Special Guest: Kevin Gray! - The Master of Remaster

[@Sonorgie]

It’s Kevin Gray Day, baby! This was fascinating, enlightening, and absorbing as hell - from start to finish. Such exciting news about the new label, who would’ve thought, right? Mr. Gray’s spirit and intelligence came across in this interview. You talked the perfect amount and I loved everything about it. Thank you both for being the vessel that lets us all in.

[@Michael45RPM]

Thank you very much for this beautiful Comment. and yes the announcement of the Label was Huge, or even spectacular

[@rastheike4329]

@@Michael45RPM Diesem auf dem Punkt gebrachtem Kommentar, dem möchte ich mich gerne anschließen. ❤️👍

[@cheynemcnab6540]

This man is a first ballot Vinyl Hall of Famer. Outstanding content Michael and Danny!

[@louiscyphre2555]

Kevin Gray is a very nice guy.

[@tcr02]

Wow! You are on a roll, Michael! Bernie, Kevin, and hopefully soon, Ryan! :)

[@charlesparrish4487]

Love your discussion about remastering less than audiophile quality master tapes - there is some wonderful music that was not recorded under the best circumstances - but Michael saying he wants the best possible LP from that master tape and nothing more, but nothing less - THIS is what should be driving the vinyl resurgence.

[@VinylGourmetTV]

!!!!!!Kevin Gray!!!!!! :) :) :)

[@brandnewstart]

Stunning interview. Thank you all. When he mentioned Prince I went and got the recent Sign o the times off the shelf, but that was done by some other guy called Grundman 🤫

[@seansrecords]

anyone worked out where the kevin gray prince releases are at?

[@wildstar41]

A truly delightful video. I hope KPG comes back again with more insights and details on his label. Maybe when the aliens arrive one day, they will respect humanity because of our record technology discovered way out there in outer space. Oh, and we all want to see his turntable!

[@VagueRANT100]

A treasure trove of stories from Mr. Gray.....priceless!!

[@theflipside-vinylcommunity]

This is a fantastic video

[@sebastianbachert9528]

Amazing, thank you, Danke Michael für dieses Interview!!

[@lowbudgetvinylchannel4840]

The Master of Mastering!!! Congrats on getting him on your channel!! I'm waiting in line for RSD!! Look forward to watching late today.

[@soulfire853]

Fascinating conversation. I may have to watch this several times.

[@michaelmetcalf2427]

Truly superb well done Michael and Danny

[@liammolyneuxmusic]

Michael fabulous video Kevin is an a mastering hero of mine I’m going to give you a recommendation Drama an album by Yes mastering by Kevin Gray an absolute masterpiece in the art of mastering

[@whitey7998]

Fantastic, well done guys. What a great guy Kevin is

[@Michael45RPM]

He is for sure Ian

[@ivanroman7291]

So many good insights! Great conversation.

[@derosa1989]

kudos for getting this discussion with Kevin, every audiophile's favorite engineer!

[@Carrera6rennsport]

Awesome content, the best on YT! bravo.

[@stevensmith8793]

Great job! Such a wealth of information from a master of his craft.

[@Big-J-8579]

Great discussion and so fun to listen to all of you. I love vinyl. I kept all my records from the 70s and enjoy them today. I bought five new LPs for RSD. So, I still buy vinyl. Still, CDs are my go-to.

[@ginntonic123]

Awesome, just awesome . You should be very proud of what you’ve achieved. Kevin is such an icon and great guy. Who’s next ? Joe Harley .. Don Was ? Keep them coming

[@jeffreywoodke]

Great video Michael! Really enjoyed this one.

[@The90sGamingGuy]

I was excited to see this interview with Kevin Grey and get the inside scoop on his work. I have many jazz titles mastered by Kevin and his mastering on them is fantastic. I am thrilled that modern artists are into having they're records mastered properly for the vinyl record format. Thank you for sharing this epic interview with us Micheal! Maybe an interview with Steve Hoffman or Shawn R Briton in the future.

[@recordpirate]

This was super fun! What a humble person Kevin Gray is! Thank you for this guys 😃

[@dozo99]

Awesome video, really enjoyed it.

[@BOBBRADLEYCHANNEL]

Very cool, always good to see Kevin’s signature in the Dead wax :)

[@Valourffxiv]

Michael, Thank you for finally asking the question about why different masterings done by Kevin all sound different. I thought you were going to ask that question at the very beginning, but it didn't actually get asked until 1 hr 5 mins into the video! It was worth the wait, though!

