Any other vinyl as quiet as ECM?

02-07-09: Tvad
I have plenty of used Verve that sound like crap.

The problem with Verve is the same as the problem with finding used Ray Charles, James Brown, or Jimi Hendrix albums in great shape. People played them long and hard.

Verve reaches back to the '50s and had so many great artists--Gene Krupa, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, etc.. Pablo is really the same idea by the same guy (Norm Granz), but it was started in the '70s so the legendary artists are older while the recording technology and albums are newer, and more of them are in great shape. Both Verve and Pablo records were well engineered, mastered, and pressed. Verves would have been recorded with tube equipment, so they're warmer and fatter and more are in mono. Some don't have the frequency extension and clarity that the Pablos do.

I lucked into DJ Verve copies of Ella and Louis parts I and II and Buddy Rich, "The Monster." As DJ copies they were in white inner sleeves with no jackets, totally unplayed new old stock. They are definitely gems in my collection, sonically and musically.

You're right about the Verve LPs being older and being played more often.

02-07-09: Xiekitchen
ECM back into vinyl, wow!
TVAD: if you have not heard Metheny on ECM German Imported pressings... THESE are the one's to get.

I agree with you. My German ECMs are probably the most quiet pressings I have. My faves there are by Steve Tibbetts. I have quite a few US ECMs cut by Bob Ludwig which are also a nice treat.

My only negative about ECM is I wish Manfred Eicher went with a little less reverb. Those albums sound great even if the speakers are not set up properly, but if you are set up for stereo and in the sweet spot, the reverb can be a little overdone. Still I love them.

I LOVE Steve Tibbitts.. I wish I could find "Northern Song" on German import ECM.. I have the other titles "Safe Journey" and the third one (forgot the title) on German ECM and sound is superb.

Yesterday I was playing a few ECMs and Concords back-to-back.

My preliminary conclusion: Yes, the ECMs are amazingly quiet, but the Concords are amazingly dynamic. They sound the most like direct-to-disc recordings even though they were tape-based.

Great artists as well--Joe Pass and Barney Kessel, Woody Herman, the L.A. Four (Shelley Manne, Laurinda Almeida, Ray Brown, Bud Shank), Charlie Byrd, etc.