. </p>
<p>“It's not super
hard to learn it, but it's pretty hard to get good at it. It's
pretty
easy to cut a bad record,” he laughs. “Learning just the basics
was not so hard, but learning all the nuances and subtleties of
how
to make a good sounding disc, it took a lot of time and a lot of
blown sides. </p>
<p>
“I didn't set out
to be “Oh, one day I'm going to be a mastering engineer cutting
records,” he confides. “It was kind of one thing that led to
another.”</p>
<p><a title="Watch the Video Here!" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP1gjGAfIaI"><br /></a></p>
<p><a title="Watch the Video Here!" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP1gjGAfIaI">Watch the Video Here!</a></p>
Amused To Death 5.1 Surround reissue wins Grammy Awardurn:uuid:2B7E71A5-94C5-11C4-F61F94E83144409A2016-02-16T09:02:14-06002023-03-31T03:03:00-0500<h3> James Guthrie and Joel Plante honored for engineering, production</h3>Acoustic Sounds
<p>The 2015 album reissue of <strong>Amused to Death</strong> featuring a new 5.1 surround remix completed by longtime Roger Waters / Pink Floyd collaborator and co-producer, James Guthrie, won the Grammy for Best Surrround Sound Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles Monday night.</p>
<p>The trophy went to the team of Guthrie and Joel Plante for their contributions: James Guthrie for surround mix engineer; James Guthrie & Joel Plante, surround mastering engineers; James Guthrie, surround producer (Roger Waters).</p>
<p>An unblinking look at an entertainment-obsessed society, <strong>Amused to Death</strong> addresses issues that have only grown in complexity and urgency over the past two decades. With <strong>Amused to Death</strong>, Roger Waters sounded the alarm about a society increasingly — and unthinkingly — in thrall to its television screens. Twenty-three years later, <strong>Amused to Death</strong> speaks to our present moment in ways that could scarcely have been anticipated two decades ago. In 2015, television is just one option in an endless array of distractions available to us anytime, anywhere, courtesy of our laptops, tablets and smartphones. With eyes glued to our screens, the dilemmas and injustices of the real world can easily recede from view.</p>
<p>
<img src="/assets/content/GrammyBanner.jpg" alt="" hspace="10" vspace="10" width="450" /></p>
<p>The award was among those announced during the pre-telecast awards ceremony show, at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.</p>
<p>To purchase your copy of the Analogue Productions' Amused To Death SACD featuring the Grammy-winning surround mix click <a href="http://store.acousticsounds.com/s/409">http://store.acousticsounds.com/s/409</a>.</p>
ABS Magazine interview with Chad Kassem of Acoustic Soundsurn:uuid:260790FD-AC2F-965F-2AD20F06E297BB942016-01-27T09:01:48-06002016-01-27T01:01:00-0600<h3> Focused on audio quality, appreciation for music's roots</h3>Acoustic Sounds
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<div><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Chad Kassem and Acoustic Sounds</span><br /><br />
"I Always Did Like Music More Than the Average Next Guy.”<br /><br />
Scott M. Bock</div>
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<p>Chad Kassem has been leading surprising music industry trends since the late '80s. He got his start with LPs - never giving up on the special sound he heard when he played records. Today, Kassem is often credited with their resurgence. Audiophiles and a new generation of music fans are keeping Kassem busy recording, re-releasing, and selling vinyl. In the past few years, he has also led the market on high resolution downloads [HiRez] of music for audiophiles who want quality sound using a computer.
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<td>Meanwhile, Kassem has been supporting blues music and musicians from his native Louisiana out of deep love for both the music and the artists, no matter whether their recordings sell. He often says, 'I make money selling records and I spend it making them and putting on my concerts'. In fact, most of the original recordings Kassem has made over the years are of blues artists that he feels have to be heard.<br /><br />
Kassem's booming voice and his thick Louisiana drawl easily precede him as he walks through one of his oversized Acoustic Sounds buildings in his adopted hometown, Salina, Kansas. He wears jeans, running shoes, and a grey sweatshirt with his APO logo, and he is always on the phone. He leans down to pick up a stray item from the floor and signals with his hand to respond to a question. His growing number of employees marvel at his energy, guts, and his ability to get things done. <br /><br />
Kassem's love for records led him into the audiophile equipment business to serve customers who bought records from him. And, he has continued to expand his reach with his own high end recording studio, a record label, a record pressing plant, and the high resolution music downloads. He says has more than 7,000 records at home and at least another 7,000 from his collection in a concrete vault in his office building. <br /><br />
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<td>Kassem established an annual music festival that will reach its 19th year in 2016. <em>Blues Masters at the Crossroads </em>has featured top notch bluesman and women – well known and many unknown during its long tenure. Kassem is now releasing the music from these concerts through downloads that have a remarkable sound quality. He is also preparing to sell quality video of these shows. <br /><br />
No business school graduate – Kassem is in fact, a former short order cook who did not attended college. The lack of formal training has never been a problem. He is candid that his love for music coupled with his tough early years when he was using and buying and selling drugs, translated directly into success as a music mogul who listens to records and buys and sells them. <br /><br />
He has been sober now for more than 30 years - drinking soda while out listening to music. He is married with a young daughter who comes to dance in the aisles at <em>Blues Masters</em>. Kassem is clearly a man on a mission focused on the quality of his product, treating his customers well, and, in many cases, giving them something they cannot get anywhere else. <br /><br />
All these years in the business have not dampened his enthusiasm. He is well known for sitting friends down in front of a turntable to demonstrate the sound quality of records he has recorded or of LPs he discovered years ago. And, he will talk for hours about his favorite artists – especially Lightnin' Hopkins and Clifton Chenier. <br /><br />
Kassem and his various businesses – Acoustic Sounds, Analogue Productions, Blue Heaven Studios – now has control of all aspects of music. He says that is important because he wants the sound just right. </td>
