Sold Date: September 28, 2014
Start Date: July 16, 2014
Final Price: $185.00 (USD)
Seller Feedback: 1329
Buyer Feedback: 0

ST 472-200g -  Jimi Hendrix - Band of Gypsys 200g Quiex SV-P Vinyl* Classic Records Reissue - STILL SEALED with sticker
It was 35 years ago at about this time that Jimi Hendrix took the stage at the Fillmore East in New York to perform a set that would become, in part, one of the best Live albums ever recorded - entitled simply "Band of Gypsys". In fact, Hendrix played two nights at the Fillmore, the second performance being on New Years day 1970 after a rousing performance on New Years eve 1969. To celebrate the beginning of the new decade, Fillmore East impresario Bill Graham went to great length to ensure a special evening for his patrons, dressing his ushers in special shirts and placing toy tambourines on each of the venue's 2,639 seats. He strode onstage and introduced "some very old friend with a brand-new name" As the sold-out crowd roared in approval, Jimi led his trio through a scintillating 75 minute set. Hendrix was ON this night delivering perhaps his finest live performance. His playing was focused and precise. In fact, for most of the set, Hendrix stood motionless, a far cry from the stage antics that helped establish his reputation as a performer. Equipment problems had plagued him in past live shows as well, but everything was perfect for the Fillmore shows. His absolute mastery of his guitar and effects is even more amazing considering that this was the first time he used the Fuzz Face, wah-wah pedal, Univibe, AND Octavia pedals on stage together. The guitar tones he gets on "Who Knows" and "Power to Love" are powerful and intense, but nowhere is his absolute control more evident than on "Machine Gun," where Hendrix conjures bombs, guns, and other sounds of war from his guitar, all within the context of a coherent musical statement. The solo on "Machine Gun" totally rewrote the book on what a man could do with an electric guitar and is arguably the most groundbreaking and devastating guitar solo ever. At midnight, when the strains of the Guy Lombardo Orchestra's "Auld Lang Syne" filled the theatre, the Band of Gypsys appeared back on stage, Jimi launching into his own arrangement of the traditional year-opener, a beautiful rendition that captivated the audience immediately. Now Classic Records brings back this legendary title for the first time on our Quiex 200g Super Vinyl Profile. George Marino and Eddie Kramer mastered and cut the lacquers from the original analog two track masters at Sterling Sound in New York with Michael Fremer in attendance in 1998. The legend lives on as do our memories of one of Rock's greatest performers - Jimi Hendrix.  Pressed on Classic Records 200 gram Super Vinyl Profile *  for maximum playback fidelity!  
THE VERY LAST COPY!

*Background on Classic 200g Super Vinyl Profile In 2003, Classic Records launched its now famous Signature Blue Note Mono reissue series. As part of that series Classic developed an "authentic" 200 gram LP profile that replicated that of an original Blue Note record from the 1950's.  Comparing a test pressing on the new profile versus the same title on the normal 180 gram pressing it was discovered that the 200 gram version sounded significantly better.  The 200 gram pressing sounded louder, with more definition and solidity of notes across all frequencies and there was more detail - particularly low level detail like room or hall sounds, pages being turned, musicians whispering and automobile sounds outside the studio all became easier to identify.  At first it was speculated inside Classic Records that the extra weight resulted in the better performance as no one could come up with a better answer given that the stampers were the same as well as the vinyl pellets used on both 180g and 200g pressings.  One day, Michael Hobson, the founder of Classic Records was discussing this unexplainable sonic discovery with the Legendary Mastering Engineer and Sheffield Records founder, Doug Sax when Doug, without hesitation stated "Ah Michael you've discovered the difference in a flat versus conventional profile".  Puzzled, Hobson asked for an explanation which Sax described as going all the way back to 1950's mono pressings and what happened when stereo records came out in the early 1960's.  Sax explained that in the 1950's when mono records had no vertical modulation (only lateral), pressing PolyVinylChloride PVC (plastic) records were more easily pressed on "Flat Profile" dies fitted to the pressing machines since the grooves on the mono stampers were all the same height (no vertical modulation).  The molten vinyl was able to flow evenly across the stampers and fill properly during the molding (pressing) of the record.  The problems started when stereo record cutting came into vogue producing stampers that had variable height grooves sticking up across the diameter of each stamper.  Using the older mono pressing dies resulted in tremendous problems getting the areas between grooves of different heights to fill properly - a groove that is in front of another taller one often got passed over by the flowing molten vinyl resulting in "non-fill" which was audible and thus a "defective" record.  Pressing plants don't like to press defective records and are always looking for high pressing yields or as few rejects as possible.
To solve the problem, the engineers developed a new pressing die profile which tapers from the center of the die, flattens in the middle of the diameter and then tapers again toward the outside of the die. The new profile was "concave" rather than flat.  When you put a flat stampers onto the concave dies the stampers distort and are no longer flat - the grooves are no longer perpendicular across the stamper and by association across a finished vinyl pressing.  This new die profile created "back pressure" on the flowing vinyl and solved the "non-fill" problem with stereo pressings and resulted in higher yields which was great for pressing plants and good for record companies who wanted good prices on pressings.  The problem was and still is that the new profile records don't sound as good as they could because they are not flat across their profile.  Using a micrometer across the diameter of a 1950's mono records reveals that the thickness is virtually the same across the record's diameter from center label to outer edge but not so for a newer stereo profile pressing which is convex across its diameter resulting from the concave profile dies / distorted stampers.  This is the dirty little secret that Classic had rediscovered was known to old school experts like Doug Sax who founded Sheffield Labs in the 1970's.  After the discovery, Classic Records never looked back and all of its releases and re-pressings after 2003 were on the new 200 gram Flat Profile dies that were specially made for Classic.  Some years later Classic discovered that the very same profile was used by JVC in Japan to produce the legendary UHQR pressings for Mobile Fidelity which are well known to sound better than the conventional Mobile Fidelity pressings of the same titles - it all makes sense now.  The long and the short of this is that Classic 200g Super Vinyl Profile (Flat Profile) pressings are as good as it gets for proper playback without groove distortion from non-flat pressings - Period.

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