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My Grandparents lived one block away from the Grand Award Record Company pressing plant in Harrison, New Jersey. It was a huge building that took up the whole block. Some time in either the late 60s or early 70s, my Grandfather told me that they were closing the plant, and getting rid of everything. Since he knew I collected records, he asked a friend of his that worked at the plant if he could get some of the metal mothers that were used to press the vinyl records for me. The guy said sure I’ll get your Grandson a whole load of them. A few days later, a huge fire destroyed everything and of course I never got the discs. What was left of the factory was torn down, and they put up a bunch of big new houses on the property. Sad. They did put out some cool albums that were affordable.
Wow, what an interesting story! I had no idea there was a pressing plant. I have not looked deeply into Grand Award, but I thought the pressings were outsourced. It would have been cool to get some piece of the history of the label. Thank you so much for sharing the story!
Hi Richard, I'm most at home with this type of topic. The Command label has always fascinated me as a record collector and hi fi enthusiast. I love these early audiophile labels and plan to cover more.
The story behind Command Records was nice to hear. I have a Command Wagner Overtures with William Steinberg record I bought new when I was a mere kid in the 1970s that still blows my mind. I've bought other Command albums since then, but that first one just stands out. And you are so right about the covers. Even filthy thrift store covers come clean easily with Command records. They skimped on nothing.
The classical line is another very interesting aspect of Command that I hope to explore. I used to have some but they are gone long ago. I'm hoping to get some tape and disc titles to do a Command classical shootout. I bet the tapes will win there!
I used to own a Revox B77 machine back in the 80s when I ran a little music studio. Its engineering and audio quality were simply astounding, and vastly in front of vinyl albums. I wish I still had it.
It surprised me! It looks a bit unassuming, but so far it's producing some of the best sounds I've heard in my room. I'm so excited I just bought a few more vintage tapes for another Command tape vs disc video.
The tapes you have evaluated so far are most likely not transferred at high speeds and done is small batches. Nonsuch tapes are unbelievable. One reason why they sound so much better. Thanks so much for the comparison.
I am not certain but I think you may be right. That Mercury tape was made by Bel Canto, not Ampex, and they may have had a more favorable duplication speed that the big houses that did these. I'm sure Command went the extra mile for their debut on tape. It sure sounds like it!
Hi Andrew! I would have thought they were available around the world but it's not like they were part of one of the big labels like Decca, EMI or RCA. It was an independent venture at least at first. I think later merged with another label, perhaps ABC?
Hi Scott - excellent video as usual. I discovered Command Records in the mid-2000's at Half Price Books. When you find one, they are usuallyin pristine condition because likely, only audiophile types, who would take care of their records bought them. Later, I saw some of the reel to reels for sale, and bought them. Now, many years later, I am paring down my reel to reel decks and tapes collection. I'm keeping my Revox A77 and one of my 2-track machines. I have sold most of my classic rock tapes and I'm being very selective on what I keep. It has to sound really good, and I have to like it a lot, not to sell. I have my Command tapes and records stashed away. I will not sell them because the quality of the sound is so good, especially, as you note; on the reel tapes. No longer a "bachelor pad" type, I just like the music! Interesting comment of the MM cart compare to the MC cart. I have a Shure V15 - MR that has been re-stylused by JICO downstairs for vinyl ripping and an Audio Technica MC cart upstairs on the VPI Scoutmaster. I think I'll try the Shure on the VPI and see how it sounds. Thanks, Mike in Spring, TX
Hi Mike, I loved reading your comment, as it reminded me of the thrill when I first discovered Command records. I too have been downsizing but with each pass, I always spare the Command records! I'm glad I have, because now I have a place to talk about them with others. The tapes as you know are incredible too. I hope I can find some more!
I can't wait to see your Command videos. I, too, have almost all of the LP's and a tiny handful of the OR tapes. I ripped all the LP's to the hard drive of my computer and burned copies; there are 40-odd discs with 2 LP's per CD. I keep the LP's, though. I started collecting them in 1988 and still find a new one now and then...the one I cannot find the stereo version of is "Private Life of a Private Eye." The sound is fantastic unless you have the ABC pressings from the 70's, which are not good. And that Grand Award "I Want to be Happy Cha-Cha's" LP you showed...the CD I burned from the LP rip is in my car stereo as we speak! Great stuff, thanks so much!
Hi Jose! I finally found Strange Interlude by Lew Davies last week! it was a couple of dollars at an antique mall.Ive been playing through so many of these in prep for the first overview of the LPs I don't think I do, but if I have a double of Private Eye, I will let you know. I have many extras but mostly of the most common titles. Glad you are excited for these videos!
@@ThePressingMatters Strange Interlude has a great cover...with the watercolor seemingly bleeding out of the lines. Great stuff. "Provocative Piano" with the absolutely fantastic recording of "Cumana" is one of my favorites...great performance and even better sound with an actual center image, which was rare for those early Command LP's.
Well I really was so taken with the typography and colors on that cover. I had to have it of course but the record wasn't as clean as I had hoped. I'll find another someday though. Interesting you mention about a center image - I was listening to Dimension 3 which introduced the idea of the center image recording technique and as I was reading along with what to listen for, the instrument popped into the center, clear and precise. it was very cool.
@@ThePressingMatters Do you have any of the Command 35 mm Classical LP's? My introduction to "Pictures at an Exhibition" back in the late 80's was Andre Vandernoot's Command recording, the one with the falling lines on the cover...it was magical to me although I found out later that the turntable I had was running sharp which added to the excitement. It's still a great version and I'm grateful it opened a door for me into classical music.
@joseluisherreralepron9987 at one time i had a half dozen of the classical titles. I unfortunately let go of them in a downsizing purge. It was a little before really getting into classical and they were not in top shape either. I remember the jackets were heavy duty. Very nice. If I see any I will pick some up again.
Slightly off topic- I have several of these albums on 24 bit remastered CD and they really do sound awesome- the holographic soundstage is truly impressive- even more so when you consider when these recordings were made. At times the percussion can be a bit bright and brittle and of course there isn't the depth of bass we're used to in modern recordings. They are great to bring out at listening sessions and family gatherings.
I haven't yet explored the CDs but I remember them coming out at the time. The tape was king for holographic immersive presentation and has a startling low end. It would be hard to imagine it better. But I'm openminded to the digital versions. I'd love to hear them! I've got two more tapes on the way to me. Will be interesting to see if the trend cinrinues
What a great review, Scott. Reel to reel tapes can have some of the best sound quality out there. Glad you mentioned Dick Hyman being a Command Records artist. He is 97 and lives in Venice, FL. Still performing last I heard.
Thank you so much for watching this! The subjects of reel to reel and Coommand are both very interesting to me so this was a fun video to create I had no idea Dick was still alive! His records are some of the best. Command was fortunate to have him!
@@ThePressingMatters Dick gave a concert here in central FL about five years ago. Unfortunately, something came up and I couldn't attend. I heard he played wonderfully that night. PS. Be safe tomorrow in south FL with this hurricane. Hopefully the worse of it will miss us. I feel terrible for the big bend area.
Thanks! I'm very fortunate to have hung onto so much of this. This is the only Command tape I have so far (one seems lost in the vault) but I have plenty of tape and disc matches on other labels.
Who taught you to like Cha-Chas? My first piano teacher loved Command Records and passed that love on to me. I have only one Grand Award LP but I have about 30 of the regular command pop series and maybe 50 classical. My grandparents told me they had "listen to our new stereo" parties and there was always a Cha-Cha on the platter on Command. IT IS FUN TODAY, TOO
I think this was something I just discovered I liked by digging through old records. I loved the Latin bandleaders, and the stuff on Command. As I go through them I realize not every one is great, but when they got it right it's magical. And if there's a dancing beat, even better!
I am totally loving your comparisons between R2R and LP. Command R2R tapes sound amazing on my Pioneer RT707 and I often play them because of the "fireworks" dynamic sound. I have the Hana Umami Red (MC) and it doesn't have the sizzle that you mention. However, I have a tube preamp and maybe that softens the high end. I have never seen reviews about Command LP or R2R and often wondered if it was just me who heard the great sounds. Now I know they are the real deal. Please continue with these comparisons because they validate some of my experiences.