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He and Acoustic Sounds have been featured regularly on television, in print, and on the radio. There is a fascination with the man and also with his commitment to blues and the return to vinyl. His 2015 purchase of decade old record pressing equipment that had been dormant for decades hit a chord with the press and spiked interest in Acoustic Sounds.<br />
<br />
Today, his warehouse, showroom, offices, and printing plant in Salina are visited by people from all over the world. He offers tours during his <em>Blues Masters</em> weekend and sticks it out for jam sessions that often run all night. <br />
<br />
<hr />
<p> </p>
<p>"I was born in Lafayette, Louisiana. Growing up, music was just around. It had to rub off. Like, Warren Storm and G.G. Shinn and them, we just thought those were bar bands. We just thought they were cover bands. But, actually, those guys were making records. <br /><br />
There was Zydeco and Cajun, and swamp pop all around. There were so many clubs and then they had so many festivals . There was so much of it, it was so natural. [All that music] was so close to the blues. <br /><br />
My father was a football coach. I was really into sports until I was ten years old and then my cousin turned me on to reefer. As soon as I started getting high, they started bringing me to rock concerts and that's what got me into music the most. I could be upset with my cousin for turning me onto mescaline and acid. It's like, 'How dare he do that?' But, I also have to remember he turned me onto music which now is my career. <br /><br />
I can remember when I was about eleven years old, my cousin would bring me to New Orleans to see like Joe Walsh and Humble Pie and Wishbone Ash, Wet Willie and stuff like that. One time, I went to see Eric Clapton in New Orleans and the opening band was Muddy Waters. I didn't know who that was. After the concert I heard these people saying, 'Muddy Waters just blew away Eric Clapton'. <br /><br />
I learned about blues from Clapton, Foghat, and bands like that – or Zeppelin. I was like, 'Wow, let's listen to where they got this. Look where this shit came from. Let's listen to those guys.' That's when I really got into blues. I went from the rock to the real. Who would have thought this stuff came from Willie Dixon and Muddy Waters? <br /><br />
So, I started out collecting football and baseball cards. But, later on I started buying seven inch 45s. It wasn't much later on I was buying albums. My first ten years was nothing but sports. The next ten years was nothing but drugs and music. As I was getting high and went away from sports, it became music – it was blues rock and soul.</p>
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<td>When I was a kid, you could sneak into clubs. They didn't care back then in Louisiana. You could buy beer when you were ten years old. You could hear Zydeco anywhere. It was everywhere. You almost got to a point where you didn't appreciate it at all. You took it for granted. Growing up in Lafayette, you didn't realize that other cities didn't have these swamp pop bands and didn't have Zydeco.<br />
<br />
My father was a strict disciplinarian. So, the first ten years of my life he was like on me and I had to be good and learn sports and all that which I still love. But, right when I started getting high, he quit teaching football and he opened up a clothing store right around the time of <em>Super Fly</em> and <em>Shaft</em> and all that. <br /><br />
So, he started getting high around the same time as me [laughs]. He went from being the most strict disciplinarian to being cool. We were both getting high – not at the same time – not with each other. <br /><br />
Then he opened this Black clothing store. I mean, when you went to the store there was platform shoes, hats, and <em>Shaft</em> was on or <em>Me and Mrs. Jones</em>. So, I really got a good dose of the soul music of the time – back when all that shit was hitting. I mean the O'Jays, the Temptations, the Four Tops - and we loved it. And, then there were a lot of concerts – Michael Jackson - B.B. King would always be playing.<br /><br />
Back then, almost all of us had a [stereo] and a hundred albums instead of the computer - and it was fun. So, I had that - and we always loved that – all of my friends. So, when I came to Salina [Kansas] at 21 to get sober, I asked my dad to bring up my system. This would be about '84. So, he brought my stereo and a hundred albums and most of them were scratched from partying. I started replacing some of my favorite albums. I always did really like music more than the average next guy. </td>
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<td>I went back to Lafayette - and I went to see my old friend Chet Nixon. This was right when CDs were coming out. And, he pulled out these special albums – these are original master recordings and these half speed master audiophile albums. And, I said, 'I got a bunch of those and they ain't any better than any regular albums. I bought some and I don't notice any difference'. <br />
<br />
And, he's like, 'There's a subtle difference'. I was expecting something to just come out of the speaker and just slap me about the face. And, I didn't hear that. So, he goes, 'You got to sit down in between these two speakers and just listen'. <br /><br />
He said, 'I'm going to explain what to listen for – you got to be quiet. Sit in the middle and just concentrate for one song. That's all I'm asking you to do. Listen – there are no ticks and pops. And listen to how clear it is. Just shut up for one song'. <br /><br />
That was hard to do. But, I gave him that. And, I was like, 'Wow, man'. I appreciated the subtle differences. It just blew me away. 'That's some serious sound, man'. <br /><br />
So, he started showing me different audiophile records that had been reissued. And, he said, 'This one right here is worth $100. This one's worth $50. Nobody can find them because they're all out of print'. So, when I went back to Salina I went to a record store and they had about 300 of them and a lot of ones that were very, very valuable. <br /><br />
First, I helped Chet buy them but then I thought, 'Shoot, I should start buying them.' It was Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs, Nautilus Half Speeds, some direct to disc like Sheffield Labs. And, a lot of them would be reissuing pop records. <br /><br />
So, what I would do – I would buy, sell, and trade. So, I would look for them. I'd go to every town and I'd buy two's and three's of them. I'd keep one and have one for a back-up and use some to trade or sell. And I got really, really passionate about this. I couldn't wait to go back home to Lafayette to go to every record store and find some – go to New Orleans. This was still in '84, '85.<br /><br />
I was working as a cook for little more than minimum wage. I was just trying to build my collection. I was in a halfway house. When I started serious collecting I was just getting out [of the halfway house]. Back when I asked my dad to bring me my records, I was still in the halfway house. But, I was only there for six or seven months. <br /><br />
