Endless Defective Brand New Vinyl

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by Talisman954, Sep 4, 2017.

  1. DeRosa

    DeRosa Vinyl Forever

    Likely it's improper temperature control of the pressing process.
    If the vinyl does't flow correctly, the edge of the record is the last
    spot to fill, and vinyl doesn't get pushed into every nook and cranny
    of the stamper.
     
    Pavol Stromcek likes this.
  2. DeRosa

    DeRosa Vinyl Forever

    Sadly, i'm expecting the same result. I have another title on order next month,
    and if it's also not acceptable, i'll cancel. Takes too much effort if they can't show
    they have their act together. There are lots of other great records to buy.
     
  3. GentleSenator

    GentleSenator what if

    Location:
    Aloha, OR
    their biggest problem now is that they're pressing like 30,000+ of the record of the month. my first copy of the feist LP was full of non-fill. second was ok save for some tics at the end of side 2.

    with all of their more limited runs i've had great success. especially the blue note stuff that's pressed at RTI. i'm basically only in the club for the opportunity to grab those amazing jazz/blues reissues.
     
  4. DeRosa

    DeRosa Vinyl Forever

    wow, that's more units than i imagined for ROTM

    I'm in for the Blue Note Donald Byrd album coming next month,
    we'll see what happens with the quality on that one too.
     
    GentleSenator likes this.
  5. GentleSenator

    GentleSenator what if

    Location:
    Aloha, OR
    their membership was almost 30,000 months back and continues to grow. it's really quite astounding.

    they now actually post pressing plant info and cutting engineers on their site which is a great new development. all of the blue note and ORG reissues i've purchased have been outstanding of quality and sound.
     
  6. I’ve had some pretty bad luck lately my self. ImportCDs has been a particularly bad culprit.

    Paul Simon Hearts and Bones: non fill
    John Martyn Solid Air HS: non fill
    Love Forever Changes: Scratched
    Electric Ladyland EH: distorted LP2
    After the Gold Rush 140g: distorted side 1
    Workingmans Dead: small distortion in Casey Jones but I kept it
    Last Waltz: pops and skips throughout LP3
    Nirvana Unplugged: non fill (on 2 separate copies)


    Not to mention cover damage during shipping
     
  7. DeRosa

    DeRosa Vinyl Forever

    you're right, VMP is doing a great job with information, i wish the pressing quality was as good!
     
  8. JustGotPaid

    JustGotPaid Forum Resident

    GZ is to be avoided when possible imo. U2 Joshua Tree has bad distortion cut into the vinyl. My replacement copy was the same. Some people on discogs also noted this. $40 down the drain. I have another GZ where there is an electronic glitch on the master file or was some how cut into the lacquer. However, GZ's are flat and clean based on my purchases.
    Had a MFSL from RTI the other day, off center and dirt pressed into the grooves. Replacement copy was dished but I fixed that easy. Another recent RTI I bought had distortion on the best track.... replacement was better with warp.... that I fixed.
    I noticed the Sunrise store receipt here in Canada on the back now says that if you have a defect, contact the manufacturer after 21 days. Great.... I take it they got sick of defective lp returns? Most of the vinyl they have is digital anyway so i wont be doing too much shopping with them any more. Amazon replaces a defect without hesitation.
     
  9. Satrus

    Satrus Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cork, Ireland
    Sounds like 'non-fill'? This often arises at the start of the record, i.e first track. It is a horrible defect and nobody can really listen to records with this defect. While others report edge warps and dish warps with Optimal vinyl, I would say that I rarely see this problem. My biggest gripe with Optimal vinyl has been 'non-fill' and scratches. The one thing I would say though is that replacement copies have always been perfect, at least for me. MPO is a pressing facility that I have found to be very patchy lately, non-fill again is the problem that this plant has. It is currently my least favourite plant. My rationale is that if one is not persistent about returning defective product, you will end up with a really 'rotten' collection that you simply will not want to play or hear.

