Hardware:
- Technics 1210mk2
- Jelco SA-750D Tonearm (w/ JAC 501 cable)
- Audio Technica AT33PTG MC
- Pro-Ject Tube Box SE-2
- Yamaha CA-1010
- RME ADI-2 A/D Interface

Software:
- Audition 3.0 used for adjusting DC bias, editing, (incl. manual removal of clicks
and pops), adding gain and making the cue points.
- Click Repair 3.4.1 used with setting Cl: 10, Cr: 0
- CueListTool v1.7 & Mediaval CueSplitter used for generating the .cue's & .m3u's.

Transfer & Restoration by Prof. Stoned

Prof. sez:

Another one in the series "essential in mono but not available on cd".

Although this is not first needledrop of this medium rare LP to appear online, I'm confident
that it is the absolute best one to date and that it will be very hard to improve upon.
The reason for that lies mainly in the aurally stunning copy I've used for this transfer.
Unlike most rock/pop records from the 60's, this one has absolutely no sign of groovewear.
The audio is strong and vibrant all the way up to those difficult last minutes on each side.
Especially Tr. 5 that sounds miles better here than on any other drop I've heard.

There is one reason why you should check this out: the mono mix is far superior to the stereo.
The problem with the stereo version is that the balance is totally off; the all-important
basic track (which captures the band live without vocals) is mostly buried on one side of the
stereo spectrum underneath the centered vocals and guitar overdubs.
The mono mix does not have this problem, as the overdubbed vocals and solo's are nicely buried
within the HUGE sounding backing track and this makes all the difference.
It is -IMO- a crime against humanity that this mono edition has not been commercially
available since the late sixties. But here it is, at last.

This was transferred from an EX+ copy.
The record is breathtakingly quiet and after a light declick, folding the two mono channels
together and some manual restoration work, I think I've achieved an almost tape like quality.
There is absolutely no hint of groove wear on this copy, unlike most others out there.
The record was professionally and carefully cleaned in three steps using Audio Intelligent’s
Enzymantic formula, Super Cleaner Formula, and Ultra pure water on a VPI 16.5
(using VPI brushes) and Nitty Gritty mini-pro 2.

Disclaimer: The noise at the beginning of N.S.U. is on the mastertape.

Enjoy!

Hardware:
- Technics 1210mk2
- Jelco SA-750D Tonearm (w/ JAC 501 cable)
- Audio Technica AT-33PTG
- Pro-Ject Tube Box SE-2
- Yamaha CA-1010
- RME ADI-2 A/D Interface

Software:
- Audition 3.0 used for adjusting DC bias. editing. (incl. manual removal of clicks
and pops.. adding gain and making the cue points.
- Click Repair 3.7 used with setting Cl: 10 Cr: 0
- CueListTool v1.7 & Mediaval CueSplitter used for generating the .cue's & .m3u's.

Transfer & Restoration by Prof. Stoned

Prof sez:

Here's another one in the series "essential in mono but not available on cd". Transferred from
a vintage copy that was kept sealed for 46 years until I opened it recently.

Here we have one of the greasiest electric blues albums from the 60's, recorded by an interracial
group of badass kids from Chicago, the hometown of the electric blues and essentially the same band
(minus Butterfield) that backed Dylan on his infamous Newport '65 show. It's is probably the
most influential white blues album from the 60's, save from John Mayall's Bluesbreakers album

It was also the first "rock" record to appear on the legendary Elektra label. Up until then, label owner
Jac Holzman had specialised in folk music but wanted to expand his roster with other musical directions.
His right-hand Paul A. Rothchild was the man ultimately responsible for signing the band and adding
Mike Bloomfield to the line-up. Make sure to read this fascinating chapter from Holzman's book:
http://www.followthemusic.com/chapter-8 (also included here in another txt file just in case it has gone
offline).

This record and its predecessor have been lovingly remastered in stereo by Bob Irwin in 1997 (available
on vinyl on the Sundazed label and as a two-fer on an European-only 2CD). But the mono versions
of these two classic albums have not been unavailable since the late 60's. The fat greasy sound of the
band was best captured on these vintage monaural mixes and therefore this is an essential addition
to your collection. The bonustracks are of course from the 1966 "What's shaking" Elektra sampler.
These tracks were sourced from the rejected initial sessions. Sundazed has done a really nice
vinyl reissue of the mono album in 2003, but this too has yet to see its debut on CD in mono.

The record was professionally and carefully cleaned in three steps using Audio Intelligent’s Enzymantic formula,
Super Cleaner Formula, and Ultra pure water on a VPI 16.5 (using VPI brushes) and Nitty Gritty mini-pro 2.
I cleaned up some clicks and pops manually. All restoration was done without harming the music.


Enjoy!

Hardware:
- Technics 1210mk2 Turntable
- Jelco SA-750D Tonearm (w/ JAC 501 cable)
- Audio Technica 150MLX stylus
- Yamaha CA-1010 amplifier
- RME ADI-2 A/D Interface (conversion to 24 bit, 96kHz)
- Universal Audio Precision Mastering Bundle

Software:
- Audition 3.0 used for adjusting DC bias, editing, (incl. manual removal of clicks
and pops), adding gain and making the cue points.
- Click Repair used with setting Cl: 15, Cr: 0
- CueListTool v1.7 & Mediaval CueSplitter used for generating the .cue's & .m3u's.

Transfer, Restoration, Mastered & Notes by Prof. Stoned

Prof sez:

Here's another one in the series "essential in mono but not available on cd".
I'm likely not gonna top this one for a year or two; this is truly an essential document
in a soundquality that is far better than an original UK pressing of this album could ever give you.
I've have been looking for the right source material for this project for two years.
You can read about that below in the 'In Search Of Aftermath in Mono' textfile.
I will stick to the more urgent facts here.

