Michael Jackson Thriller 40th Anniversary Review of MOFI One-Step vs. OG vs. Half-Speed (Ep. 64) 

This was the most balanced review I have seen here. The most striking point to me is that you get more details with the Mofi release while losing some subtle elements you get with the OG. I only got a first pressing and will stick with it because that's how it was supposed to sound.

Thanks for mentioning Bruce Swedien.. he’s a huge inspiration to me, and played a major role in Michael’s sound. Awesome video ❤

Very balanced take and breakdown of both versions. Well done. 👍

Told with great detail and conviction, David. Very informative and dare I say... nuanced. Fun video snippets for emphasis. For me energy over fidelity when it comes to Thriller. 😊

Keep doing detailed reviews like this David. The next best thing to actual clips.

I have both the OG and the MOFI. I totally agree, so far the most accurate review. My best analogy is MOFI IS solid state amp vs OG is a sweet tube amp

Excellent review and great perspective. You had me at the intro. Please release more content. I would recommend working on the videography. I waste a lot of time on RU-vid watching vinyl reviews and such and you got it man!

Very very well done David. Great breakdown. ❤

Great video! Thanks for the thoughtful insight!

I didn’t know/ realize that he ( Michael Jackson) wasn’t given production credit on the original version/ first pressing of “ Thriller “?! Good information!✊🏾

I have the 40th release from Walmart. MJ has the tiger pup visible on the front cover. I paid less than 20usd. This version is one of the most 3 dimensional albums I own (out of 300ish). I was almost certain that I had accidentally switched to Dolby surround as the instruments were in no way attached to the speakers, and the sound was so smooth and natural that I would have thought I was listening to an SACD. I'm sure the others reviewed here have their merits, but for the money I was shocked by this walmart item. Spin on you crazy diamonds!

Loved the video and the analogy. “Wring the towel”!! Such a great album - every variant will sound great.

Great review . Thank you. Have mofi. Enjoyed it very much ( great photos in video )

Hi David. Great video today. I have my OG copy and I don't intend to upgrade it. Well, I learn something new today. I know MJ would use lots of recorded elements... I just didn't know that it was that many...

New to your channel and appreciate your in depth review of this album, cheers.

Good, balanced review - well done. Michael45's "never-another-MoFi-release" seems to me exaggerated or unvarnished (but every person he's/her choice) And one thing, I take away from this: The DSD step in itself doesn't spoil the sound quality (I'm aware it was digital from the beginning). The differences - I think - was mostly mastering choices. And as you rightly asks: What if Bernie Grundman had mastered this? One can only dream...

Wow that’s really cool that you grew up in Gary, Indiana… not to mention that you saw The Jackson 5 before they were “ Famous “ ! I’m a Drummer myself and I lived in East Chicago, Indiana in the early eighties! I enjoyed your video and your conversation and I’m going to subscribe to your channel! Thanks 🙏

Thanks for a great video!

Yes I did know the howls were Michael. Great video mate!

Thank you for that excellent review. I heard a needle drop of this and even through RU-vid I could hear exactly what you’re talking about. I have the OG in great shape and sounding excellent. The MoFi From what you’ve said and what I’ve heard, is close to what Quincy and MJ would have heard in the studio before Bernie worked his magic gluing the whole thing together. I’m gonna get it as I need to be educated. 🤓

Great Video ! I love "Off The Wall" and after listening to your video a good comparison would be the two Lionel Richie albums that were around at the same time as Thriller in the 80s. Great Video !

You are right you feel and hear and vinyl is more about music you do not need to notice everything in the sound field even though it exists its felt.

Hello David, hope your doing well sir. hey, i never knew you are originally from Indiana, i actually was born and breed and still live in Muncie. i'm passing on the thriller issues but i am trying to save my pennies for the Aja UHQR which i would hope could possibly surpass my Cisco pressing ,or, i may take that money and purchase several copies of the SD catalog when AP is able to put out the individual albums in 45rpm, and i may just end up buying the individual albums in 45rpm because i'll still get the great sound and then be able to buy at least 3 or 4 of those 45rpm issues instead of just one of the UHQR's, and THAT would really give me a lot more bang for the buck. and don't forget brother, Steve Lukather did a lot of the guitar work as well on Beat It along side with EVH.. keep up the awesome vids my friend, looking forward to possibly some live vids from you this weekend. \m/ \m/

Perhaps MOFI thought Bernie would “Rat them Out”!and thats why they didn’t approach him. Just saying. I can’t say enough about how well you review LPs. Another great video under your belt David, thank you.

