The Beatles – The Singles Collection

Why are these pressed with the small lp-size spindle hole rather than the standard large hole for 45rpm records? Do these mimic the originals? Thanks, and pardon me if this has already been addressed.

Held off forever on buying this, but it was on clearance for half price when I visited Sunrise in Winnipeg, so, YEAH!

As a side note, the Now and Then 7" fit's great in the Singles box perfectly.

Any copies in existence that don’t have the pixelated We Can Work It Out/Day Tripper sleeve? The only flaw in the set, IMO. Seems they could create replacement sleeves, the only thing that keeps the set from perfection really.

If you listen to original UK singles, they sound very similar to these reissues. They in fact were created using the original cutting notes. There is a chance you may not like how they sound, but this set did a great job in doing what they set out to do. Were there some issues with quality control, sure, but overall a great set.

I had problems with the sound of some discs. Way too blown out.
And I have a question: how in hell they sell this with a pixelated sleeve -talking about Day Tripper-?

Well, I might put this one Into my 'favourite albums' list, because a book (or a box, in this case) of 7" (or 10" them days...😉) singles surely is the most original album format of them all. And what a great album this is!!!
Wondered if I really needed these when I already own the red & the blue ones?!? Yes, certainly. One 7" is slightly warped (We Can Work It Out / Day Tripper), but this dies Not affect the Sound which is great throughout. About those complaining: these are 7" singles, therefore offering the sound quality of an LP near the runout grove... we knew this??? And still, especially the tunes created in the second half of the sixties, they sound amazing, Strawberry Fields for example...
The box looks good, seems quite solid, the singles are shelved in protective sleeves of the best kind, and the little trivia about the cover art's origin are a good read. Track information is same solid...
What more can I say? It's a superb box set, and to those who still complain about sound quality: vinyl did not sound like hi-res digital in the 1960's, and thanks for that!!! 😂

i heard mixed reviews about this release about discs being warped and parts of the box being off centre but when mine arrived i had none of these problems. i think it is a great box set of singles that any Beatles enthusiast should own and the sleeves from all around the world are a great touch as well. having many of the original singles from the different countries and comparing them to these reissues , they are very accurate.

I, like many, am one of the unlucky ones who's box is not up to scratch.
Almost all are warped and one scratched.
Bought it when it was released, definitely not worth the money.
I have only played it once, doubt if I will again.

Had purchased this a week ago and just finished listening to the set. Here is what I think:

Presentation wise, this is top quality. I love this big blue box, it stands extremely well next to my mono box and just looks awesome. Compared to the other singles box in the 70s, this is artistically fantastic! Although, the covers for We Can Work It Out and Baby You’re a Rich Man are pretty bad. Sucks because i love the photo chosen for the latter. They couldn’t have just digitally cleaned up the images? Oh well, I still think the art is great. Love the gatefold on Lady Madonna!

SQ// I know these are not audiophile records, but they all sound great. If you want the best sound, grab the Mono Masters LP and the original singles for BOJ&Y/Something. I personally prefer a lot of these as opposed to the UK singles, as these are clean and not as worn out as the UK singles are (usually). I definitely liked the Let it Be single, as i heard Macca breathing into the mic.

The early singles sound good, the middle singles sound fine, but the later singles sound fantastic. Get Back and Come Together never sounded better in their single-mix form. Although, I still think the 2014 AAA Blue Album is overall a better way to get the later singles tracks. It sounds better and is all on one LP (not counting the first LP in the set). Glad to have Free as a Bird and Real Love in one disc, as I never listen to the B sides on both singles.

Pressing quality sucks though. I never understood why many people trash on Optimal, and I guess I got lucky too many times. This set is full of warps and even had one with a spindle hole that was too big, causing the disc to slightly spin around after i pressed stop on my table (All You Need is Love/Baby You’re a Rich Man). Thankfully, my favorite singles, being the late 60s stuff, were all perfectly flat. Despite the warps, all discs were clean and extremely quiet, so I still did get lucky. However, the warps are unacceptable. Some are slight, some are major. However, playback was not affected as a result of the warps.

This might be me bitching, but the book gave me 0 new information and was not really inviting. I wish they had photos of those singles masters, and some other facts about the cutting or the singles itself.

Overall, Im happy with this set. I dont think Ill be listening to this as much as I listen to the Mono Masters LPs, but at least I have a true presentation of the singles. My favorites from this set are Cant Buy Me Love, Ticket to Ride, We Can Work it Out, Lady Madonna, Get Back, Let it Be, Free as a Bird.