[jhoelter]

Heya folks,

Any of you who are into bluegrass or good acoustic music should check this one out. I haven't placed my order yet, so I can't vouch for the claims below, but a fella I know on a mandolin listserv just posted about it today. He's an audiophile (IMO), and had this to say:

Quote:

NEW Tony Williamson CD on MAPLESHADE Whoa baby........Now here is a new CD I can get excited about, Tony Williamson and The Williamson Bros. Band on MAPLESHADE RECORDS (www.mapleshaderecords.com) This is a very small, very tweaky audiophile label known mostly for acoustic jazz......recorded in an old mansion in Maryland direct to 2 track, 2 mics, minimal lengths of cables, all home built or modified equipment, recorded by Pierre Sprey with no mixing board, overdubs, equalization , filtering, noise reduction etc....they stood in a semicircle around the special 2 mic setup.....if you know this label buy this disc, if you like Tony Williamson, buy this disc. The sound is well, you give it a listen & I don't think you'll be disappointed.....not your typical close miked setup, more like how they record classical music.......liner notes say Tony showed up with $100k in vintage instruments, his brother Gary, Larry Perkins, Don Wright, Rex McGee and Tom Gray.......some fine pickin and that Bros. harmony singing.......maybe if enough folks buy this, Mapleshade will record more in this genre...... Title of the CD is "Still Light Of The Evening" Arthur Stern

As an aside - anyone familiar with this Mapleshade label? It's the first I've heard of it...........opinions?

I'm gonna be placing my order tomorrow...now I just gotta buy some awesome headphones to listen to it on...

Later,
Jeff

 

[BenG]

Mapleshade, OVERALL, IMO, makes the best sounding recordings, period. Musically, their recordings can sometimes be a tad un-inspiring, but there are some good performances to be found, Here are some of my favorites:

Clifford Jordan: Live at Ethel's (jazz quartet playing standards and originals - sounds absurdly realistic! A good reference disc.)

King/Bluiett Trio - Makin' Whoopee(if you can stand bari-sax!)

John Cocozzi - Swingin' and Burnin'

Hamiet Bluiett - Young Warrior, Old Warrior

Any McKee and Next - Sound Roots

Kendra Shank - Afterglow(jazz vocal)

What's great about their recording technique is they record live to 2-track without a mixing board and without post-production craping. Their recordings sound great w/ headphones because there is not alot of need for crossfeed as well.

Everyone should use atleast one their discs as a reference for auditioning new gear. They sound great with cans!

http://www.mapleshaderecords.com/

 

[KurtW]

I agree with BenG's comment. Mapleshade also has a sampler CD which makes a good test CD because of the wider variety of stuff on it, and it's a good place to start.

 

[BenG]

Yeah, the sampler is only $7.50