Amer contacted me today and asked my to plug his Ebay sale of an extremely rare copy of Aenima. His description can describe it better than I can:
"A [studio master is a] recording that, presumably, has been mastered at the same studio it has been mixed at. Most recordings are mastered at a mastering facility. For security purposes (since this was a CD made before Ænima was released for public consumption), the cardboard sleeve has been numbered."
These were released in limited numbers (no one knows how many) and distributed to radio stations almost 15 years ago. This copy is #391. An overwhelming majority have been lost or destroyed, making this the rarest Tool promo item, ever. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise 🙂 I have owned several Aenima promo vinyls, signed Cesaro Summability promo vinyls and signed Lateralus vinyls, but they do not come close to this item in rarity.
The only other copy I ever saw for sale in all my years of collecting was on this obscure Taiwanese(?) auction website more than 5 years ago. I will be surprised if you see another one of these for sale for years to come. Don’t miss out.
The disc has only been played once by the original owner, and is in mint condition. The cardboard sleeve is in excellent condition for its age, with minor edgewear.
I’ve not heard of this particular edition on Aenima, then again I’m not a huge Tool collector, so I can’t really comment on it’s rarity. Either way it sounds interesting, and I’m sure that Tool collectors out there would jump at the chance to grab the piece Tool’s history.
The price is currently at $5 (I couldn’t help myself) and there is a reserve, which I’d hazard to guess would be north of $500.
I’d be more interested in a non mastered copy of the album. A master from the recording studio is likely a roughly compressed version of the roughly mixed master tracks. I’m not saying it ain’t cool, but being able to hear the actual tracks before any processing has been done would be way cooler.
[quote comment=””]I’d be more interested in a non mastered copy of the album. A master from the recording studio is likely a roughly compressed version of the roughly mixed master tracks. I’m not saying it ain’t cool, but being able to hear the actual tracks before any processing has been done would be way cooler.[/quote]
Yeah but to be fair it’s not really about how it sounds, it’s what it is.
I’d love to hear how this sounds. Anyway can we get a FLAC rip once its sold but before it’s shipped, Amer?
[quote comment=””]I’d love to hear how this sounds. Anyway we can get a FLAC rip once its sold but before it’s shipped, Amer?[/quote] Hey cultiv. Thanks for the interest. As mentioned in my auction description, this CD has only been played once. Therefore, it would be unfair to the winning bidder if I were to play/rip this CD. Also, frankly, I am scared to put this in my computer, in case something bad were to happen. You never know! I would be happy to make the request to the winning bidder to get a FLAC rip later this month 🙂… Read more »
CRAZY! Look at the track listing, it says H. is only :39 seconds. Must have it mixed with Useful Idiot b/c it says that one is over 6 minutes…crazy typo.
It looks like “Die Eier Von Satam” to me.
[quote comment=””]It looks like “Die Eier Von Satam” to me.[/quote]
It’s actually “Satarn” on this disc. Of course, typos on Tool albums are pretty common (i.e, “Lateralis,” and the typos on the liner notes on the first Salival release, to name a few).
I am downloading the lossless rip of one of these “masters” I’ll be sure to post my findings after a listen…. It is on what.cd mp3 and flac if anyone else is a member, sorry no I don’t have an invite.
[quote comment=””]I am downloading the lossless rip of one of these “masters” I’ll be sure to post my findings after a listen…. It is on what.cd mp3 and flac if anyone else is a member, sorry no I don’t have an invite.[/quote]
I saw that appearing this morning. Was tempted to download, but I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to tell the difference…
keep me posted, I’ll give a listen if it’s worthwhile
Nice. Thanks bulkhead for putting up this auction. I just bookmarked it on What.cd so I’ll give it a listen when I have the time.
[quote comment=””]Nice. Thanks bulkhead for putting up this auction. I just bookmarked it on What.cd so I’ll give it a listen when I have the time.[/quote]
Yes, I ripped the FLAC yesterday and shared it with some folks on The Collective Unconscious forums. I guess it has spread really fast. I don’t think the human ear can detect a difference. The value lies more in the CD itself (as it has become a collector’s item), rather than the sound quality.
I think that the only thing that I can tell that sounds different is the volume of some vocal stuff mostly the whispers in various songs. The guitar in the first 2 seconds of Hooker with a Penis sound a little different. Overall, I would say it sounds the same but there are little nuances in there.