Thank you! I'm loving doing them! I'm so thrilled this has found a small but dedicated audience. There's not a lot out there on this particular angle - early audiophile albums and comparisons, especially to tape. I hope even if someone is not planning on getting into tape, the label coverage should be interesting. I can't wait to get my Pioneer back and hope it can get close to the Revox. I think the Umami is perhaps a bit more refined in the treble, as it should be. I also have tubes in the pre and amp. I got a little rounding out of the sound but I'm still not 100%. But I know I'm on the right path, asking questions and getting expert advice, but also starting to trust my own ears and my preferences and not "prevailing wisdom" or reviews.
It's been fun auditioning the ones I have in preparation for the series. I found I have doubles of many so I have to clean and pick the best to keep. I've got to start downsizing again!
Great review! I have about 5 tapes in this series, including a "Persistent Percussion" ST114 (Crown) and it sounds fantastic as well. Can't find a reel version at all on Discogs, tracklist is jumbled and a few substitutions. The dynamic range is what makes these for me, and a fun mix of music. Like interstitial music from I DREAM OF JEANNIE era pop, so good. Keep up the awesome tape reviews!
I'm pretty sure that Persistent Percussion is not actually a Command release. It sure looks like one though! I found the release on the Kent label, and they copied Commands graphic style and layout to a tee. Crown probably produced the tape edition. www.discogs.com/release/1907890-All-Stars-Persistent-Percussion- This was not uncommon. Lots of labels immediately jumped on the bandwagon with copycat releases. I have a bunch of these on budget labels as well as big labels like Time and United Artists. Heck even Enoch Light's previous Grand Award records were reissued with bold graphic covers! I have the one I showed "I Want To Be Happy Cha Chas" with an updated cover. Many of these are very good, and in looking over your release, it seems to be a top notch recording.
You are right about Hana MC tonal balance. Alternative is Soundsmith MC with more natural midrange. Recommended starting MM is Nagaoka. I have MP200 around $400 on my second TT. Incidentally I also have same Pioneer R to R, and had a Revox as well before it died. Use same phono stage as you with aligned musical taste and collection. Spent most of my years in NYC before moving to GA. Must have run into you in past at Academy Records.
Hi Jeffery, Thanks for this awesome comment. You are the third to recommend the Nagaoka cartridges! Seems a favorite around here! I will check it out, but how cool is is that we've been on a similar path in the same places! I bet we have run into each other before. In the early "90's, my office was on Fifth Ave and 20th, and I was in Academy all the time. Maybe we both grabbed a TAS list record simultaneously lol!
Enoch Light started recording under the "Project 3" banner sometime after dropping Command and at the advent of Four Channel sound he was very involved recording and releasing many Enoch Light and Tony Mottola titles in Quadraphonic on Project 3 LPs and Tapes. There are regular Stereo albums I think of all those as well, but the Quad reels are designated as PR4C - XXXX. A handful of other artists also appeared on Project 3, Urbie Green, Bobby Hackett & The Free Design to name a few. Most of the songs are covers of Top 40 pop and easy listening material and some movie and TV soundtracks, but for the most part that's just the way Light rolled at the time - but one of his tapes of that era is all Beatles tunes with Strings, I think that might be my favorite of his Quad reels,.
Oh yes, it's coming too. I didn't mention Project 3 yet, but it's inevitable (if the Command videos don't bomb) that there will be at least one sample survey of Project t 3 titles! I have some Free Design, Tony Mottola and Enoch Light titlles. I have never heard them in quad however!
Give the Nagaoka MP-500 cartridge an audition (maybe even review it). A reasonably priced moving magnet cartridge that may give you the sonic presentation you’re looking for.
Hi Scott for the first time in 30 years I ordered a MM Cartridge from Vertere Audio from the UK. It is called the Black Saber. My dealer is installing it tomorrow. I also have a Hana SL on my other table I'll let you how they compare.
Hi Charles! Oh, I'm all ears! I can't wait to hear your impression of the differences. I'm pretty sure you were watching the channel when I had the SL. Never felt it sounded right. I think you're going to have to sit with it while it breaks in, and consider you might initially hear a "lack of detail" but keep adjusting and I'm going to bet it's the Hana that will then seem a bit peaky.
Here is my take on your discovery. I've recorded musical content that has been pressed to LP and CD. The source material for both has always been analog multitrack format mixed to half track, quarter inch tape running at either 15 or 30 IPS. In my quest for great sound and my conversations with LP cutting engineers, almost every cutting engineer rolls off some of the bottom end of the source material in order to achieve a loud cut without the fear of the needle jumping out of the groove. This may be why every instrument with high end content has an treble emphasis over the low end. A few engineers choose to keep the signal flat and cut at a few dBs lower in order to achieve full frequency rather than attenuate the low end. One artifact of cutting at a lower level is that record surface noise increases due to turning up the level when playing back the record to compensate. The music level increases, but so does the surface noise. The third option would be to band compress the signal while cutting in order to tame the low end whenever there is a low end instrument that exceeds a specific level. Unless done right, that can sound very unnatural. Back when command was pressing your records, band compression was not a hot item to use, or it didn't exist altogether. That said, Tape has a better frequency response than records and there is no needle to jump off. With tape, the copying process usually involved making a duplication master from the original master. The duplication master(s) could be equalized, compressed and processed accordingly. Yes, they were a generation away from the original, but tape, when cut hot and equalized correctly, could closely match that of the original master. What you have is possibly a third generation tape that is duplicated at high speed from a second generation sub master and since the frequency response of tape is that much better than vinyl, you are hearing a close representation of the studio master. The one drawback is that your copy is duped at 7.5ips. If it were a 15ips dupe, the sound would be much more detailed with less hiss and the stereo image would be wider. The Revox deck helps, but not to the extent of your description. Another factor here is that Revox decks are aligned using the CCIR EQ curve, which is the European standard. In the USA, the standard curve is NAB. The difference between the two is that the CCIR curve has a pre-emphasis of around 2dB of high end while recording and a de-emphasis upon playback. The European curve is better for creating tapes that are lower in hiss upon playback with better results than NAB. There was also a third and fourth curve. One is the AES curve that is standard when recording and duplicating tapes at 30ips, and the other is the Ampex curve which existed between 1953 and 1958, but it is long obsolete.
Thank you so much for taking the time to explain so much about the processes and why things might sound the way they do. I'm sure this will be of great interest to others as it was to me. Perhaps Oswaldo will chime in on any details regarding this. I wonder if the EQ of the Revox could have been customized by the technician in Italy.
@@ThePressingMatters If the machine came from Italy, chances are that it is set up to the CCIR European curve. The Command tape, being that it was duped in the United States would definitely be recorded with the NAB curve.
Thanks for some further thoughts on this. i don't know for sure, but I don't think that's the case. There is a NAB setting on the machine, and the unit was serviced in Italy for an American client. I don't think it would make sense for Gio to modify it so that US tapes would have the wrong EQ. I'll ask Oz to comment on this as it's his machine. Another thing is if the EQ was wrong, why did the tape sound perfect? I got two more Command tapes over the weekend. I'll make the comparisons again and see if I can discover any trend.
Excellent Video. One thing you may want to look at is the overall gain of the cartridge going into the phono stage. Just yesterday I changed out a HOMC going into a tube phono stage which sounded just fine. When I put the (broken in) MM into the same phono stage it sounded a little bit congested, too zingy, and a bit crispy in the high end. The MM has slightly higher output and I think it was driving the tubes too hard or the overall circuitry in the phono stage. I changed phono stage to a solid stage stage that had a lower gain setting and all problems solved, very smooth and detailed. Just one thing to consider.
Yes, you are right. I bought the Modwright for just this reason. Super accessible, on the fly control if loading and gain. I have gotten into the habit of leaving it at the recommended settings but a more structured evaluation of the best custom settings is in order.
