Ahhh, finally. The best series, from the best record channel is back!

Awesome comparison and always appreciate these shoot-outs! We need to stop blindly believing all OGs are the best without comparison. Cool to collect, but not always the best on the ears!

Thanks for taking the time to do these Mike. For someone like me who would never have the time or money this a HUGE help in putting my collection together.

Hi Mike, Thanks! I was curious about all the reissues of this title, and you answered all: as usual!

I’ve got the 2015 Analogue Production and absolutely love it. Amazing music, amazingly recorded. Can’t imagine that the one step, which costs 3 times as much, is 3 times better. Plus with my 72 year old tinnitus ears, this one is good for me. Thanks for sharing

Great Stuff! Love the comparison videos🌠 Always looking forward to the next one 👌🏼👌🏼

Love these shootouts Mike! Please keep up the good work and I look forward to more of these. It really helps my buying. I am happy to get reissued versions if they sound better than the original pressing. Steve

Brilliant video - many thanks!! Here’s hoping the next one will be “Wish You Were Here”

Great video! Looking forward to the next one!

Great video Mike, thanks...I got my AP copy during covid..its very special indeed. Cheers

Mike, you continue to raise the bar on ultra high end quality record comparison/reviews. Yes there are "others" with lofty credentials, but, as recent events have proven - the cream always rises to the top! Thank you for your continued tireless commitment to this wacky hobby/obsession, dare I say lust for excellent music! Looking forward to your comparison of the new MoFi Eric Clapton Unplugged vs. the Reprise/Bernie/Pallas release. I held off buying the MoFi Muddy, but not sure on Clapton......Looking forward to many more of these very helpful and amazing reviews. Thank you Mike!

Thanks for this Mike, i know its a big undertaking to do these. These comparison videos are my favourites. I have the AP 45RPM, i had a chance to get the one step, which i do like to buy, but held off as I’m not big into blues and really enjoyed my AP copy.

Excellent review! Hope to get one for Relaxin'

Please do more comparisons like these, they're the best!

Yes this series is back when I needed it to come back the most 😄

Excellent review. I passed on the One-Step as I already had the Analogue Productions 2x45rpm version. Sounds like I made the right choice.

Thought I was a music nerd. Listened to Mike in this video, seriously recalibrated how I evaluate my own levels of knowledge and enthusiasm. This is a great review!

Thanks Mike. Killer video. Appreciate the knowledge. Michel

My favorite vinyl review on KZfaq bar none! Even when I don't necessarily want the particular album, I still enjoy it never the less.

Great video thanks Mike. This has become one of my favourite albums I really do love it. I have the AP 45rpm version and I’m not at all surprised that’s #1 - it sounds absolutely fantastic! I wouldn’t mind getting the 33rpm as well to be honest, just for those times I don’t want to get up as many times - I’ve heard they’re pretty close in terms of sound quality.

Love those comparisons.

Thanks for the review! I love to hear you talk. You have the gift of gab, for sure. Many times I agree with you too, but not this time. I used to have the AP 45rpm reissue of this too. Not having access to any other vinyl pressing (except for an old Dutch mono which isn't much to write home about), I was impressed with it. These reissue labels search out good-sounding recordings to begin with, so no quibbles there. But somehow, the music failed to connect with me on a deeper level. It always left me wanting, even though I did try hard to like it, because I love the blues and I love Muddy. Then, a few months ago, I stumbled upon a cheap, clean 1970's reissue, so I decided to give it another try. As soon as I dropped the needle on it, it felt like I was hearing this recording for the first time. Sure, the playback is slightly more noisy in places, although not problematically so. But the music had all the body and depth that the AP sorely lacks. The guitars, bass and Muddy's voice became alive in the studio, a feeling that the AP, for all its cleanliness and audiophileness, just couldn't communicate. In just a few weeks, I had listened to this 1970's copy more times than I had ever played the AP in all the years that it sat in my collection.