By the time I got out, I would go to Kansas City or Wichita and I would look for records. I got to Kmart and there's a cut-out bin and they'd have a bunch of cut-out records and every now and then they would have a half speed master in there. <br /><br />
So, I asked the lady at the store and she says, 'Every Tuesday, a guy comes in and he stocks them. He fills the bins'. So, I went there and I waited for him. So, he came and I said [to him], 'See these particular records. I really love these'. He says, 'I buy them from this wholesale company in St. Louis'. <br /><br />
He gave me the phone number. And, I talked to the owner on the phone and they had a list and it was like 100 different master recordings from .50 to $5.00 each, which was just a bargain. </td>
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<td>I had hit the mother lode. So, I started buying records directly from them. Then, I find another company that was doing it, and then more companies. Boom, that was the start. <br />
<br />
I started bringing records to the restaurant. I'd bring a box out of my truck and sell them to the other employees.<br /><br />
I finally put a little ad in the back of <em>Audio Magazine</em> and that's what really started [my career]. I was maybe 25, 26. My whole apartment was so full of albums you couldn't walk in it. I started making a lot more money. I'm thinking maybe I ought to quit my job because I'm making more money and it's starting to cost me money to go to work. <br /><br />
I did both as long as I could until I was making three times the money [selling records]. Then, I still wondered if I should do both. I'm not real religious and I didn't want to be lazy - one night I prayed about what to do. I guess I got my answer. <br /><br />
Between '85 and '88, I lived in that apartment selling records from there. By '88, I was able to buy a ranch style house. By '91, I was doing $100,000 a month. The City got upset. Everything was cool until the 18 wheelers started pulling in [laughs]. Then the City wanted me to move.<br /><br />
When CDs came out, I trusted my ears. I liked CDs alright. But, I never was that surprised that vinyl kept doing better and better. What really surprised me was CDs dying like it did. I never saw that coming. But, I never thought that LPs would die. <br /><br />
So, by '88 I had too many records and I had to move out of the apartment. From '88 to '91, I was doing it out of a ranch style house with up to eleven people helping me. And, then they made me move. I moved downtown. Then, I out grew that and bought a building and we were there for ten years. That was from '94 to 2004. <br /><br />
And, I had started selling stereo equipment probably around 1990. And, then I bought an old grocery store from about 2004 to 2011. And then we moved to where we are now. <br /><br />
I never went to college. I really learned how to wheel and deal from selling dope. It's just buy, sell, and trade – that's all it is. I sold dope so I could have more dope, so I could support my habit. I sold records so I had more records to support my record collecting. I've been sober since February of '84.</td>
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<td>I have a good ear but - it's funny but I never learned to play an instrument. When I was a kid and my guitar teacher would come over, the bar chords would frustrate me. I'd get him stoned and I'd tell him what songs I wanted him to play. So, he'd be entertaining me [laughs].<br />
<br />
By 1990 there was barely any new vinyl. And, the rare collectable stuff was hard to get. So, I started reissuing vinyl and by that time I was really getting deeper into blues. I did jazz, classical, and pop but I also reissued blues. So by '91 we were reissuing records through <em>Acoustic Sounds' Analogue Productions.</em> We were remastering on 180 gram premium vinyl. You could hear how good it sounded.<br /><br />
So, I thought, 'I'll reissue some blues. Then I thought, let's record some blues.' And that's when we did <em>Bluebird </em>[Jimmy Rogers] in '94. I recorded that in Chicago. <em>Bluebird</em> won the [1995] W.C. Handy Traditional Blues Album [of the Year] award.<br /><br />
Then, I bought the [Blue Heaven] church in Salina in'96. I thought about living there. It was built in 1924 and needed a lot of work. It was going to be a warehouse. <br /><br />
The first two [artists]I recorded there were Little Hatch and Jimmie Lee [Robinson]. We were recording Jimmie Lee. Little Hatch was there visiting [from Kansas City] and we had tape and we finished Jimmie Lee. So, we sat Hatch in front of the mic in '98. We were just rolling.<br /><br />
I remember, when I first got to Salina, I'd still go to bars. It's the way I knew to entertain myself. So, when I went to Kansas City. I went to the Grand Emporium. There was this little old Black dude playing the blues. I'm like, 'Man, he's really good. This guy needs to be recorded'. <br /><br />
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<td>At the time, I was barely selling records. I didn't even have a dream to be in the music business much less the recording business. And, to think a few years later that I was the first one to do a studio record on Hatch! It blows my mind. It means a lot to me. And, I did it because I should do it. I wanted to do it. <br /><br />
When it comes to recording the blues, I loved Hatch and his music and I thought it should be recorded. The money will happen if it's supposed to. I did it for the right reasons. I wanted it documented. People needed to hear how good this son of a gun was. <br /><br />
I like all kinds of music. I don't like really hard metal. I don't really like new country and I don't really like rap. I listen to classical at home. It sounds so good on my stereo. <br /><br />
I had a childhood friend who [ended up] playing with C.J. Chenier. When I went back to Lafayette, I called him. I said, 'I been recording blues. I'm learning more and more about Louisiana music'. He said, 'Let me tell you something. If you're into the blues, I'm going to send you a cassette of this guy who is in C.J.'s band. This guys the real deal, man'. <br /><br />
I listened to it. The vocal was very distant like he was too far from the mic. But you could hear this raw, rough Howlin' Wolf kind of voice. That's all we had to go by. We were like, 'Man, that sounds pretty damn good'. So, we took a chance and we recorded him. He made enough for three records. Two more records are going to come soon out on HiRez downloads.<br /><br />
When CBS [television] came here and did a piece, the reporter asked a great question. She said, 'I understand you love this blues music. What if the people out there don't buy it or they don't feel the same way about this music as you do? What are you going to do then'? <br /><br />
[Laughs] I told her, 'Well you know what'? I'll just sit and listen to this stuff myself, then [laughs]. <br /><br />
