The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Axis: Bold As Love

It took an age to get round to playing my copy of this as ive had the 2010 Legacy cut pressed at QRP for a long time and ive long felt its all i could ask for or need... flat and quiet vinyl, well mastered alround and nicely packaged with a thick card matte gatefold.... all for £25.

4 years later ive finally took the UHQR off the shelf, unsheathed her and - ughh - ed my copy has a pretty bad dish warp! However ive since had plenty of warped records play better with lower groove roar than dead flat immaculate looking ones and this - thankfully - proves the case here. It may not be flat but my goodness the background is black. The compound of vinyl is clearly more important than the outright flatness (as long as any warps arent more like the sharper heat ones that cause the arm to jump). The final observation.... id forgotten how these earlier UHQR are also alot more off white and champagne/urine coloured too! Have got used to them being a clearer less coloured compound now... this kinda looks like a glass of fizz got pressed into a record.

Anywaaaaaaay.... how does it sound? I was expecting a BIG difference as the 2010 Legacy vs Bernie UHQR of Are You Experienced reveals two very different balances. When it comes to Axis though, this one and the Legacy are much closer in overall tonal balance. For me its a matter of refinement. Bernie has NO EQUAL, PERIOD, when it comes to making everyone elses rendition of treble frequencies sound like white noise hash and his work here is outstanding at retaining all the detail you could want but sprinkling some magic on top that cleans things up without dulling anything at all. Bernie lets you have your cake AND eat it. The Legacy cut is the equal for bass and mids (and its cut higher of volume so at first i felt it might be a surprise winner) but after two mins and level matching as best i can, the Bernie UHQR is a clear winner. Like the golden shower colour of the record itself the sound has a golden glow. The top end on this cut - of a 1967 recording lets - is so beautifully realised i didnt think it could be possible. For me this is like the moment i went from top notch solid state amplification to all tube goodness and realised you can have vivid richness, colour and contrast but NOT lose details. Im totally sold on this pressing and along with the 33/45 of Kind of Blue and the 45's of Steely Dans Aja and Katy Lied i feel this is in the tip 5 UHQR's where its truly definitive and wont ever get bettered. Its no coincidence to me they are all mastered by Bernie Grundman.

The packaging is excessive, the price ridiculous but the sound is to die for.