Great video Scott. I’m new into R2R and loving it a bit too much. My collection of tape is relatively small but I already have 4 good quality machines. Technics, Teac, Revox. Your reviews are insightful and I loved the jacket design explanation of the Command label. You articulate the nature of the sound distinctions between tape and vinyl in a way that resonated with my own experience. Thank you. Keep it up. Clive - Wales
Thank you Clive! I'm pretty excited by what I'm hearing. I'll be working on another Command tape comparison, with an overview of two Tony Mottola titles.
I have big band bossa nova album by Enoch light that I happen to bought from a whatnot auction and I was impressed. I’ll definitely have to seek out more vinyl albums. I wish I had the tapes 🤩
Hi Scott, fabulous video as usual. I have just one Enoch Light record but not on Command (Columbia Studio 2) called Spaced Out and I must say I love it …bachelor pad type music… and I’d like to find more.
Hi Robert! Oh yes, Soaced Out is a famous one from his next label Project 3. Interesting the EMi Stidio 2 distributed it in the UK. Thank you for the kind words. Glad you liked it!
I have a few Enoch Light albums. I have a couple of Provocative Percussion albums (vol1 &4); MM vol 1 and 2 (an experiment recorded on 35 mm film) and a CD of the album Spaced Out They sound amazing and I enjoy the radical stereo separation. I also have several Free Design albums which he produced. They are the back-up singers on Spaced Out BTW. Great review and celebration of his work! Thank you!
Hi Matt! I'll be talking about Project 3 at some point. I too have Spaced Out and a few others including a few Free Design reissues. Enoch Light is an interesting guy. He certainly knew how to market his label, Command! One really couldn't NOT be aware of it in the early years. Thanks for following along on this subject!
@@ThePressingMatters I am so glad you are doing that series.Yeah, if you grew up in the 60's EVERYONEs parent had a Command LP or two! NO ONE talks about Enoch Light or the Free Design anymore The FD have had a resurgence about 20 years ago but... When I was in High school I was in Choir. They came to work with us and we shared a concert. Chris Dedrick' s (RIP) arrangements were really good. PS. I'm not giving up my MC cartridge no matter what you say!! LOL!
I remember the resurgence of interest in The Free Design and I picked up the Light In The Attic reissues. I'll definitely be talking about them soon. Very talented group. The MC/MM cartridge thing is just something that I have to explore. Not making any recommendations, just observations from my perspective. It could very well be something else.
Scott, may I suggest experimenting with a lower impedance loading on your cartridge. I use an old Linn Asak moving coil and I’ve always used a 60 ohm setting but I now use 50 ohm with records that sound a bit bright to good effect. Keep in mind that impedance varies from model to model.
Thanks for the tip! I have tried various settings, and the great thing about the Modwright is that I can do it "on the fly" with the turn of a dial. I haven't done a deep dive on loading, thinking the manufacturers recommendation must be best. But my current dealer and personal friend Oz does encourage me to try different settings too. Thanks for the reminder!
It's about balance, auditioned & hated the Hanna, then discovered Lyra, never looked back but the atlas is expensive, started with a Kleos which sounded great but hearing the rest of the range wow. I am very lucky & have a dedicated listening room specifically designed to manage standing waves etc, no walls are parallel and the ceiling is vaulted. I discovered Maggies in 1982 and have never looked back, frequently re listed to conventional speakers and find that they sound overly bright. The problem with maggies is that they need a small nuclear power-station to drive them capable of handling very low impedance. I find Acoustic research on the front end with top of the range constellation mono blocs works for me in my room to my ears. Any one who says that maggies have no base has not heard them driven correctly, I can stun small mammals at 15 feet and rattle windows and shake a solid concrete floor
Thanks for this comment. I definitely did not care for the Hana SL. I think you were watching me back then. It was so frustrating. The ML is better by comparison, but this really surprised me. Did you find the Hana to have an unnatural balance?
@@ThePressingMatters Yes I was watching you but felt it was not "nice to rain on your parade",. I heard the Hanna(s) after auditioning the Lyra Kleos and it sounded thin, shrill, lacking in depth. The dynavector was OK but lacked the tonal balance and dynamics
The Kleos is probably the sweet spot for price/performance, the Etna was good but not great, the Atlas WOW an aside Mike at the In-grove" uses a lyra Atlas, you are playing at the "silly " end of prices £9k to £12k. The Linn Ekstatic sounds very very good on one of my Linn Klimax's but not so good on other turntables
I understand. Thank you. Some things in this hobby we have to discover ourselves. I too am a fan of Maggies, and I used to have the room size and amplification for them. Now without a larger dedicated room, I had to switch to a conventional speaker. My dealer Oz isn't a fan of Hana either. I chose the SL before I met him and he told me it was an issue. It was so bad I sent it back to Musical Surroundings after 8 months! Since I was already in $750, I upgraded rather than lose out. Hearing the ML against this beautiful tape, and hearing the thoughts of this respected professional has opened my eyes.
Thanks for spotlighting the Command label. In its day they had quite a few interesting releases. (My absolute fave is Tony Mottola's Mr. Big which featured a number of the top guitarist of this area, NYC metro, playing on it). Have you tried using an SUT to tame your MC cartridges?
I'm familiar with Command and Enoch Light. I've picked up some of these albums over the years. The claims about state of the art recording technology intrigued me. They were super cheap, so an easy buy and worth taking the chance. Haven't listened to them for a while, but I remember them sounding really good on vinyl. 👍👍👍Funny that you should do this video, because I just recently picked up a Command record called Roman Guitar featuring Tony Mottola. I haven't listened to it yet. I'm becoming more interested in the reel to reel tapes you've mentioned. I may just breakdown and buy a deck to see what it sounds like in real time. 🤔
The Tony Mottola records are generally musically sound and stand up to repeated listening. Probably my favorite artist in the label. I show two volumes of Roman Guitar in the video, the second one done on 35mm film. I prefer the earlier musically but we'll be discussing 35mm soon.
@@ThePressingMatters I looked on eBay. They have reel to reel tapes of Tony's Roman Guitar. The box covers are really jazzy and cool. Where have you found these tapes and how much do they typically run in the wild?
I've only found two in my life. Pretty sure it was in eBay, never in the wild. I haven't looked in years but I would pay up to $25 for a nice tape. Be sure they are 7.5ips
I have Persuasive Percussion with the white/green label and it also sounds kinda brittle and boxy on my end. Generally Command Records sound shallow (but super wide) and bright on my system, while similar late 50s stuff from Audio Fidelity and others sounds great, so it's probably the pressings
Great comment, thanks! You're right, I think the earlier gray and white are better, especially if pressed by RCA Indianapolis. Some of these later pressings from other plants are missing something. The tape is another story, at least in this case. I've got some more Command tapes coming, but as you know, even musically some of these are a bit too much! A little goes a long way. Instead of a record by record overview, I'm thinking I may just review my favorites. Audio Fidelity will have a feature too. Stay tuned :-)
Oh yes, I need to pull that one out, actually I should assemble all that I have in order of release and comment on four at a time. Some I'll have to pick the best copy from a couple of variations.So cool tho meet another fan. You are "a discriminating person who desires the finest in sound!"
Interesting comments regarding MC vs. MM. I do wonder what what the true high end of MM would even be, I know of the Nagaoka MP-500 for example and the Ortofon 2M Black / LVB250 but is there something higher than that? Many more MCs in that price range from what I can see. Follow-on question would be where moving iron fits into this discussion.
The Nagaoka has been mentioned by the viewers as one to look into. There's also one from Audio Technica that is in the $600 range that is their top of the line. I don't think I'd try the Ortofon, but Joe Grado has been producing MI cartridges that are worth considering. I think I'll have something to try soon enough!
@@ThePressingMatters Looking forward to that comparison, will be very interesting for sure. Thank you for all your videos, your presentation style is so great that I enjoy every one, even if it's about a genre of record I'm not interested in.
I am really intrigued about your findings on an MC cartridge vs an MM cartridge. I have been running a Moving Iron cartridge in Soundsmith for the past few years and really have no experience with Moving Coil cartridges. About to put on the MC AT Mono cartridge and can report back if I notice a difference in musicality. I have run a bunch of MM cartridges as well. I am really curious how this plays out. Makes me wonder, based off of some of your other videos, if some of the issues you had with a lack of musicality on certain recordings is attributed to this MC phenomenon you spoke about in this video.