    Slightly off topic .. my Felt reissues (pressed at Optimal, I think) are remarkably good but as a 'newbie' to this band I am not able to comment authoritatively on originals versus reissues. I think you own some originals (saw this on a Felt thread here)? The Felt records are my reissues of the year for 2018 and are the best records (musically and sonically) I have heard in quite a while. Kevin Metcalfe's mastering sounds very good to me and have reminded me how good vinyl can sound, when everything goes according to plan!
     
    sennj and nosliw like this.
  10. Satrus

    Satrus Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cork, Ireland
    I ordered some records from them in the past but stopped due to similar problems. I had two copies of Rhiannon Giddens' debut album from them (the second copy was a replacement) and they had identical and severe dish warps and scratches. It took 16 hours for each record (four cycles on a Disc Flatter) to get them perfectly flat but the scratches could not be resolved obviously, so I gave up on them. These were Pallas U.S.A. pressings but I don't know if they were pressed in Germany or the U.S.
     
  11. akmonday

    akmonday Forum Resident

    Location:
    berkeley, ca
    I've been having more problems with used records lately that i've bought online. So many people seem to be grading things visually rather than listening to them. Just got a "NM" copy of New Skin for the Old Ceremony that was almost unlistenably poppy and noisy; the record itself looked great, but it was no better than a "good' grading at best. At least the seller was happy to refund.
     
  12. Pavol Stromcek

    Pavol Stromcek Senior Member

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Yeah, I don't know if it's non-fill because I honestly don't have much experience with it. People usually describe non-fill as making a ripping or tearing noise, whereas what I'm hearing is scratchy crackling. And I haven't seen the telltale pearling effect that is typically present with non-fill. But maybe non-fill can be present in different ways?

    Whatever it is, it always seems to be in the right channel only, and it's usually pretty audible. I went through three copies of the 2018 Bowie "Heroes" LP before I found one that didn't have this right-channel crackling throughout the quiet tracks on side 2. And I've gone through two copies of Wire's 2018 Chairs Missing and two copies of Siouxsie's 2018 Juju so far, and both have this right-channel crackling in the same spots.

    I agree with you that the Felt reissues seem to have been really well done. Nice, flat, quiet, well-pressed vinyl. I only had a problem with Ignite the Seven Cannons: The first copy had an audible, persistent tick with each revolution throughout "Primitive Painters," so I exchanged it for another one, which is quiet. I have mixed feelings about the covers, though. The idea to do gatefold covers might have seemed nice on paper, but the flimsy covers we got are not ideal. I would have preferred it if they had just replicated the original sleeves. But as for the vinyl, these are great examples of how to press LPs properly!

    I haven't gotten around to doing any direct comparisons with my original copies, but nothing sounds "off" or different about these new versions to me.
     
  13. NettleBed

    NettleBed Forum Transient

    Location:
    new york city
    2 of the last 10 new ones I bought had issues worth noting.

    Led Zeppelin reissue of Houses of the Holy arrived with some scuffing, light scratches and fingerprints.

    Played with some noise - sent it back.

    Also got St. Vincent's self-titled album. That one also had some light scuffing and scratching. However, it played through without any issues. I'm keeping that one, even though, visually, it would have to grade at VG+, which is disappointing for something I just opened.
     
  14. Satrus

    Satrus Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cork, Ireland
    Yes, I wonder about that too. A friend of mine had a copy of the London Grammar album 'If You Wait' (pressed at MPO) that looked absolutely pristine and without any surface anomalies whatsoever, yet it played through with 'non-fill'. My copy of Neil Young's 'On The Beach' (from the Box Set 5-8) played with 'non-fill' on the first track on Side 2 but there was absolutely no evidence of the 'beading/string of pearls' pattern' that we associate with 'non-fill'. I changed cartridges from a Lyra Skala to a Kleos four months ago and the problem has now vanished and is totally inaudible. Wow, I was so delighted about that because that particular issue is the best sounding release of that album, I think, and it is one of my favourite Neil albums.

    The Felt sleeves are flimsy, no doubt about that. However, due to the quality of the actual records and the mastering, I am prepared to put that to one side. I quite liked also how Cherry Red put the records in the U shaped Japanese style anti static inner sleeves. I think this contributed hugely to getting pristine records to the consumer in this case? I really have to thank forum member 'Audio' for starting the Felt thread back in June this year. Otherwise, I probably would never have 'discovered' this truly brilliant group of musicians!
     