So, I bought a church [in Salina] originally for excess storage. My mother one day says, 'Well, this would make a great studio'. That's how that got implanted in my mind. Then we had Jimmy Rogers play in 1997 a few months before he died. [Construction] on the church wasn't finished yet. And, it was such a good turnout - me and Jimmy D. Lane [Jimmy Rogers' son] said, 'This was great, we have to do it again'. <br /><br />
We named the church Blue Heaven in 1998. Joe Harley [producer for AudioQuest and a close friend] named it that. That year we recorded Weepin' Willie [Robinson]. He was 73 and nobody ever heard of him. Mighty Sam [McClain] and Susan Tedeschi came from Boston and recorded with him.<br /><br />
That year was the first <em>Blues Masters at the Crossroads</em>. My aim was to get the best legends who had ties to the beginning of it all. Jimmy [D. Lane] played, and Jimmie Lee Robinson, Little Hatch, Snooky Pryor, Honeyboy Edwards, all those guys. This year will be our 18th year. A lot of people love it. I'm real happy to be able to get this music out that I've been wanting to get out - in a very high quality way to get out. <br /><br />
I had asked Jimmy D. to help me record all these blues guys – my right hand man. He was the musical director. We recorded a lot of blues at the church. We have ten studio albums we hadn't released yet and they're going to come out on the HiRez – same with the concert. It's kind of unearthing something. There are three Honeyboy [Edwards], three Little Hatch, two Harry Hipolite, one Jimmie Lee, and one Henry Townsend. I just never put them out. They're fantastic sounding. I may eventually put them out on records. </td>
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<td>Everything was a natural progression. It's still fun but it's a lot of work. <br /><br />
Super HiRez is doing really well and it's a real good place for me to put out the concerts. We recorded all of them. Now, the thing that's really kicking is the pressing plant. The vinyl thing is really where I got started. The Super HiRez is cool because I'm able to share that blues stuff that I might never put out [on a record].<br /><br />
I bought thirteen new pressing [machines] this year. I'll probably have [a total of] 24 when I'm done. We're kind of limited to the room [in our building]. The pressing plant is already going 23 hours a day. Last year we pressed a million records. <br /><br />
I'm still [getting to release blues]. I'm going to be doing some Lightnin' Hopkins. I already did Muddy Waters. I lease the masters and press them. I recorded Marquise Knox and the Campbell Brothers [not long ago]. <br /><br />
I love vinyl. I love analogue. It touches your soul. We're trying to get blues people into audiophile and knowing there's good stuff [out there] and we're trying to get audiophiles into the blues. <br /><br />
We bought a printing press to press our own [paper] labels. The next step is to cut and master our own stuff. <br /><br />
It's all to do with music. It's all to make your music sound better. <br /><br />
There's no easy money. But, a lot of people say they don't want to do their hobby for a living, but this is my hobby and I don't get tired of it."
<p> </p>
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Positive Feedback recognizes Acoustic Sounds for best productsurn:uuid:1F14CA43-C560-247B-EE0635D5FA631FD82015-11-23T02:11:11-06002015-11-23T03:11:00-0600<h3> Company lauded for encouraging excellence in fine audio</h3>Acoustic Sounds
<p>Acoustic Sounds is again honored to be recognized by Positive Feedback Online, and its Editor-in-Chief Dr. David W. Robinson, with the PF Brutus Award in recognition of significant contributions to the audio arts in 2015.</p>
<p>The award is Robinson's personal honor given "for the best products (including your SACDs, LPs and DSD downloads) that I heard in my listening room in a given year."</p>
<p>The award recognizes Acoustic Sounds, our Analogue Productions reissue label, Quality Record Pressings and Acoustic Sounds Super HiRez — "They really set the benchmark for the best in audiophile music in all formats! No one else is even close," Robinson said.</p>
<p><img style="margin-top: 3px; margin-bottom: 3px;" src="/assets/content/Screen Shot 2015-11-23 at 2.43.52 PM.png" alt="" width="589" height="350" /></p>
<p>Positive Feedback is a long-time print and online forum and active community for the audio arts. It regularly reviews audio equipment and new releases, and covers audio industry news.</p>
<p>"Congratulations again on this achievement!," said Robinson. "Only the best really impresses me...and this award was a pleasure to give to you."</p>
<p> </p>
Mastering pioneer Stan Ricker diesurn:uuid:C515882D-B95A-1FFF-CC021EFEA2830ACB2015-07-15T04:07:29-05002015-07-15T05:07:00-0500<h3> Known for refining the half-speed mastering technique</h3>Acoustic Sounds
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 0in; padding: 0px; line-height: 13px; direction: ltr; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Sad news for vinyl fans — pioneering mastering engineer Stan Ricker has died. Stan built a name and reputation in the music industry for his work on numerous highly-regarded album releases and reissues, including many albums for Analogue Productions. His loss at age 79, within months of the death of Doug Sax of The Mastering Lab, is a blow to the music world.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 0in; padding: 0px; line-height: 13px; direction: ltr; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 0in; padding: 0px; line-height: 13px; direction: ltr; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><img style="float: left; margin: 2px;" src="http://www.blueheavenstudios.com/images/gallery/Stan%20Ricker2.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="383" /></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 0in; padding: 0px; line-height: 13px; direction: ltr; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 0in; padding: 0px; line-height: 13px; direction: ltr; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Beyond his noteworthy contributions to many historic album releases, Stan was a devoted and strong advocate of the half-speed mastering technique, in which the cutting lathe turns at precisely half the desired playback speed. This gives the cutting head twice the time to cut complex analog grooves into the lacquer — affording greater sonic accuracy.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 0in; padding: 0px; line-height: 13px; direction: ltr; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 0in; padding: 0px; line-height: 13px; direction: ltr; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Stan received a bachelor of music education degree from the University of Kansas (go Jayhawks!) and for more than 40 years followed a career path that involved teaching, performing, conducting, recording, producing, engineering and mastering. Stan Ricker Mastering's website proclaims proudly: “North America's Only Dedicated Half-Speed Lacquer Mastering Facility.”