New Brent Mason Album

[Gunslinger]

Hey all,

I'm told the new Brent Mason album will be out on Oct 1st. Anyone know where we can buy ot from?

http://www.indyguitarist.com/bsm-819.htm

The above link is to some soundclips

GS

[glenndeb]

Can't wait, the samples are great....They should have it on his site when its out, I would think......

[jlrich]

It should be availabe on both sites.

[Geo]

Chances are CD Now (Amazon) will have it also.
Any idea of a reissue for "Hot Wired"?
Used copies are really expensive.

[teleguitarist]

Originally Posted by Geo

Chances are CD Now (Amazon) will have it also.
Any idea of a reissue for "Hot Wired"?
Used copies are really expensive.

Not currently, the record company would have to do that.

[teleguitarist]

Also, there will be two versions for sale at brentmason.com.... signed copies and regular copies. :)

[Robert H.]

Some great sounding Jazz on that second sample.

[Stefan]

Would be nice to hear more Chickenpicking from him on his solorecords. But I guess he´s tired of it from all the Nashville sessions.. What do you guys think? Where is his heart? In Country or Jazz?

[Tim Armstrong]

I think his heart is in MUSIC!

Cheers, Tim

[Stefan]

No, I don´t think so... He HAS to choose ONE genre! *lol*

[Tim Armstrong]

Cheers, Tim

[Robert H.]

Has this album been released? Title?

[brillocaster]

Albums are usually released on Tuesdays. Let's see what's out there tomorrow.

[jlrich]

Got an email this morning, it's been delayed for about 2 weeks.

[Guitarzan]

Originally Posted by Geo

Chances are CD Now (Amazon) will have it also.
Any idea of a reissue for "Hot Wired"?
Used copies are really expensive.

On the last occasion Brent was here-about late June early July-he stated that he had communications with UMG Nashville about it, and they were warm and then cold on it. (He recorded it on Polygram, which was folded into Universal/MCA in 1998, and is now part of the present "Universal Music Group.") Instrumentals just don't do the volume to make the money that would motivate a label to undertake a project.

I'd love to see a reissue of Hotwired work out--and my business/legal $.02 on the matter is that he'd prolly have to get what amounts to a personal favor from Tony Brown (head of UMG Nashville) and get them to license the masters to him to do a short run of X,000 units on his own label. Otherwise, it won't get reissued because there is not enough profit potential to get a huge enterprise like UMG underway.

[teleguitarist]

Originally Posted by teleguitarist

Also, there will be two versions for sale at brentmason.com.... signed copies and regular copies. :)

It's called "Smokin' Section", the album will be available to Brent Mason newsletter members first (signed and unsigned copies) on October 14th. It will be up on brentmason.com shortly after. If I get everything done in time, you should be able to download the mp3's from brentmason.com for $1.99 each by this Friday.

Thanks,
Brian

[sidneystreet]

Originally Posted by teleguitarist

...If I get everything done in time, you should be able to download the mp3's from brentmason.com for $1.99 each by this Friday...

Just sell us the CD when it is ready. Don't take advantage of us with "advance" mp3 download offers at $2 a track.

That being said, I am really looking forward to buying a copy. I missed out on Brent's first CD, so I am not going to delay on this one.

[teleguitarist]

Downloads are ready:
www.brentmason.com

[HC]

Originally Posted by teleguitarist

Downloads are ready:
www.brentmason.com

And the album's great! Lots of jazz, but there's one chicken-pickin' countrysong too.

[trandy16]

I just downloaded the new album.

One word: WHEW!!

Great album.

[rcliffg]

I'm VERY interested in the album but I'm NOT interested in paying for 128k mp3s. 192s maybe. 256k, yeah.

The samples are 128k. Are the actual tracks this low bit rate also?

[rcliffg]

...would still love to know if it's just the samples that are 128k or if the actual downloads are 128k also...

[sidneystreet]

So, when exactly will I be allowed the "privilege" of actually buying this CD?

I was able to walk right into Best Buy today and purchase the new Vince Gill and Brad Paisley CD's. I guess www.brentmason.com is selling too many crappy mp3 downloads of his music to bother selling his loyal fans an actual CD of his new recording.

[jlrich]

...

[HC]

The downloads are 256k and are not even close to being crappy.

[ErnestT]

In respectful response to rcliffg, although Brent Mason's work is prolific, he is a studio pro. Although almost everyone has heard his work, most non-guitar playing types have no idea who he is. I had no clue until I stumbled across the TDPRI and started reading the related posts. I never paid much attention to liner notes before, but I do now.

