Guns N Roses Use Your Illusion I and II Vinyl 6/5

Well, I just pulled the trigger on NM original Greek pressings of UYI I and II for around $80. Also got a original French copy of Appetite with the original cover. I am stoked! I will let you know how the Greek pressings sound once recieved. I have no problem with the Appetite reissue but can't imagine that the OP won't still beat it.

 

My first initial reaction would always be to keep the original especially based on historic value and "coolness" but the bottom line remains that Op's almost always win for sound quality. There are always a few exceptions to the rule. Let us know if you are able to do a A/B comparison.

 

Spinning the original pressing of UYI One right now and I am HIGHLY IMPRESSED with the sound quality. Fantastic, rich, deep thumping analogue sound. These annihilate the CD versions! So glad I picked these up! I got lucky too, these are both in NM condition and the covers look fantastic too. They obviously used to use better ink for the covers in the old days! I would recommend any big Roses fans to get these on vinyl. It sounds like the newer vinyl was also done pretty well although I doubt it can beat this.

 

I decided to order the reissues (I think new 2015/2016 pressings) of the two Use Your Illusion I & II volumes when they had them on sale at Amazon.de.

Volume I (almost) arrived a couple of days ago, but the box was so damaged during shipment that the postman took it right back. I am supposed to receive a replacement soon.

Volume II arrived today, and I am spinning it right now. I was quite impressed by the pressing quality, nice, flat, centered and pretty clean pressings with no scratches. GZ Vinyl has really improved a lot in the last years, I have received many close to perfect pressings from them recently.

There is STERLING in the deadwax, and I think these use the same stampers/masterings as the 2008 Back to Black editions.

I didn't bother (yet) to do any comparisons to the CD versions, but the vinyl sounds pretty good on its own.

I still remember when these came out, and how far out that was to release two double studio albums at the same time. Talk about overkill. Back in the days, I couldn't afford all the new records that I wanted, and I also already had a bit of GNR overexposure from MTV at the time, so I never bought these on vinyl at the time, nor on CD (I bought the CD versions much later). I remember a friend of mine had bought both volumes on release day, and I listened to some of the albums at his place. There were some tracks I really liked, but it was just too much to digest for me at the time.

 

It's great to know that GZ improved their pressing quality and that these reissues sound good. I love both of them, I bought them on cassette when the were new, I was just a little 8-year-old boy! Time flies, my friends.

 

I own both the 2008 reissues on 180 gram vinyl and the '91 european OP with "Sterling" in the dead wax. The '91 beats out the 2008. I agree the 2008 GZ pressing quality is very good, but the sonics show evidence of digital decay and is overall lacking.

The '91 OP is very big sounding and lives up to its DMM analog hype. I would encourage fans of these two albums to hunt down the euro OP.

 

I know these reissues came out first in 2008!
But now 2017 almost ten years after these are still pressed by gzvinyl in czech republic?

 

Newest 2016 reissues are supposedly cut by Ryan K Smith @Sterling, pressed at GZ. According to Discogs.

 

In case you still own German and US original vinyls of UYI please make a quick sound comparision, using Don't Cry on both for example.
Bought German UYI 2 last year which beats every reissue I heard to date. Sounds marvellous including bassline which is frankly a rare case on German pressings, remarkable tonal balance.
Wondering now if US original is even richer than German preserving the same tonal palette.
Would dare to get a US OP blindly but the current price tag of $100> for a VG+ stops me.
Thanks a lot in advance!

 

so are the new 2016 reissues better than the back to black from 2008?

 

Unsure of a U.S. original but I own a Greek original which sounds bone-crushing and huge. This was a very well recorded album and it's hard to go wrong no matter which version you have. I would love to hear the German one as I think 95% of German pressings sound fantastic but having already spent around $80 on the one I have I'll have to hold off for now.

 

re Illusions : does your Greek issue have STERLING DMM on deadwax?
my both German Illusions contain and sound like a blast..

re other GnR German pressings : Appetite and Lies are fairly dull against US originals, keep 'em only for alternative covers.

 

I'll have to check that when I get home.