Regarding your last thought, it could very well be. If I think back I went from a Denon 110 to a Hana SL then ML. I haven't had a MM in years and then it was an inexpensive AT95. I may still have it. I do recall when I had it that it was much more neutral less splashy. I really kind of liked the basic character but I listened to others rather than my ears at that time. I'm willing to try again, but at a higher level. Maybe a moving iron from Grado or Soundsmith.
Thanks for this! I have a copy of Dimension 3 I inherited from my father...will have to dig it out. I note your tape was 7 1/2 ips, which I am sure helps. Most of the tapes I see on Ebay are 3 3/4 ips. I'm sure these are not nearly the quality. Are most of yours 7 1/2?
You're welcome Mark! Yes all the tapes I collected and an acquiring are 7.5ips. I realized early in after some education on the subject and trying a couple that 3 3/4 was not a good option. I took a look on eBay the other night and didn't see much of interest. Maybe some collectors will reach out to me, that no longer have a machine, or are ready to downsize. From what I've heard so far, I definitely want to pursue this!
@@ThePressingMatters hmm. Yes the Nag does seem more balanced to me….smoother? I like the Hana as well. It was my first foray into MC world. But I go back and listen to some of my recordings from the Nag and they just sound more “real”. Maybe I will put the nag back on and see if I really miss it. The nag has changeable stylus which is a very nice feature. The ML seems to be more “detailed” which is probably why I really loved it when I put it on. But who knows maybe I go back to the Nag…
@@ThePressingMatters I think you said there is a “zing” to the Hana which I think it true yes. The nag is less zingy and probably more “mid rangey”. I also notice a tinge of compression on the Hana….where the nag just seems to not compress
Love these recordings....they are easy to find. Most people took care of them, at least in my research. Mickey Hart did a similar recording for "Reference Recordings" ( which is long out of print). Do you have that one? Great Vid.!!!!
Do you mean Dafos? No I do not have it unfortunately, but I do have something else he did along a similar line, Rhythm z devils Play River Music. A percussion spectacular!
@@ptg01 Yes, some referred to it in that way. But this is not like Stereo Action from RCA (which I'll take a look at soon.) That RCA innovation floated things across the stage back and forth! It was bizarre. Command did use wide separation and occasionally at the beginning would repeat something left them right for balance testing, but after a while they moved away from that.
So interesting. And I sure would love to hear that tape! Maybe someday I can set something up. I collected some of the Command records because of the graphic design and look forward to going further into the music. Would you say the catalog is similar to Stereo Action?
You will get to hear a high resolution file of the tape vs record, done on my equipment. It might take a week or two before Oz can come by to create it. I will add it to the top of the description and the comments. I'll also mention it in a future video once it's available. I'm about to listen to all my Stereo Action records for a video devoted to that. I think they are very different from Command. Stereo Action was a real gimmick, and I think it took away from whatever musical value they might have had. But perhaps I'll change my mind! I know at least one that I would consider essential!
@@ThePressingMatters Fantastic, can't wait to hear! And looking forward to your Stereo Action review. I just have the compilation CD and I do like some of the tracks, but the hard pans back and forth can sound a bit heavy handed.
I did all the listening tonight. Pretty much what I remember. Some of the music is pretty bad, and the Stereo Action is so bad. However two winners emerged and one is a masterpiece! Well as far as Stereo Action goes!
Hi Scott, a couple of comments. Does the Command tape include test level tones? If not, how do you know the tape & Revox EQs match? Or the tape hasn't aged 'softened' over the years. Did you adjust the Revox's azimuth? Secondly, I recently played Quincy Jones The Birth Of A Band CD originally recorded in stereo at Fine Studios in the late 50s, now that is demo jazz music, significantly more dynamic than most other NYC recording studios including Columbia & RCA. I believe most of Fine's work was for movie soundtracks so the dynamics make sense. Makes me want to seek out Command (I have none) & Fine recordings (I have most Merecury Living Presence CDs)? Cheers!
Hi Trevor, Thanks for your comment! No there are no test tones on the tape. I believe Oz set the machine for the type of tapes I have. I don't believe there are any issues with these tapes. Extremely well kept. I'm not sure why you're asking as the tapes sound fantastic! I wouldn't touch the machine or know how to adjust azimuth but the unit was restored by this master technician. The deck sounds superb. I'll let Oz add on to this as he knows more about it than I.
Scott, my concern is, you're showing a preference for tape over cartridge. While in general that has always been true of tape vs LP, I wouldn't discard the cartridge & seek out alternates until all avenues have been addressed. Oz will understand the need for perfect electrical & mechanical alignment in tape playback.
Like Scott correctly mentioned, this Revox A-77 has been expertly calibrated by one of the world's foremost Studer/Revox experts. Secondly, what you've described, the gauging of a consumer tape's gain and/or EQ based upon a set of test tones a given tape may or may not possess, is highly unorthodox at least at the level that most consumers were back in the day. At best, in those situations were these tones were provided by the tape (most commercial tapes did not anyway) - at best - they would have only served to set the maximum playback volume for the machine. Not to fiddle with any of the EQ settings or the machine's azimuth. Believe me, that would have been well beyond most tape enthusiasts of the day's pay grade. Remember that these were not typically professionally duplicated @ 1:1 "real-time" like a 15ips production master copy. These were likely made in large batches with high-speed duplicators so quite honestly having test tones would almost be irrelevant at this level. Having various HF/LF test tones and calibrating a machine for each playback is absolutely "professional" level stuff and not commonplace at the consumer level. So at the end, even without a 1k test tone, Scott is absolutely able to set the Revox's relative level to match that of his VPI turntable. Cheers!
Obviously if the tape box states the EQ & the Revox is set for it, you're all set. Azimuth adjustment allows optimum alignment of the tape's magnetic tracks with head coils to alleviate duplication tolerances. I have no experience of Hi-Fi tapes only cassettes (the majority being my own recordings) & purchased cassettes definitely needed azimuth adjustment to sound their best. HTH.
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My Grandparents lived one block away from the Grand Award Record Company pressing plant in Harrison, New Jersey. It was a huge building that took up the whole block. Some time in either the late 60s or early 70s, my Grandfather told me that they were closing the plant, and getting rid of everything. Since he knew I collected records, he asked a friend of his that worked at the plant if he could get some of the metal mothers that were used to press the vinyl records for me. The guy said sure I’ll get your Grandson a whole load of them. A few days later, a huge fire destroyed everything and of course I never got the discs. What was left of the factory was torn down, and they put up a bunch of big new houses on the property. Sad. They did put out some cool albums that were affordable.
Wow, what an interesting story! I had no idea there was a pressing plant. I have not looked deeply into Grand Award, but I thought the pressings were outsourced. It would have been cool to get some piece of the history of the label. Thank you so much for sharing the story!
I'm a big fan. I have a large collection of these as well. I'm so glad you did this. These don't get much respect today.
Hi Richard,
I'm most at home with this type of topic. The Command label has always fascinated me as a record collector and hi fi enthusiast. I love these early audiophile labels and plan to cover more.
The story behind Command Records was nice to hear. I have a Command Wagner Overtures with William Steinberg record I bought new when I was a mere kid in the 1970s that still blows my mind. I've bought other Command albums since then, but that first one just stands out. And you are so right about the covers. Even filthy thrift store covers come clean easily with Command records. They skimped on nothing.
The classical line is another very interesting aspect of Command that I hope to explore. I used to have some but they are gone long ago. I'm hoping to get some tape and disc titles to do a Command classical shootout. I bet the tapes will win there!
I used to own a Revox B77 machine back in the 80s when I ran a little music studio. Its engineering and audio quality were simply astounding, and vastly in front of vinyl albums. I wish I still had it.
It surprised me! It looks a bit unassuming, but so far it's producing some of the best sounds I've heard in my room. I'm so excited I just bought a few more vintage tapes for another Command tape vs disc video.