</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 0in; padding: 0px; line-height: 13px; direction: ltr; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 0in; padding: 0px; line-height: 13px; direction: ltr; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The half-speed mastering process refined by Stan gave rise to high-quality labels such as Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, Reference Recordings and Windham Hill. Stan was a technical consultant and mastering engineer for record labels such as Analogue Productions, Columbia Records, Delos, JVC, Mobile Fidelity, MCA, Phillips, Pure Audiophile, RCA, Reference Recordings, Telarc, Telefunken, Warner Brothers and Windham Hill, to name but a few.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 0in; padding: 0px; line-height: 13px; direction: ltr; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 0in; padding: 0px; line-height: 13px; direction: ltr; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Here's an interview with Stan that EnjoyTheMusic.com published that speaks to his love of music, and career influences. <a class="yiv5836138040moz-txt-link-abbreviated" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline; background-color: transparent; color: #196ad4; outline: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/rickerinterview/ricker1.htm" target="_blank">Www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/rickerinterview/ricker1.htm</a></p>
<div><br /></div>
Acoustic Sounds buys legendary vinyl mastering facilityurn:uuid:F080B023-D524-E91E-89514BAD40842B932015-06-16T05:06:18-05002015-06-16T05:06:00-0500<h3> Audiophile music leader to fully integrate LP production</h3>Acoustic Sounds
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Just three months after buying 13
vintage record presses to meet the surging demand for vinyl LPs,
<span style="color: #0563c1;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.acousticsounds.com/">Acoustic
Sounds</a></span></span>’ CEO Chad Kassem has purchased The Mastering
Lab (TML) from the estate of legendary mastering engineer <span style="color: #0563c1;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Sax">Doug
Sax</a></span></span>.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The sale pairs <span style="color: #0563c1;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.qualityrecordpressings.com/">Quality
Record Pressings</a></span></span> (QRP), a division of Acoustic Sounds
and an industry-recognized audiophile LP manufacturer, with the
Grammy<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">®</span> Award-winning
sound engineering and LP lacquer cutting business started four
decades ago by Sax, who passed away in April. Sax worked throughout
his career with the music elite, including Pink Floyd, The Rolling
Stones, The Who, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Barbra
Streisand, and dozens more.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Kassem said his strategy behind the
purchase was to create the country’s only vertically integrated
vinyl LP production facility. From mastering and record pressing to
graphic design and printing to direct-to-consumer sales, QRP now has
all the capabilities needed to bring LPs to market.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“Expanding and rounding out our
capabilities to meet the growing demand for vinyl was the key to this
acquisition,” said Kassem. “That, coupled with the history of The
Mastering Lab and Doug's reputation, makes this purchase very
gratifying.”</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Plans call for relocating and
incorporating TML business, now based in Ojai, Calif., to Acoustic
Sounds’ headquarters in Salina, Kan<strong>. </strong></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“I'm very confident that Chad will do
everything he can to honor Doug's legacy by maintaining his high
standards for quality,” said Bill Schnee, a veteran
producer/engineer and multiple Grammy Award winner. “It’s also
comforting to know there's going to be a little bit of Doug in
everything that QRP produces."</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Sax was a legend in the music industry
— a mentor and friend to audio engineers, producers and musicians.
With partners Lincoln Mayorga and older brother Sherwood Sax, he
opened the doors to TML in Hollywood in December 1967. Relocated
north to Ojai in 2006, TML remains a revolutionary, state-of-the-art
company, utilizing unique concepts of signal flow and electronics
pioneered by Sherwood Sax.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The Lab's custom, all-tube electronics
and console are all designed and handcrafted by Sherwood.
Additionally, TML was the first independent mastering facility and
set itself apart by prioritizing sound quality, instead of the
economic efficiencies favored by some of the major music labels.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Utilizing cutting lathes that have
become legendary for vinyl LP production, the studio turned out many
classic rock albums, including <em>The Wall</em>, <em>Who’s Next</em>,
<em>Nilsson Schmilsson</em>, the Rolling Stones’ <em>Sticky Fingers</em>
and the Eagles’ debut album. Sax also established a pioneering set
of procedures for testing and evaluating audio components by ear. The
Mastering Lab earned more Grammy nominations for engineering than any
other mastering facility.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Sax and Robert Hadley were also the
first mastering engineers to win a Grammy Award for Best 5.1 Surround
Album for <em>Ray Charles – Genius Loves Company</em> in 2004.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Sax worked on numerous records for
Acoustic Sounds' reissue label, Analogue Productions, including in
1992 the first title that Kassem reissued, Virgil Thompson's <em>The
Plow That Broke The Plains</em>. Other notable titles for Analogue
Productions that Sax mastered include The Weavers <em>Reunion at
Carnegie Hall</em>, Bill Evans Trio's <em>Waltz For Debby</em>, and
Sonny Rollins' <em>Way Out West</em>.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Sax famously once told an interviewer:
“I don't want to be wedded to the past, but I don't want to forget
its virtues.”</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">That philosophy matches Kassem's own
approach to bringing the two companies together.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“Maintaining Doug’s reputation for
quality will be our company's challenge and our reward,” Kassem
said. “We'll keep Doug's legacy alive by offering the
highest-quality audio mastering done to standards matching Doug's,
using his equipment that he used to produce so many fine,
award-winning recordings.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p>
Tom Petty producer Ryan Ulyate backs hi-res audiourn:uuid:05934905-BBCD-FED4-3794593C7314D0822015-04-28T09:04:56-05002015-04-28T11:04:00-0500<h3> Petty, producer say hi-res reveals music details</h3>Acoustic Sounds
