Dr. Dre performing live. Photo Credit: Jason Persse
Following the “Definitive Sound Series” (DSS) release of The Chronic, Dr. Dre has teed up a limited-run 2001 vinyl edition that’s said to have been “mastered directly from the original analog master tapes.”
Interscope Records and Capitol Records announced this latest DSS series entry today, after launching the audiophile-geared program itself about one year back. Priced at $135, “limited to a one-time pressing of 4,000 numbered copies,” and currently available to preorder, the 2-LP 2001 vinyl is scheduled to begin shipping on October 23rd.
(Apparently, those who missed The Chronic’s initial drop needn’t resort to resale sites to secure a copy; the relevant webstore shows that some of the 3,000 total units are likewise available to buy, albeit ahead of an August 31st ship date.)
And unsurprisingly, Interscope and Capitol are touting the product – “pressed on Neotech VR900-D2 180g high-definition vinyl at” Camarillo’s Record Technology, Inc. – as a must-have. This pitch emphasizes the “state-of-the-art One Step process” at hand and, perhaps most importantly, 2001’s having been “cut from the original analog master tapes!”
Assuming the representation is accurate – and in light of the price tag and the included “certificate of authenticity detailing the mastering, plating, and pressing chain,” it presumably is – 2001 appears to be in rare company.
Today, the short version is that the vast majority of vinyl is sourced from digital in one way or another – reportedly including, in many instances, when an artist records straight to analog. From the average listener’s perspective, copying the original analog tapes to digital and then using the latter to press records probably isn’t the worst thing in the world.
(Whether one can accurately distinguish between digital and analog is a different discussion altogether – as is the broader audio-quality comparison between high-fidelity streaming and vinyl.)
But it’s a big deal indeed for audiophiles and vinyl enthusiasts; it wasn’t too long ago that alleged digital-analog mastering misrepresentations fueled a class-action suit followed by a multimillion-dollar settlement.
Since then, the involved company has evidently opted to describe its vinyl as “sourced from the original analog master tapes” and “sourced from the original masters” as appropriate.
In the bigger picture, the Definitive Sound Series’ all-analog commitment attests to vinyl’s well-documented resurgence and especially the continued demand for limited-run offerings among superfans.
That this superfan category houses artists’ diehard supporters – Swifties scooped up a massive amount of vinyl last year – as well as the format’s enthusiasts is certainly helping both trends along.
On the other side of the coin, though, multiple years of consecutive sales growth later, and with high-profile releases necessary to keep the annual sales improvement alive, a clear-cut plateau will likely materialize down the line.