The tapes you have evaluated so far are most likely not transferred at high speeds and done is small batches. Nonsuch tapes are unbelievable. One reason why they sound so much better. Thanks so much for the comparison.
I am not certain but I think you may be right. That Mercury tape was made by Bel Canto, not Ampex, and they may have had a more favorable duplication speed that the big houses that did these. I'm sure Command went the extra mile for their debut on tape. It sure sounds like it!
I'll definitely keep an eye out for some Nonesuch tapes. Thanks for the tip!
Thanks for Video Scott, I have not seen these in Australia, so this is a new label for me, thanks for your comprehensive review
Hi Andrew! I would have thought they were available around the world but it's not like they were part of one of the big labels like Decca, EMI or RCA. It was an independent venture at least at first. I think later merged with another label, perhaps ABC?
Doc Severinsen plays on many of these. Incredible musician, still alive today (97 years old)
Yes! I've got quite a few of his solo records in Commsnd, so it will be fun to revisit and feature him. Maybe he'll see it!
Hi Scott - excellent video as usual. I discovered Command Records in the mid-2000's at Half Price Books. When you find one, they are usuallyin pristine condition because likely, only audiophile types, who would take care of their records bought them. Later, I saw some of the reel to reels for sale, and bought them. Now, many years later, I am paring down my reel to reel decks and tapes collection. I'm keeping my Revox A77 and one of my 2-track machines. I have sold most of my classic rock tapes and I'm being very selective on what I keep. It has to sound really good, and I have to like it a lot, not to sell. I have my Command tapes and records stashed away. I will not sell them because the quality of the sound is so good, especially, as you note; on the reel tapes. No longer a "bachelor pad" type, I just like the music! Interesting comment of the MM cart compare to the MC cart. I have a Shure V15 - MR that has been re-stylused by JICO downstairs for vinyl ripping and an Audio Technica MC cart upstairs on the VPI Scoutmaster. I think I'll try the Shure on the VPI and see how it sounds. Thanks, Mike in Spring, TX
Hi Mike,
I loved reading your comment, as it reminded me of the thrill when I first discovered Command records.
I too have been downsizing but with each pass, I always spare the Command records! I'm glad I have, because now I have a place to talk about them with others. The tapes as you know are incredible too. I hope I can find some more!
I can't wait to see your Command videos. I, too, have almost all of the LP's and a tiny handful of the OR tapes. I ripped all the LP's to the hard drive of my computer and burned copies; there are 40-odd discs with 2 LP's per CD. I keep the LP's, though. I started collecting them in 1988 and still find a new one now and then...the one I cannot find the stereo version of is "Private Life of a Private Eye." The sound is fantastic unless you have the ABC pressings from the 70's, which are not good. And that Grand Award "I Want to be Happy Cha-Cha's" LP you showed...the CD I burned from the LP rip is in my car stereo as we speak! Great stuff, thanks so much!
Hi Jose!
I finally found Strange Interlude by Lew Davies last week! it was a couple of dollars at an antique mall.Ive been playing through so many of these in prep for the first overview of the LPs I don't think I do, but if I have a double of Private Eye, I will let you know. I have many extras but mostly of the most common titles. Glad you are excited for these videos!
@@ThePressingMatters Strange Interlude has a great cover...with the watercolor seemingly bleeding out of the lines. Great stuff. "Provocative Piano" with the absolutely fantastic recording of "Cumana" is one of my favorites...great performance and even better sound with an actual center image, which was rare for those early Command LP's.
Well I really was so taken with the typography and colors on that cover. I had to have it of course but the record wasn't as clean as I had hoped. I'll find another someday though.
Interesting you mention about a center image - I was listening to Dimension 3 which introduced the idea of the center image recording technique and as I was reading along with what to listen for, the instrument popped into the center, clear and precise. it was very cool.
@@ThePressingMatters Do you have any of the Command 35 mm Classical LP's? My introduction to "Pictures at an Exhibition" back in the late 80's was Andre Vandernoot's Command recording, the one with the falling lines on the cover...it was magical to me although I found out later that the turntable I had was running sharp which added to the excitement. It's still a great version and I'm grateful it opened a door for me into classical music.
@joseluisherreralepron9987 at one time i had a half dozen of the classical titles. I unfortunately let go of them in a downsizing purge. It was a little before really getting into classical and they were not in top shape either. I remember the jackets were heavy duty. Very nice. If I see any I will pick some up again.
Thanks! Another great video Scott
Awesome. My top donor! Thank you Marco!
Slightly off topic- I have several of these albums on 24 bit remastered CD and they really do sound awesome- the holographic soundstage is truly impressive- even more so when you consider when these recordings were made. At times the percussion can be a bit bright and brittle and of course there isn't the depth of bass we're used to in modern recordings.
They are great to bring out at listening sessions and family gatherings.
I haven't yet explored the CDs but I remember them coming out at the time. The tape was king for holographic immersive presentation and has a startling low end. It would be hard to imagine it better. But I'm openminded to the digital versions. I'd love to hear them!
I've got two more tapes on the way to me. Will be interesting to see if the trend cinrinues
What a great review, Scott. Reel to reel tapes can have some of the best sound quality out there. Glad you mentioned Dick Hyman being a Command Records artist. He is 97 and lives in Venice, FL. Still performing last I heard.
Thank you so much for watching this! The subjects of reel to reel and Coommand are both very interesting to me so this was a fun video to create I had no idea Dick was still alive! His records are some of the best. Command was fortunate to have him!
@@ThePressingMatters Dick gave a concert here in central FL about five years ago. Unfortunately, something came up and I couldn't attend. I heard he played wonderfully that night. PS. Be safe tomorrow in south FL with this hurricane. Hopefully the worse of it will miss us. I feel terrible for the big bend area.
I know, please be safe. Miami Dade seemed to be out of the brunt of things, but I will be on alert as well. Things could change quickly.
great video! it's fantastic that you have the music to do side by side
Thanks! I'm very fortunate to have hung onto so much of this. This is the only Command tape I have so far (one seems lost in the vault) but I have plenty of tape and disc matches on other labels.
Another banger Boss! Thank you. 🖖😎
Awesome! Glad you liked it and thank you for your encouragement! It means a lot to get such good feedback!
Who taught you to like Cha-Chas? My first piano teacher loved Command Records and passed that love on to me. I have only one Grand Award LP but I have about 30 of the regular command pop series and maybe 50 classical. My grandparents told me they had "listen to our new stereo" parties and there was always a Cha-Cha on the platter on Command. IT IS FUN TODAY, TOO
I think this was something I just discovered I liked by digging through old records. I loved the Latin bandleaders, and the stuff on Command. As I go through them I realize not every one is great, but when they got it right it's magical. And if there's a dancing beat, even better!
I am totally loving your comparisons between R2R and LP. Command R2R tapes sound amazing on my Pioneer RT707 and I often play them because of the "fireworks" dynamic sound. I have the Hana Umami Red (MC) and it doesn't have the sizzle that you mention. However, I have a tube preamp and maybe that softens the high end. I have never seen reviews about Command LP or R2R and often wondered if it was just me who heard the great sounds. Now I know they are the real deal. Please continue with these comparisons because they validate some of my experiences.
Thank you! I'm loving doing them! I'm so thrilled this has found a small but dedicated audience. There's not a lot out there on this particular angle - early audiophile albums and comparisons, especially to tape. I hope even if someone is not planning on getting into tape, the label coverage should be interesting.
I can't wait to get my Pioneer back and hope it can get close to the Revox.
I think the Umami is perhaps a bit more refined in the treble, as it should be. I also have tubes in the pre and amp. I got a little rounding out of the sound but I'm still not 100%. But I know I'm on the right path, asking questions and getting expert advice, but also starting to trust my own ears and my preferences and not "prevailing wisdom" or reviews.
Enoch Light's Discotheque is my go to R2R tape. Thoroughly cheesy and thoroughly enjoyable HiFi.
I'm starting to collect the reels! I picked up two that are in their way to me, and I saw Discotheque in the listings! I'll put it on my list.
I have several of those records from the 60's. They were very oimpressive in their time and ae still a blast to listen to.