Being lucky enough to get one of the very last copies available, although still number 3507 strangely enough, I decided to compare very in depth with my UK track original and Sterling 2010 cut.
At first I went in expecting everything to be improved across the board, however that turns out to be rather high expectations even for 100$. The others were from tape as well after all.
On a first impression basis its easy to note some of the advantages for the UHQR, having great presence and detail all around. But I examined most tracks one after another to be as fair as can be.
briefly, I must mention that I love the decision to finally bring out Jimi's vocals on the opening radio track, EXP. It was always so quite and buried, making me fantasize about adjusting that part if I ever were to master this album myself. Im glad Grundman and I could agree on this small detail change, and perhaps it was already on his other cuts of the album like the Mono Classic or Sony, but I digress.
Starting out with the UK and moving up to the Sterling I was enjoying the overall louder and more clear mastering, which really sounds well rounded to me even still, bringing the bass and crispness up a hefty amount.
Its too bad then that the UHQR actually decides to shy out somewhat on the bass in comparison, even compared to the UK on some parts, but this is mostly because of their EQs. Its less loose and still audible mind you, but doesn't have much impact unlike the Sterling.
On the other hand, Grundman, as he usually likes to do, brings out the drums just oh so well. Its the most striking difference Id say, combined with the slightly superior presence and punch of the UHQR, as well as the refinement which I have no idea how the man does it, just makes the cymbals and reverb so lush and brimming with realism, to the extent which the tape allows anyway. Its near Jazz album levels of sweetness.
My UK Track is also quite nice in this regard but with the lack of presence it really doesn't do much for the cut in the end.
Vocals also have a somewhat more in the room conjuration but it really goes for the entire mid range frequencies.
As always, Grundman also separates and projects all the sounds so masterfully in the soundstage. A great example of this is the guitar on Spanish Castle Magic where certain notes I never picked up on before really struck me as more highlighted, perhaps even manually like the intro vocals.
However, one downside to all these positives is the tape hiss. Fortunately this is rarely a big issue but it is vastly more audible on certain parts compared to the Sterling or UK. The EXP intro for example, as mentioned Jimi's line is brought out more but its clear to hear that the tape hiss increases right before he speaks.
This doesn't mean that its louder necessarily, in fact the Sterling is the loudest but doesn't suffer from this at all from a listeners perspective. It is audible here too, like at the end of Castles Made of Sand, but never bothered me. On the UHQR it does somewhat take me out of it and hampers the immersion on that song.
One aspect which can not be determined through song by song listening though, is ear fatigue. Its likely the most damning aspect of the Sterling cut and if it wasn't for it I would be harder pressed to decide on a favorite release.
This is something I never did quite feel with the UK or UHQR, they simply are less harsh somehow, probably with the more refined drums on Grundmans cut and the overall more laid back performance of the UK, coupled with its lower EQ which at times muffles vocals too much.
Lastly, one should lead into the pressing quality of each. There was much talk of the UHQRs high quality pressing method, borrowed from Classic Records, the packaging also includes information on it. Although I cant say its the quietest pressing Ive heard, its more than enough so, as the aforementioned tape hiss overrides any amazing pressing quality. My Sterling is near dead quiet for its playing levels anyway, and who would ever demanded more? Unfortunately my UK is a bit crackly, as most copies these days, and I really suggest anyone finding a close to NM example if they want to fully enjoy this release. Not to mention it needing to be played about 30% louder than your average record, which only adds to the problem.
In the end, Im quite happy with all my purchases, neither of them will surely lose their value.

To summarize:
The UHQR is a midrange king, with amazing presence and detail, only suffering from tape hiss and slight lack of bass.
The Sterling is a modern like approach with crispness and bass to boot, but being slightly harsh and artificial at times.
The UK is a laid back yet mostly natural sounding piece of history, dropping points for lack of presence and muffling.

Personal Current Ranking:
1. UHQR
2. Sterling
3. UK Track
?. US Steamboat

Equipment Used:
Technics SL1210GR with Paratrace tipped Nagaoka MP-200
Cyrus 2 Amplifier
System Fidelity SF-3050 Tower Speakers
Custom made HQ Speaker Cables

I’ll trade Bob Marley Exodus when it arrives for this. Can be sealed or opened

I have a sealed Rastaman Vibration available to trade if anyone is interested. Message me

Here we are again ! Milk it to death & for exorbitant prices !
People who were young when this was first released & hardly anyone had a decent ( if any ) stereo chain...well they are now having a lot of money to spend on this "better then ever"version !
Anyway , that is the reasonig of companies re-pressing it & making quite some money out of it !

Excellent pressing with full sound, excellent imaging, soundstage, separation, bass, etc.
Sounds incredible on my Soundsmith Cart & VPI table.

mikeh69 Get your system checked or your ears. No and I repeat NO sibliance anywhere on this pressing. Stick to ONJ.

Yeah but I heard two copies and had the nastiest sibliance from a third of the side up both sides and it's a 5 star ? Hello I'm Mr. Reality Man...

Just received my copy #3465 Stereo, only listened to side A, paid $155 US on Ebay, ( cheapest its ever sold for ) and might i say the only way this release could sound any better is if i had 2 copies HaHa, i have many releases of this and agree with all the comments before me, just a solid euphoric presence in this release that really puts you in check with sound that can come from a piece of vinyl, i have too many classic records clarity vinyl pressings to count and they all bring that clean if you will ambiance to my ears, but this pressing is something to behold IMO, extremely happy to have this in my collection and well done QRP on this magnificent release, can't wait for Auqualung .

I dig it. The first song sounds like there's a fireball rotating and revolving in front of you.