{"product_id":"sealssumme_2606","title":"Seals and Crofts - Summer Breeze - White Hot Stamper (Quiet Vinyl)","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn our recent shootout, all our best copies had the same numbers and letters in the dead wax, which doesn't happen all that often but does from time to time, contrary to popular opinion -- and even the informed opinion of the folks who work here, who listen to records and who look at stamper numbers all day.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnly one pressing had a 3+ side, and it is very special because it has two 3+ sides and is quiet, the only one that ever sounded as good and played quietly to boot.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis vintage Warner Brothers pressing has the kind of Tubey Magical Midrange that modern records can barely 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 Summer Breeze 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:%221972%22\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1972\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\u003eStandard Operating Procedures\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat are the criteria by which a record like this should be judged? Pretty much the ones we discuss in most of our Hot Stamper listings: energy, vocal presence, frequency extension (on both ends), transparency, harmonic textures (freedom from smear is key), rhythmic drive, tonal correctness, fullness, richness, and so on down through the list.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen we can get all, or most all, of the qualities above to come together on any given side we provisionally award it a grade of \"contender.\" Once we’ve been through all our copies on one side we then play the best of the best against each other and arrive at a winner for that side. Repeat the process for the other side and the shootout is officially over. All that’s left is to see how the sides matched up.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRecord shootouts may not be rocket science, but they're a science of a kind, one with strict protocols developed over the course of many years to ensure that the sonic grades we assign to our Hot Stampers are as accurate as we can make them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe result of all our work speaks for itself, on this very record in fact. We guarantee you have never heard this music sound better than it does on our Hot Stamper pressing -- or your money back.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat We're Listening For On Summer Breeze\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere are some of the things we specifically listen for in a vintage Folk Rock record.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur hottest Hot Stamper copies are simply doing more of these things better than the other copies we played in our shootout.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe best copies have:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGreater \u003cstrong\u003eimmediacy\u003c\/strong\u003e in the vocals (most copies are veiled and distant to some degree).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNatural \u003cstrong\u003etonal balance\u003c\/strong\u003e (many copies are at least slightly brighter or darker than ideal; those with the right balance are the exception, not the rule).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGood solid \u003cstrong\u003eweight\u003c\/strong\u003e (so the bass sounds full and powerful).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSpaciousness\u003c\/strong\u003e (the best copies have wonderful studio ambience and space).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTubey Magic\u003c\/strong\u003e, without which you might as well be playing a CD.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAnd last but not least, \u003cstrong\u003etransparency\u003c\/strong\u003e, the quality of being able to see into the studio, where there is plenty of musical information to be revealed in this sometimes simple, sometimes complex and sophisticated recording.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eVinyl Condition\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMint Minus Minus 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 other 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 recordings.\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","brand":"Seals and Crofts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51886774780200,"sku":"sealssumme","price":599.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0257\/3415\/2295\/products\/sealssumme.jpg?v=1780419485","url":"https:\/\/better-records.com\/products\/sealssumme_2606","provider":"Better Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}