THANK YOU

Just listened to my dad's OG thriller. ImO it is the best sounding one.

So this is like what is being talked in the Beatles lps. If you want to study what's going on, listen to the stereo mix, if you want to party, get the mono.

Awesome review David and I very much appreciate the background information! Your review was great in pointing out the subtle nuances. I watched Steve Westman's latest video where Nathan Goss pointed out that MoFi's tend to require a volume boost to level match with comparable OG pressings. His initial review reflected other opinions on the lack of punch etc. but when he volume matched, it compared very favorably. I had the same experience as well when I compared with my Japanese OG, which I think sounds better than the US OG as the vinyl is quieter. Did you volume match in your H2H as that may change your opinion like it did mine?

Michael did the howling!??! -No way 😳 !!

Excellent, excellent excellent 100% - TONE

This is an unusual release for me. I usually want a reissue that matches or beats the best before it. But I dont think the original can really be beaten. My mind reset to having a different but just as great presentation. With the Mofi I am sitting in the middle of the band and singer in the studio. With the og I have Michael and the band on stage before me. Two differebt experiences. Both worthy.

Nice work David. Enjoy those factoids a ton. The feedback I’ve gleaned from others who have the MoFi is similar to yours: nice…but necessary? The absence of Bernie on this new release was always puzzling, but like the MoFi mess earlier this year, it feels like another example of their unadulterated arrogance. THEY know better than their consumers and they MUST know more than BG (yeah right). Put another way, it would have been #betterbyBernie. Cheers! 🍻

I've got an 82 pressing, the CBS half speed master and now I've picked up the One Step. I actually have yet to listen to the One Step, but I'm anxious to see if I agree with your assessment.

Killer review free of MoFi-gate bias. Nice work. In general, is it true that half-speed masters suffer in the low end?

Bruce also recorded Rhyme & Reason by Missing Persons in 1984

OG means "original gangster" - I have no idea why people use that. Nice review.

Nice review. Is there a video detailing your system?

What I noticed about the new Mofi version is that it sounds cleaner and with less surface noise, but it lacks the punch of the OG. The SACD version is impressive also. Have you listened to the "Thriller 40" MPO pressing? The only issue here is the vinyl quality as, outside of Pallas and Record Industry, they don't use the same quality of vinyl as our premium U.S. pressings. I have the 2nd gen OG version(with MJ acknowledged in the production), the 25th Anniversary Edition, the new Mofi edition and the new MPO pressing(plus various CD versions). I had the opportunity to not just do an A-B comparison but an A-B-C-D comparison. Concentrating on the opening track, "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' ", what I noticed right away is that the OG, although with the most punch, had sibilance as well as the 25th Anniversary version. The Mofi and "Thriller 40" versions had no sibilance. The "Thriller 40" version levels are obviously a little lower, but it has good punch. It uses the Bernie Grundman mastering(noting that Bernie didn't cut the OG lacquers), the lacquers for this version were cut in Germany and pressed in France on lighter weight vinyl. For me, the MPO pressing has a better sound field due to the Grundman mastering but is more distracting because of the more surface noise in the quieter passages and in-between tracks. Concerning the Steely Dan "Can't Buy A Thrill" album. I am still waiting for my UHQR copy to arrive(MD finally shipped it), but as well as having the OG(Santa Maria) pressing, I have the new Universal release and the original QS Quadraphonic release. Although I do have quadraphonic equipment, playing the QS mix played in stereo is awesome! After listening to the QS mix in stereo, the original stereo mix will sound like mono. With their hit "Do It Again", I have both the stereo/mono promo 45 and the rare stereo store stock 45(both pressed by Columbia, Santa Maria on premium vinyl), although they sound better than the LP version, nothing outshines the QS Quad version. Sometimes Columbia, Santa Maria would press some stereo 45's from outside contracts maybe by mistake. Another example of this is "Sweetheart" by Engelbert Humperdinck on the Parrot label.

