HiRez Poll Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (LAGQ) - LATIN [SACD]

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Rate the SACD of LAGQ - LATIN

  • 5:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 4:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 3:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 1: Bad Mix, Bad Sonics, Bad Content

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    21

JonUrban

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Please post your comments and observations on this title (y):phones (n)
 
I worry that I'll be in the minority when I say this, but I do have a beef with the surround mix. It's almost TOO discrete. I'm not sure I like the idea of putting a guitarist into his own surround channel. It wears me down and I can't listen to the whole album in one sitting. That said, the sonics are pretty good. And the first track is awesome! So I still gave it a 7.
 
JonUrban said:
Please post your comments and observations on this title (y) (n)

This one is an intriguing one since it features some very complex interplay among the guitarists in a very discrete surround mix with each guitar soloist in their own speaker. Very compelling!
 
I love the surround mix. Very discrete. A guitar in each speaker, fantastic. I give it a 9. :)
 
This is a great concept and a great mix. As Brian mentioned, the interplay between the guitarists is very compelling. My only criticism is that the title lacks staying power, but its great for listening to two or three cuts in one sitting. I gave it an 8.
 
Great mix, well it's really no mix at all. Some good tracks a pleasant disc
 
I like this music and probably prefer such a mix over stereo but it dont add anything to music content...
 
I think the 1 instrument-1 speaker works much better with this release then it does with the Led Zeppelin How the west was Won. You get a much better feel for the interplay between the guitarists.
 
I love the surround mix. Very discrete. A guitar in each speaker, fantastic. I give it a 9. :)

The interplay between the guitarists is very intriguing here. And it gets intense at times.

One of the LAGQ guitarists said that listening to this SACD in Surround Sound can make the listener "dizzy" because there is so much going on in the Surround Sound field!

It hasn't had that effect on me. And it's quite the Surround Sound demo SACD in my view.
 
I have three of the LAGQ's SACDs ("Latin", "Guitar Heroes", and "Brazil" -- passing on the less surroundy "Spin".) Classical guitar isn't something that I would ordinarily go chasing down, but the reviews convinced me to grab Guitar Heroes and I loved it. Ran right out and bought the other two.

A handful of years later, I typically reach for GH when I'm in the mood for LAGQ -- so I was wondering about the two that mostly sit on the shelf. Why is "Latin" gathering dust, anyway? This is great!

From jumping to gentle, almost every track could be a surround demo, though there's nothing quite so wild as GH's "Blue Echo" (how could there be?) I find tracks 3 and 8 particularly outstanding. Even track 9, which begins as a duo in the front speakers, has a surround surprise toward the end. (It might be too much, but sometimes too much is just enough.) Track 10 is accompanied by flute, and it fits right in too. The percussive sounds made by the guitarists are a particularly compelling element in all these discs, at least they are to this rather unrefined listener.

This one's a 10 in my book. I find these LAGQ SACDs just flat out amazing. If you're skeptical, find a musical sample online; if the music doesn't put you off, try one. The mix (or non-mix as Solaris points out) on the above three is the opposite of ambient, you could call it ultra-discrete. I could see where it would wear on some listeners, but I think it's fantastic. Much better than listening intently to a Silverline disc just trying to determine if it's real surround, faux-surround, or what -- there's no doubt here!

Mark Z
 
As with their recording "Guitar Heroes" this is a terrific disc that places the listener in the middle of the ensemble. Clever arrangements, expertly performed. Carmen Suite is the highlight for me.

10
 
One of my favorites but the vocalist is not that great, imo. I'd rather listen to the instruments. I also highly recommend Guitar Heroes but given the artists honored I always wonder why Larry Coryell was not included???
 
..and Brazil is the only LAGQ SACD I don't have (since it shot up in price, to about ten zillion dollars for a copy, by the time I wanted one!) :mad:@:

Same here. I was able to find a 'like new' copy of Latin for about $18 shipped but used copies of Brazil are going upwards of $50!
 
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