The upshot, Brent Mason is harder to market to a mass audience than an out in front recording artist like Vince Gill or Brad Paisley. That makes it very unlikely that he can get anyone to market his album in today's mass market retail environment. Case in point, a while back my wife and I bought the Alan Jackson CD where he does all of the old Hymns, I think it was called Precious Memories. My wife commented that Alan Jackson did a nice job of guitar playing on those songs. I told her that the guitar parts were probably done by Brent Mason. She did not believe me, so I showed her the liner notes. Later we saw the video of the performance at the Ryman on CMT. It featured Mr. Mason prominently. Now she understands who Brent Mason is. (By the way, Mr. Mason did an incredible job of acoustic guitar work on that. Seemingly simple and straight forward, but incredible tone, touch and timing. Probably a LOT harder than he made it look.)

The downside is that we can't walk into Best Buy and pick up a copy. The upside is that unlike Hot Wired, folks that discover him years from now will probably be able to get a copy of the current album. I understand your frustration. However, because of the marketing and rights situation, latecomers like me may never be able to get a copy of Hot Wired.

Just my 2 cents worth.

[blue water girl]

HEY - slow down there "Loyal Fan." It has taken forever to get the licensing on two of the songs written by other composers and the cd liner - which is awesome by the way" and jewel cases have yet to be finished although a promise date was quite some time ago. Without the backing of a major label to do this for Brent and Randy they have done all of this basically themselves. They have done this entire project themselves and there are legal ramifications that Brent sort of found out as he went along. The release date was just a date he thought it would surely be done, but red tape just kept coming out of the woodwork! Record labels are used to doing this and also have alot of clout so the printer puts a rush on those projects. This is an independent work produced totally by Brent and Randy Mason and I promise you Brent and Randy have worked their behinds off getting this done while trying to do their day jobs.


Why in the world are you so hostile anyway. You can download the entire thing for 10.99 right now but you will sacrifice the liner notes and artwork, which are really cool. Brent and Randy are also frustrated and I can tell you there have been plenty of late nights doing the paperwork involved, which neither one of them is used to doing, they are writers and musicians, not record label execs.


To finish, you will more than likely be able to buy this cd around November 1st. It simply took more time than Brent realized it would when he picked the October 1 release date and he and Randy are sorry if it has upset you or others. Hopefully if you end up purchasing one you will enjoy it. They had so much fun writing and recording and producing the music - that's the part they are GREAT at - and appreciate so much the amazing amount of positive feedback they have been getting. They thank everyone for their support and hope everyone will enjoy the music!

Originally Posted by sidneystreet

So, when exactly will I be allowed the "privilege" of actually buying this CD?

I was able to walk right into Best Buy today and purchase the new Vince Gill and Brad Paisley CD's. I guess www.brentmason.com is selling too many crappy mp3 downloads of his music to bother selling his loyal fans an actual CD of his new recording.

[jlrich]

Originally Posted by blue water girl

HEY - slow down there "Loyal Fan." It has taken forever to get the licensing on two of the songs written by other composers and the cd liner - which is awesome by the way" and jewel cases have yet to be finished although a promise date was quite some time ago. Without the backing of a major label to do this for Brent and Randy they have done all of this basically themselves. They have done this entire project themselves and there are legal ramifications that Brent sort of found out as he went along. The release date was just a date he thought it would surely be done, but red tape just kept coming out of the woodwork! Record labels are used to doing this and also have alot of clout so the printer puts a rush on those projects. This is an independent work produced totally by Brent and Randy Mason and I promise you Brent and Randy have worked their behinds off getting this done while trying to do their day jobs.


Why in the world are you so hostile anyway. You can download the entire thing for 10.99 right now but you will sacrifice the liner notes and artwork, which are really cool. Brent and Randy are also frustrated and I can tell you there have been plenty of late nights doing the paperwork involved, which neither one of them is used to doing, they are writers and musicians, not record label execs.


To finish, you will more than likely be able to buy this cd around November 1st. It simply took more time than Brent realized it would when he picked the October 1 release date and he and Randy are sorry if it has upset you or others. Hopefully if you end up purchasing one you will enjoy it. They had so much fun writing and recording and producing the music - that's the part they are GREAT at - and appreciate so much the amazing amount of positive feedback they have been getting. They thank everyone for their support and hope everyone will enjoy the music!

I know we'll all enjoy it. I don't do internet downloads just because I actually like all of the graphics, etc. I can wait to get the whole thing.

[sidneystreet]

Originally Posted by blue water girl

HEY - slow down there "Loyal Fan."...

Hey, thanks for the explanation. Sorry for sounding so "hostile."

However, I don't see why delays should make any difference. You could have waited until Nov. 1st and then offered the album in either CD or mp3 download format.

I felt, perhaps incorrectly, that you guys were trying to get us "loyal fans" to effectively purchase the album twice, once as a lower quality mp3 download, and again later on our preferred format of CD.

I will be buying the CD when available, no doubt about it. In the future you might consider a simultaneous release of the CD and download options.

[teleguitarist]

Originally Posted by rcliffg

I'm VERY interested in the album but I'm NOT interested in paying for 128k mp3s. 192s maybe. 256k, yeah.