I have this on cd and blew me away... I hope they bring out the bad album out too. 🤞

Thank you this is my comment. There’s a definite difference between both versions of The original one is in your face come straight here is a different string that I love the new one. I have the mobile cd there’s more space in the mobile to breathe. You can enjoy it more. I do had the high speed thriller. It’s different I feel like the mobile better but it is still a great album from there is definitely a dance album but the Mobile gold cd you can hear in the car sounds better I got 95 I also got the half speed master CBS

If I’m not mistaken I heard that Quincy Jones first presented the “ Thriller “ mix to the heads of Sony/ CBS Records and they said it wasn’t ready for release… because they weren’t satisfied with the quality/ sound of the master?! Is this true?!

MFSL went out my door after the poor Men at Work releases. From poor cover artwork to heavy surface noise on both discs, I'm done. I've gone back to the original pressings and thankfully there are still fresh copies out there.

Sounds like its a 'final' mix... The day before before the 'FINAL-FINAL' mix...and the Grundman Mastering

And which of you prefer the real ARTISTS' (who made the Original Pressing) version to reproduced currently "version 40" - probably just for the money?

Is the 40th vinyl at Walmart and the one at target just the repressing of the 25th anniversary?

Is it really that easy to get an OG of THIS album!???... If yes, WHERE!!!??? Thnx!!! I have my MOFI and I love it! but I know that only the OG, Hal-speed and MOFI's are the really good ones to consider, not those digital pressings with weird extra songs... So at the end, having all these 3 or at least Mofi's and the OG pressing is what really matters, right?

Great analysis. When it's all said & done, 'Thriller' doesn't get much play with me anymore. I may pull it out when reminiscing about the good old days, but that's it. I heard the MoFi release and wasn't THAT impressed. This isn't an album that I'll SIT and enjoy. It's a dance album. You're not supposed to sit and analyze it. Just get up and move with the groove. At any rate, I returned the MoFi joint and will continue to enjoy my regular pressing from time to time....Not as often as a jazz LP per se

What you are hearing on the MoFi is more faithful to the actual master. What you are preferring is the EQ tweaking by the mastering engineer, BG.

I agree I felt the MOFI Thriller lacks soul.

New or old, the most important factor that has to be there no crackle, pops, scratch, if I hear one of this during the song I´m out, i hate that. Getting an original first press without these problems is not easy or cheap. Whenever I buy old or first presses I almost NEVER get them in the shape they get offered and even with 10times waching in ultrasonic machine doesn´t get them to a new clean pressing. This new pressing has to be very bad that I take the negatives of the old pressing. I had these, Skid Row first 2 albums, the newly done LPs are total waste of money, there is nothing there anymore, that is way I took the first pressings

Dominick Guzman michael jackson Thriller 40th anniversary

So, in other words, at the end of the day, the OG simply makes more fun , right ?

This is all same sound -listen and go on

It seems to me that the original tape was simply copied to DSD 256 then cut, so how would Bernie Grundman extract anything that isn't already there. Sorry but in my view you are talking about maybe the opposite, taking something away i.e. not as true to the original master tape as MOFI but its what we have all been used to for 40 yearsI The OG is made loud so its obviously more compressed. I have the OG and the onestep as of yesterday and I absolutely agree as a former DJ I played the Albums many times over club systems and its the OG will be the one but with my home resolving HIFI system, I can now say that sitting down of an evening I prefer the MOFI. I think everybody is entitled to their view but Michael is I think allowing still obvious issues with MOFI to cloud his otherwise clear and fair reviews. The Onstep is a very very good version and I applaud them going in a different direction it gives us all more listening options and for these reasons I'm absolutely with Melinda on this.

original remains original!.. by overdoing it’s not the same now each other will expertise in they way to give a sense to buying theses new editions hoping they will be superior in someway…

I’ll take Mike over Melinda. Melinda bought the Evans box but isn’t that into jazz. That should tell you the depths of the wade

Has MOFI ever used Bernie or any other mastering engineer that’s not in-house?

Nicole done

digital is boring and on vinyl wont change it

Why do grown men little kiddy music?