I guess I am the Lone Ranger on this one. I have the 45rpm AP version and the 1 step. I did the A/B comparison and I thought just the opposite. My AP pressing is super hot compared to my 1 step. I had to turn the volume up. I also, feel Muddy’s voice on the AP is so hot that it tip toes are the distortion threshold. Whereas the 1 step they turned down the mid range section about 2-3db. Seems for balanced on my system. As we all know, all of this is subjective as well. There are so many factors that play a part in the sound you hear. The gear, the room and your hearing. Love the videos Mike you are the man and we greatly appreciate you taking the time to do these for all of us.

Looking forward to this. I did my own: AP, MoFi, OG. The AP is very nice, MoFi has a guttural feel to it, guitar sounds stellar, but vocals when sound increased hit a "wall." Each has their pluses and minuses. BTW, the Chess re-issues of the 80s are much better. I have Waters at Newport and it is very good.

Thank you so much Mike for doing this comparison.

Mike thank you for this video. I was able to track down a very clean copy of “The Original Chess Masters”. It is so quiet honestly it may have totally changed my view of vinyl.

Hi Mike. Seems like you were on to MoFi. Thanks for your great work!

There’s also an awesome sounding 1990’s pressing that was all analog cut at Abbey Road. I bought it at the San Francisco 1997 Stereophile show. It was issued by a company called Discovery Sounds on 140 gram vinyl.

I have had versions of this record since the mid 1960s when I bought the red and yellow Pye International mono version. That was the record which I heard first and it represents how I 'hear' the record, even today. It is still relatively quiet and sounds wonderful today. The quality of the vinyl from the UK was excellent back then and it has survived very well. One comment I would add is that back in the 1960s many critics did not like this record as they felt it too self consciously 'folky', but it has worn well, artistically speaking, and today it is probably my favourite Muddy LP, actually made as an LP. His best stuff to my ears is on his early Aristocrat and Chess sides, I even have some Muddy on 78s. I also like his Stovall recordings. The next one I will mention is an unusual one which is HDRCD1001 which claims to be a CD made by committing a remastered analogue master to compact disc. The manufacturers claimed that they were confident that, despite the digital quotient on the format, the sound quality retained at least 90% of the the depth of the vinyl format. I'm never taken in by such hype, but so far as my ears are concerned what comes out on my system is excellent. For a CD it sounds quite 'non digital' and that is from my ears, not the manufacturer's claims. The orthophonic reproduction and recording side were done at Gelsenkirchen in Germany with a list of equipment too long to show here. The cutting on lacquer was done at Abbey Road Studios and that a vinyl version was pressed at PR Records London on 140 gram vinyl. Has anyone here got this version on vinyl? I have several other versions on CD and LP, but I will finish by mentioning the Analogue Productions 33 rpm version, which I got recently. I had been tempted to buy the 45 rpm , but I have the 45 rpm AP version of Ella and Louis ( another 'lifetime favourite') and while it is excellent, I don't think it offers any great advantage to offset having to change the record so frequently. The 33 rpm AP version is excellent and quiet, but any of the 3 versions, that I have mentioned here, are enough to satisfy me. I would be hard put to choose a winner from those 3.

Thanks Mike -- Great advise.

My experience with the AP vs. the 1-Step are almost exactly the opposite. I’ve heard them both on two different systems (including my own) and the results were the same. It’s not really even close, and I did not think the AP could be bettered. I am keeping them both, because clearly I may be taking crazy pills on this one.

Did you borrow Darth Vaders speakers setup?

I am glad to hear some love going out to those 80s MCA "Chess Masters" reissues. Overall, they have have the best sound vs. value you can get, at the moment.

Was waiting for this. And Mike is again, 100% correct. The MFSL was a little hot, but the AP 45RPM was fantastic.

Good Stuff Mike !!

I have the AP 33 1/3 and love it. I passed on the one step.

I’ve always wanted to hear a mono copy of this record, but never seen one in the wild and no label has yet reissued this in mono.

Awesome one of my favorite albums

I have the Classic Record Clarity Vinyl boxed set on single-sided clear vinyl in a plain white box with a sticker on the side that says in part CHS 1483-45 (4 DISC SET). I believe this is when they went out of business and before they could put these in the proper packaging. The sound is amazing and remains the best sounding record in my collection. I jumped on this when it came up for sale years ago.

