The Beatles – Abbey Road

no complaints on the mix here other than the overall levels being a little low, I have to crank the volume up a bit on my set up for this record

I recently got the misaligned apple. That is obviously quite fantastic (saying this borders on platitude). However, I have to say, this remix isn’t bad. I heard paul macartney’s base was quite a bit on the original tapes and EMI wasn’t ok with such heavy base so they dialed it down (since the 60s cartridges would skip). I understand that this remix kind of keeps a bit of the original base on. Ofcourse the original sounds just right, though this one holds in own decently well.

Question for everyone is this? If I have this, is it worth tracking down and paying 100 bucks for a first pressing? Is the difference that major? Cheers!

I haven’t yet worked out exactly how I’d like to collect all The Beatles’ albums, reissues or original pressings, but thought I’d throw caution to the wind and buy this release given the generally positive reviews. Caveat on what I’m about to say is that it’s difficult for me to review given I can’t compare to an original pressing, but my initial thoughts in isolation of this are that I’m a little underwhelmed by this remastered version. The pressing is super quiet, which I personally find a bit annoying as I have to crank everything up to arrive at optimal listening levels, but perhaps more importantly I find the audio a little flat and lifeless, it’s almost like they’ve remastered the character out of the original recording if I didn’t know better. However, no unwelcome background noise, crackles or pops on this pressing.

To those worried by the bass:
Do you not attenuate your system?
If the bass is too much for you, dial it down.
With this mix it is offered to you at last.
Use it to your taste.
If your system doesn’t allow adjustment you know where your next upgrade is.

This remix and pressing absolutely shines on my system. Its not bass heavy, its bass balanced. I could see how maybe on some systems the bass mix may overload low frequencies and not come out as intended - which seems to be happening with some based on the reviews. I think this is a great sounding record, (but maybe its temperamental on some systems.)

Just unwrapped today. Massive bowl warp and noticable surface noise during quiet ages, even after cleaning. Modern vinyl, folks!

There is now a Czech Republic pressing. It has a white sticker on the back, Just bought it at Target.
There are now 4 pressings that I know of that have been sold as single LP editions of the 2019 Giles remix in North America:
The 2017 QRP (noisy on side 2), the German Optimal that was sold for a short period in the US on single LP around 2018, and in 2021 the Canadian GZ Media Precision Record Pressing. The Canadian pressing is the very best of these in my opinion. You can't go wrong with the version this release page references. I will now see how the Czech GZ sounds.

Let's get this out of the way first: "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" sounds incredible here. I thought it sounded sludgy and muddled on the original release, and it benefits the most from this new mix. But whether this new mix was really necessary is a good question. Always thought Abbey Road was a well-produced, expertly engineered album already. That said, this Canadian pressing is excellent - flat, quiet, and full bodied. This isn't a revelatory listen, unlike the 50th Anniversary Sgt. Pepper mix. But it does cast an iconic album in a new light, and I believe it will grow on me with repeated listens.

The 2019 remix is alright to me. It's enjoyable, but I prefer the original mix by quite a bit, and can definitely agree with what other people are saying about the bass, since there is quite a lot of it in this remix, and it nearly borders on overkill sometimes, since the bass was already quite prominent on the album prior to the remix. My main irk with the remix is the drums, they're often buried and drowned out in the remix, where they were loud and clear on the original mix. (listen to the drum fill during the main riff of come together, particularly noticeable difference). Good pressing, able remaster.