 

Just picked up UYI-I and UYI-II from Amazon USA. First copy of UYI-II came in a bubble wrap envelope, and the cover looked like ass as it appeared to have 20 years of ringwear and creases simply from shipping. Ditto the inner sleeves which are vault-tight glossy paper stock, printed with lyrics and production notes on one side, while replicating the inside of the gatefold art on the other sides, for both UYI-1 and II. Neither is a gatefold, BUT UYI-II is a 180 gram reissue pressed by GZ in the Czech Republic with STERLING stamped on all 4 sides in the deadwax.

Vinyl arrived dirty for both albums. Why cant GZ and other plants today with the same issue man up, and get their quality control together? After a few spins on the VPI, both slabs needed a go on the Audio Desk US cleaner to remove the last of the tics and Rice Krispies. Both LP's of UYI-II now play perfect, however due to it's jacket condition from poor packing, I re-ordered another copy of UYI-II for exchange. It's already here @ no extra cost. If the new vinyl isn't better, I'll swap out the best 2 albums and return the damaged cover and jacket with the worst 2. Realise this, you do need to buy or use your rice paper inner sleeves, and get some 3 mil bags to protect the jacket and vinyl. The jacket itself while in shrink, is made of thin white cardboard, and glossy inner sleeves fit the LP's too tight, easily scratching each album whenever you are installing or removing them for play.

I typically get the square rice paper inner sleeves to fit inside the nice printed factory inner sleeves, which mitigate subsequent wear and scratches, while protecting the original inner sleeves from tears and splits. Crap plain paper non-printed inner sleeves go straight in the bin.

Sound quality on the 180 gram UYI II vinyl is excellent once its cleaned and quiet. If you know the material, you either love or hate it. It sounds much better than the original CD's or the cassettes, which are all I had to compare..I've never owned these titles on vinyl, thus my reason for purchasing them. My original cassette copies are played in a Nak Dragon, sounding about the best they can, and better than the original CD's, IMO.

NOW, UYI-I on the other hand arrived from Amazon perfectly packed with no damages. However, the LP itself is a 2012 reissue complete with non-fill, bumps, holes, gouges in the label areas, poorly cut bumpy outer edges, and warped to all get-out. Same issues as UYI-II regarding cleanliness and inner sleeve fit/difficulty to remove vinyl without damaging the surfaces. I am disappointed in this pressing and returned it for exchange to Amazon, free of charge. No amount of cleaning could improve either LP enough for me to consider keeping them. Background noise, tics, and swish sounds are aplenty here. If I don't receive a decent copy in 2 or 3 tries, I'll return for UYI-I for a complete refund and seek out a better/180 gram later reissue elsewhere online. Now, UYI-I 140 gram cost 3 dollars more than UYI II 180 gram, which cost 20$., while UYI-I cost 23$, both are from Amazon Prime, with free 2 day shipping.

I hate the fact that crappy older reissues are on the market simultaneously with later better pressings. This makes vinyl purchases, without significant amounts of research, a landmine to navigate, the chances being @ 50/50 of getting a decent/better/ recent reissue. Advertised on the same page as UYI-II @ 180 gram, UYI-I should also be 180 gram, wouldn't you think? I mean, comparing oranges to oranges why put 2 180 gram LP's for sale and a third 140 gram or whatever. Nope, Amazon and most other places online definitely require research before pulling the trigger on any vinyl purchase.

I'll post my results in the ongoing UYI-I exchange once I have more information to share. I'd personally skip the Geffen 2012 reissues of either UYI LP, they don't look up the par IMO, not from where I sit and listen. The later 180 gram reissues are the way to go, if you don't opt for a very expensive still sealed original US or German pressing.. Just be prepared to clean clean clean, your new vinyl to get it perfectly quiet. GZ is a hit and miss.

Every time I get excited about a pressing made there, I am disappointed in the quality control, probably 1 in 3 times. I personally put this on par with the now defunct Rainbo records and QRP, (who are getting better with time BTW). There are others, but we'll save the thoughts on pressing plant and quality control for another post elsewhere. YRMV, YMMV.