  15. Former Lee Warmer

    Former Lee Warmer Emotional Rescue

    Location:
    NoBoCoMO
    I got fed up with Noise Reduction, ear-shredding EQ, and just being a victim of the loudness war, in general...so I solved that by buying new music on vinyl.

    See how that works both ways?

    ;)
     
    xfilian, Frederick Mars and nosliw like this.
  16. Good point - but I feel too old to go back to vinyl (and too poor!)
     
    Jrr likes this.
  17. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    Couldn’t agree more! Sans the new Carrie Underwood album which is the worst piece of garbage I have ever heard on vinyl (it has, literally zero dynamic range), it is clear that CD’s are being mastered for the casual listener and vinyl for those that care. Carrie’s album is the only one I have bought in a long time that hasn’t been better. Nice to see a pretty reliable trend going on and that somebody at the labels recognize some of us do care about SQ.
     
  18. GeorgeZ

    GeorgeZ Forum Resident

    Send me please the matrix numbers or post them here publicly. I will look at both issues as they seem to be cutting/mastering problems. Then I can say our fault or supplied from elsewhere.
     
    GentleSenator likes this.
  19. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    I've been saying for months that Optimal are far worse than GZ. Half of their product I end up returning these days. Rarely have had a really bad GZ pressing in recent years.
     
    richbdd01 likes this.
  20. Is this the first you are hearing of this potential issue?
     
  21. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    I have to say Is it possible to QC vinyl visually? I am playing an MPO pressing of John Martyn's One World. No serious audible issues but a grey patch which doesn't affect sound. On a visual inspection surely this would be binned. It won't be going back due to hassle of replacing Amazon orders now (discussed elsewhere on KB thread IIRC) and low cost (£13). Anyway I've previously criticised people who return for inaudible blemishes (other than wrong or damaged labels and major warps). Enough genuinely bad pressings I have to send back. Looks like a piece of the vinyl mix made from pellets that did not receive enough black colouring.
     
  22. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    That cat IS looking for an escape!
     
  23. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    I do not buy a great deal of new vinyl but still have the odd problems when i do.

    A prominent US Ebay company shipped a new double LP that had been sliced with a box cutter.
    Over time they shipped 3 more replacements as each was damaged due to packing aside from the one with the factory warp.

    Fortunately i largely collect original or near original vintage vinyl 60's to 80's.
    Trust me it is way more fun and if clean enough it often sounds great!
    (You too can have a good collection without bar codes.)
     
  24. bettsaj

    bettsaj “I'm in competition with myself and I'm losing.”

    My love for vinyl started back Christmas last year. Before then I was CD and digital on my PC. I used to collect vinyl, but sold it all about 16 years ago, so have started to re-collect it all again.

    So far I had only 2 faux pas with new vinyl. Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed. Anniversary remaster. awful bowl warp, and also bad mastering, shoddy noise floor. The second one was War of The Worlds remaster. This one skipped on side 3, so I sent it back to Amazon, got a replacement and that one was OK.

    I honestly can't blame Amazon as they don't make the LP's, and so far with the exception of War of The worlds everything I've bought from Amazon has been OK. The Moody Blues album i got from a local store, and after reading the review on Discogs about this particular release, it appears it's a pressing plant issue as there's a lot like that.

    I've had a lot of luck with Discogs, and have found that so long as I filter my sections for "MINT" I have virtually no issues. Mint or Mint- for media, and VG+ to Mint- for sleeve, and I've ended up with some stonking records for not much money. I think I had one record that was suspect, which was Going For The One by Yes, first pressing with the Tri-Fold sleeve..... I think that's the only record I've bought off Discogs where the seller may have incorrectly graded the record.
     
  25. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    I too returned the new Days of Future Past due to pressing quality. The (digital) remastering on that is awful. Sounds dead compared to originals. Annoying because they fixed the original mix and it should have been great.
     

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