Analogue Productions

In 1992, Chad Kassem founded the Analogue Productions label. Kassem already owned Acoustic Sounds, a mail order company for hi-fi equipment and recordings. With Analogue Productions, Kassem licenses his favorite albums and has since released them in remastered and carefully pressed versions. Pressed at the company’s Quality Records Pressing (QRP) facility, which is also in-house.The first title was Virgil Thompson’s The Plow That Broke The Plains, originally released on Vanguard. In the intervening years, Analogue Productions has released hundreds of albums. Their styles range from classical to folk, pop, rock, blues and jazz.

Highlights include box sets by The Doors, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Stevie Ray Vaughan or Norah Jones. In many cases the edition is strictly limited, often only one batch is produced.

Here’s how Chad Kassem chooses which titles to re-release

Analogue Productions: Mastering of analog master tapes

In keeping with its name, Analogue Productions works with analog master tapes. The original master tape is not always used. The reasons for this are manifold. Sometimes the master tapes are no longer available or are no longer given out of the house by the owners. Often the originals also turn out to be somewhat worn. In such cases, the best available copy is always used, much like MFSL does in its Silver Label series. In any case, the reissues are supposed to sound better than earlier versions.

There is also a premium product line at Analogue Productions under the name UHQR with very small editions in highest quality at very high prices.