24 Karat Gold

Do you have any of the semi-rare Mastersound reissue discs produced by Sony around a decade ago? Aerosmith was on Columbia records in the 1970s. Toys in the Attic was originally released in 1975 and years later, Sony put out a reissue as part of the Gold Mastersound series.

What is the Gold Mastersound series? Literally, it's a reissue of high quality sound, pressed onto a 24 karat gold disc. Here's what the packaging says:

"Introducing Mastersound Album Classics from Columbia and Epic Records. Commemorating The Tenth Anniversary of the Compact Disc. Each Mastersound Recording incorporates Sony's Revolutionary 20-Bit "Super Bit Mapping" Process which reproduces music with Unprecedented Clarity and Accuracy. In addition to SBM, each Mastersound Disc features a Pure 24-Karat gold Reflexive Surface."

These discs look as cool as you'd imagine. I mean, you get a sense of holding something valuable, but maybe that's because only the best albums ever recorded were selected for a special gold press.

Some albums besides Toys in the Attic released on 24K gold are:  Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd), Bat Out of Hell (Meatloaf), Blonde on Blonde (Bob Dylan), Pearl (Janis Joplin), Boston (Boston) and tons more. The master recordings were used to create the highest quality sound possible. The 24 karat gold press was a way for Sony/Columbia/Epic to celebrate a decade of the compact disc. The MP3 is way older than a decade already. I don't remember a commemoration celebration for that music milestone...

I am not a sound engineer but I am betting that at least one of my daily readers has earned a paycheck or three by twiddling the knobs in a recording studio. Perhaps that reader can explain to me the beauty of Super Bit Mapping (SBM). Sony owns a trademark on that phrase and this is the technology used to make the gold press discs. I'd love to know the science behind sound mapping.

Back to my gold pressing of Toys in the Attic.  First off, this is one of my favorite albums, so I am bias but I really do believe my gold version sounds primo. The bass on the gold reissue is so much more prominent than the original release. Yes, I know it's probably not fair to compare vinyl to compact disc, but I don't care. We're talking about Aerosmith here, and I want my listening experience as rich as possible.

** Do you own any gold Mastersound discs? 

My favorite song on Toys in the Attic is "No More No More." Here's my beloved Aerosmith performing the song live at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. Trust me when I say you need to watch this clip.

Comments

[aXe mAn]

That's really cool! And "Toys In The Attic" is one of the best albums to come out of the 70's.

[Jess]

I love Aerosmith. They are my first band. I have always loved this song, I love the B sides, the A sides...I love them all. There's nothing that Aerosmith can't do.

You can bet that this will be added to my collection, thanks for the tip!

[Gary]

Just think about Get Your Wings, Toys In The attic, and Rocks.They were released back to back to back, and IMHO, they were A-Smith's strongest 3 albums, song for song.There really isn't a weak song on any of the 3 recordings.Ain't to many albums you can say that about, let alone 3 disc's dropped right in a row! And they were written/recorded whilst the boys were "spinning into the abyss",so to speak.

And Allyson, you and I definitely have similar tastes, as No More No More is also hands down my all time favorite A-Smith tune, (and at 44 years old, I've pretty much been with them from the beginning!) Thanks for the clip, as it's an awesome version of the song....

[Rhodeislandrock @ Heavy Metal Addiction]

Whenever I see one of these gold Mastersound discs, I grab them and put them up on Ebay, they go for big bucks. Search Ebay under CDs:Rock:Hard Rock and go for "highest price" under completed auctions.....tons of these gold discs go for $50 to $100 each.

Steve
Heavy Metal Addiction
http://hardrockheavymetal.wordpress.com/

[kberwin]

I don't have any Mastersound discs but I do have a Def Leppard Hysteria 'Ultradisc II' 24-karat gold CD.