Endless Defective Brand New Vinyl

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

  1. A6mzero

    A6mzero One foot in the grave, one foot on the pedal

    Location:
    Spartanburg sc
    I would like to go positive and give a shout-out to MOV. Always get a quality product from those guys.
     
  2. Tommyboy

    Tommyboy Senior Member

    Location:
    New York
    I respectfully disagree. They have a long, long way to go before reaching Pallas territory.
     
    Lucca90 and A6mzero like this.
  3. krisjay

    krisjay Psychedelic Wave Rider

    Location:
    Maine
    Over the past year I have seen steady progress and 95% of the new vinyl I have purchased has been stellar. A few years ago it was iffy many times, much better now.
     
    Last edited: Mar 12, 2019
    richbdd01, Jrr and Tommyboy like this.
  4. Chester0711

    Chester0711 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Minneapolis,MN
    2012-2016 in my opinion were very rough years for vinyl. I see it in the new records I buy from those years. If its GZ, United, or Rainbo I know there is a 60% chance they will be filled with weird streaks and markings. Along with these strange markings about 40% of the releases have all types of pops and cracks and noise. Also, possibly warped a bit to boot.

    2016 to present I see about 90% of vinyl in great shape upon opening. 1 in 10 is like the old stuff. Also, the noisy vinyl is down to about 15% of titles. Trending in the right direction and I think it has to do with production getting caught up to demand and the presses not being over-worked.
     
    GyroSE likes this.
  5. richbdd01

    richbdd01 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    I especially like the fact that @GeorgeZ has made the effort to come on here, answering questions and doing his best to engage with what can be a difficult audience at times. However, there’s no doubt that they have improved considerably and this is partly due to this...
     
    polchik, stinsojd, Lucca90 and 4 others like this.
  6. richbdd01

    richbdd01 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    Very good from a pressing sense.

    Can be awesome sound wise but equally can be disappointing...
     
    Tommyboy likes this.
  7. bt1098

    bt1098 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire
    Bought 4 new LPs today. Two of the 4 had issues. Ween CaC from Plain recordings had a couple of "feelable" scratches. Elvis Costello "Armed Forces" Czech UMe pressing was filthy with a large area of brown "dirt" covering about 6 sq inches and deep grooves on the outer edges. Ween has been played and sounds good, but nothing to compare to. Have not played others yet (Zappa We are Only... and 10,000 Maniacs In My Tribe). I typically buy from the used bins, at least you know what your getting.
     
  8. bt1098

    bt1098 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire
    whisper3978 likes this.
  9. Tommyboy

    Tommyboy Senior Member

    Location:
    New York
  10. samthesham

    samthesham Forum Resident

    Location:
    Moorhead MN
    MFers gonna gimme what I paid for or refund the full amount...

    Or per Daniel Day Lewis "There will be blood"

    Not really I just don't feed the weasely rat faced basta--- anymore...

    That SH-- got old real quick with me & my bread
     
  11. bluejimbop

    bluejimbop Thumb Toe Heel Toe

    Location:
    Castro Valley, CA
  12. slop101

    slop101 Guitar Geek

    Location:
    So. Cal.
    I got the new pressing of Black Crowes' "Before the Frost", which is a Czech pressing, and it was flawless.

    I think they're just inconsistent.
     
  13. polchik

    polchik Forum Resident

    DAMN !!! So .....

    I’ve been TRYING to get a clean ENOUGH copy of ‘lambchop ... is a woman’ ....

    Tried a year or so ago, with pressings from MERGE (US)..... one LP had nasty NON-FILL .... the kind of ZIPPER sound thats much louder than standard crackle and takes you RIGHT OUT of the listening experience. Quite jarring ..... opened 1 or 2 more at the store ..... same issue, same side, same song. Got a credit instead .....

    Just recently after doing some more research (comment reading here and on discogs) i decide that it seems the CITY SLANG (EU germany i believe) version is THE version to get ..... It’s at least $10 more ....

    So i receive it ..... andddddd
    1st song on LP2 side C, has some annoying non-fill with one really nasty loud zipper moment ...... i contact the marketplace seller and he let me know he’d send me another ...... i also contacted what i thought was city slang itself in germany, and they tried to help me out but could not find me an LP2 without this issue .....

    Received the LP2 replacement, from marketplace seller ..... after avoiding listening to it for weeks lmao .... i finally did today .....

    The replacement has a NASTY non-fill zipper moment on the 2nd song, LP2, side C ....... (side C 1st song had a tiny bit of non-fill, but it was not drastic nor loud, and basically passed for your basically quiet pop/crackle .... it didn’t jar me out of enjoying the song - i was willing to live with it had it been the only issue .....) but maaaaaaan come ON ....

    JEEEEEEEEEEEZUS ....

    I don’t know what to do .....

    I technically have all the songs in a listenable version, with 3LPs instead of 2 lol ....., but cannot listen to side C straight through as an album side ..... there are only 3 songs on that side, but it flows really well, and has my favourite song from the entire album on it ....

