Are colored vinyl LPs and picture disc LPs inferior?

It seems like most of the colored vinyl and picture discs I own seem to have more 'pops' and 'cracks' when you play them than the traditional black vinyl. Obviously, the thickness could be the issue, but does anyone else find that colored LPs and picture discs tend to be lesser in quality?

Dave

 

Picture discs usually have a thinner amount of vinyl so as to accommodate for the picture on the inside. But honestly, I only own two picture discs in my 8,000+ LP collection. One is a boot and one is the Monkee Business PD from 1982. I can't tell if it's the vinyl on that one or just the poor quality mixes and/or inferior master tapes used, but it sounds like crap.

But as far as colored vinyl is concerned, I have quite a few pieces in my collection and they all sound great. The only problem I have with most colored vinyl other than black is that it can be quite difficult to give a visual grade to. That might explain the pops/clicks in yours if you bought them online from someone who doesn't play grade their vinyl. Just a thought.

 

For sure any picture disc I have sounds like crap... but I would have thought that my copy of The Beatles "Love Songs" on clear gold vinyl would have sounded great, but it sounds like horrible as well.

 

Yes, the noise floor on picture vinyls is higher. But color vinyl can sound great, just listen to a red vinyl of Faith No More's King for a day. Sounds great.

 

It was always my understanding that transparent colored vinyl was always virgin vinyl this may be an old wife tale.

 

I've got a new clear (red) pressing that sounds great, but I just got a clear (blue) Fantasy pressing from 1960 or so that is a bit disappointing. Not terrible, but more noise than I'd expect. Plus it seems to have some overload/distortion issues (no idea if that's because of the vinyl or not). Sure looks cool though.

 

That is exactly what I thought. The "Love Songs" I have only has about 3 plays on it... but it sounds like someone used it for a dinner plate.

 

You guys actually play your pic discs?

 

Well my Beatles white album (UK pressing) on white vinyl is pretty near dead quiet. I don't have any of the Beatles mono/red wax Japanese pressings but I hear they are too. I never bought pictures discs myself.....yet I've never heard anyone say that they provide great sound, they're just collectible.

 

Once each

I believe you, Steve. I guess I shouldn't pay so much attention to old wives tails .

 

Didn't I read somewhere (on this forum) that the Steely Dan red vinyl (Canadian pressing) was very good???

I also remember seeing threads about the Beatles White Album on white vinyl (forget which country) also being very good. As pointed out by Raunchnroll above.

I took these posts to mean that coloured vinyl was not necessarily a bad thing.

 

The red vinyl of "Aja" is good...and seems to be the same as the Black vinyl cut...

( I have found this to be true....)

However...cool as it is...the red vinyl is a tad noisy at times...

 

The clear vinyl copy of Blondie's "Parallel Lines" is very good.

 

In my experience, vinyl without this "agent" added does scratch more easily. (I'd heard it called "carbon black" before.) It seems the colored vinyl is softer, in other words. I've had minor "mishaps" over the past 25 or so years where my black vinyl wouldn't be harmed, where the colored easily picked up a small tick from it. The colored vinyl, too, seems to be worn a lot more than the black vinyl pressings I've seen. Groove damage seems to be more apparent on the non-black.

This is not to be confused with the "premium" vinyl out there, like the Quiex, MoFi's JVC vinyl, etc. that are a special formulation.

 

Just to add my two sense and IMHO I've always had issues with colored vinyl both as a visual problem and a quality one. Of the two dozen or so pieces I've played over the years NONE of them have been clean enough to be acceptable keepers. All this jives with what Steve has explained and it makes perfect sense. As far as picture discs they always seemed silly to me anyway, they look more like dinner plates than something I would put on an expensive analog rig and actually place my stylus on. Remember, all my opinion, not trying to steam anyone up.

 

After a bunch of complaints from consumers, many picture discs released in the 70s and 80s had printed disclaimers about sound quality not being up to snuff.

 

One of the few "collectible" albums I still own is a Sgt. Pepper picture disc. I think I remember playing it once or twice, and I think I remember it sounding like crap.

 

FWIW, I have 2 copies of the red vinyl Aja. One has quite noisy vinyl; the other is just fine -- about normal for late 70s vinyl.

The UK white vinyl White Album I have is pretty quiet -- about the same as other Beatles UK pressings of that vintage.

 

Most picture discs do sound pretty horrible, but they don't have to.

My copy of Acid Mother's Temple's '41st Century Splendid Man' LP is absolutely gorgeous; barely a trace of surface noise and crystal clear sound. Played it often and it's never shown the slightest trace of excess wear.

Black vinyl CAN sound cleaner than colored, but remember that a lot of 70s black vinyl (DJM Elton albums and some of those early Factory Joy Division LPs and singles, for instance) only looked black; they didn't include the graphite (if that's what it was) that made it smoother and quieter. Black translucent ink was no different than any other colored translucent ink (AFAIK).

 

I think lumping colored vinyl and picture discs into the same catagory is apples and oranges. They have nothing to do with each other concerning quality of sound.

 

Believe you about what, that they add fairy dust to black records, or that it makes records quieter?

 

I have a picture disc copy of Earth's Hex; or Printing in the Infernal Method that sounds excellent. All my other pic discs sound horrible. I don't buy them anymore. Most of my clear and white vinyl seems to have a high noise floor as well. I try to stay away from those colors in particular.

What with the trend among hipster bands to release limited colored vinyl, I find it funny that by and large it is a detrament to sound quality. It practically feels like the industry is giving collectors another albatross to grab for. I wonder if a few years from now the black vinyl copies will be more sought after than the colored ones.

 

Hi major_works,

That's exactly the disk that came to mind when I read the title of this thread.
I've still got one of those - still sealed too.
(Its on my shelf next to an oft played UK pressing of "High Tides/Green Grass".)

Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

Back in the mid-80s, I remember being really excited to find the Genesis 3 x 3 EP on picture disc 7". I went home and played it, and it sounded absolutely terrible (it was brand new at the time). I took it back to Wall To Wall Sound and Video (R.I.P.) and since they didn't have another one, I ended up buying some crap heavy metal cassette that is long gone from my collection. Ah, foolish youth!

I have a couple pieces of colored vinyl with skips, which irritates me to no end, because even as a teen, I would play LPs very rarely. Yet, my old black vinyl looks and sounds as good as new. Go figure. As they say, "If Hoffman says it's true - it's true."

Dave