Herb insisted on pressing records in Sebastopol California. They had all kinds of problems with noise and not being flat. I’m not sure how many presses they had there. It was great because you could walk in and buy records. Herb always took the first thirty, so most of mine are numbered above thirty.

Totally agree. Love the album and the QRP version is a pretty high bar to beat! Oh what amazing artefact! A couple of guys in a stinky room with pretty antiquated gear and what they created from virtually nothing just pure unadulterated genius and a tape deck, we are privileged to experience all these years later 🙏♥️ Having and enjoying for a long time the amazing QRP pressing, I felt totally satisfied. When the one step came out, I dithered around on wether or not to shell out for it. Couldn’t imagine anything topping the QRP, such a high bar! Eventually I brought one-step and sure it was good but generally quite disappointed it Disney too the QRP. I don’t think the one-step matches the QRP, it’s a bit noisy and doesn’t have the beautiful inky black backgrounds of the QRP, nor the timbre of the vocals /instrument -Sure the one-step was great but not as “great” as the one step version. For anyone considering getting the one step, I’d say get the QRP in this instance and save the $$ for some of the other great one steps about to hit the shelves later this year 👊 Miles Davis Bitches Brew and James Taylor’s greatest hits, the Alan Parsons project will all be revelations with the one-step treatment for sure! Keep up the great work Mike -and the comparison vids as well especially are very insightful ! 👍 For me I live in a small apartment therefore I generally don’t get multiple copies of albums. Just “one”, THE ONE, in the interests of time and space 🤷🏻‍♂️

Excellent job.

Hey Mike, I know it might seem like a silly request given the overall SQ of the album, but I would love a shootout of The Velvet Underground & Nico. I’ve been recently comparing my many copies and have come to really appreciate the original STEREO pressings, even over a couple original monos and a 70s mono misspress I have. With all the different versions out there I’d love to hear your take on which version you think is the best if you could only own one copy that sounded the best.

Thank you for doing this public service!

The only issue I see here with the comparisons is the first pressings og, uk etc are mono. The narrower sound that is being heard is due to that. The others such as the one step and APs are stereo. A bit of an apples to oranges comparison as far as that goes. Strictly speaking as far as stereo to stereo comparisons I would agree. I have the mofi anadisc, AP and the one step. I like the AP best. Most balanced, best clarity and mine is quiet vinyl. I think if one really digs this album then the person would want both the mono and stereo, imo.

🔥Love these🔥

You made my day. With so many 1 steps being released, I've become very selective. So happy that I have the Bernie Grundman 33RPM. version.

Hi Mike , Just wondering? Since bass is much slower then mid and hi’s who told you to place your bass subs behind the front baffle of the main speaker , are the subs set out of phase ? Does the bass arrive in time ? Just curious not being a wise guy at all im generally curious because i see many configurations set up this way …

Thanks for another great comparison. I am looking for a good (and affordable) ‚Abraxas‘ pressing. Any recommendations from the community?

This is what I imagine if the Death Star had a music room

I could listen to this music on a phone in the subway and still enjoy it. I guess I'm not an audiophile.

I purchased the AP 45rpm version. Sounds great

Thanks Mike.

I love my SACD from Acoustic Sounds

This is absolutely a stunning sounding record sonically. I've owned it on basically every format for 35 years now. Of course it's novel to hear Muddy with the young Buddy Guy playing rhythm. And I appreciate Mike's customary exactitude in breaking down the various options. I do not understand why it's held in such wide regard given the musical content though. It's not that I don't appreciate the artist or the genre. I worship Muddy Waters. I think he should be on some denomination of US currency. His records, particularly his 50's Chess recordings, are titanic achievements. This record does not show off any of his musical strengths, though. It was a Chess Brothers attempt to cash in on the folk blues movement, and it takes the teeth out of the great man both vocally and instrumentally. If you want Muddy doing country blues, go get the Lomax recordings. They're great! And if you want Muddy at his best, get the 50's Chess stuff or even the 70's Johnny Winter-produced records. This is laboratory-grown blues, sterile, antiseptic, and gritless.