<p>Hi-res audio has a major artist on board, releasing his remastered music catalog in a big way. <br /><br />
Music shouldn't <em>always</em> be loud. Shout the melody — and fans of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers will name the hit tune. <em>Soft</em> and loud — think background harmonies, or hand claps — those details are what Petty and producer Ryan Ulyate don't want listeners to miss. It's why a remastered catalog of Petty & The Heartbreakers — with a vastly expanded dynamic range — was just released on Acoustic Sounds Super HiRez and why Petty himself appears in an accompanying video explaining the benefits.<br />
<br /><img src="/assets/content/ryanchris12.jpg" alt="" hspace="0" vspace="9" width="525" />
<br />
<strong>Producer Ryan Ulyate (left) and Engineer Chris Bellman, of Bernie Grundman Mastering<br />
</strong><br />
We asked Ulyate to elaborate and share his thoughts on the hi-res remasters and hi-res audio in general. Put simply, he says, hi-res best reveals the work, time and expense spent crafting superior audio.<br />
<br />
<strong>Q — Who approached Tom with the idea about converting his catalog to hi-res?<br />
</strong><br />
“It started last year before <em>Hypnotic Eye</em> came out. Both Universal and Warner Bros. (the catalog is split) wanted to redo and master it for iTunes. I worked with Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering and we had the tapes sent there. Chris and I spent some time going through all the tapes, which were remastered at 24 bit, 44.1 kHz. We had already gone through one level of mastering and since the tapes were there, at that point, I believe it was Universal who said, why not do them in hi-res? Warner was contacted and at some point everyone thought it was a good idea.<br />
<br />
“The second motive is preserving the legacy of this music. No one knows how long the tapes are going to last.”<br />
<br />
<strong>Q — What was Tom and the band's reaction after hearing the hi-res version?<br />
<br />
</strong> “I played Tom the first album, (<em>Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers</em>, their self-titled debut released in 1976). He heard stuff he never heard before — he was going 'Oh, that's right, we did little hand claps there, that's right. … Oh, did you hear the background harmony there?' You can hear inside the music more. He heard, and is thrilled with that.”<br />
<br />
<strong>Q — Had you been a high-res enthusiast previous to this project?<br />
<br />
</strong> “I've been telling people that if you have a really good vinyl system, it behooves you to get a dedicated music server and utilize that (analog playback) system for hi-res. Don't have a (computer) that you do your taxes on and send e-mail, where you keep music files. Create a ‘hi-res only’ library on a dedicated machine— that's the way to go. If you want portability, get one of the new portable players and some good headphones. Listen through the signal chain and make sure the headphone amp is powerful enough to drive the phones that you like. If it isn’t, then you can also add a portable headphone amp.”<br />
<br />
“A lot of what people don't like about (digital) is (songs) are made loud because of the compression. We don't do any of that, hi-res files are mastered a lot quieter than for CDs — you can have dynamic response and transient response. Transient response (the ability to faithfully reproduce sudden sonic peaks) is a big, big deal to me. When a snare drum hits, if you look at the waveform, you'll see a spike. That's the full transmission of the instrument through the loudspeaker. When music (is compressed) all the spikes have been chopped off. There's no impact. The music sounds flat and one-dimensional.”<br />
<br />
“I've been on the (hi-res) train for a while. I think we started with — it was 2008 that we started putting Tom Petty albums on Blu-ray, and we used Blu-ray as a hi-res medium. We did stereo and 5.1 mixes. I wanted to do it in 5.1 to create more value for someone buying a disc like that.<br />
<br />
<strong>Q — Is hi-res audio mastering likely to grow more popular?<br />
<br />
</strong> “The great thing about this is that if you want to hear exactly how (the music) was made, you'll buy the hi-res version. Or if you want something that fits into your iTunes library for when you hit the 'shuffle' button on your iPod or iPhone, you'll buy the MP3 version, which is louder. I think you really need to play it on a good system to hear the difference.”<br />
<br />
<strong>Q — What's the future potential for hi-res downloads in a music landscape dominated by streaming?<br />
<br />
</strong> “That's a really good question. For me, I like having something tangible. I still have my vinyl and I still own CDs. There's nowhere near the fidelity with streaming that there is with hi-res. It's not there; it might be there one day. The reason vinyl has had a resurgence is that there's a certain ritual to it. It's getting the record out of the sleeve and laying it on the turntable, putting the needle down and sitting back. I would love to have hi-res have that same kind of experience. For me it is the same thing — sitting down and paying attention. To me it's about paying attention.”<br />
<br />
<strong>Q — For listeners who have a great hi-res system, how close will these Tom Petty files sound to what you and Tom heard in the control room during playback?<br />
<br />
</strong> “They're exactly the same. In the case of the newer albums they are the same thing. Starting with <em>Mudcrutch</em> (released in April 2008), we've recorded all digitally; we record in Pro Tools. Everything you're hearing is what we're hearing.<br />
<br />
“At a certain point analog tapes did degrade. When making an album (in analog) it was not uncommon for the sound to change — the high frequencies get dulled down because you've played (the tapes) too many times over the heads. I love the sound of analog, but digital is getting a lot better. Digital, for editing and workflow, makes recording an album much more creative.”<br />
<br />
<strong>Q — Can you give us an example?<br />
<br />
</strong> “When we were recording <em>Hypnotic Eye</em> I got a call one evening from Tom and he said 'Hey, can you come over? I've been working and I've written a line that goes much better in 'Burnt Out Town,' —which is on the album. So I went to his house, we put up a mike, he sang the line and we dropped it in, in less than minute. That technology made a better record because he was able (to do it) and it was easy to do. The analog world isn't like that.”<br />
<br />
<strong>Q — Is there a comparison between vinyl that's been mastered from a digital source and hi-res digital?<br />
<br />
</strong> “Vinyl imparts a beautiful character that is pleasant and can sound great when it comes from a digital source. I still think the thing that's really great about this, like Tom said, is you work really hard to make (a recording) sound a certain way. And this (hi-res) is the first time a listener can hear it the way it was made. I don't think we have to compromise now. If you want to hear what the artist intended, and what the artist was listening to, this is the way to go.”</p>
