The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Axis: Bold As Love

This version comes in a plain white poly-lined inner, and no booklet. My copy was very warped, but it's actually a very quiet and dynamic pressing otherwise.

Hmmmmm... (reading the other reviews here...)

Without having other OG copies to compare to I find this pressing VERY satisfactory.

The sound is crystal clear - dynamic, and the stereo panning ensures the listener is given EXACTLY what Jimi, Chas, and Eddie K intended - a psychedelic experince without the use of recreational drugs!

I am guilty (as many thers are no doubt) of thinking of this as the “difficult” second LP, and it is the least listened to of all my Hendrix LPs. Despite being in my collection since the mid-80’s.

Now - due to listening again, this pressing (with my more enlightened ears!) I hear this as Jimi Hendrix’s vision step two.

And that vision is beautiful and SO well realised on this LP.

The pressing is dynamite too - clean clear and the full balanced soundstage.

If the earlier pressings ARE better then they must be VERY impressive indeed!

I bought this new at the time of release and had not listened very much. I played it last night after re-configuring one of my systems and it sounds wonderful! The vocals are clean along with everything else. The bass and drums are punchy without over-doing it. It's a nice companion piece to my original NM tri-color stereo.

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.

COMPARISON TIME:

2010 US/Sony Legacy/QRP pressing
Vs
2010 EU/MOV/Record Industry press

Ive read time and again that MOV means digital source only and further still even read "pressed from CD" (lol). It maybe largely true that they mostly press from hi res digital files but they have done a few all analogue cuts too (the "pressed from CD" argument is laughable however). Im sure ive also read that the MOV E.U. pressings of the Hendrix family approved remasters of 2010 are inferior to their US counterparts. Ive had the EU MOV of Axis for sometime and always felt it was fantastic. But - for fun and having two identical decks into a single phono stage - ive also now added the 2010 US Legacy pressed at QRP to see if theres any truth that one betters the other for sound. Well i needent have bothered buying the US copy. They sound EXACTLY THE SAME. Period.

Where they differ is in the packaging and pressing quality. Both are superbly pressed, but for buyer confidence its the MOV from Record Industry thats flatter and a tad bit quieter of surface. This is after 4 playthroughs as well as QRP pressings tend to need playthroughs and cleanings to make good. Theres very little in it though and id be happy either way.

Packaging wise im surprised to say the MOV is possibly better. In 2010 this was always the fledgling MOV labels achilles heel.... regularly awful art repro (occasionally brilliant too though just to be random). The MOV artwork has better clarity, colour and contrast of art than my US Legacy here though. The US counters for having a thicker card gatefold. Thus the MOV is better to look at but the Legacy is abit more solid to hold. Not much in it... either would be fine.

Conclusion.... both are winners. Both are excellent options. Both sound the equal of each other. Pick whichever is cheapest to you and be happy!

COMPARISON TIME:

2010 US/Sony Legacy/QRP pressing
Vs
2010 EU/MOV/Record Industry press

Ive read time and again that MOV means digital only and further still even read "pressed from CD" (lol). It maybe largely true that they mostly press from hi res digital files but they have done a few all analogue cuts too (the pressed from CD is laughable however). Im sure i also read the MOV E.U. pressings of the Hendrix family approved remasters of 2010 are inferior to their US counterparts. Ive had the EU MOV of Axis for sometime and always felt it was fantastic. But - for fun and having two identical decks into a single phono stage - ive also now added the 2010 US Legacy pressed at QRP to see if theres any truth that one betters the other for sound. Well i needent have bothered buying the US copy. They sound EXACTLY THE SAME. Period.

Where they differ is in the packaging and pressing quality. Both are superbly pressed, but for buyer confidence its the MOV from Record Industry thats flatter and a tad bit quieter of surface. This is after 4 playthroughs as well as QRP pressings tend to need playthroughs and cleanings to make good. Theres very little in it though and id be happy either way.

Packaging wise im surprised to say the MOV is possibly better. In 2010 this was always the fledgling MOV labels achilles heel.... often awful art repro (often brilliant too though). The MOV has better clarity and colour and contrast of art than my US Legacy here though. The US counters for having a thicker card gatefold. Thus the MOV is better to look at but the Legacy is abit more solid to hold.

Conclusion.... both are winners. Both are excellent options. Both sound the equal of each other. Pick whichever is cheapest to you and be happy!

does anyone have a copy for sale? please get in touch with me

I got this LP 240701 UK in test pressing, somebody would be able to tell me it value?

Some bands, like the Beatles and the Stones, sound pretty good in mono: this Lp is evidently (born to be) a *stereo record.* I rate the mono "Axis" as listenable (moreso than the car-dash-radio mono mix of AYE), but as no special treat. The highs are a bit rolled off, the guitar is lower in the mix, and the drums have lost some punch. It does sound authentically 60s, I'll give it that: this doesn't sound like a modern fold-down with added compression. But as with some 1960s mono, this was mixed for something like an 8-inch monitor speaker without fancy tweeters or low-frequency capabilities. (All of the subtlety of the chime of the guitars is lost; listening to this compels me to reach for the stereo version.) A motive to get this this is if you want to pretend you are listening to an FM mono broadcast version of this on some oddball, cool station c. 1969. But this Lp was made with stereo in focus.

This is one of the best records I've ever heard, top quality 👍