I have bought about 20-30 new records in the last year including the Buffalo Springfield box and Thirteen is the first serious issue I have had. In the early 2000’s when buying Classic Records reissues etc nearly every other record had an issue..... 10-15 years ago you could never have bought the Beatles Mono box and got 13 perfectly flat slabs of vinyl without a single issue. If my Thirteen replacement still has issues, they both go back and I wait until they fix the issue...
First World Problems,I know, I know..but GODDAMN IT- these are the things that can drive a man insane! My SFNB was flat, clean and sounded good. Grand Prix is a little warped,with some noise between tracks but it sounds great and as it’s one of my favorite albums of all time,i’m Just delighted to finally have it on wax!! I’ll open Thirteen when i’m in a particularly good mood!
My Buffalo Springfield box has non fill on the stereo For What It's Worth. Not bad but it shouldn't be there. 180g heavyweight crap. Not as bad as Thirteen though. If I get a refund and get to keep these they'll go in the bin and I don't own Thirteen on vinyl. I'm very annoyed with this. I also bought a Television Personalities LP about a month ago that was as crap as this Thirteen.
All of mine are good ....except Thirteen. To be honest,it’s only ‘Hang On’ that’s badly affected by the non-fill. ‘The Cabbage doesn’t fully escape either,but after that it’s plain sailing..
Listening to Bandwagonesque now. So far so good. Like the remaster too, seems a bit more open than the MOV version.
I’ll come back and write some more........but, I got SFNB and thought it was pretty great. Flat, quiet...and the 7” was the same. I haven’t listened close enough to vouch for the sonics but it seems to play really well.
Glad to hear this. I haven't gotten my bundle in the states yet, but happy to know if I get one of the bad copies, it'll be possible to get a good one.
All five in the house now, all were cleaned in the Okki Nokki and have been listened too. Bandwagonesque - Visually the best of the bunch, nice vinyl. Like the remaster, it's a bit more of a transparent soundstage, but it was always a "congested" recording to my ears Thirteen - No big issues. Think this is the best of the new remasters, compared to the CD's I owned. Much nicer soundstage, fuller and the harmonies shine. Grand Prix - Some bad scuffs and marks. Looks like someone played fetch with in the pressing plant. Took a listen anyway and it's not really audible. The least revealing of the remasters? Sounds pretty much like the CD to my ears, maybe with the exception of the more acoustic numbers. They sound better Songs From Northern Britain - Also some scuffs and marks. Quite warped which is never nice. But sound is to my ears very good. No clicks and pops despite the scuffs Howdy - Very nice. Flat and plays well, nice vinyl. Seven inches not listened to yet. All in all I'm pretty happy. But will ask for replacements of Grand Prix and Songs from Northern Britain. (Have another copy of SFNB on the way from a different retailer that's for a friend. Maybe that will be better, at least visually?)
I received my copies of 'Grand Prix' and 'Songs From Northern Britain' well over a week ago (from Amazon.co.uk), but I've only just had the chance to get them on the turntable. I must admit that I feared the worst on the basis of the various woes experienced by commentators to date, but so far, so good... I am currently listening to side 1 of Grand Prix and it's flat and dead silent, with no signs of non-fill. On first listening I agree with those who say that the mix is less compressed that the original CD and the drums are less in your face. The soundscape is more open to my ears and that works well for the less guitar-heavy tunes, noticeably Mellow Doubt and Tears. Things are subtly popping out of the mix, such as the keyboard in Don't Look Back, and the bass guitar sounds nice and life-like for want of a better phrase (listen to Neil Jung). Side 2 of Grand Prix now. The drums on Discolite sound distant in a way I've never noticed from the original CD. All over the record guitars tones are different from my engrained memory (I'm not doing any A-B testing at this stage). I'm enjoying the sonic differences and I'm really relieved that the pressing is pretty much spot on. If anything, the open, revealing nature of the new master makes it sound a little harsher than the original to me, with less of the fuzzy crunch if that makes any sense?! Of course that could be something to do with my vinyl setup vs CD. I'll report back on SFNB later. NP
Some more impressions. A couple of the records were pretty warped, but to live with. But the 7 inch from SFNB was over the top warped. So there it will be to ask for a replacement.
Listening to 'Songs From Northern Britain' now. The pressing is clean, flat and plays great. On track 2 now and this already sounds great, cranks up a treat. The production of SFNB is a bit more layered than 'Grand Prix' and the details really come out well on this remaster, it's lovely. (A short while later...) OK I've listened to both sides now and I'm really pleased, it's a great pressing and a fine remastering job, just a nice, natural balance throughout. It's a shame that some folks have experienced problems with dodgy pressings, but there are clearly decent ones out there too, so demand a replacement and hopefully you'll get a good' un! I'm gonna give the 7"s a spin in a while, I'll report back. NP
OK, just to complete my TFC updates... I've now listened to the 7" singles that came with 'Grand Prix' and 'Songs From Northern England', both are fine, sound great, no problem. Middle of The Road/Broken (red label) has a mild warp but it doesn't affect sound quality. Nice to have, although I've already got the tracks (and many more) on the plethora of CD singles that TFC released back in the day! I must admit that I'm tempted to get the other reissues now... NP
Received all 5 here in Philly from Amazon UK on Friday. Pre-ordered several months ago. So far I played Thirteen and one side of Grand Prix. Thirteen was clean and flat, but I found it sounded a bit boxed in with a pretty dramatic reduction in the upper highs which gave it a less open alive sound that exists on the cd. Anybody else notice this issue? Grand Prix sounded better and did not lack air in comparison.
Have had some more rounds on the TT and I must say I think they all sound pretty good. Playing some more later as an homage to Gerard Love, who leaves the band according to their Instagram account.
Great to hear! Glad that Thirteen played without any problems. Considering how long it's taken to get the initial shipments, I've been dreading the possibility of having to ask for replacements.