You talk about supervinyl a lot, would be interesting to hear how it compares to AP’s clarity’s vinyl. Would be interesting to hear UHQR vs 1 Step….unfortunately we will never have the same record to compare it to

Mike it would be great if you do a comparison with Supertramp's crime of the century album.

I really enjoy hearing from collectors. Of course, my non collector reality is that I already own a copy, and am not going to curate my random large assembly into a fine collection, I've got plenty of other records to enjoy. But primarily I listen to this guys work on the great double album " Fathers and Sons" about ten times more often than I listen to this one. so I might apply the insight about the chess records tapes and get me a third copy of "fathers and Sons" ( my first suffered some party days, the repress is just, ok). However I certainly am glad I have both, as both are enjoyable and trigger memories. I wish everyone could have seen this guy in solo performance, a big guy in a loose brown suit, accompanying himself on acoustic bass, nothing else, just that, his talent and that voice. A performance among the best I have seen in my long life of pursuing an interest in music. a singular master whose performance gave me a lasting gift, now so long ago it is mainly composed of only emotions and few details. But I still clearly picture him singing and playing the upright bass, alone on stage, under a single spotlight directly overhead, framing the simple performance in a simple circle of light.

Just picked this up at a flea market and I can’t seem to find the listing. It came in a completely black sleeve which I’m assuming is a replacement but the wax label isn’t anything I can find online. It’s a light blue to white gradient with the chess logo in red to white to blue. The catalog # is LP-1483.

I own both and had the the same opinion, analog productions for the win.

thanks Mike!

Just picked up near mint copy of the original CHESS Blue label. Mike as a collector do you always seek Mint or do you go slight below into the near mint category at times based on availability and price?

Please do a review on Rush's 2112, Hemispheres or Moving Pictures. Produced by a very underrated Engineer in Terry Brown. Thanks in advance!

I just picked up an Original Chess Master. It sounds great.

According to the New York Times, June 1, 2008 was "the day the music burned" (in reference to the UMG vault fire in Los Angeles). The Project Phoenix listing included 100s of musical artists' master recordings effected to some varying degrees (including completely lost). (Unfortunately my favorite vocalist was on the list and her solo career was very limited in material to begin with.)

Where do you get your sleeves for the one steps?

My new MoFi OS Folk Singer was noisy AF! Just my luck! Not sure what to do with it. I love this recording and feel cheated. I have Tone Poets that are infinitely more quiet than my MWFS. Glad I have a 33 AP as well!

Wondering about your thoughts on the analog production r2r compared to your top picks here…?

If you’ve yet to add a copy of Folk Singer to your collection and you want to hear this incredible record as it was truly meant to be heard, you owe it to yourself to pick up a vintage copy. Just don’t sleep on it. Nearly every version out there is getting harder to come by and increasingly dear. (my copy is a 1977 repress, and sounds just perfect). Veteran engineer Bernie Grundman remastered Folk Singer for Analogue Productions and he somehow managed to do away with the sound of the original recording and replace it with, what I might venture to say, is a modern audiophile’s idea of what Folk Singer should sound like. It’s not what I’d call a bad sound, but it’s by no means the same.

I don't recall the original MFSL sounding "wrong" or sub-standard in any way but you are certainly making me revisit this Mike! I will have to find my copy and shoot it out against the others I have at my disposal, which currently include: • Classic Records 33 1/3 rpm • Classic Records 45 rpm • Classic Records Test Pressing 45 rpm • Classic Records Clarity Vinyl 45 rpm • Analogue Productions 33 1/3 rpm • Analogue Productions 45 rpm • MFSL Anadisc 200g 33 1/3 rpm • MFSL Test Pressing 33 1/3 rpm • MOFI One-Step / 45 rpm & • Chess Records "Original Chess Masters" Incidentally I wholeheartedly agree with you about the "Original Chess Masters" copy. What a beauty. It is a sleeper copy! Heck, good enough for me to want to showcase it on my KZfaq channel some years ago. You can check it here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/rsh6gb2YyNnJj5s.html Considering KZfaq's compressions scheme and the fact this was one of my earliest attempts at creating a KZfaq video, I think it provides enough of a hint to the sound quality, so please enjoy. Oh and Mike, thanks to you I own the MOFI One-Step of this title. I bought it from you a couple of months back! Ha! Keep up the good work. Oz Let There Be Sound

Hey Mike, did you forget that Buddy Guy is playing guitar on this record and Willie Dixon playing bass not just Muddy playing guitar?

