Record Store Day 2014 - sound/pressing quality reviews RSD releases

This thread is for people to express their thoughts and opinions on sound/pressing quality of RSD 2014 releases.

There are other threads to discuss what you bought, your shopping experiences, and your views about RSD in general. But I thought it would be good to have a thread specifically for sound and pressing quality of RSD releases.

(Copying the theme of a thread from last year, which I really liked)

 

I got the Creedence 10" 1969 singles and enjoyed it quite a bit. Mono, white vinyl, black Fantasy label, nice pressing. I also got the Everly Brothers Roots LP and it was a perfect pressing. It sounded fine, but I have no other version to compare it to.

 

Oasis - Supersonic
Sounds fine, nice vinyl, remaster isn't a huge change.

July - July
Vinyl is quiet and pressed fine, but the recording quality is pretty crappy, so there's not much to say. Splattered color is awesome though.

Tame Impala - Live Versions
Had some surface scuffs when I took it out of the sleeve. Vinyl is a bit noisy, but not too distracting. Green vinyl is cool, though.

 

I'm spinning the Paul Weller 7" (Brand New Toy) right now. Sounds very nice, great full bass sound. It is THICK -- like a discus!

 

Unfortunately my CCR 10" has an audible scratch at the beginning of Proud Mary so it's going back.

 

Civil Wars...Good, but slightly disappointing SQ.

Grateful Dead...Good SQ...not perfect, what I would expect.

Allman Bros...Surprise of all my picks. GREAT SQ.

Dave Matthews...Wonderful SQ.

Velvet Underground...Sounds good to me, but have never heard other releases so can't compare. Splattered vinyl is the coolest I've ever seen, though.

 

Anyone listened to the Fleetwood Mac "Dragonfly" 7" yet? I actually have the original 7" with that same pic sleeve, but was wondering how this one sounds and the likely source. I was thinking about putting a WTB in the classifieds, but don't know what it sold for - anyone pick one up that can tell me what a fair price would be?

Thanks!

 

Tame Impala - Live Versions
Pressing is fine, live recording is a bit muffled sounding, performance is fantastic.

Heavens to Betsy - Calculated
Perfect pressing, surprisingly excellent sonics given the nature of the recordings, great music. A real highlight and keeper.

Pixies - Indie Cindy
Much better sonics than EP's to my ears, perfect pressing, still a bit more compressed than necessary. The album sounds great in this sequence (vs. the subpar sequencing of the EP's). The bonus track on the "surprise" 7" is awesome, easily good enough to fit on the album, it seems more comfortable in its skin than some of the songs on the album.

Veruca Salt - EP
Excellent sonics and pressing, It's Holy sounds like it would be a hit if music like this could be a hit these days, Seether is the same version as on the 1994 album.

Aerosmith - Draw the Line
Much better sounding than old used bin pressings that I've found to sound murky, though it sounds like it comes from a digital source. Pressing is great. The music…well, it's Draw the Line.

Deathcab for Cutie - Magik Orchestra Live 2012
As usual for Deathcab, audiophile-level sonics on this one. Very different performances to the studio versions. Am amazed that this isn't a wider release, it sounds like a winner to me.

As you can tell, I'm very happy with all my purchases so far. RSD this year is a big winner, even if I couldn't score the REM or Cake boxes due to unnecessary manufactured scarcity.

 

I didn't get much this year, not sure who's cup of tea it is, but I've compared my CD and the new vinyl version of the Dresden Dolls release.

Definitely prefer the vinyl version. There's definitely more clarity, and the vocals feel a lot more... velvety and melty. It was nice to see Chris Bellman's initials in the deadwax as well.

The pressing itself leaves some to be desired. I can hear the needle traveling through the groove, and has light inaudible non-fill. I think my Ortofon Bronze just eats right through non-fill, because I only hear the most severe of non-fill anymore. Not "I'm returning it" bad, but not happy either.

 

My Creedence is warped, but still sounds incredible. My turntable doesn't have any problem tracking it.
There is some noticeable black vinyl in the white vinyl, but I don't care. WOW, just WOW!!!