[@Markymarkvinylnut]

Nice one Michael! You're getting good at this interview thing!

[@ST-zs4gs]

@@Markymarkvinylnut q

[@vinyllondoner]

Great master class! And really interesting to hear Kevin explain how releases mastered by himself can vary in quality depending on where and how they have been pressed i.e. A blue note Classic is not the same as Music Matters release although he mastered both.

[@dcrook232323]

Absolutely. Re: "end results" of differing vinyl reissues, I've shared the following (admittedly unique) analogy for a decade or so to vinyl friends and peers who seem to appreciate 🤷‍♂️.... Imagine KG or Bernie Grundman or Ryan Smith is a luxury, top of the line sedan with a #1 smooth riding rating. The car absolutely rides on rails from the car factory "master mechanics". Put that #1 smooth car (our mastering gurus) on a brand newly laid highway (QRP, RTI, etc) and you get the ultimate in smooth riding with no ambient noise and pure enjoyment. Put that SAME luxury sedan on a gravel road (bad pressing methods & QC) and even that perfect luxury sedan (a KG or BG, etc mastering result) will have lukewarm outcomes & results!

[@theflipside-vinylcommunity]

Awesome

[@mp1450]

Servus, Wieder ein grandioses Interview! Hätte nicht gedacht, dass mir ein Vinyltalk mal wichtiger ist als ein EM-Spiel 😁👍

[@rixvspinner]

Kevin's mastering of the Blue Note Tone Poet Series is a great achievement. This is the best audiophile jazz gets and it's not limited edition or priced crazy. This is high quality and value for a record that is beautifully packaged in heavy stock with gloss cover, 180 gram vinyl that is silent really and mastered frm the original analogue tapes. Some of my favs are Andrew Hill Black RAin, Wayne Shorter ETC, Katanga! Curtis Amy, great album. I picked up Art Blakey's The Witch Doctor and Lee Morgan's The Rajah. The sound stage, front to back imaging, excellent lateral imaging, big sound stage and that air between the instruments on these RVG recordings These are a must have. Im going to check out Blues And The Abstract Truth. BTW, Kevin's mastering work on Rumours is the best in my opinion.

[@myronhelton4441]

In 1972 & after, digital was added to lps. I wouldnt spend any money on ALL of these inferior records remastered that so many people want. Listen to original analog record 1971 Santana Abraxas & you will want to stomp your PARTLY digital records of Pink Floyd, Eagles, & Pink Floyd records. In fact, the 1971 analog Santana Abraxas transferred to cd, will make you want to stomp your 1972 & after digital records of Pink Floyd, Eagles, & Pink Floyd. I am only trying to help you find good stuff. Listen to the harshness & not as clear of 1972 & after records.

[@bikemike1118]

Nice and interesting talk 👍🏼

[@UFO_computers]

That was incredible !! Many many thanks from Nthernmost London.

[@bodosify]

Very informative. His pressing of Purple Rain mentioned around minute 38 is absolutely fantastic

[@patrickmedard4254]

Another great video by Michael and Danny ! But I guess all sentences about why vinyl sounds better could be applied about reel tapes 👌

[@hermanvalentin7508]

I m late to this audiophile party..loved every second of it.. more please.

[@michiganrecordclub4484]

Kevin Gray! No need to say more! Thank you. I really enjoyed. Bill

[@Warnerchild]

"His internal sound quality" hahaha

[@EMP698]

I'd love if you would run one of these with Jeff Powell. He's making great stuff for Craft in the Stax reissues and he's got a very interesting career as a recording engineer

[@D.E.E.P.Y.]

I think I heard that Donald Byrd - Places and Spaces is coming out as a part of Classic reissues. That would be amazing, was looking forward for some funky Blue Note 👌

[@antonioabbruzzese4337]

Great grest. What a wonderful video Levine gray is a grest grest..full of passion fot vinyl music..thanks agli micheal

[@rongreen1538]

What a fantastic video, my thanks to all of you for taking the time to make it. The all valve recording chain sounds amazing, can’t wait to hear the first record made on that. Michael, surely a second career as a TV chat show host beckons, I hope not, I would miss your videos tremendously.