Buddy Guy is playing much of the (non-slide) guitar.

I’ve heard the mofi one step sounds better than AS on the guitar passages but on voice the AS wins. And quieter is always better so I don’t think it’s that clear which one is the winner.

Good video. I think Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman were involved in mastering some of those MCAs. I think we have to be careful in assigning blame with vinyl quality. Classics did make a mistake with their 200 gram profile records which created pressing problems but their 180 gram RTI pressings were RTI pressings. I can’t blame a label for the problems of a pressing plant, particularly when the label is trying to pick the best plant. That open and check service was above and beyond anything any other label offered and was a response to the general poor pressings RTI was producing at that time.

You failed to mention that it was only when Classic decided to switch to 200 gram from 180, that the quality of the pressings suffered. RTI admits they were not set up to do 200 gram. Mike Hobson stubbornly pursued the 200 gram pressings despite multiple complaints about the noisy pressings. I think he ultimately regretted it. Almost all of the Classic Record series on 180 gram were excellent quality and very quiet. I have the 33 Muddy Waters and it has almost no noise at all. It may not equal the One Step but for me, good enough.

Can you do one on Blood on the Tracks please?

Speaking of crummy sounding records with great music, whats the best sounding version of Disreali Gears? Best I've heard is the Japan 200gm issue. ~Peace

All of my records warped by the edge after I started using the sleeves that mike is using in the video (the ones where the record is stored in it’s own pocket). Has anyone else had this problem or can anyone tell me what I’m doing wrong?

I bought four of those Original Master Series copies new in 1990. I think they were $7.99.

I don't feel like a sucker for having bought the MoFi one step, because it still sounds really good. I just wish I had saved 70 bucks and bought the AP 45 instead.

I agree but the 45s sound awesome and the 78 sound even better

Can you recommend some other great Original Master Series records?

Hey Mike, could you shed some light on how you know the Original Chess Masters '80s issues are AAA? I have a few of these and the liner notes say they were digitally transferred by Doug Schwartz.

Muddy Waters - Folk Singer (LP, Album, Mono) (Pye International - NPL 28038) what about first uk pressing ?

I have 5 One step recordings, and each one has a little noise somewhere in each album. How much noise is actually acceptable? I would like your opinion.

The reissue on, wait for it…DOL - sounds surprisingly good.

Speaking of Classic metalwork, do you (Mike) think Chad inherited the metalwork for ÆNIMA? More importantly, will AP ever press it?

Will you be doing more of review and comparison records

I personally like the pops and crackles of music. Funny how everyone loves the effect on Wish you were here prior to the song but ...People find it annoying. What I find annoying in the chases against distortion you loose some of the treble and feel. It's like asking Jimi to turn the feedback down. Hey Muddy keep the background noise down. I wish there was an Alan Lomax version of Jimi Hendrix as well as the Muddy Plantation Recordings..

The second the one step started playing I was like wait what???? I agree with Mike that the AP 45 is supreme. The one step was too quiet, had to turn the volume up more than usual, the AP 45 is just breath taking, really sounds like Muddy is in your living room. So transparent and clear separation.

The rest of the band on this record : Buddy Guy , Willie Dixon and Clifton James !

Got enough speakers there my dude?

The only version better than the AP 45 rpm is the AP reel to reel. 💯🔥

Mike, you need additional speakers!

I wonder if Mike realizes how valuable these shootouts are

Do any of you misfits know that a living piece of jazz history is still alive at 91 years old waiting to be interviewed? DAVID AMRAM.Look him up please! What stories he can tell from the 50's onward!

700 bucks? Did I hear that correctly?

Our ears naturally hear sound bouncing off of the floor. You should really look into a room for your Hifi with bare floors.

He sounds like a drunk when he said "you said you love me darling"

1:05, so it is terrible sounding vinyl and you paid $700 years ago, To me, a non collector, that is crazy.