Can anyone comment on whether these eight songs are different than the album versions (other than the fact that they are mono?)

 

The Camera Obscura EP (12" 45rpm) sounds wonderful. Sublime.

 

Only listened to two things, both sound pretty good.

Sun Ra- Outer Spaceways Incorporated from ORG
Sun Records compilation sounds good and only $12 bucks

 

How do the Zombies LPs sound? Did anyone get those?

 

"Little Games" sounds really good to me. Lot of fun in Stereo. Pressing is nice, mastering is wonderful. I prefer this to the mono.
"Ramones" side one-cool looking vinyl, quiet delivery. Side two-almost a 'no-fil' sound on the opening cut, (could need a good cleaning though) and definitely noisier than side one.

 

All of these were flat, on dead quiet wax, and sounded great:
Jerry Garcia - Garcia
The Velvet Underground - Loaded
Johnny Cash - With His Hot and Blue Guitar
The Zombies - I Love You
The Zombies - Odessey & Oracle



Soundgarden's Superunknown Singles box, however. . . .



I've only played two of the singles, and there was "stitching" (zipping sound often mistaken for no-fill) on spots throughout side 2 of "Fell on Black Days." It had that Rainbo sound, if you know what I mean. The vinyl also looked scuffed. The other single, "Spoonman," was perfect. We'll see how the next three go. I'm pretty sure I can fix the problems with "Fell on Black Days" during needledrop processing.

 

REM gets 2 thumbs up...quiet vinyl and mixed really well, don't care for the packaging would have liked a true box set

Johnny Cash....gets a WOW, everything done well for 22 bucks....clean silent flat high quality blue vinyl, the sound is great with special mention to the low end

 

Just started Idle Race, another Parlophone/Warner pressing and this one is very well done as well. Don't have an original to compare it to, but this one I'm loving.

 

I'm listening to The Pogues with Joe Strummer at the moment, for the second time today. The pressing is perfect, flat and centered. Completely silent background, and a really good show to listen to. They captured the crowd, so you can hear/place people in the crowd clapping, cheering and singing. It's awesome. I'm going to listen to this one a LOT.

I also just finished listening to Otis Redding - Pain In My Heart, mono pressing. This one is very good as well. As someone mentioned in the RSD thread, "very 60's Stax sounding" or something like that. Not really a full, deep bass, anything like that, but a really good listen. I love the album, and the mix sounds great to me. The pressing is also perfect, nice heavyweight shiny vinyl that couldn't be better. Not bad for 20 bones.

 

Doors Weird Scenes....has a single skip at the beginning of A1 (Break on Through...). Hoping it goes away with hand washing and further play. Otherwise, whisper quiet and stellar sonics.

Josh Rouse Trouble/Sentimental Lady (45) - excellent sound quality

Pantera/Poison Idea - The Badge (45) - it's PANTERA!

 

RE Strummer. Jealous! I've listened to the first four tracks of Strummer and the Muscaleros Acton Concert RSD 2012 and am hooked. Gotta get that LP.

 

The Pixies does NOT come with a live album as was stated in a press release. FYI.

 

Otis Redding sounds incredible. Doug Sax nailed it. Absolutely brilliant. Worth every penny of its $33.90 cost. Flat pressing, dead quiet.

 

I'm listening Aerosmith - Draw the line. Side 1 was not much better than I remember from the last time I played this years ago . . . and a bit noisy (I didn't clean it beforehand). For some reason I'm enjoying side 2 much more. No noise issues at all and I'm enjoying the songs for maybe the first time ever. Some (good) details are noticeable and I'm just diggin' it.

I also agree that The Yardbirds - Little Games is a winner. I don't think I remember a Yardbirds record sounding so good.

I wish I could listen to records all night long!

 

Great to read. I might buy ROCKS from this batch and GET YOUR WINGS from the prior. At $24 they seem like a reasonable buy. I have nice originals so I've been hesitant.

 

Joy Division - An Ideal For Living

Quite ordinary packaging, but the sound is excellent.