My store tells me I buy enough that they would rather I not buy from Amazon and they will take defects back from me. They continue to honor that with a smile. They really do earn my business, and in kind I don't abuse it. With margins in that industry ridiculously low it is awfully nice of them.
I agree it's much better now than it was in the 70's and 80's. My assumption is the crap is coming from the same pressing plants, and they are probably cheaper. Funny that I am having the opposite problem most are describing. I can almost be sure that if I'm buying a new release by a volume seller artist, and it's under $24, it's going to have issues. And though many are fine, many are not. What I rarely have a problem with are reissues that sell for a bit more.
Ok Roger, The US Columbia Get Happy! is notorious for the lack of bass. The original UK or the 2-LP UK F-Beat promo has the bass.
Well, I don't really know if there's good evidence the rate of defects is higher now than before. Post-CD, I think everyone's expectations around lack of noise and artifact have been heightened. And paying $25-50 a pop for an album is automatically going to lessen tolerance for ANY defects. So I think these are the key factors driving the concerns, myself. And, the fact many of us now have hyper-revealing systems that bring out any flaw, versus the crappy cheap systems I was listening on as a kid where even major surface noise wouldn't have registered (and yet, how I enjoyed the music, regardless...).
As unlikely as it may be, the Ringo rsd 45 Box pressed by Rainbo is good, it was in sale so I took a chance, pleasantly surprised. So there's (a little) hope.
Of course, you do have a point. However, I can say that the majority of my collection comes from the 70's and 80's, and even after over thirty years of regular rotation, I still shake my head in wonder at how silent they are compared to the albums I bought just this year...or last week as a matter of fact.
I respect that, but guess I just have to say I don't hear it that way personally. Easily a higher percentage of my whisper quiet albums are modern reissues than older pressings. But, I will then quickly add that I do tend to buy only reissues that are marketed to/pressed for audiophiles, and not just the "regular" vinyl market stuff which can, I agree, be very hit or miss (David Crosby/Lighthouse was an example of a truly atrocious pressing, among others). So maybe that accounts for my differing impressions as compared with you and others, could well be.
Ah! In that case, I agree with you. I thought that you were referring to the standard pop/rock/commercial releases. When you go outside of that, you tend to have better pressings. The best I've had were from this past summer: eight consecutive jazz albums from the same series (at $16 each!). Not one of them had a single tick in it - actually, one did, but it was an extremely light one. I haven't had that success rate in the pop/rock releases in the past ten years - not even close. So yes, the success rate seems to be higher when you go off the beaten track.
I don't know. There is a lot of crap from that era too. But it seemed worse with certain labels. I have an awful lot of bad vinyl from TK Records, MCA rainbow and earlier UNI, Asylum (getting a Ronstadt decent pressing is nearly impossible) and others. But on the other hand, most recordings cranked out by RSO, Columbia and Warners sound good to me. I think we often see the same now. No one will convince most of us that the labels don't know where to get good pressings and where to get them done on the cheap. On the A&M board we were discussing how most people buying the Carpenter reissues received terrible pressings. I returned mine as I saw no point going through all that exchange stuff again. It doesn't bother me that we get an ocassional bad pressing. It's when a label has a plant known for bad pressings press for them anyway. Really? UMg didn't know those Carpenters discs in the box sets were going to be largely defective? And the plant didn't know? I don't buy it. At least they stepped up after all the anger and they are exchanging them, but why did it happen in the first place? If the audiophile labels can source and press their stuff right, so can everyone else. If labels would stop using facilities like Rainbow, I'm sure those places would produce better product.
It's interesting to return to this thread and see everyone's experiences - it certainly seems everyone is seeing different things. For me lately, I'm having a reasonable time of it. Fewer dirty and scratched LPs (hardly ever seems to happen for me at the moment), probably a few warped discs here and there (but that doesn't bother me cos I have a Vinyl Flat), very little non-fill lately. If the plants could just sort out getting all their LPs correctly centred, I'd rarely encounter any problems - that issue seems as common as ever.