[@tommymaguire2839]

Wow. This was fantastic. Thanks guys.

[@heribertovalentin1563]

Great to hear feedback from Kevin Grey and great to hear he is going to use an all tube recording mastering system....wow....I only have an all tube audio system from preamp to amp....very nice Micheal and Danny....👍👍👍👍😎....Ed

[@harbars1]

KGs Prince cuts were all released in 2016/17. Warner core titles only. It’s just that no one other than Prince folks paid any attention as there was no hype regarding them being remastered, they were simply viewed as catalog reissues. All of them are excellent and very easy to find. Curiously the SOTT cut by cohearent in 2016 is superb, despite all the “first time remastered” hogwash last year for the new BG cut and box set.

[@derosa1989]

I thought is was well known both the Aretha and Prince titles were out there from Kevin.

[@puttyputty123]

I assume these were all from analogue tapes since Prince was a big fan of the format?

[@harbars1]

@@puttyputty123 yes, all from tape (at least this batch)

[@panagiotisargyropoulos2217]

Greetings Michael and thank you for this. Do I get the impression that reel to reel is the way to go? Keep on keeping on.

[@BarakaPDub]

Blown away! Love it because he went into so much detail on different tapes and working with him. You guys couldn't have gotten a better guest here. Now, I am wondering what you're going to do for an encore.

[@mutton7891]

It finally happened!!

[@TheRollingStoness]

The deal is we ask Michael, Michael asks Kevin..

[@markwilding3828]

It is so encouraging that the people involved in getting our records to us, are as fanatical, if not more fanatical about it than we are.

[@gonzol46]

I love it Kevin is a great knowing guy….interesting and enligthed ……Thanks again Michael and Danny and of course Kevin Grey fore paticipating 👍😊 -Thomas

[@gonzol46]

Love the Sound from tonepoet👍 you here the room, so in a way you are there……😊 Time traveling……..

[@hernanniederer2919]

Fantastic! Amazing interview! Thanks Thanks Thanks for it guys! Getting 90 min of his time, wow! Knowledge sharing is such a gift.

[@dinkydunkin]

Totally sucked in by this. Fascinating stuff for record and music nerds alike.

[@markscott7583]

Great video interview with fascinating insights and stories. Can just imagine Kevin mastering Dexter Gordon’s one flight up. Art Taylor’s drumming on Tanya just comes to life on that Tone Poet release - like you’re in the room.

[@ralex3697]

Genius engineer Kevin Gray and Chris Bellman, my favorites Bernie Grundman, Michael Ludwig, Doug Sax, Tom Dowd, Don Was, Ted Templeman, George Marino There are so many great engineers

[@shiftthematrix]

wow this was amazing! Thanks for this! EPIC!

[@puttyputty123]

Not often I listen to almost 90 mins of content on youtube, but this was one of the exceptions. Great questions from both Danny and Michael and Kevin Gray was just great! Should redo this in a year or so.

[@amiata-bioweine]

Well done. By the way - the german label TACET is known for all tube recordings...

[@Sonorgie]

@Amiata - Weingenuss pur Tacet is where the good stuff wells from. Those recordings they did of the Haydn String Quartets are just marvelous and among my favourite things on the planet. A small miracle, considering all this comes from a small independent label.

[@hugodabron3556]

I Just saw this post, and you confirmed what I just posted. I'm from Australia, and I have heard some of their fantastic recordings.

[@jamesellis8456]

Really interesting interview - well done Michael and Danny. Kevin Gray is an audio hero and also seems to be a very nice guy too. Looking through my collection I have 700+ records mastered by Mr Gray - over 20% of my total collection - and I struggle to find any that are not either the best version out there or just extremely good. Long may he run.

[@jezzamy]

I really hope Kevin Gray is writing down and passing on his mastering skills to other people for future audio work.

[@mlblue5355]

Great discussion! Kevin Gray, thanks for bringing out the magic on all these recordings! I hope you get to work on Zeppelin’s records!

[@mikecoffee100]

This was a Very Good Video

[@KingPaimon_]

Absolutely love this!

[@nickwrxsti]

What a fantastic opportunity to get all this info from someone who really knows! This discussion certainly explains a lot about what I can hear.... about the golden-age recordings, tube-gear vs transistor vs integrated circuits etc. It really seems that on the modern records we can get good headroom recordings, great dynamic range, and a little bit of that room noise that makes it all sound real. On digital streaming maybe we get great sound for noisy, on-the-move environments ... Thanks guys.

