I was surfing thru Ebay and found some outstanding Queen LP's and silver-pressed cd's under the label MSFL (for those who never heard about it - this is a sub-brand name for Dr.Ebbets laboratory - Mobile Sound Fidelity Lab). link
Why do i call them outstanding? Do i have the reason for that? I certainly do! Once a couple of these remasters got into my hands. These were "The Beatles" A Hard day's night and Please Please Me cd's. The sound quality is so delightful ... i can't even express. This is far more better than the japanese releases (although they sound pretty good). So I Was really surprised to see the same releases of Queen.I'm not sure about the "remaster-technology" used, but a friend of mine told me that it is a perfect vinyl rip accurately mastered from the originis.
if anyone has more info on that - i would really appreciate it.
I have the A day at the Races CD and it is plated with 14K Gold or something like that. Haven't listened to it in a while but I remember thinking it sounded a million times better than the 1991 HR version I had before that (my first Queen CD along with Hot Space, btw).
I've seen similar editions for NOTW and The Game but not for the other albums.
Wiley, if the album is in CD (and not LP) then music is stored in a digital (and not analog) way.
I don't think a gold plate cound improve the sound quality in any form... it believe gold is for preservation and protection only.
Yes, Pablo, I believe the same. Gold is not as prone to oxidation as aluminum. I once heard something about the reflection of the laser over gold but maybe that was just false.
They sound good because they were mastered as their LP counterparts and sound better than, for instance, Hollywood Records remasters.
Here's what I found regarding that particular batch of releases:
"MFSL introduced their range of gold plated CD releases in the 1990s, which have been mastered using the same meticulous mastering processes as their LPs, but are each pressed on 24 karat gold plated CDs as part of their 'Ultradisc' range. In similarity to their LP releases, MFSL audiophile CDs are made from the original master recordings and are often far sonically superior to their standard CD counterparts, having a smoother and more analog sound." (link
So the LP's from that master must sound great.
Thank you guys. 40$ for a bootleg, which is mastered and packaged better than the official release and, oh my goodness, "plated with gold" - seems to be a really good deal.
Everly wrote: Thank you guys. 40$ for a bootleg, which is mastered and packaged better than the official release and, oh my goodness, "plated with gold" - seems to be a really good deal.
What do you mean by bootleg? I think you were looking for another word there.
I don't know Queen Productions' input in these albums. Most likely it was none, hence the quality, but that doesn't mean it's a pirated version or something.
And it is the CDs that are plated with gold. I don't think the vinyl has anything like that.
I've not heard any Queen MFSL's but the one's I've heard from other artists have been a pleasure, I'm sure the Queen MFSL's are an improvement too.
However some people do genuinely prefer the products of this loudness-war era of Cd's so perhaps they aren't for everyone's taste.
There have been various MFSL/Ultradisc releases in the USA for ANATO, ADATR, NOTW and The Game.
on vinyl:
A Night At The Opera
MFSL
labelnumber 1-067 (1982?)
DCC Master recording
labelnumber LPZ-2072 (2000)
A Day At The Races
MFSL
labelnumber 1-256 (1996?)
The Game
MFSL
labelnumber 1-211 (1995?)
NO release for NOTW on vinyl as far as I know
on CD:
A Night At The Opera
Ultradisc
labelnumber UDCD 568 (1992)
DCC Compact Classic
labelnumber GZS-1144 (2000)
A Day At The Races
Ultradisc:
labelnumber UDCD 668 (1996)
News Of The World
Ultradisc
labelnumber UDCD 588 (1993)
The Game
Ultradisc
labelnumber UDCD 610 (1994)
Complete. Thanks greatly for the info.
But let's be frank to each other - all in all, these are pirated releases. I did held the cds (The Beatles ones) in my hands - they were beautifully made, nevertheless, the information about the producer was absent (i mean, the covers are done in the classic "LP" way - the same copyrights, but nothing is said about who, where and how have done the remaster). There were examples of powerfully-produced pirate releases made by Vigotone, Yellow Dog, famous "Wardour" e.t.c. I just didn't know much about this one.
Everly wrote: Complete. Thanks greatly for the info.
But let's be frank to each other - all in all, these are pirated releases. I did held the cds (The Beatles ones) in my hands - they were beautifully made, nevertheless, the information about the producer was absent (i mean, the covers are done in the classic "LP" way - the same copyrights, but nothing is said about who, where and how have done the remaster). There were examples of powerfully-produced pirate releases made by Vigotone, Yellow Dog, famous "Wardour" e.t.c. I just didn't know much about this one.
NO NO NO !!!
Those Queen releases are ALL officially released items by Hollywood Records.
Everly wrote: Complete. Thanks greatly for the info.
But let's be frank to each other - all in all, these are pirated releases. I did held the cds (The Beatles ones) in my hands - they were beautifully made, nevertheless, the information about the producer was absent (i mean, the covers are done in the classic "LP" way - the same copyrights, but nothing is said about who, where and how have done the remaster). There were examples of powerfully-produced pirate releases made by Vigotone, Yellow Dog, famous "Wardour" e.t.c. I just didn't know much about this one.
I don't know what you are talking about, but the MFSL editions sure have all the information that was with the original releases! All the Queen discs have the same tekst and images as the regular cd-release/vinyl with even a couple of pages added to that about the MFSL-thing and technical info. PLUS an extra leaflet with the technical info on the outside of the jewelcase.
MFSL ARE NOT BOOTLEGS!!!
MFSL ARE NOT PIRATES!!!
THESE ARE OFFICIALLY LICENSED PRODUCTS AND WERE RELEASED IN COOPERATION AND AGREEMENT WITH THE BAND AND THEIR RECORDCOMPANY!
Walter B and Jereon are correct. Only those four albums were ever pressed by MSFL. These are probably the best way to listen to Queen on CD, in my opinion. If only they would have done Hot Space...
And all MSFL discs seem to hold their value since they were only pressed in limited runs.
My favorite MSFL discs, beyond Queen, are:
Pink Floyd - The Wall
B.B.King - Lucille
Jethro Tull - Thick as A Brick
Jethro Tull - Stand Up
Miles Davis - A Kind Of Blue
I know the JT discs go for around $100 each on ebay and The Wall is about $200, so the value is there. The albums can fetch upwards to $75-80 apiece, as their runs were even more limited, due to being released during the elimination of retail Vinyl.
Wiley wrote: I have the A day at the Races CD and it is plated with 14K Gold or something like that. QUOTE]
Is this edition of A Day at the Races still available? It's my favourite album, and if I could get it with even better quality it would be just great!
...and if so, do you know where to buy it?
Thanks!