That's not to say there weren't clunkers, especially in the 70s. U.S. Capitol and RCA had some horrid sounding (noisy) vinyl. Even Columbia wasn't totally immune. The 80s saw improvement across the board, at least in the States.
So in the last 3 months I have purchased 11 vinyl albums all from Amazon and all were returned. Yesterday I took delivery of 2 Billy Idol factory sealed new release reissues, both arrived with pretty bad visual defects. I then played them and they had really loud pops during playback, not just between tracks either, I also tried 2 Christopher Cross debut 180 gram reissues and had same issue. Same with Gary Numan. Pleasure Principle. I have resigned myself to buying used vinyl now. Maybe I’m just unlucky with the artists I am buying ? but the used vinyl I am buying is damage free and plays great, so it seems odd to me that something that has been in someone’s collection for 30 years, looks and plays better than something that is factory sealed.
This is a really good point. And it’s been my experience also. Pop/ Rock stuff tends to be where the defects are far more common.
Same issues here. I've bought RAM twice, both were warped and had really bad scuffs (probably due to the paper sleeves). Also bought Past Masters and Station to Station and both were so warped I was afraid to drop the needle! Shame really because both purchases were at a good price.
I did have a long conversation with a Manager at Amazon returns , and they did share that they do see a large number of vinyl returns in general. If it had visual defects but played without issues then I wouldn’t care so much, but having both visual and audio issues has made me rethink all this. Used vinyl it is.
Used is a far greater crap shoot than buying new. I've purchased well over a hundred individual titles from a multitude of different worldwide sellers both online (via Ebay, Discogs, Amazon and other retailers) and in used shops and not one of them - yes, I mean not a single LP - has either been anywhere near its described condition or met my minimum acceptable standard if I picked it up myself (after I've actually heard it). I have no desire to purchase any more used vinyl whatsoever. Sellers can keep their junk.
I have had very different experiences to you. Buying used on Amazon has resulted in similar experiences to you with used. I however use a very reputable uk dealer and they really do deliver what they promise. I tend to stick to buying from this store because they ship overseas, and they really do give accurate descriptions of what they sell. They do sell new also, but I only use them for used.
Yup. UM/e is terrible. Their reissues of the Black Crowes being the warped, off center, non fill-having, worst 16b digital sourced records ever. But to be fair, I've picked up the RTI SH/KG Tres Hombres, and it had a piece of paper stuck in the "pimple" in the run out of side 2. I'll take a pic when I get home...
A used record dealer in the UK who actually grades accurately? Wow, I really need to get their details. If it's not a private seller and they freely advertise their wares then I hope you will be able to provide their name here? If you'd rather not can you possibly PM it to me? Thanks!
Sure Here you go. Vinyl Tap - Rare Vinyl Records I have a lot of luck with this place. They also are very cheap for shipping overseas.
Yep. I've had (almost) nothing but trouble with UK sellers on Discogs. I think most do it maliciously, knowing the return shipping would be too much for the buyer to pay a 2nd time to ship back. Once, I even got a pressing that was from another country as opposed to a 1st UK pressing, which is what I had bought. The repeated carelessness eventually led me to a major attitude-filled rant after which I got refunded for everything. I had had enough.
I had a few uk sellers on amazon send me stuff that was totally worthless. Didn’t call out non removable promo stickers, punch holes, bad quality artwork, poor shape vinyl. But Vinyl Tap has a good reputation . So far so good with them for me and used vinyl.
It's not just UK sellers! The worst I've dealt with have been from the US but I've had problems buying from France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Japan, Greece, Spain, Cyprus and too many other places to name. I have bought from nearly 100 different sellers from a multitude of places / countries and they are all equally bad.
I've experienced much the same as you, and I too recently gave up on buying new vinyl. I was returning so much that it was no longer fun for me. I have a vinyl flat/groove pouch to fix warps and a spindle to compensate for records that are cut off center, but still I had tons of problems with non fill and audible scratches from thick card inners and bad handling at the pressing plants. The only time I will buy new vinyl now is if there is no digital equivalent, or if the digital version is truly unlistenable. Used vinyl is still a gamble, but when I'm shopping in the wild, I can at least inspect it visually before buying.