Vinyl Revival: QRP hits paydirt with acquisition of presses!urn:uuid:C380DA82-BDF1-D81D-E5EA2DF57961A3162015-03-03T09:03:47-06002015-03-04T02:03:00-0600<h3> Vintage record pressses to help company meet order demand</h3>Acoustic Sounds
<p><strong>Equipment will help company meet demand as sonic boom in LPs continues!</strong></p>
<p>Quality Record Pressings is adding 13 vintage record presses to increase its vinyl LP manufacturing capability, the latest step to address a growing backlog of LP orders, as the popularity of the format continues to soar.</p>
<p>It's big news and even better, a great story to tell about how QRP was able to acquire these vinyl warhorses.</p>
<p>Acoustic Sounds/QRP owner Chad Kassem had been combing the country for months in search of additional presses, when word came through a network of vinyl enthusiasts about a cache of dormant presses stored in a Chicago warehouse. They were last used in the mid-1990s for unauthorized or “bootleg” 78 RPM albums for export to the Indian market. They were then sold in 2003 to Joell Hays, who had always intended to renovate them to start his own pressing plant. Financing blocked his efforts.</p>
<p>The purchase includes 10 Hamiltons, two SMTs, and one Lened press -- all classic American-made press brands.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/content/OldPressesSide.png" alt="" width="611" height="390" /></p>
<p>With the addition of the 13 presses, QRP will have a capacity of up to 27 presses, making them one of the country’s largest manufacturers of vinyl LPs when they are restored.</p>
<p>“It was getting aggravating because everyone all over the world is looking for presses and I knew that without them, we simply couldn’t deal with all the orders for vinyl we had on the books.” Kassem said.</p>
<p>Kassem estimates he has three or four months’ worth of backorders because even after adding a second and third shift of employees, his current presses can’t handle the load. That’s what sparked the search for additional machines.“These machines we just got may look dirty, old and useless, but they’re not," he said.</p>
<p>It was QRP’s stellar reputation that sealed the deal with Hays, who for the past 10 years had rebuffed all offers on his presses. Initially, the presses were the foundation of Musical Products, Chicago's vinyl pressing plant. Musical Products was sold in 1983 to Larry Sherman, who co-founded Trax Records, a major outlet for House Music recordings. The presses were manufactured between 1968-72. It is believed that these very same presses were at one time used by Chess Records. </p>
<p>"We're very appreciative to Joell for buying and storing these and keeping them from being abandoned. He knew how important they were, and he stored them very well. He saved them from being discarded," Kassem said. </p>
<p>“I can't wait to see 'em looking like that (referencing pictures and videos of QRP's restored presses). That's what I always wanted,” Hays said. “Even though it breaks my heart to see 'em go, it's good to see 'em going to the right place and to someone who could do what I just could never get done."</p>
<p>Kassem estimates that QRP presses approximately 1 million vinyl LPs a year for his own Analogue Productions reissue label, all of the major labels and a number of independents. The quality of the records coming out of the Salina plant is directly attributable to the innovations QRP introduced to record pressing upon restoration of the machines they have running now. The same alterations, including the addition of computer programmable logic controls to dictate cycle time, will be made for this next batch of presses. Kassem said he hopes that most if not all of the presses can be restored and in operation within the next year. </p>
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Super HiRez presents live blues in DSD stereo and multichannel!urn:uuid:9B4C8518-A50B-3890-579A42EE317B06232015-02-20T04:02:10-06002015-02-20T05:02:00-0600<h3> Bringing live blues, in stunning sound, to your listening room!</h3>Acoustic Sounds
<p class="p1" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 26px; padding: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px;">Individual sets from the first live Blues concert recorded direct-to-Direct Stream Digital (DSD) are available on Acoustic Sounds’ <span style="color: #e8554e;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: 0.1s ease-in-out; -webkit-transition: 0.1s ease-in-out;">SuperHiRez</span></span> service in stereo, and for the first time in multichannel. It’s another milestone from Acoustic Sounds/Super HiRez — the first in the digital audio space to provide music lovers and audiophiles files in DSD, as well as other hi-res PCM formats.</p>
<p class="p1" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 26px; padding: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px;"><img style="float: left; margin-top: 3px; margin-bottom: 3px;" src="/assets/content/bluesMbanner.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="225" /></p>
<p class="p1" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 26px; padding: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px;"> </p>
<p class="p1" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 26px; padding: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px;">These hi-res files of individual sets capture all the power, passion and precision from the top live performances at the 17<span class="s1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12px; line-height: 0; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; top: -0.5em;">th</span></span> annual Blues Masters at the Crossroads concerts last fall in a 91-year-old Gothic church in downtown Salina, Kan. (Also known as Blue Heaven Studios.)</p>
<p class="p1" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 26px; padding: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px;">The recordings were handled by Gus Skinas, digital audio expert and president of the Super Audio Center in Boulder, Colo., engineer Katsuhiko Naito, and assistant recording engineer Travis Scanlan. Chad Kassem, founder of Acoustic Sounds, oversaw the operation.</p>
<p class="p1" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 26px; padding: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px;">Performances by such stellar bluesmen as “Mighty” Sam McClain, Marquise Knox, Joe Beard, Sonny Green, Lazy Lester, Rip Lee Pryor, as well as Moreland & Arburckle and Big George Brock are all featured in individual and group sets in glorious DSD.</p>
<p class="p1" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 26px; padding: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px;">Stereo sets are available for $9.95 each (for six for $49.98); multi-channel sets are available for $14.95 each or ($74.98 for six sets.)</p>