[@deaneverest]

Wow, Kevin Gray, an absolute legend and the work that he has done has no doubt opened up doors for more releases from other labels and also led to more interest in the vinyl format as a whole, absolute gent. Great interview and some really good questions, would love to know if you would be doing a follow up to this, maybe some more in-depth talk about the process of cutting, and maybe even a visit to his inner sanctum over at Cohearant Audio. Just picked up the Kenny Dorham - Quiet Kenny Mono release for RSD that he worked on at the weekend, however as my turntable is in the shop for some TLC I'm going to have to wait to listen to it, but from what others have said it sounds superb, which is only to be expected from Kevin. Cheers Dean

[@CodingWithJames25]

52:22 places and spaces by Donald Bryd on blue note classic series!! So excited!!

[@quinnmarshall8653]

Thanks for asking very direct questions, Michael. I was very curious to see what his opinion would be on the why there are differences between the Sidewinders. Hats off to Kevin Gray for being honest and forthcoming with all his responses. By the way, for me and I suspect many late-comers to audiophile vinyl, the Classics are the only game in town. The SRX are nice to think about, but are all but irrelevant to those that don't already own them or aren't willing to rent out a room in their house to finance those purchases on the secondary market.

[@felipeopazomusic]

Michael and Danny, what an amazing gift for us music and vinyl lovers!. This was just awesome. I hope you can continue doing this kind of things with other engineers, maybe Ryan K. Smith, or even a recording/mixing engineer like Steve Genewick, who was the protegee of the legendary (and recently deceased) Al Schmitt.

[@chrisschulz2427]

Great video. Thank you. There is a Future!!

[@VoiceofFox]

Loved this. What a great guy. Quite a legend. 'Mastered from the original analog tape by Kevin Gray' is the seal of quality I love to see on a record. Long may he continue.

[@PhilippeAubert1854]

the first double 180g vinyls 45 rpm i got were made by Acoustech : SH and KG

[@garettpereda7769]

Amazing video. Thanks for putting this together!

[@anthonydavies9093]

Interesting video, I wonder if his label will be reissue label or new stuff. If it’s a reissue label he will be going up against his big clients! A question I would have asked is had he ever had to cut a record he just doesn’t like and if he has, did it affect the outcome?

[@papabear1417]

Listen to the music however it floats your boat and whatever equipment you have. Not forgetting what mood you are in. very informative episode.

[@drbryant23]

One year lead times will destroy the momentum we have with vinyl. For us old guys, it might be OK, but for teenagers just getting into vinyl, ONE YEAR is a lifetime. They are not going to wait.

[@UFO_computers]

Not with streaming at their fingertips.

[@matzeflamingos]

Thank you Michael for the great show

[@ClausHensingDenmark]

This is really a great video - thanks Michael! Kevin Gray is an enormous gold mine of knowledge in his field - besides being a very nice and un-snobbish person. And you put some very good and interesting question. THANKS!

[@hurkamur1]

Fantastic! Listened to it twice over. Mr. Gray can do no wrong. With all the terrible stuff going on in the world, it's nice to have people making the simple pleasures better for everyone.

[@stereo8893]

Michael, I wonder if you could collectively cover some dissapointments called remasteres gone bad. As much as some material needs to be remastered - sometimes what was originally done was better. I'm sure there are stories.

[@FOH3663]

Great conversation 👌 I've not listened to very many 90min KZbin videos, ... Zoom style also. Still, enjoyable stuff. So much to unpack... the all tube recording/mastering chain sounds fantastic. I'd enjoy hearing K.G.'s take on experiencing soundstage depth and dimensionality via his flush mounted mains, vs. audiophile setups w/speakers several feet off adjacent boundaries. Myself, I have both types of playback, one for mixing/editing, the other for enjoyment. Yes, it's an esoteric point. However, it's one I find increasingly interesting and always enjoy hearing others opinions. Thoughts?

[@spencehayashi2772]

This was a outstanding interview with Kevin Gray. So many salient topics of discussion and kudos for this enlightening opportunity to hear from one of the finest mastering engineers in the recording industry. Bravo gentlemen

[@gijsvanhoogstraten4378]

yes, the gods have finally endowed us with something everlasting; nondeteriorating scotch tape; the key to eternity.

