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The Chronic - DSS One-StepArtist: Dr. Dre$124.98QuantityShips on: January 12, 2026The Definitive Sound Series (DSS) meticulous One-Step process creates the definitive sounding audiophile version of all-time classic albums. Dr. Dre “The Chronic” was mastered from the original analog master tapes to ensure “The Chronic” has never sounded better!This DSS version is limited to a one-time pressing of 3,000 numbered copies, includes a top-quality heavyweight tip on double gatefold jacket for the first time and is housed inside a uniquely designed slipcase.Special care has been taken to faithfully preserve the original sound with exceptional clarity and depth, capturing the recordings nuances at every step, in order to create the definitive sounding record.The One-Step process is highly regarded among audiophiles and collectors for its unparalleled sound fidelity and represents the pinnacle of vinyl manufacturing and the listening experience.DSS One-Step Details- Audio Source: Original Analog Master Tapes- Vinyl Compound: Neotech VR900-D2 180g High-Definition Vinyl- Vinyl Mastering: Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering- One-Step Process: Dorin Sauerbier at Record technology, Inc.- Pressing: Record Technology, Inc.- Print & Packaging: GPA GlobalDr. Dre Notes:When originally released back in 1992 The Chronic was a single LP with long sides. It was a gift that vinyl even existed for the original release - CDs ruled the day. By 2001 this landmark recording was split across 4 sides which allowed for a more authentic audio listening experience to what Dr. Dre had created. Now we have The Chronic One-Step release which takes Dr. Dre’s production to a whole new listening level. The original analog master tapes were completely sequenced and in great shape - ready to cut! Of course we used Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering where every version of The Chronic had been mastered, to put the magic of the tapes onto the Definitive Sound Series One Step!https://interscope.com/products/the-chronic-dss-one-step
Dr. Dre's Hip Hop Classic Gets a Well-Deserved "One Step" Release From Tapehey boomer! You might actually like this! you'll love the sound for sureLabel: InterscopeProduced By: Dr. DreEngineered By: Willi WillMixed By: Greg RoyalMastered By: Chris Bellman (originally mastered by Bernie Grundman)Lacquers Cut By: Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman MasteringIn the audiophile ghettos otherwise known as "hi-fi shows" Hip Hop music rarely if ever gets played. Blues? Yes. A lot of blues. Jazz? Yes a lot of jazz. Some classical too, but Hip Hop? Not that I can recall. Some say it's the coarse language. Around the time this now classic Hip Hop album was released late 1992, a Howard Stern Show character named "Stuttering John" (Melendez) stuck a microphone in Walter Cronkite's face at a press event and attempted a Q&A. During the questioning he slipped in the word "friggin'" and that set off the then retired CBS News anchor, who excoriated Melendez for his foul language.33 years later "friggin"? It's in TV commercials and sitcoms. No big deal. Our public language has gotten a great deal coarser. We have a President who regularly throws "F-bombs", uses phrases like "shithole countries", and spouts vulgarities that, coming from a President's mouth in public once would have been considered scandalous. Most of them spewed their expletives in private.There's very little said on The Chronic (slang for the highest quality weed, if you didn't know) that most people reading this haven't said (usually with far less humorous intent) or at least heard in private and maybe in public depending upon where you hang and with whom, though in my family growing up if you ever used the N word you got your mouth washed out with soap.The Chronic quickly reached number 3 on the Billboard 200 charts and spent 8 months in the Top 10, eventually being certified triple platinum (3 million copies sold) and all of that were before these coarse public language times. It was a mainstream album. The Library of effing Congress selected The Chronic for preservation in the National Recording Registry in 2019 as "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant"!Yet you won't hear The Chronic in the hi-fi show ghetto—at least I've not—or any other Hip Hop or rap music. Maybe Rap and Hip Hop are out at hifi shows because many (but not all) Hip Hop records are filled with smashed, lo-rez samples, highly processed vocals and synthetic beats that result in recordings not fit to show off high performance audio gear.Nonetheless, one musical step away from The Chronic, and so close, the names Bernie Worrell and George Clinton and groups like Parliament/Funkadelic and War are very familiar to many audiophiles, and their music, often very well recorded, is well appreciated!* Go-Go music Chuck Brown's 70's era Washington D.C. party/dance funk variant definitely got plenty of "airplay" at hi-fi shows because I brought Go-Go Crankin' Paint The White House Black to many of them and everyone partied!Now finally, onto this AAA The Chronic "One Step"reissue spread onto two 180g slabs. You are advised on side 3 that "This should be played at high volume preferably in a residential area!" . And you can because it's a flat out audiophile quality G-funk production, more live in the studio music, than sample derived (fewer than a dozen samples, more than a few Funkadelic derived). The funk beats are slow, fat and hypnotic the bass lines sexy and languid and Dre leaves wide open spaces that help produce huge, three-dimensional soundstages. There's a live flute played by Katisse Buckingham that magically floats in space between the channels. Most of the live instruments are equally well recorded and presented. Not sure if Dre used Neumann U-47s but the vocals are so ridiculously well recorded and left to hang unmolested by effects you can almost smell the blunt breath.Now, regarding the lyrics and the emotional residue, Dre addresses his former bandmates and airs his grievances, sometimes viciously, Snoop Dogg raps all over the record about his rough time growing up but even then he provided almost a balm and today he's a benign mainstream caricature of his former self. People who whined then about the glorification of "gangsta violence" are the same folks who loved The Untouchables and later The Sopranos so take it for what it is, often sketch comedy funny, more like Firesign Theater, and filled with cartoon sex. Making this record must have been a collective blast.Still there's enough of a dangerous undercurrent to make it vital and sometimes scary because it reflects how life was and probably still is for many in the real ghetto. 30 years down the road, though it goes down surprisingly mellow yet there's enough sketch comedy fun, funk and danger to keep listeners fully engaged, especially since it sounds so fucking great! The One Step costs $124.98. I reviewed a test pressing but based on the other One Steps in this series the packaging should be deluxe.Finally, Bernie Grundman originally mastered this in 1992 and according to Wikipedia some recording was also done at Bernie's. I just wish I'd been a fly on the wall watching all of this go down with mild-mannered Bernie! Needless to say, this edition was plated by Dorin Sauerbier at RTI and pressed there on Neotech VR900-D2 180g High Performance Vinyl.Music SpecificationsCatalog No: 60247823267Pressing Plant: RTISPARS Code: AAASpeed/RPM: 33 1/3Weight: 180 gramsSize: 12"Channels: StereoSource: original master tapePresentation: Multi LP
The Definitive Sound Series (DSS) Numbered, Limited Edition One-Time Pressing Limited to 3,000 Copies One-Step Vinyl All-Analog Double LP Neotech VR900-D2 180g High-Definition Vinyl Audio Source: Original Analog Master Tapes Vinyl Mastering by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering One-Step Process by Dorin Sauerbier at Record Technology, Inc. Pressed at Record Technology, Inc. Packaging by ASG / Spark Top-Quality Heavyweight Tip-On Gatefold Jacket Uniquely Designed Slipcase Explicit Content
QD3 (Quincy Jones III), the son of Quincy Jones, stated that there was a track on The Chronic that he considered his favorite, which was ultimately removed from the album due to a sample clearance issue. This comment came from a red carpet interview around 2009. QD3 did not elaborate further on the specific track or sample
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