New 2CD announcement : Heading Down To Sunset Boulevard - ReelTrax

[ElSandro68]

The audio restoration and mixing aesthetics are totally different from one another.
Sample comparisons of "Down in the Alley" below [first mix is my work followed by the ReelTrax version].

There's a world of difference between them. The sound quality of EAS is incredible compared to ReelTrax. No further words are needed.

[thenexte]

Is the 1974 Rehearsal mix as shared by ElvisAliSellers still available somewhere? I downloaded the Down in the Alley comparison with the new ReelTrax release and hear a lot of digital echo and digital compression on the latter one which seems to be absent on the former.

[JoeyCoco]

... comparing the Reel Trax release to the ElvisAliSellers mp3 version really isn’t one-to-one. His version was shared kindly, sure, but it’s still just a fan-made digital file. It’s not a physical product, not professionally pressed, not remastered for CD, not packaged, not part of a collectible catalogue, and not something you can actually hold in your hands.
The whole point of Reel Trax is that they create tangible, curated editions with upgraded sound, artwork and long-term playback quality. An mp3 floating around online, however well intentioned, just isn’t the same thing.
So yes, the ElvisAliSellers version was a nice share, but it’s not comparable to an actual CD release you can collect, store, display, or rely on for consistent audio quality. Variety in sources is great, but professionally assembled physical media still matters.

It's quite obvious that you haven't even heard ElvisAliSellers version of these tracks, so please do yourself a favour & listen before you compare them with a bootleg release! For most of us these days, WAV files are more than adequate quality to listen to tracks recorded on a cassette originally! If you need a physical product to hold, you are welcome to spend your money on Reel Trax "so-called" professionally assembled products.
I haven't heard Reel Trax because ElvisAliSellers work is mind-blowingly good and offered for free
If you are interested, I can forward the tracks to you for free if you pm me your email address
Best wishes, Davy B

I actually did listen to the sample that was posted — both the ElvisAliSellers upgrade and the Reel Trax version, and I’m glad I trusted my instincts. Hearing them side-by-side only confirmed that I made the right choice buying the Reel Trax CD.

On the fan-made version, Elvis’ voice is pushed far too far into the foreground. The balance is off to the point where the instruments all but disappear, and the blend with the backing vocals suffers because they overwhelms Elvis unintentionally . It’s not subtle, it’s genuinely distracting.
The Reel Trax mix, on the other hand, keeps Elvis where he belongs: leading, but not steamrolling the entire band. It feels like an actual rehearsal, not an isolated vocal track pasted over thin instrumentation.

So yes, thanks to the sample, I can now say from direct listening that the Reel Trax release is the superior option for me.
And to be clear: I’m not criticizing anyone’s hobby work. It’s great that fans experiment and share things for free, but that doesn’t automatically make a homemade WAV file better than a curated, properly mastered physical release. I collect Elvis physically. That’s part of the experience for me.

I don’t want ZIP files, WAV folders, or mp3s sitting on a hard drive. What’s next, FTD books as PDFs? No, thanks.
So while I appreciate the offer to send tracks, and I’m glad some people enjoy the home upgrade, the Reel Trax CD remains the better, more balanced, and more collectible choice for my collection.

[elvis77ro]

Most things seems to look good. Touchable...collectable. Now in 2025 Reel Trax guys might use musical tools. They used only softs.
Terrible hiss has nothing to do with music... and even seems nice, Elvis' voice is not natural. Is so far that can be called faked.
Am not against any silver cd, vinyls (except the ones done by bastards from mp3 and lossy files)... music tastes are so variable.
Clean music is something else.
All I take from this release, is a near corrected speed for rehearsal, and live compilations.
Still exist a reason to be re-worked, for sure not by Reel Trax guys. Is clear, this is all they could done.

[KingElvis]

Most things seems to look good. Touchable...collectable. Now in 2025 Reel Trax guys might use musical tools. They used only softs.
Terrible hiss has nothing to do with music... and even seems nice, Elvis' voice is not natural. Is so far that can be called faked.
Am not against any silver cd, vinyls (except the ones done by bastards from mp3 and lossy files)... music tastes are so variable.
Clean music is something else.
All I take from this release, is a near corrected speed for rehearsal, and live compilations.
Still exist a reason to be re-worked, for sure not by Reel Trax guys. Is clear, this is all they could done.