Pressing info concerning Beatles' reissues pressed at QRP, Optimalurn:uuid:45D51F46-DE89-4EB7-A436DA799CD5507C2014-11-06T03:11:29-06002014-11-06T03:11:00-0600<h3> QRP pressings to come in second half of 2015</h3>Acoustic Sounds
<p><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">We have learned that the upcoming Beatles LP reissues — <em>Red (1962-1966)</em>, <em>Blue (1967-1970)</em>, The Beatles' <em>Love</em> album, and The Beatles' <em>1</em> — will not be pressed exclusively at Quality Record Pressings. Instead, there will be an initial batc</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">h of 10,000 copies pressed in Europe by Optimal Media, the same plant that pressed the Beatles mono box set. Only after that initial run is sold will the QRP-pressed versions be made available. So, to reiterate, the LP copies that are set for a December 9, 2014 street date will be the European-pressed versions. The QRP versions will come sometime in 2015. Both versions will be 180-gram pressings. We've made separate catalog numbers to differentiate the Optimal Beatles versions from their QRP-pressed cousins. We hope this accommodation relieves confusion and satisfies your needs as a customer of Acoustic Sounds. Customers who have pre-ordered the QRP-pressed versions will be contacted individually by Acoustic Sounds and given the option to retain their QRP-version preorder or to instead switch to the European-pressed version that will be available sooner.<br /><br />We appologize for any confusion. We are sharing this news as soon as it became available to us.</span></p>
Relive the 2014 Blues Masters at the Crossroads w/ webcast videourn:uuid:3356A253-9594-CE7A-CA9E2FC337130F142014-10-22T09:10:07-05002014-10-22T09:10:00-0500<h3> Watch concerts, plus see tours of office, Quality Record Pressings</h3>Acoustic Sounds
<h2><a style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; font-weight: normal;" rel="nofollow nofollow" href="http://enjoythemusic.com/" target="_blank">EnjoytheMusic.com</a><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">'s 2014 Blues Masters at the Crossroads live webcast videos of both nights' concerts are now archived and can be viewed online. Blues Masters at the Crossroads, i</span></span><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; color: #141823;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">n its 17th year as a preeminent authentic blues concert, showcased Oct. 17-18 feature performances by Rip Lee Pryor, Moreland & Arbuckle, Marquise Knox, Big George Brock, Kim Wilson, Joe Beard, Lazy Lester, Mighty Sam McClain, Sonny Green, Kim Wilson with Billy Flynn, and Bernard Allison.</span></span></h2>
<p><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">You'll also find videos of tours of our offices, as well as Quality Record Pressings. To view the videos, visit EnjoytheMusic.com's Blues Masters concert report page <a href="http://www.enjoythemusic.com/blues_masters_at_the_crossroads_2014/ ">here</a> </span><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">and scroll down to reach the videos section. Thanks again to Steven R. Rochlin for his time and interest in making the webcast possible!</span></p>
Blues Masters DSD, Warner Content Mark Super HiRez Anniversaryurn:uuid:032E2DC3-0F89-EB06-58E428844BADAB1A2014-09-16T03:09:05-05002014-09-16T05:09:00-0500<h3> Aims For 3,000 Albums by Year's End</h3>Acoustic Sounds
<h2><span style="font-family: __;"><span class="center" style="font-family: __;">ACOUSTIC SOUNDS’ SUPER HI REZ DIGITAL DOWNLOAD PLATFORM TO OFFER FIRST LIVE BLUES CONCERT RECORDING IN DIRECT STREAM DIGITAL</span></span></h2>
<h2><span style="font-family: __;"><span class="center" style="font-family: __;">Company celebrates anniversary with new Warner deal; aims for 3,000 albums by year’s end</span></span></h2>
<p>Acoustic Sounds’ Super HiRez™ digital download platform, which was the first to offer mainstream albums in Direct Stream Digital (DSD) as well other high-resolution PCM formats when it launched in late 2013, is about to create another audio milestone.</p>
<p>The company will be in the first in the high resolution audio space to offer a live blues concert recorded entirely in Direct Stream Digital (DSD), which provides 64 times the resolution of CDs and a much more life-like quality than MP3 tracks.</p>
<p>The recording will take place October 17-18 during the 17th annual Blues Masters at the Crossroads festival at Blue Heaven Studios, a sonically superb, 91-year-old Gothic church in Salina’s downtown area.</p>
<p><img src="http://store.acousticsounds.com/images/Super_BMC_Big.jpg" alt="" width="515" /></p>
<p>Gus Skinas, digital audio expert and president of the Super Audio Center in Boulder, Colo., will oversee the recording, along with Chad Kassem, the founder of Acoustic Sounds. The recordings in October are expected to be available on SuperHiRez.com in time for the holidays and will be followed by several other recordings captured at the concerts in DSD since 1998.</p>
<p>“Capturing the legacy of some of these Blues performers is very important to me and I really can’t think of a better way of capturing the power and emotion of their music than with live recordings in DSD,” said Kassem. “We’ve been doing the Blues Masters shows for a long time and I’m confident these recordings will be treasured by music lovers.”</p>
<p>The announcement of the first live concert recording in DSD follows an agreement between Acoustic Sounds and Warner Music Group (WMG) to provide the company’s digital download music service with more than 1,200 high-resolution, mainstream albums by some of the most dynamic names in music.</p>
<p>The first wave of hi-res titles from such artists as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Tom Petty are available now, with new content being added daily.</p>
<p>“Adding Warner to our existing roster of major labels [Sony, Universal] is a huge win for us, the industry, and for those looking to enhance their high-resolution music collections,” said Kassem, who launched SuperHiRez.com last September with just 70 titles. “As far as we’re concerned, the more choices in high-resolution music, in both titles and formats, the better." Besides providing music in the highest resolution formats possible, Acoustic Sounds will also provide the provenance of all Warner recordings when available. Additionally, licensing deals continue to be discussed to provide customers living outside the U.S. access to the high-resolution music download service.</p>
<p>“Immersing yourself in a recording that sounds the way an artist, producer or engineer originally intended is an incredible experience. We feel that many will agree, and we look forward to high-resolution audio reaching a wider, growing audience,” said President, Artist & Label Services, Warner Elektra Atlantic (WEA), Matt Signore.</p>
<p>There are currently more than 1,700 albums available for download on SuperHiRez.com. By year’s end, more than 3,000 albums could be available, thanks in part to the deal with Warner, Kassem added.</p>
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