[@robertmitchell6015]

Brilliant just brilliant interview your becoming a major player Michael well done, thank you

[@SaschaAlmoneit]

Thank you guys, very, very interesting…👍🏻

[@derosa1989]

around 16 minutes, i think Kevin is talking about Tom Dowd at Atlantic

[@10centtunes]

Wonderful and informative interview. Kevin Gray is delightful. I even got confirmation about what I thought I was hearing in 45 RPM masterings, I have someone I need to show this too who thinks I’m nuts, well he’s not all wrong 😂. Loved it and have saved it for another listen. Thank you for bringing this to us.

[@robertkok5263]

KevinGray's favourite jazz album: "The Blues and the Abstract Truth"! My favourite as well. Spread the word please people.... #OliverNelson

[@wege_9398]

It would have been interesting to hear if Kevin made any difference in mastering Sidewinder depending on whether it was AP, Music Matters or Blue Note classics.

[@Michael45RPM]

you know the Answer i think

[@wege_9398]

@@Michael45RPM Yes I do, but it would have been a good way to silence all conspiracy theories 😀

[@Nicholas-rm2gp]

If you're implying did he purposefully make it worse? Then it would be a distasteful question. It would imply that Michael believes or supports the notions that Kevin does not maintain integrity across all his works. You could come to this answer by simply asking yourself: Would an artist in this industry purposefully compromise their work and then put their name on it?

[@The90sGamingGuy]

@@Nicholas-rm2gp i would have to say no to that question. If Kevin did a bad mastering job artists and labels would catch wind if this and wouldn't hire him.

[@wege_9398]

@@Nicholas-rm2gp Agree with you completely, but so much shit is written so it would have been a good opportunity to silence all doubters. Everyone with common sense realizes that Kevin is always trying to do his best.

[@steveo6270]

Michael, I have enjoyed every one of your videos from day one. This is so informative and interesting and well put together. Easily a top three of your videos and they all have been exceptional. Cudos to you for bringing up Black Fire. A record I love but I know has received its share of BS. Thank you sir and keep them coming.

[@ivanmaltoni8760]

Fantastic interview. Congrats Michael

[@davidm1675]

Fantastic, enlightening and so enjoyable episode! Congratulations to you Michael and Danny!!!

[@lovbladkarl-olof3975]

You really outdid yourself again. Great video!

[@owendavies5997]

A fascinating video - thanks Michael and Danny. Absolutely, loving all the recent content

[@bradleykay]

Would love another one with KPG@CA. This didn’t feel like enough. Regarding examples like Sidewinder, I wasn’t clear - was he saying the ONLY differences between the AP, MMJ, and BN Classic Vinyl Series editions are vinyl composition, type of pressing machine, or 45 v 33? He didn’t master them differently per the orders of the bosses at all? Would love to hear a more technical chat about lots of the things that audiophiles obsess about. In the future!

[@dippin1523]

I think another difference would be that Ron Rambach is credited with Kevin Gray for the mastering of Music Matters records, not just Kevin. That IMO, would make a difference.

[@martingritsch2340]

Einzigartig, großartig, bravo Michael und Danny👏👏👏 Bitte sag mir wie die Lieblingsjazzplatte von Kevin heißt, hab’s nicht verstanden, danke. Dannys Teil schau ich morgen👍

[@sebastianbachert9528]

Oliver Nelson - The Blues And The Abstract Truth

[@martingritsch2340]

@@sebastianbachert9528 🙏

[@hectoralvarez941]

Great interview

[@danijelsan81]

This was wonderful. Well done gents.

[@analoguecity3454]

How the heck did I miss this one?!

[@Michael45RPM]

:-)

[@savadimitrov5903]

These are great! Michael Fremer would be perfect for this as well.

[@louiscyphre2555]

no!

[@savadimitrov5903]

@@louiscyphre2555 Jesus, what the hell did he ever do to you?

[@louiscyphre2555]

@@savadimitrov5903 nothing. lol. but he is an arrogant and absolute annoying guy in my opinion.

[@savadimitrov5903]

@@louiscyphre2555 Alright fair enough. Personally I enjoy his videos and think he would add a good deal of knowledge to any discussion about vinyl.

[@pesiatm]

@@savadimitrov5903 I think so too. His passion is contagious.