It's been fun auditioning the ones I have in preparation for the series. I found I have doubles of many so I have to clean and pick the best to keep.
I've got to start downsizing again!
Great review! I have about 5 tapes in this series, including a "Persistent Percussion" ST114 (Crown) and it sounds fantastic as well. Can't find a reel version at all on Discogs, tracklist is jumbled and a few substitutions. The dynamic range is what makes these for me, and a fun mix of music. Like interstitial music from I DREAM OF JEANNIE era pop, so good. Keep up the awesome tape reviews!
I'm pretty sure that Persistent Percussion is not actually a Command release. It sure looks like one though! I found the release on the Kent label, and they copied Commands graphic style and layout to a tee. Crown probably produced the tape edition.
www.discogs.com/release/1907890-All-Stars-Persistent-Percussion-
This was not uncommon. Lots of labels immediately jumped on the bandwagon with copycat releases. I have a bunch of these on budget labels as well as big labels like Time and United Artists. Heck even Enoch Light's previous Grand Award records were reissued with bold graphic covers! I have the one I showed "I Want To Be Happy Cha Chas" with an updated cover.
Many of these are very good, and in looking over your release, it seems to be a top notch recording.
You are right about Hana MC tonal balance. Alternative is Soundsmith MC with more natural midrange. Recommended starting MM is Nagaoka. I have MP200 around $400 on my second TT. Incidentally I also have same Pioneer R to R, and had a Revox as well before it died. Use same phono stage as you with aligned musical taste and collection. Spent most of my years in NYC before moving to GA. Must have run into you in past at Academy Records.
Hi Jeffery,
Thanks for this awesome comment. You are the third to recommend the Nagaoka cartridges! Seems a favorite around here! I will check it out, but how cool is is that we've been on a similar path in the same places! I bet we have run into each other before. In the early "90's, my office was on Fifth Ave and 20th, and I was in Academy all the time. Maybe we both grabbed a TAS list record simultaneously lol!
Just a small correction. Soundsmith cartridges are moving iron, not moving coils. So closer to a moving magnet, in fact.
Right, I understand that is the case. Never had a moving iron. Grado does them too.
Enoch Light started recording under the "Project 3" banner sometime after dropping Command and at the advent of Four Channel sound he was very involved recording and releasing many Enoch Light and Tony Mottola titles in Quadraphonic on Project 3 LPs and Tapes.
There are regular Stereo albums I think of all those as well, but the Quad reels are designated as PR4C - XXXX. A handful of other artists also appeared on Project 3, Urbie Green, Bobby Hackett & The Free Design to name a few.
Most of the songs are covers of Top 40 pop and easy listening material and some movie and TV soundtracks, but for the most part that's just the way Light rolled at the time - but one of his tapes of that era is all Beatles tunes with Strings, I think that might be my favorite of his Quad reels,.
Oh yes, it's coming too. I didn't mention Project 3 yet, but it's inevitable (if the Command videos don't bomb) that there will be at least one sample survey of Project t 3 titles! I have some Free Design, Tony Mottola and Enoch Light titlles.
I have never heard them in quad however!
Give the Nagaoka MP-500 cartridge an audition (maybe even review it). A reasonably priced moving magnet cartridge that may give you the sonic presentation you’re looking for.
I think someone else mentioned this one as well. I will look into it for sure, thanks!
Hi Scott for the first time in 30 years I ordered a MM Cartridge from Vertere Audio from the UK. It is called the Black Saber. My dealer is installing it tomorrow. I also have a Hana SL on my other table I'll let you how they compare.
Hi Charles! Oh, I'm all ears! I can't wait to hear your impression of the differences. I'm pretty sure you were watching the channel when I had the SL. Never felt it sounded right.
I think you're going to have to sit with it while it breaks in, and consider you might initially hear a "lack of detail" but keep adjusting and I'm going to bet it's the Hana that will then seem a bit peaky.
Here is my take on your discovery. I've recorded musical content that has been pressed to LP and CD. The source material for both has always been analog multitrack format mixed to half track, quarter inch tape running at either 15 or 30 IPS. In my quest for great sound and my conversations with LP cutting engineers, almost every cutting engineer rolls off some of the bottom end of the source material in order to achieve a loud cut without the fear of the needle jumping out of the groove. This may be why every instrument with high end content has an treble emphasis over the low end. A few engineers choose to keep the signal flat and cut at a few dBs lower in order to achieve full frequency rather than attenuate the low end. One artifact of cutting at a lower level is that record surface noise increases due to turning up the level when playing back the record to compensate. The music level increases, but so does the surface noise. The third option would be to band compress the signal while cutting in order to tame the low end whenever there is a low end instrument that exceeds a specific level. Unless done right, that can sound very unnatural. Back when command was pressing your records, band compression was not a hot item to use, or it didn't exist altogether. That said, Tape has a better frequency response than records and there is no needle to jump off. With tape, the copying process usually involved making a duplication master from the original master. The duplication master(s) could be equalized, compressed and processed accordingly. Yes, they were a generation away from the original, but tape, when cut hot and equalized correctly, could closely match that of the original master. What you have is possibly a third generation tape that is duplicated at high speed from a second generation sub master and since the frequency response of tape is that much better than vinyl, you are hearing a close representation of the studio master. The one drawback is that your copy is duped at 7.5ips. If it were a 15ips dupe, the sound would be much more detailed with less hiss and the stereo image would be wider. The Revox deck helps, but not to the extent of your description. Another factor here is that Revox decks are aligned using the CCIR EQ curve, which is the European standard. In the USA, the standard curve is NAB. The difference between the two is that the CCIR curve has a pre-emphasis of around 2dB of high end while recording and a de-emphasis upon playback. The European curve is better for creating tapes that are lower in hiss upon playback with better results than NAB. There was also a third and fourth curve. One is the AES curve that is standard when recording and duplicating tapes at 30ips, and the other is the Ampex curve which existed between 1953 and 1958, but it is long obsolete.
Thank you so much for taking the time to explain so much about the processes and why things might sound the way they do. I'm sure this will be of great interest to others as it was to me. Perhaps Oswaldo will chime in on any details regarding this. I wonder if the EQ of the Revox could have been customized by the technician in Italy.
@@ThePressingMatters If the machine came from Italy, chances are that it is set up to the CCIR European curve. The Command tape, being that it was duped in the United States would definitely be recorded with the NAB curve.
Thanks for some further thoughts on this. i don't know for sure, but I don't think that's the case. There is a NAB setting on the machine, and the unit was serviced in Italy for an American client. I don't think it would make sense for Gio to modify it so that US tapes would have the wrong EQ. I'll ask Oz to comment on this as it's his machine. Another thing is if the EQ was wrong, why did the tape sound perfect?
I got two more Command tapes over the weekend. I'll make the comparisons again and see if I can discover any trend.
Excellent Video. One thing you may want to look at is the overall gain of the cartridge going into the phono stage. Just yesterday I changed out a HOMC going into a tube phono stage which sounded just fine. When I put the (broken in) MM into the same phono stage it sounded a little bit congested, too zingy, and a bit crispy in the high end. The MM has slightly higher output and I think it was driving the tubes too hard or the overall circuitry in the phono stage. I changed phono stage to a solid stage stage that had a lower gain setting and all problems solved, very smooth and detailed. Just one thing to consider.
Yes, you are right. I bought the Modwright for just this reason. Super accessible, on the fly control if loading and gain. I have gotten into the habit of leaving it at the recommended settings but a more structured evaluation of the best custom settings is in order.
Great video Scott. I’m new into R2R and loving it a bit too much. My collection of tape is relatively small but I already have 4 good quality machines. Technics, Teac, Revox. Your reviews are insightful and I loved the jacket design explanation of the Command label. You articulate the nature of the sound distinctions between tape and vinyl in a way that resonated with my own experience. Thank you. Keep it up. Clive - Wales
Thank you Clive!
I'm pretty excited by what I'm hearing. I'll be working on another Command tape comparison, with an overview of two Tony Mottola titles.
Command Records! Hooray.
Glad you are excited! Me too!