I agree.
Especially the hiss that is very noticable during the quiet parts on this recording/release is simply awful.
I wont play this Reel Trax CD ever again…and why should I.
Not that it matter but me,myself and I couldnt disagree more with what JoeyCoco wrote.

[JoeyCoco]

Most things seems to look good. Touchable...collectable. Now in 2025 Reel Trax guys might use musical tools. They used only softs.
Terrible hiss has nothing to do with music... and even seems nice, Elvis' voice is not natural. Is so far that can be called faked.
Am not against any silver cd, vinyls (except the ones done by bastards from mp3 and lossy files)... music tastes are so variable.
Clean music is something else.
All I take from this release, is a near corrected speed for rehearsal, and live compilations.
Still exist a reason to be re-worked, for sure not by Reel Trax guys. Is clear, this is all they could done.

You say yourself that you’re “not sure” whether Reel Trax used musical tools, only that they “used softs.” But that’s exactly what musical tools are in 2025 — software. So your statement is a bit confusing: are you saying they used proper audio tools or not? It can’t be both.

And regarding Elvis sounding “unnatural”: if that were true, then the same criticism applies to the official Legacy release and the classic DAE edition, since they use the very same source. Nothing in the Reel Trax samples suggests anything more “fake” than what has already been accepted for decades.

What I do understand from your message is this: since the first release of this rehearsal in 1995, we apparently now have to accept 2025 as the year in which a single amateur, working at home with computer tools, has supposedly created the “ultimate upgrade.” But the result is just WAV files without artwork, meant to sit in a folder on a hard drive. That may work for some people, but it’s hardly a collectible and hardly the definitive listening experience for an Elvis fan.

And to be completely honest, that so-called upgrade doesn’t even sound better. In fact, it’s worse — the vocal is pushed so far forward that it feels like isolated stems pasted over weakened instrumentation. That is the opposite of natural.

So while you’re free to prefer your homemade version, the Reel Trax release remains the more balanced, more listenable, and certainly more collectible option. For those of us who actually care about physical releases, proper mixing choices, and a coherent listening experience, the official CD simply delivers what a folder of loose WAV files cannot.

[elvis77ro]

No one told you to not buy it....
Just accept it, some of us not only buy originals, but also use private files... we need to feel it by listening first of all. Neither us and neither you'll take an original on the other side. But for sure you'll lose as you chose to do so very nice things... even a so bad recorded show we won't have in better recorded quality.
Stop promote this release, it is not the best one at all. It is just a drop from so many. And of course between drops are also not only sealed ones...
And also imagine reality. Very few buy originals. It is really cruel. Files rules a lot. Quality of them is something else.
So every release send to old fans but especially to new generations of fans a chance to feel Elvis.
Be happy with what you decide. With EAS' reworks in my case am for sure at least as happy as you.

[Rockin_John]

Regardless, this release is way better than the official escape. That was horrible, and also marketed at the general public

[Alexander72]

For me the @ElvisAliSellers mix wins hands down. Quite spectacular to hear the recording in the right speed and without hiss and reverb. One wonders why this is not the norm on official releases. Is this related to the costs involved in professionally restoring the material? Or is it laziness, carelessness, or incompetence? You'll be the judge.

[LSP-4445]

For me the @ElvisAliSellers mix wins hands down.

Agreed 100%
The hiss is my biggest issue with this new CD.

[JimmyCool]

Look who's back...

[BrianTCB]

Hey everyone,

Please, everyone, let's keep things civil and return to the topic of conversation. This means no name calling on anyone's parts. Or responding to this post. Or other personal attacks.

Thank you.


Forum owner/admin - BrianTCB

[AfoolSuchAsI.]

R-15349037-1590128587-2401.jpg (7.35 KiB) Viewed 302 times

This is enough good for me .

[AfoolSuchAsI.]

1974-august-rca-studio-rehersals-elvis-set-list.jpg (95.4 KiB) Viewed 301 times

A personal letter for the rehearsals !