1. Home
  2. analog
  3. 1105400738

Mono vs Stereo LP's

I recently purchased a 1958 mono issue of Art Farmer's "Farmer's Market" on the New Jazz purple label (New Jazz was a Prestige specialty label) The record looks to be in near mint condition and was carefully cleaned by me with a record vac. The recording, however, plays with a constant background noise or hiss. The dealer who sold me the record has a reputable history and is telling me the noise is because I need to play the record with a mono cartridge rather than my stereo Shelter 501. I have read the threads on Audiogon regarding mono cartridges which say they can sound better, but don't suggest there would be the type on noise I am hearing with stereo. I have many other mono records of similar vintage and have never encountered this before. Anyone have a similar experience to this?
jyprez
4yanx
1,576 posts
 
Glad you got some resolution, there, J.
Fair enough on the pressings. Mine is a yellow and was originally my father's who bought it new. Farmer was born in Iowa as was my dad and I. They shared some mutual friends, and Farmer was one of his favorites. He swears the LP came out in 1956, and it won't be me that argues the point with him! Ha!
jyprez's avatar
jyprez OP
229 posts
 
Glad for you if you have that recording 4yanks! According to Allmusic Jazz, Farmers Market was a compilation of sessions that Art made in the mid 50's which explains the date ambiguity. Love that Art Farmer!! I also recently picked up a 10" original issue of prlp 209 "Art Farmer Quintet" with Gigi Gryce from 1955. Interestingly this mono recording is quite quiet (except for a little scratch on side 2) with my stereo cart and benefits only slightly from the mono mixing described
4yanx
1,576 posts
 
That stuff with Gigi is good stuff, man. Wish I could find more of that stuff (along with a few thousand others). As I have chronicled before, my dad lost what was then a small, and what is now a princely fortune when our house burned in the late 60's along with nearly all of his 1,000-odd Jazz LP's - and I'm talking those that everyone (mostly the rich) clamors for now. The Farmer is one of a scant few saved and I would not sell it for any price. I have spent the better part of the past 5 years finding some of them and, when he visits, playing them for him like he's never heard them before. He's cried in the process and that's something for an old B-25 pilot who's seen it all.
jyprez's avatar
jyprez OP
229 posts
 
1000 melted classic jazz albums! That was a sad day indeed!
More to discover