'Direct metal mastering' albums

What do ya think of these allbums guys?

I just got CUTTING CREWS first record (1986) and it says DMM in the center....... It sounds quite good..... I think thier first album of thiers is straight analog since the spars code on the CD is AAD so the record is analogue/mixed analogue.....

What do ya think dues??

 

I have no preference for either lacquer cut or DMM. I have a 1987 copy of Paul Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years on Warner that was cut DMM. I've never once thought about replacing it, even though Michael Fremer raves about the 2014 RSD release. My copy sounds great and I'm cool with that.

 

To my experience, no set rules on DMM being "so great". I can only judge by a few Beatles albums and one Stones album that I own as DMM pressings but they're enough to prove to me that DMM isn't always the guaranteed best way to go. Certain albums, such as the German DMM of The White Album or The Stone's Beggar's Banquet sound incredible. But there are others which "mysteriously" lack any of that additional, smooth bottom end prevalent on those two albums and as a result sound no better (and sometimes worse) than conventional pressings of the same album.

 

My DMM white album sounds amazing. My fave (stereo) white album version.

 

I concur. Smooth and rich...like a fine shaving cream (white, of course).

 

DMM doesn't seem to have a good reputation and I wonder why.

 

Because you can't cut the same as lacquer and a lot have tried.

 

DMM ...
It really depends. I have a DMM pressing of Sabbaths Headless Cross that sounds amazing and a DMM press of Prince Graffiti Bridge that sounds very thin.

 

My DMM of Bowie's Tonight sounds very good and I prefer it over any of the CD editions.

 

Talking Heads "Speaking In Tongues
Grace Jones "Slave To The Rhythm"

DMM pressings sound superb.

 

If you love this record then give the 14 a shot, easily one of the best I've ever owned! Helps me understand why I dipped back in to this sometimes troublesome format.

 

DMM is the industry standard in pressing plants nowadays, at least in the Netherlands.

 

But whats the difference of doing it DMM instead of traditional?? (I mean why do it DMM)

 

An extremely easy search- this has been discussed a few times
Direct Metal Master
Poll: DMM (Direct Metal Mastering) vs Lacquer Mastering vs DtD (Direct to Disc)

 

Nope. I'm good. Don't care if it's better, it can't be much better. Mine is fine. I bought my copy in the 80s and have never yearned for an improvement.

I did get 2014 RSD There Goes Rhymin' Simon because my 1st pressing sucks in comparison to the my DMM SCAATY. I looked around to see if Warner released TGRS, and there's no confirmation on Discogs that it was DMM, so I got the RSD.

 

I think those technical related threads. This one is about actual records.

 

Exactly why I posted them. The OP had some questions, there is some good info presented.

 

My bad. Missed the question just above your post. I beg your forgiveness.

Here's something to add. Steve Albini's discussion of remastering In Utero.
What differences are we going to notice in the remastered version? (Copy the question then click the link and text search pasting the question.)

 

My US LP of Van Halen's Balance cut at Sterling sounds superb, but it cannot be fairly compared to its CD counterpart as the CD is very compressed (for 1995, far from Californication or Vapor Trails levels) while the LP has more dinamic range.

 

Jethro Tull's 20 yr Box Set sounds atrocious.

Queensrych's Promised Land doesn't sound bad, but the CD has better bass.

However, I have some Music On Vinyl titles which are DMM and sound fantastic.

It's been completely hit or miss in my experience.

 

I have a DMM pressing of Queen's The Works and it sounds better than the 1994 CD remaster.

 

I think my copies of Hard Promises, TP, and Graceland, PS, are both DMM.

Nothing to write home about.

 

What do you mean by "mixed analogue"? There is nothing digital about the DMM process. Unless of course you are cutting from a digital source.

Probably plain ol' confusion. See my previous reply.

As for any sound differences between a lacquer and a copper DMM disc - it's not possible to even have an opinion, unless someone can do a true apples-to-apples comparison, which would mean having a mastering engineer cut something to lacquer, and then, using the exact same signal leaving the mastering console (with the same EQ, etc), cut to a DMM lathe. Maybe this has been done before, but I don't know of any examples.

On Michael Fremer's DVD, he asked George Marino (who cut thousands of records, including big hits) point blank, if there is a sonic difference between the two processes. George said no, and that if anyone is hearing something they think is attributable to the DMM process, they are probably just hearing the EQ choices made by the mastering engineer.

 

I have a number of DMM records and they all sound pretty good to me, including some of the EMI 100 series LPs from 1997.

Another DMM record I like is Marillion - Clutching at Straws. The European pressing is DMM and I much prefer it over the Japanese pressing I own.