The Worst I Have Seen (RTI Plant Errors)

The Worst I Have Seen

A while back I bought a Classic Records double LP 200 gram super vinyl from Red Trumpet. (The artist is not important here.) The second LP in the album had a flaw in the vinyl that played, I called Tess Good at RT, she quickly and gladly gave me an RA and soon I had a replacement copy of the album (brand new, factory sealed). I played the first LP and it was perfect, however, as soon as I took the second LP out of its sleeve I saw a terrible huge flaw in the vinyl. Across two tracks it look as if someone had taken a scribe or a pen and written letters or a diagram on the vinyl. I tried to play the tracks with the flaw and the results were terrible as expected. I called RT again and they are going to replace it again. I have two things to say about this: First, thank goodness RT has people like Tess, she is just wonderful to deal with and a credit to RT. Second, I do not know if RTI (who presses CR's vinyl) ships the vinyl to CR for final packaging or if they do it for CR, but this #@%&* has got to stop. This LP was either damaged at pressing or before final packaging. This is CR's premier product made at what is suppose to be the US's premier record pressing plant. Quality like this is unacceptable. I am sending a copy of this post to Red Trumpet Classic Records and RTI

 

Some defects are so bizarre as to be totally mind boggling.

Once I bought a CD that had initials (2 letters, like someone's name, maybe 1/8 inch high) carved in the polycarbonate on the data side. Needless to say, my player couldn't handle it. The weird thing was, not only were the initials backwards (mirror imaged), they were on the INSIDE of the polycarbonate...which I realized when I ran my finger over them and felt nothing.

Obviously, this was done at the manufacturing plant, but why? Like your vinyl, this was no accident - it was intentional.

 

I know you're mad at Classic for this (and I'm not a big fan myself) but as far as I know, RTI does all the fulfillment too, including stuffing of record jackets, insertion of advertising cards & other inserts & sealing. Most of this work is done by hand, if not all of it. Classic's not really at fault if that's true, though one hopes they put some pressure on their vendor.

 

Heh. Tess should be reporting the more bizarre defects to the foremen.

Don't let it get to you. RTI is still one of the best plants in the world. The pressers must have run out of scrap paper.

You will get a good copy. I've gotten a few real hum-dinger RTI plant errors too.

 

I have seen more mistakes by RTI on not only Classic Records but also Analogue Productions. I hate to say it, but the quality is decreasing year after year. It's clear that RTI doesn't know how to press a 200 gr record if they tried. There are so many defects that I have stopped buying many of them. Even though I support the small record labels, no one cares about the customers. Why don't you give the owner of Classic Records a call, ha ha, to see how professional he will handle your complaints? First, he'll deny that there is a problem. Second, he will admit there is a problem. Third, he'll tell you that if you buy the one for $33 from him, it will sound perfect. It's a very sad situation for all us who are supporting his business. Classic/Analogue will never tell RTI that they are mispressing the vinyl.

 

I have seen this both on Classic and AP vinyl. Where these things come from, is a mystery to me - looks almost like something a disgruntled employee would do

"Sabotage... what does that mean?", as Lloyd Bridges would say

 

SVL, I would be careful before you accuse people of being "ex-employees" of anyone. I am a consumer as much as you are. I purchase hundreds of lp's per year and I am consistently noticing pressing defects in the 200 gr series and the AP 45rpm series. As a matter of fact, one of the lp's in the most recent Miles Davis' boxset had to be completely replaced by Mosaic for every single customer who purchased the set. We're getting very close to deductive logic here. If there are several mispressings from different labels, then we begin to look at the common denominator. I don't think that Acoustech, Classic, and Mosaic all are miscutting their lacquers!

 

I don't think it happens at the cutting stage, more likely as the records are handled and packaged after they get off the press.

One way or another, it is a quality control problem. While pressing plants employ hard-working and diligent people, anybody in the production line can make a mistake once in a while, and that is where QC comes in, and if I pay $30-40 per record, I would expect this to be a pretty stringent QC.

MFSL were not always perfect for that matter, either.

 

Cutting isn't the problem at all. In fact, it's kinda sad we're getting these amazing cutting jobs on vinyl that isn't in the best of condition in handling.

This is just me talkin', but it would help immensely if people on the line were fans of the format, and were just as passionate....

It's not the cookie cutter, it's the DOH!

 

And there is one more piece of the puzzle, there are a lot of reissues being pressed in a short amount of time. Maybe RTI is being pushed a little hard with the amount pressings needed. I know, there have been many releases this year!!!!! But as Steve said above, I'm not really sold on this 200gram Record being better, and maybe worse!!!

 

Steve, Your point is loud & clear re: demanding custom specs & their quality pitfalls. My comments were more based on the AP defects I've seen (I haven't bought anything "Classic" in a long time), and that's a real issue RTI should and probably does concern themselves with.. I don't want anyone to think I don't appreciate the quality of their work, since I spend almost 90% of my LP budget on stuff off their presses... RTI is one of the good guys, but it's not too much to expect better, in my opinion.

 

Folks,I am not Joe McCarthy, I assure you. If my thread is helping to understand why there a quality problems in LP's that cost $30+ then I am glad. Steve, thank you for your insight into this situation, it has given me a new perspective.

 

Of course this is but a minute element in a huge conspiracy unfolding today. If records are defective, people will buy fewer of them, and they will turn to buying CDs instead. And we all know those things have subliminal mind-altering messages recorded on them. These are all small stepping stones to implementation of a larger plan that was forged by a highly placed clandestine group - a secret international government that is in cahoots with alien intelligence to change human DNA.



Seriously, if these posts offended any hard-working, music-loving people in the industry, I want to apologize as much as I can, and please keep up the good work

 

Only if you spent at least ten grand on your TT, anything less than that you can only play one side.

 

Sorry dude, this aint nothin new, I saw it on the Flintstones....

 

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I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that the weight of a record has nothing to do with the quality - I have many records that BEND and sound great
and 200gm that sound awful and 180gm and even 220gm.

So I have to ask - why does anyone bother, is it to increase the perceived value or are there genuine benefits in doing 180gm ( like DCC vinyl).

OR is it all b*llocks.

all the best
Tim
"peace love and shandy"

 

I hate to sound like a blasphemer and a heathen , but I actually have a Fantasy LP that was pressed by RCA, back when RCA was in their "dynaflex" mode...and it actually sounds pretty good! (I have many noisier factory-fresh albums in my collection.) That old dynaflex could be bent into a "U" and not suffer any damage. Heh...it was one step away from being a "sound sheet" between the pages of a magazine.

 

My Classic 200gram's have been pretty good. One of the Creedence Lps was total crap on one side.

 

I was not happy with my CR Led Zeppelin box. I have only listened to the first album but it was noisy enough for me not to want to even listen to the rest. I am tired of having to return things, shipping gets expensive, just to have the same crap sent back to you.
CR has effectively lost me as a customer, as will the rest if they continue to produce bs.