 

FWIW I have been trying to hunt down the EU original 1991 pressings. I recently acquired UYI-I (Sterling DMM in the deadwax) and II is on it's way. I haven't compared it to any other of the remasters but I am very happy with UYI-I. The bass and slam of the OG EU pressing is impressive right off the bat. I agree with one of the other posters in that this album was very well recorded.

The records are thin, I'd say probably 120g but the sound is fantastic. There is some static in the quiet passages (even for my NM copy, typical of early 90's vinyl) like the intros to Don't Cry and November Rain, but it is far from distracting.

Has anyone verified if the original album was recorded analog? It sure sounds like it.

 

Sorry for resurrecting this old thread but thought better than starting a new one. 4 years have passed since the 2016 pressing which is still available. What is the general opinion on the 2012 (GEF24415LP) pressing? Is it any good? Worth getting?

 

Bought it new in 2013. IMO the best part of it is round hype sticker - looks exactly like those on my cd and cassette from '91.
Vinyl had wavy surface, roughly scratched area under all labels, low quality printed text on inners.
Sounded average.
Tested against German DMM original, this one is a groundbreaking thing.

 

Oh dear. It looks like i better stay away from the 2012 and 2016 re-releases then. Shame, I will not be able to own UYI 1+2 on vinyl

 

My 1991 cd of UYI 1 has AAD on the back, so yeah: looks like all analog. Would love to have the original vinyl, but with the vinyl craze it is today, they probably fetch big bucks.

 

Yes I heard an interview with Duff McKagan over the last year and he mentioned they were recording to tape for those records. Nobody was raving about the re-issues so I decided to hunt down OG pressings. I thought I paid a lot when I got them but a year later seems like a sound investment, haha.

 

I take it from this thread there havn't been any great reissue presings. I'm glad I do have the original German pressings .

 

Wow, had not realized there was only one pressing of original ‘91 US vinyl, yet multiple specific and general European and other original ‘91 pressings.

 

It's really crazy, it's not like they're rare (they sold millions of copies). But supply<demand I guess

 

People our age (mid to late 50's) are pushing the prices ever higher on the vinyl we grew up on. I was short sighted in 91 and purchased both on cassette and CD, the cassettes sounded and still do sound superior to the CD's of the era on my Nak Dragon.

Since I never had the original EU or US LP's to compare, I cannot say how my later pressings from Amazon rate compared to them. Once I finally exchanged for several of each title, I was able to assemble quiet sides of both LP's in each title, I was much happier with both releases. They compare favorably to my cassettes, edging them out. Going up a quantum leap with my playback device, a VPI Avenger with 3D Unipivot tonearm, the magic within the grooves becomes more apparent.

Don't ever let anyone tell you that the turntable doesn't contribute to the sound or increase its quality, it does. With a Sumiko Blackbird and McIntosh C2500 preamp phono stage, coupled with a custom made (not off the shelf, 250$ US shipped, in a custom length of 1.75 meters) low capacitance low loss phono cable, the VPI 3D Unipivot Blackbird combo, dug deep and better resolved the information within the grooves.

This has been my experience with all my vinyl, but with high energy titles such as UYI I and II it is especially prominent to my ears. Better dimensionality, better clarity, less distortion, less noise, increased focus, and with the ability to adjust VTA on the fly, I was able to dial in the sound based on the title and how it is cut. This is especially useful, increasing the overall presentation quality a quantum leap, IMO.

Having a turntable with the capability of wringing every last single ounce of sound from within the grooves makes a startling difference, especially on sonically complex LP's such as UYI I and II. While I was satisfied with both on my old table once I secured 4 quiet sides, the Avenger has made a huge difference upon revisit, though not just on UYI. Saying that, I'm very happy with both, and do not feel the need to hunt down and spend way too much for an original US or W. German pressing of both, there is too much good vinyl out there to buy, just to keep chasing copy after copy of the same titles, in hopes of locating one with magic pressed into the grooves. I'd say with a clean copy of both releases, 90% of the listeners out there are going to be happy with what they hear. I'm certainly very happy, now that I have 2 clean quiet flat sides of each LP.

This is the benefit of purchasing vinyl through Amazon, and I recommend going that route on titles pressed at GZ, better safe than sorry.. and the process is truly no hassle, at least here in the US.