I have big band bossa nova album by Enoch light that I happen to bought from a whatnot auction and I was impressed. I’ll definitely have to seek out more vinyl albums. I wish I had the tapes 🤩
Definitely try to find this one. It's one of the best. Even though I preferred the tape, the LP is excellent and musically a lot of fun.
@@ThePressingMatters will do! Added to my buy list 😁
Thanks!
Thank you so much for your support. It makes a big difference!
The Denon DL-103 is perfect for these records and most vintage records. They were cut to be played back with a Conical tip and stylus.
Makes sense, as I had that cartridge when I first started collecting the Command records! The did sound great with it!
Hi Scott, fabulous video as usual. I have just one Enoch Light record but not on Command (Columbia Studio 2) called Spaced Out and I must say I love it …bachelor pad type music… and I’d like to find more.
Hi Robert!
Oh yes, Soaced Out is a famous one from his next label Project 3. Interesting the EMi Stidio 2 distributed it in the UK.
Thank you for the kind words. Glad you liked it!
I have a few Enoch Light albums. I have a couple of Provocative Percussion albums (vol1 &4); MM vol 1 and 2 (an experiment recorded on 35 mm film) and a CD of the album Spaced Out They sound amazing and I enjoy the radical stereo separation. I also have several Free Design albums which he produced. They are the back-up singers on Spaced Out BTW. Great review and celebration of his work! Thank you!
Hi Matt!
I'll be talking about Project 3 at some point. I too have Spaced Out and a few others including a few Free Design reissues.
Enoch Light is an interesting guy. He certainly knew how to market his label, Command! One really couldn't NOT be aware of it in the early years.
Thanks for following along on this subject!
@@ThePressingMatters I am so glad you are doing that series.Yeah, if you grew up in the 60's EVERYONEs parent had a Command LP or two! NO ONE talks about Enoch Light or the Free Design anymore The FD have had a resurgence about 20 years ago but... When I was in High school I was in Choir. They came to work with us and we shared a concert. Chris Dedrick' s (RIP) arrangements were really good. PS. I'm not giving up my MC cartridge no matter what you say!! LOL!
I remember the resurgence of interest in The Free Design and I picked up the Light In The Attic reissues. I'll definitely be talking about them soon. Very talented group.
The MC/MM cartridge thing is just something that I have to explore. Not making any recommendations, just observations from my perspective. It could very well be something else.
Scott, may I suggest experimenting with a lower impedance loading on your cartridge. I use an old Linn Asak moving coil and I’ve always used a 60 ohm setting but I now use 50 ohm with records that sound a bit bright to good effect. Keep in mind that impedance varies from model to model.
Thanks for the tip! I have tried various settings, and the great thing about the Modwright is that I can do it "on the fly" with the turn of a dial. I haven't done a deep dive on loading, thinking the manufacturers recommendation must be best. But my current dealer and personal friend Oz does encourage me to try different settings too. Thanks for the reminder!
Robert Fine and George Piros were awesome recording engineers.
Certainly they are responsible for so many wonderful classics.
I just put on my Persuasive Percussion 1966 LP. Mastered by George Piros!
Ohhh I think that is one I don't have!
It's about balance, auditioned & hated the Hanna, then discovered Lyra, never looked back but the atlas is expensive, started with a Kleos which sounded great but hearing the rest of the range wow. I am very lucky & have a dedicated listening room specifically designed to manage standing waves etc, no walls are parallel and the ceiling is vaulted. I discovered Maggies in 1982 and have never looked back, frequently re listed to conventional speakers and find that they sound overly bright. The problem with maggies is that they need a small nuclear power-station to drive them capable of handling very low impedance. I find Acoustic research on the front end with top of the range constellation mono blocs works for me in my room to my ears. Any one who says that maggies have no base has not heard them driven correctly, I can stun small mammals at 15 feet and rattle windows and shake a solid concrete floor
Thanks for this comment. I definitely did not care for the Hana SL. I think you were watching me back then. It was so frustrating. The ML is better by comparison, but this really surprised me. Did you find the Hana to have an unnatural balance?
@@ThePressingMatters Yes I was watching you but felt it was not "nice to rain on your parade",. I heard the Hanna(s) after auditioning the Lyra Kleos and it sounded thin, shrill, lacking in depth. The dynavector was OK but lacked the tonal balance and dynamics
The Kleos is probably the sweet spot for price/performance, the Etna was good but not great, the Atlas WOW an aside Mike at the In-grove" uses a lyra Atlas, you are playing at the "silly " end of prices £9k to £12k. The Linn Ekstatic sounds very very good on one of my Linn Klimax's but not so good on other turntables
I understand. Thank you. Some things in this hobby we have to discover ourselves.
I too am a fan of Maggies, and I used to have the room size and amplification for them. Now without a larger dedicated room, I had to switch to a conventional speaker.
My dealer Oz isn't a fan of Hana either. I chose the SL before I met him and he told me it was an issue. It was so bad I sent it back to Musical Surroundings after 8 months! Since I was already in $750, I upgraded rather than lose out. Hearing the ML against this beautiful tape, and hearing the thoughts of this respected professional has opened my eyes.
@@ergloo6660 I'll be looking in the lower price range but I have some excellent guidance now. More changes coming I guess!
Thanks for spotlighting the Command label. In its day they had quite a few interesting releases. (My absolute fave is Tony Mottola's Mr. Big which featured a number of the top guitarist of this area, NYC metro, playing on it).
Have you tried using an SUT to tame your MC cartridges?
You're welcome! Mr Big is one I plan to cover though I don't have the tape (yet!)
No I haven't gotten into SUTs (yet!)
I'm familiar with Command and Enoch Light. I've picked up some of these albums over the years. The claims about state of the art recording technology intrigued me. They were super cheap, so an easy buy and worth taking the chance. Haven't listened to them for a while, but I remember them sounding really good on vinyl. 👍👍👍Funny that you should do this video, because I just recently picked up a Command record called Roman Guitar featuring Tony Mottola. I haven't listened to it yet. I'm becoming more interested in the reel to reel tapes you've mentioned. I may just breakdown and buy a deck to see what it sounds like in real time. 🤔
The Tony Mottola records are generally musically sound and stand up to repeated listening. Probably my favorite artist in the label. I show two volumes of Roman Guitar in the video, the second one done on 35mm film. I prefer the earlier musically but we'll be discussing 35mm soon.
@@ThePressingMatters I looked on eBay. They have reel to reel tapes of Tony's Roman Guitar. The box covers are really jazzy and cool. Where have you found these tapes and how much do they typically run in the wild?
I've only found two in my life. Pretty sure it was in eBay, never in the wild. I haven't looked in years but I would pay up to $25 for a nice tape.
Be sure they are 7.5ips
I just took a look. I might pick up a couple of these. You go first!
@@ThePressingMatters I don't have a deck yet, so they're all yours. I hope you feature one of them on your channel. 👍👍👍
I have Persuasive Percussion with the white/green label and it also sounds kinda brittle and boxy on my end. Generally Command Records sound shallow (but super wide) and bright on my system, while similar late 50s stuff from Audio Fidelity and others sounds great, so it's probably the pressings
Great comment, thanks!
You're right, I think the earlier gray and white are better, especially if pressed by RCA Indianapolis. Some of these later pressings from other plants are missing something. The tape is another story, at least in this case. I've got some more Command tapes coming, but as you know, even musically some of these are a bit too much! A little goes a long way. Instead of a record by record overview, I'm thinking I may just review my favorites.
Audio Fidelity will have a feature too. Stay tuned :-)
Cool i have a bunch award and command and living presence
You'll enjoy what I have in store! We're going deep into this era with label overviews, artist spotlights, and tape comparisons when possible.
I have all the Persuasive Percussion and the Provocative Percussion albums and other Command albums
Do you still enjoy them on occasion? I think they are still my favorites.
@@ThePressingMatters I play them a lot actually i played yesterday i played one Called Reeds and Percussion by the Command all stars
Oh yes, I need to pull that one out, actually I should assemble all that I have in order of release and comment on four at a time. Some I'll have to pick the best copy from a couple of variations.So cool tho meet another fan. You are "a discriminating person who desires the finest in sound!"