The Stones' 4th British album 'Aftermath' should be considered the artistic breakthrough in their
long career. It was the first album that was entirely written by Jagger & Richard(s) and it remains
a blistering highlight among their catalogue.
'Aftermath' was recorded in a period when the record industry was slowly beginning to make the
transition from mono to stereo. But 3 or 4-track recording was still the norm and as a result the
possibilities of making a balanced stereo mix were almost non-existent.
The stereo versions of many pop albums from and before this era tend to sound very dated
with radical sound images like: backing track hard left, vocals center & handclaps
and lead guitar on the right.
To many folks, this is at all times preferable to a mix that has no stereo panorama but unrightly so IMO.
'Aftermath' in stereo is not an exception. The oh-so-important backingtrack consisting of
drums-bass-rhythm guitar always stays on the left channel, making the vocals and whatever overdubs
sound isolated.
Take 'Mother's little Helper' for example. The mono version makes you wanna rock out; it has a thick ballsy
sound and Jagger vocals are nicely within the mix.
On the stereo mix you basically hear the voice, the sitar and then far in the back there is a band playing.
The stereo version was nothing more than an afterthought. Most of the work went into the mono mixes:
the sounds that were going to be heard by the kids on the radio and on their cheap phonographs.

For this reason alone, it is a crime against humanity that up to this very day the mono version of
'Aftermath' has been unavailable since the early seventies.
ABKCO has failed to recognize its importance and superiority and continues to do so, leaving us
instead with an inferior edition of a landmark album.
Therefore, I'm very proud to be able to present you a version of Aftermath that not only has the correct
mix but also a fidelity that even for today's remastering standard holds up quite well.
Sure, this was recorded in 1965/1966 but there is a clarity and depth to these recordings that is
previously unheard, except for the first three tracks which appear on the Singles Collection Box set.
You will simply not get the same results from playing an original UK copy.
This has everything to do with the source that I used, even though I did polish up the tracks with
some tasteful EQ'ing because they needed it.
Be assured that I've been a soundengineer on a professional level for more than 12 years, if that
makes a difference. I have used high quality digital hardware for mastering and did not 'brickwall' or
compress the sound.

I threw in a couple of very nice bonustracks, which suffer the same fate as its predecessors.
These four tracks were transferred from the UK export version of 'Flowers', a compilation that
was designed for the American market.
Mono copies of the US version on London are plenty but stereo & especially mono copies of the
UK export versions are seriously rare and wanted.
Not without a reason; collectors have long noticed that the UK exports have superior sound
compared to their American counterparts.
Still, I found this pressing not to be off the same audiophile quality as the Aftermath source.
It sounds distorted in places and the high end is a bit grainy. Still, it's lightyears better
than the versions on the bootlegs that circulate of this material.
There are some dedicated mono mixes to be found here, although half the album consists
of stereo reductions. For those reasons, I've cherry picked the good stuff rather than doing a
separate release of the whole thing.
I've included another text document in the folder in which I've written down my findings about the
UK mono export, should you be interested (see 'Info on Flowers UK Mono Export.txt').

This was transferred from pristine vinyl copies.
The records are breathtakingly quiet and after a light de-click, folding the two mono channels together
and some manual restoration work, I think I've achieved an almost tape like quality.
The records were professionally and carefully cleaned in three steps using Audio Intelligent’s
Enzymantic formula, Super Cleaner Formula, and Ultra pure water on a VPI 16.5
(using VPI brushes) and Nitty Gritty mini-pro 2.

Enjoy!

Hardware:
- Technics 1210mk2
- Jelco SA-750D Tonearm (w/ JAC 501 cable)
- Audio Technica AT-33PTG
- Pro-Ject Tube Box SE-2
- Yamaha CA-1010
- RME ADI-2 A/D Interface

Software:
- Audition 3.0 used for adjusting DC bias. editing. (incl. manual removal of clicks
and pops.. adding gain and making the cue points.
- Click Repair 3.7 used with setting Cl: 10 Cr: 0
- CueListTool v1.7 & Mediaval CueSplitter used for generating the .cue's & .m3u's.

Transfer & Restoration by Prof. Stoned

Prof sez:

Here's another one in the series "essential in mono but not available on cd". Transferred from
a vintage copy that was kept sealed for 45 years until I opened it recently.

Mostly known from their big hit and Nuggets anthem "I had too much to dream", there was more to the Prunes than
just that one psychedelic masterpiece. They released two albums in the classic line-up before being
taken over by producer Dave Hassinger & composer David Axlrod who forced the ambitious but out-of-style
"Mass in F minor" upon the group, after which the band disintegrated. More Electric Prunes albums
followed though, but these were basically other people playing different music.

This rare mono mix is much more enjoyable than its stereo counterpart, pretty much in the same way as
the Stones' album Aftermath. This comparison is of course partly deliberate, since both albums
share the same producer. Rhino has released four mono tracks on the "Too Much to Dream - Original Group
Recordings: Reprise 1966-1967" 2CD, but to my taste they sound much better here, in no small part thanks to the
bright mastering that Dan Hersh seems to be known for. But what do I know, maybe Rhino wants it that way?
I wish I could have included a clean transfer of the rare first 45 as well, but those hardly ever show up on
ebay, and if they do, it's still no guarantee that it will play clean. Maybe, a day...

The record was professionally and carefully cleaned in three steps using Audio Intelligent’s Enzymantic formula,
Super Cleaner Formula, and Ultra pure water on a VPI 16.5 (using VPI brushes) and Nitty Gritty mini-pro 2.
I cleaned up some clicks and pops manually. All restoration was done without harming the music.

Enjoy!