John Coltrane Quartet* – Crescent

Greatly masterered but badly pressed. Lots of small cracks and pops even after a deep cleaning.

Ok, there is a faint 60Hz hum on it, which is not present on original RVG mono pressings. But it is not as bad as on the Village Vangaurd RKS Acoustic Sound re-issue. However, there is bleed-through that is apparent on intro of some tracks, which means they didn't spool the tape long enough before cutting it. Also, there were some pops on second side but they mostly subsided after a cleaning on my Kieth-Monk's. The vinyl copy I got was flat, which is nice.

The cover is very nice. By I don't think I will pull this out ever again since the tape bleed-through on the intros kind of spoils the mood for me. This is somewhat sad because if they just took the time to spool the tape a few more times before mastering, maybe the bleed-through would have dissipated.

I don't know if I can ever forgive Trane for not soloing on "Lonnie's Lament", the longest cut here, at over 11 min.

It's my lament now.

Mine sounds very good, I am impressed. Very clean and crisp.

This is a really good pressing. Visually, the record I have is just about perfect. There is essentially no surface noise at all. The music comes through like you are front row.

The sax is in the left channel, the piano in the middle with the bass, and the drums are on the right. The piano is generally very good, but there are a few transients where it appears mildly distortive - my cartridge is a Shibata cut, and some piano transients have gotten it in the past. The drums and cymbals are very clear, focused and fully detailed. Of course, Coltrane's sax is captured wonderfully. When the bass plucks, you can feel it and, depending on frequency played, you can also pinpoint it.

Overall, this is excellent.

Cartridge: AT150Sa

Sounds excellent. Needed a good clean and is not flat by any means actually if I could be bothered I’d probably take it back. Doesn’t effect sound so probably stick with it. Otherwise a beautiful record and good package

Fantastic ! this pressing is just perfect. None noise at all, completely quiet and perfectly flat... And the sound... Wow ! very clear and detailled.Coltrane as front man is rich and close to you when he play. This release is better than my Japanese press Crescent.
I love Acoustic sound series !

Beautiful sound, but unfortunately a good amount of surface noise even after cleaning. Sounds so good I don't mind though.

Just want to give a big up to this pressing. It’s gorgeous and sounds so much nicer than the recent reissue (which I have now re-gifted). The vinyl seems thicker than US records from this era (mid-70’s). I’m very happy to have found a reasonably priced copy in great condition with the musty-scented gatefold. Ahh……..

Anyone else's copy have some distortion on the sax especially on B2? It's not mic overload; it sounds like an issue with the pressing. I hear it on other tracks too, a harsh, crackly-like sound to the sax.