Definitely try out a Soundsmith, I own The Voice and it is spectacular.
I'll see if I can access one!
Interesting comments regarding MC vs. MM. I do wonder what what the true high end of MM would even be, I know of the Nagaoka MP-500 for example and the Ortofon 2M Black / LVB250 but is there something higher than that? Many more MCs in that price range from what I can see. Follow-on question would be where moving iron fits into this discussion.
The Nagaoka has been mentioned by the viewers as one to look into. There's also one from Audio Technica that is in the $600 range that is their top of the line. I don't think I'd try the Ortofon, but Joe Grado has been producing MI cartridges that are worth considering.
I think I'll have something to try soon enough!
@@ThePressingMatters Looking forward to that comparison, will be very interesting for sure. Thank you for all your videos, your presentation style is so great that I enjoy every one, even if it's about a genre of record I'm not interested in.
@@unityocThank you for watching and contributing to the discussion. It's great to hear your feedback on the channel! Thanks!
I am really intrigued about your findings on an MC cartridge vs an MM cartridge. I have been running a Moving Iron cartridge in Soundsmith for the past few years and really have no experience with Moving Coil cartridges. About to put on the MC AT Mono cartridge and can report back if I notice a difference in musicality. I have run a bunch of MM cartridges as well. I am really curious how this plays out. Makes me wonder, based off of some of your other videos, if some of the issues you had with a lack of musicality on certain recordings is attributed to this MC phenomenon you spoke about in this video.
Regarding your last thought, it could very well be. If I think back I went from a Denon 110 to a Hana SL then ML. I haven't had a MM in years and then it was an inexpensive AT95. I may still have it. I do recall when I had it that it was much more neutral less splashy. I really kind of liked the basic character but I listened to others rather than my ears at that time. I'm willing to try again, but at a higher level. Maybe a moving iron from Grado or Soundsmith.
Thanks for this! I have a copy of Dimension 3 I inherited from my father...will have to dig it out.
I note your tape was 7 1/2 ips, which I am sure helps. Most of the tapes I see on Ebay are 3 3/4 ips. I'm sure these are not nearly the quality. Are most of yours 7 1/2?
You're welcome Mark!
Yes all the tapes I collected and an acquiring are 7.5ips. I realized early in after some education on the subject and trying a couple that 3 3/4 was not a good option. I took a look on eBay the other night and didn't see much of interest. Maybe some collectors will reach out to me, that no longer have a machine, or are ready to downsize. From what I've heard so far, I definitely want to pursue this!
I have a Nagaoka MP-500 and Hana ML. Of course the MP-500 is a great mm to consider
How would you characterize the difference in sound? Do you feel a MM is more natural?
@@ThePressingMatters hmm. Yes the Nag does seem more balanced to me….smoother? I like the Hana as well. It was my first foray into MC world. But I go back and listen to some of my recordings from the Nag and they just sound more “real”. Maybe I will put the nag back on and see if I really miss it. The nag has changeable stylus which is a very nice feature. The ML seems to be more “detailed” which is probably why I really loved it when I put it on. But who knows maybe I go back to the Nag…
@revelry1969 Well stated thank you. I'm intrigued!
@@ThePressingMatters I think you said there is a “zing” to the Hana which I think it true yes. The nag is less zingy and probably more “mid rangey”. I also notice a tinge of compression on the Hana….where the nag just seems to not compress
@@revelry1969 I think I will be trying a MM or a MI cartridge shortly.
Love these recordings....they are easy to find. Most people took care of them, at least in my research. Mickey Hart did a similar recording for
"Reference Recordings" ( which is long out of print).
Do you have that one?
Great Vid.!!!!
Do you mean Dafos? No I do not have it unfortunately, but I do have something else he did along a similar line, Rhythm z devils Play River Music. A percussion spectacular!
I remember Command Records ! I think it was called PING PONG stereo ?
@@ptg01 Yes, some referred to it in that way. But this is not like Stereo Action from RCA (which I'll take a look at soon.)
That RCA innovation floated things across the stage back and forth! It was bizarre.
Command did use wide separation and occasionally at the beginning would repeat something left them right for balance testing, but after a while they moved away from that.
@@ThePressingMatters River Music is a well recorded LP. You should try and find Dafos. Wonderful Audiophile recording.
For sure I'd love a copy. It's king of a holy grail for me and I don't have many!
So interesting. And I sure would love to hear that tape! Maybe someday I can set something up. I collected some of the Command records because of the graphic design and look forward to going further into the music. Would you say the catalog is similar to Stereo Action?
You will get to hear a high resolution file of the tape vs record, done on my equipment. It might take a week or two before Oz can come by to create it. I will add it to the top of the description and the comments. I'll also mention it in a future video once it's available.
I'm about to listen to all my Stereo Action records for a video devoted to that. I think they are very different from Command. Stereo Action was a real gimmick, and I think it took away from whatever musical value they might have had. But perhaps I'll change my mind! I know at least one that I would consider essential!
@@ThePressingMatters Fantastic, can't wait to hear! And looking forward to your Stereo Action review. I just have the compilation CD and I do like some of the tracks, but the hard pans back and forth can sound a bit heavy handed.
@jasonwhiton174 Yes, as I recall it only works well for one album, but that one is special.
I did all the listening tonight. Pretty much what I remember. Some of the music is pretty bad, and the Stereo Action is so bad. However two winners emerged and one is a masterpiece! Well as far as Stereo Action goes!
Hi Scott, a couple of comments. Does the Command tape include test level tones? If not, how do you know the tape & Revox EQs match? Or the tape hasn't aged 'softened' over the years. Did you adjust the Revox's azimuth? Secondly, I recently played Quincy Jones The Birth Of A Band CD originally recorded in stereo at Fine Studios in the late 50s, now that is demo jazz music, significantly more dynamic than most other NYC recording studios including Columbia & RCA. I believe most of Fine's work was for movie soundtracks so the dynamics make sense. Makes me want to seek out Command (I have none) & Fine recordings (I have most Merecury Living Presence CDs)? Cheers!
Hi Trevor,
Thanks for your comment!
No there are no test tones on the tape. I believe Oz set the machine for the type of tapes I have. I don't believe there are any issues with these tapes. Extremely well kept. I'm not sure why you're asking as the tapes sound fantastic! I wouldn't touch the machine or know how to adjust azimuth but the unit was restored by this master technician. The deck sounds superb. I'll let Oz add on to this as he knows more about it than I.
Scott, my concern is, you're showing a preference for tape over cartridge. While in general that has always been true of tape vs LP, I wouldn't discard the cartridge & seek out alternates until all avenues have been addressed. Oz will understand the need for perfect electrical & mechanical alignment in tape playback.
Like Scott correctly mentioned, this Revox A-77 has been expertly calibrated by one of the world's foremost Studer/Revox experts. Secondly, what you've described, the gauging of a consumer tape's gain and/or EQ based upon a set of test tones a given tape may or may not possess, is highly unorthodox at least at the level that most consumers were back in the day.
At best, in those situations were these tones were provided by the tape (most commercial tapes did not anyway) - at best - they would have only served to set the maximum playback volume for the machine. Not to fiddle with any of the EQ settings or the machine's azimuth. Believe me, that would have been well beyond most tape enthusiasts of the day's pay grade.
Remember that these were not typically professionally duplicated @ 1:1 "real-time" like a 15ips production master copy. These were likely made in large batches with high-speed duplicators so quite honestly having test tones would almost be irrelevant at this level.
Having various HF/LF test tones and calibrating a machine for each playback is absolutely "professional" level stuff and not commonplace at the consumer level. So at the end, even without a 1k test tone, Scott is absolutely able to set the Revox's relative level to match that of his VPI turntable.
Cheers!
@LetThereBeSound1 Thank you for the great explanation!
Obviously if the tape box states the EQ & the Revox is set for it, you're all set. Azimuth adjustment allows optimum alignment of the tape's magnetic tracks with head coils to alleviate duplication tolerances. I have no experience of Hi-Fi tapes only cassettes (the majority being my own recordings) & purchased cassettes definitely needed azimuth adjustment to sound their best. HTH.