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A stranger at the record fair flipped my take on reissues
I used to think any reissue was a cash grab, but this older guy at the Portland record fair last Saturday pointed out how the 2016 pressing of that Nick Drake album actually fixed the muddy bass issue on the original. He showed me the matrix numbers on the runout groove and explained how they matched the master tape reel 4472. That little detail made me go home and A/B test my old copy against the new one, and honestly, the clarity difference was obvious. Has anyone else found a specific reissue that sounded better than the first pressing?
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sarahpatel2d agoMost Upvoted
Funny, I kind of see it the opposite way. I've got a few records where the original pressing just has this raw, imperfect energy that the reissue cleans up too much, you know? Like that early Stooges album, the first pressing is messy and loud, and the reissue sounds almost polite by comparison. I get the bass clarity thing, sure, but sometimes I want the grime, not the fix.
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