Gillian Welch Soul Journey Vinyl summer 18

Yes and no. Paper debris and poor paper quality were - and are - very real sources of contaminants and scuffs. Some of those '70s-era paper sleeves were a bare degree or two over fine sandpaper in textural quality! I agree, though, that there are other factors. QRP pressings seem decidedly prone to surface noise, and that's the case even when they use their rice paper style inner sleeves.

 

Agree on the comment about Ryan Adams albums on Amazon. Got the Cold Roses double LP Pallas pressing for 14 bucks (free shipping) and it was flat and clean as a whistle.

 

Replacement arrived. Previously I had skips on Miss Ohio and Lowlands. No skips there but now skip on Nobody Knows My Name plus loud pops.

This copy is even more off center and more surface noise throughout than I would like.

Ugh.

 

After reading this thread I am going to have to pass on the vinyl album.

I don’t understand why Welch and Rawlings would allow such a sub-standard pressing when they put so much effort into the quality of their recordings.

All that effort comes to naught if the pressing makes the music sound lousy.

I’ll stick with the CD, which is awesome.

Hope they sort this out before the next vinyl release.

 

If you are not already dealing with Acony Records, you may want to email them [email protected] and let them know.

 

This is my second Amazon copy.

Both copies originated from different locations so it's not just a single bad batch.

Would you suggest I return my second copy to amazon rather than exchanging and purchase from Acony direct?

 

I recommend you email Acony first, before returning your latest copy.

 

Will do that. Assumed they wouldn't be able to help because it's an Amazon purchase and not direct through them - but I will shoot an email. Thanks

 

I noticed a few odd pops including one loudish one on track 5 side 1. Having recently got the 'we noticed your returns are high' email from Amazon I'm not returning discs for minor issues. I just returned a record last week that verged on the unplayable. All the plants are now suffering from regular QC issues.

 

This is something I do when a record is 20 bucks, not $30+

 

Only paid £22 from Amazon UK which is dead cheap for a US import. A few intermittent pops is acceptable if not ideal. Sounds like people are getting far worse than I have.

 

I'm currently half way through side 1 and this is a totally different experience to the CD. Absolutely stunning pressing. I cannot wait for the rest of the albums to be released. I'm pretty sure that Nashville Obsolete is next though as it was mentioned somewhere a few months ago they were mastering that.

I had a couple of pops during Look at Miss Ohio but not worth the bother of getting an exchange.

One thing I noticed is how thin the vinyl is, its like some 70s vinyl I own. Very unusual nowadays.

 

This means the replacement is from the stock of QRP replacement disks, which in my experience are usually better than the ones from an album. If anyone is really bothered by their copy, I suggest trying to get a replacement from Acony, as they will probably send you a QRP replacement disk.

Another option, which I will do when it gets colder, is buy a copy from Acoustic Sounds, which is the same company as QRP. This way, if you get a bad copy, you can call customer service and ask for a replacement disk that has been QC'd (they have excellent customer service; they have done this for me multiple times and the replacements are perfect).

 

I was going to buy another copy for my friend, but I’ll wait until they get the QC issues sorted out.

 

That probably means you'll have to wait for the second press. For some reason it seems this is selling slower than Harvest (or this was a bigger run?) so who knows when that will be.

 

I also have white debris on mine. I don’t not have a cleaner at home right now and attempted to use my vinyl brush but wasn’t very successful. Lots of minor noise with a handful of louder pops.

Might have to try the alcohol cleaning as well. Knowing what this should sound like, this noise will definitely bother me going forward.....

 

My copy sounds great. No issues with the quality of the pressing. Nice gatefold sleeve. Bring on the rest of the catalog!

 

It sounds like you have a similar issue to my one. I had a fairly large white speck on Track 5, Side 1 also. This caused a really loud pop on my set up. The good news however is that I was able to remove it using a toothpick (very carefully, of course) followed by further cleaning and the pop is now gone. There were two less 'aggressive' pops earlier on the same track and I have been able to reduce the effect of those, considerably. Again it is some 'foreign' object in the vinyl but it is very hard to see as it is minute. I have a 3 mild 'ticks' on the preceding track also which is probably due to another piece of minute debris lodged somewhere on that track. Even a prior pre-play wet cleaning followed by ultrasonic cleaning did not remove any of these pieces of debris? I think overall though the pressing is of very high quality so it is desirable to try and remove the debris, if possible. It seems obvious though that this 'debris' problem is not just a one off issue as some members on discogs have had similar problems.

I used to order vinyl from CD Wow up to five years ago. I had a problem with a URP U.S. pressing on the last occasion and they put me 'through the hoops' on that one. So I dumped them and have never used CD Wow since. I get used records direct from Japan every month and I never have any issues, but this is only good for back catalogue titles.

 

You seem to have the same problem that I had. A toothpick or the tip of a tooth flosser (bow saw type) can help in dislodging the debris, using utmost care of course not to damage the vinyl surface.

 

Am I a jerk if I get this and H&H from amazon instead of Acony?
It's cheaper and free shipping.

 

NO, it's gonna be easier to get a replacement if needed.

 

I took a listen to "SJ" last night - it's actually pretty quiet, but has an edge warp and (more damning) a really off-center hole, that creates a slight warbling effect, especially on the outer grooves. It does sound good, other than that.

 

After reading about all the QRP pressing complaints in this thread, I opened my LP I just received and gave it a cleaning and a good listen.
I'm very happy with this LP, it sounds very good, even though it has a few random clicks and pops. I'm hoping after a few plays it sound even better.

 

I cleaned mine again using my Record Doctor and it appears to have less random clicks and pops now -- either that or I got used to them, as I have been spinning my copy everyday since I got it .

 

You might be on to something here. Multiple cleanings might be required here, even after cleaning I saw white specs from the inner sleeve.