{"product_id":"beatlmagic_2604_6x__","title":"Beatles, The - Magical Mystery Tour - Hot Stamper","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe soft cardboard covers for these German pressings almost always show some seam wear. We will include the best cover we have at the time of your order. Of course, your satisfaction is always guaranteed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis German pressing has the kind of Tubey Magical Midrange that modern records cannot even BEGIN to reproduce. Folks, that sound is gone and it sure isn't showing signs of coming back. If you love hearing INTO a recording, actually being able to \"see\" the performers, and feeling as if you are sitting in the studio with the band, this is the record for you. It's what vintage all analog recordings are known for -- \u003ci\u003ethis sound\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you exclusively play modern repressings of vintage recordings, I can say without fear of contradiction that you have never heard this kind of sound on vinyl. Old records have it -- not often, and certainly not always -- but maybe one out of a hundred new records do, and those are some pretty long odds.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat The Best Sides Of Magical Mystery Tour Have To Offer Is Not Hard To Hear\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe biggest, most immediate staging in the largest acoustic space\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe most Tubey Magic, without which you have \u003ci\u003ealmost\u003c\/i\u003e nothing. CDs give you clean and clear. Only the best vintage vinyl pressings offer the kind of Tubey Magic that was on the tapes in \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%221967%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1967\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTight, note-like, rich, full-bodied bass, with the correct amount of weight down low\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNatural tonality in the midrange -- with all the instruments having the correct timbre\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTransparency and resolution, critical to hearing into the three-dimensional studio space\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo doubt there's more but we hope that should do for now. \u003ci\u003ePlaying the record is the only way to hear all of the qualities we discuss above,\u003c\/i\u003e and playing the best pressings against a pile of other copies under rigorously controlled conditions is the only way to find a pressing that sounds as good as this one does.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat To Listen For\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSmoother and sweeter sound, with less of the grit and congestion that cause a host of problems on most of the copies we play.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA bigger presentation -- more size, more space, more room for all the instruments and voices to occupy. The bigger the speakers you have to play this record the better.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMore bass and tighter bass. This is fundamentally a rock record. It needs weight down low to rock the way \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22Ken-Scott%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKen Scott\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22geoff-emerick%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGeoff Emerick\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22eddie-kramer%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEddie Kramer\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e wanted it to.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePresent, breathy vocals. A veiled midrange is the rule, not the exception.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGood top end extension to reproduce the harmonics of the instruments and other details of the recording, especially the studio ambience.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLast but not least, balance. All the elements from top to bottom should be heard in harmony with each other. Take our word for it, assuming you haven't played a pile of these yourself, balance is not always easy to find.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur best copies will have it though, of that there is no doubt.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eTurn It Up Man!\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOf course Magical Mystery Tour is yet another in the long list of recordings that really comes alive when you \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22turn-up-your-volume%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eturn it up\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e, so just do it! You'll be glad you did.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt's also right up at the top of our \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/better-records.com\/pages\/top-100\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRock and Pop Top 100 List\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e. The Beatles have six titles on our list, the most of any single group or artist, which is only fitting: the hottest Hot Stamper copies of this album are sonic blockbusters the likes of which most audiophiles -- especially the ones who don't own top quality turntables -- have never experienced. It just doesn't get much better on LP than Magical Mystery Tour. (We criticize The Beatles on CD in a number of our Hot Stamper commentaries. The long and the short of it: they mostly suck.)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSize and Space\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the qualities that we don't talk about on the site nearly enough is the SIZE of the record's presentation. Some copies of the album just sound small -- they don't extend all the way to the outside edges of the speakers, and they don't seem to take up all the space from the floor to the ceiling. In addition, the sound can often be recessed, with a lack of presence and immediacy in the center.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOther copies -- my notes for these copies often read \"BIG and BOLD\" -- create a huge soundfield, with the music positively jumping out of the speakers. They're not brighter, they're not more aggressive, they're not hyped-up in any way, they're just \u003ci\u003ebigger\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eclearer\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe often have to go back and downgrade the copies that we were initially impressed with in light of such a standout pressing. Who knew the recording could be that huge, spacious and three-dimensional? We sure didn't, not until we played the copy that had those qualities, and that copy might have been number 8 or 9 in the rotation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThink about it: if you had only seven copies, you might not have ever gotten to hear a copy that sounded that open and clear. And how many even dedicated audiophiles would have more than one of two clean German copies with which to do a shootout? These records are expensive and hard to come by in good shape. Believe us, we know whereof we speak when it comes to getting hold of audiophile quality import pressings of Classic Rock albums.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne further point needs to be made: most of the time these very special pressings just plain \u003ci\u003erock harder\u003c\/i\u003e. When you hear a copy do what this copy can, it's an entirely different -- and dare I say unforgettable -- listening experience.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eVinyl Condition\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMint Minus Minus and maybe a bit better is about as quiet as any vintage pressing will play, and since only the right vintage pressings have any hope of sounding good on this album, that will most often be the playing condition of the copies we sell. (The copies that are even a bit noisier get listed on the site are seriously reduced prices or traded back in to the local record stores we shop at.)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThose of you looking for quiet vinyl will have to settle for the sound of later pressings and Heavy Vinyl reissues, purchased elsewhere of course as we have no interest in selling records that don't have the vintage analog magic of these wonderful originals.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you want to make the trade-off between bad sound and quiet surfaces with whatever Heavy Vinyl pressing might be available, well, that's certainly your prerogative, but we can't imagine losing what's good about this music -- the size, the energy, the presence, the clarity, the weight -- just to hear it with less background noise.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eTrack Commentary\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eClick on the \u003cstrong\u003eTracklist\u003c\/strong\u003e tab above for track by track commentary that goes on for days. We discuss in detail what we're listening for and what the best copies do well that the run-of-the-mill copies simply cannot. If you own a copy of the German MMT plays yours and listen for what we're listening for. It's all there in the track commentary.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOther records with track breakdowns can be found \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22track-commentary%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ehere\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eA Must Own Rock Record\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMagical Mystery Tour is a \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22rock-masterpiece%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMasterpiece\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e that belongs in any serious rock collection. Others that belong in that category can be found \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22core-rock-collection%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ehere\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eA Tough Record to Play\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=tag:%22difficulty-of-reproduction%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003edifficult record to reproduce\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e. Do not attempt to play it using anything other than the highest quality equipment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnless your system is firing on all cylinders, even our hottest Hot Stamper copies -- the Super Hot and White Hot pressings with the biggest, most dynamic, clearest, and least distorted sound -- can have problems. Your system should be thoroughly warmed up, your electricity should be clean and cooking, you've got to be using the right room treatments, and we also highly recommend using a demagnetizer such as the Walker Talisman on the record, your cables (power, interconnect and speaker) as well as the individual drivers of your speakers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMMT is a record that's going to demand a lot from the listener, and we want to make sure that you feel you're up to the challenge. If you don't mind putting in a little hard work, here's a record that will reward your time and effort many times over, and probably teach you a thing or two about tweaking your gear in the process (especially your VTA adjustment, just to pick an obvious area many audiophiles neglect).\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Beatles, The","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51743661064488,"sku":"beatlmagic","price":299.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0257\/3415\/2295\/files\/beatlmagic.jpg?v=1762106071","url":"https:\/\/better-records.com\/products\/beatlmagic_2604_6x__","provider":"Better Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}