The samples are 128k. Are the actual tracks this low bit rate also?

No, I encoded the tracks myself @ 'near cd-quality which is higher than 256k. Heck, I'll email you the raw wavs if you want.

[teleguitarist]

Originally Posted by sidneystreet

So, when exactly will I be allowed the "privilege" of actually buying this CD?

I was able to walk right into Best Buy today and purchase the new Vince Gill and Brad Paisley CD's. I guess www.brentmason.com is selling too many crappy mp3 downloads of his music to bother selling his loyal fans an actual CD of his new recording.

Originally Posted by sidneystreet

Hey, thanks for the explanation. Sorry for sounding so "hostile."

However, I don't see why delays should make any difference. You could have waited until Nov. 1st and then offered the album in either CD or mp3 download format.

I felt, perhaps incorrectly, that you guys were trying to get us "loyal fans" to effectively purchase the album twice, once as a lower quality mp3 download, and again later on our preferred format of CD.

I will be buying the CD when available, no doubt about it. In the future you might consider a simultaneous release of the CD and download options.

Thanks for your advice, but 99.9% of BSM fans wanted to hear the album ASAP. Now, they may or may not want to get the actual CD. I myself throw everything on a Ipod or computer so owning the actual cd isn't a big deal. The liner notes and pictures I can have scanned in if folks want to download them.

As far as trying to get people to purchase the same album twice, if you knew Brent you would know that's a ridiculous statement. He's probably the most humbley gifted guitarist you would ever meet (and I've met alot of them!!) ;)

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me directly - http://www.indyguitarist.com/contact.htm

Thanks,
Brian

[rcliffg]

All I wanted to know was whether the mp3s were ripped at a nice, high-quality bit rate. I'm a Mason fan, have considerable respect, and made NO negative comments. Additionally, I appreciate the downloads being offered prior to the fomally packaged CD release. There just wasn't any info on the bit rate and that's a deal-breaker for me if there's heavy (perceptible to me) data loss involved. I'd just end up buying the CD and wasting my money on the downloads.

I'll be forking over my dough and getting the downloads immediately. Thanks for your response, Teleguitarist. I can hear the difference at 128k, and sometimes at 192, but, personally, I can't tell above that, so my question is answered.

[teleguitarist]

Originally Posted by rcliffg

All I wanted to know was whether the mp3s were ripped at a nice, high-quality bit rate. I'm a Mason fan, have considerable respect, and made NO negative comments. Additionally, I appreciate the downloads being offered prior to the fomally packaged CD release. There just wasn't any info on the bit rate and that's a deal-breaker for me if there's heavy (perceptible to me) data loss involved. I'd just end up buying the CD and wasting my money on the downloads.

I'll be forking over my dough and getting the downloads immediately. Thanks for your response, Teleguitarist. I can hear the difference at 128k, and sometimes at 192, but, personally, I can't tell above that, so my question is answered.

No problem at all, glad to help. :)

Additionally, there is a money back guarantee - if you aren't happy with the downloads, simply let me know and I'll refund the entire purchase no questions asked.

Thanks,
Brian

[zumm]

Great album, just downloaded it.

[sidneystreet]

Originally Posted by teleguitarist

...As far as trying to get people to purchase the same album twice, if you knew Brent you would know that's a ridiculous statement. He's probably the most humbley gifted guitarist you would ever meet (and I've met alot of them!!) ;)

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me directly - http://www.indyguitarist.com/contact.htm

Thanks,
Brian

Nuff said. Thanks for the clarification.

[jjh37854]

Downloaded it yesterday, really great record, I am just getting into the guitar jazz thing and this is a perfect record for me right now.

Thanks a lot for offering it by download, if I had to go to best buy, I probably would have never gotten it!

jesse

[ErnestT]

Apology to rcliffg.

I respectfully directed my previous post to rcliffg by mistake. I should have directed the post to sidneystreet.

To sidneystreet, please understand that my post was offered with the utmost respect.

I apologize to one and all for any misunderstanding. Not a stellar cognitive day for me yesterday.

I am very happy to be able to buy Brent Mason's work in any form. He is a monster player and his work will be an influence on other players many years to come. Internet publishing was not available to previous greats like Tommy Tedesco and Howard Roberts, so I am sure we missed out on some really great playing from them.

I am going off now to stand in the corner whilst wearing my little pointy dunce cap.

[sidneystreet]

Originally Posted by ErnestT

...I am going off now to stand in the corner whilst wearing my little pointy dunce cap.

No reason for you to feel bad at all. Please allow me to take your place in the corner. That dunce cap looks like it is just my size.

[tonehead]

Have heard the downloads and am looking forward to also purchasing the CD when it is available.This CD will be ranked amongst some of the best guitar playing ever, that is only untill Brents next release!!!!!

[glenndeb]

I baught the downloads and there great and worth it !!!! I am also waiting for the cd to purchase. But the mp3 's are great...