    FRUSTraTinG to say the least ..... but i’ve had a few titles in a row that have had pressing issues ..... and i’m a bit worn out by it all ......

    It’s a great sounding pressing too otherwise .....

    Should i try ONE more time or live with it ????? lol
     
    whisper3978 likes this.
  14. A6mzero

    A6mzero One foot in the grave, one foot on the pedal

    Location:
    Spartanburg sc
    I know this isn’t about new lp’s but when you see when sellers on discogs saying only played once, very nice, or looks great you better have a tube of vasoline handy when your order arrives.
     
    Lucca90 and Tommyboy like this.
  15. Talisman954

    Talisman954 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I have had really bad luck with Rhino lately.
    Box sets galore and most of them have issues.
    I am still yet to find a clean copy of the vinyl box set 4 with Aerial and 50 words etc, all of them are horrific from Kate Bush.
    I got Alphaville super deluxe last weekend, it’s full of bad faults, put in for replacement and same exact issues, also from Rhino.
    I Had an email from Dr Rhino with a return auth for Kate and the Depeche Mode 12 inc box setssingles, they asked for proof of purchase to replace them, I provided it and that was in January and I haven’t heard a thing since
    Ordered Frank Sinatra In The Wee Small Hours over the weekend, it arrived today, badly scratched on track 1 side one.
    Vinyl quality control is just beyond bad right now.
    Weird, just as I was writing this Dr Rhino had sent me and email agreeing to replace all the defective vinyl.
    It’s on order, a lot different to my awful experience with Cherry Red.
    4 copies or more of Humans Lib white Vinyl Howard Jones, all with identical defects, and the Cherry Red head guy told me I needed to use a static brush, after I sent him the video samples.
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2019
  16. Gez

    Gez Forum Resident

    Just an observation/question - although I have generally had good luck with new vinyl purchases, I have had a couple of duds lately. Specifically these were the Sam Rivers - Contours lp from the new Tone Poet series and the new Bill Evans at Montreux from Analogue Productions. Both of these products boast quality manufacturing to the highest standards - indeed the AP item has a sticker which states "plated and pressed at the world's best pressing plant" and "meticulous test pressing evaluation and quality control".

    So the Contours lp was covered with fine scratches and odd light "splotches" (which were not audible, so not a big deal) and a deeper scratch which was audible (loud ticking sound for a couple of minutes) and was quite noisy in terms of snaps, crackles and pops. The Evans lp, despite being manufactured at the "world's best pressing plant" with "meticulous...quality control" had numerous tiny scratches and a deep 1/4 inch long scratch (you could easily feel it with your finger) on side 2 which was very audible - it is not insignificant and I am not being overly picky here (I have thousands of records and know what is tolerable in terms of scratches). Needless to say, they are both on their way back and I am trusting the replacements will be better.

    Here is my observation/question - at the same time that I received these "premium" products, I also received two records that, theoretically at least, should have been of a lesser standard/quality (the two latest Krallice issues) - paper sleeves, underground pressing, blah, blah - and yet the physical products were visually and sonically (in terms of noise) superior to the premium audiophile products (which were double the price, of course). They were flat, centered, quiet - perfect in terms of the vinyl itself (btw, I know that terms like "flat" and "centered" are triggers for those who mock people with "lesser" audio systems - sorry but the terms are accurate to describe the records).

    I understand (and can hear) the differences with mastering, etc. - this is not what I am wondering about. I am just puzzled about how supposedly higher quality vinyl pressings, with higher prices, can seemingly "roll out the door" in such a state. From a previous life, prior to retirement, I have an understanding of quality control (QC) practices and I understand that issues like the audible scratches could be one-offs that do not reflect the state of the batch ad a whole. However, when I see the numerous tiny scratches, splotches, etc., I suspect that QC is not happening and somewhat ironically, the small press labels seem to be ahead of the premium labels in this regard.
     
  17. Experiencereunited

    Experiencereunited Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland
    For the most part I am with you there and have bought a ton of LPs. Other than some minor warpage on a few LPs that I find tolerable and off center labels (that I don't consider a valid defect) the only true defect I believe I have gotten is the latest Hendrix Electric Ladyland Boxset side 4 of the proper Electric Ladyland LP inside the boxset. The defect is clearly visible but fortunately it falls in the dead time between House Burning Down and Voodoo Child. So even that one I haven't returned.
     
    Vinyl Socks likes this.
  18. My copy of Now He Sings, Now He Sobs fromthe Tone Poet series has non fill between two tracks. I keep going back and forth as to whether I should return it. It does not effect the music per se, but noise between tracks still has the effect of pulling me out of the zone for a lack of better term.
     
  19. trickness

    trickness Gotta painful yellow headache

    Location:
    Manhattan
    Got a new copy of John Martyn’s “Solid Air” Abbey Road Half-Speed Master. Comes with a certificate that touts the quality of the sound. Unfortunately it’s got a gouge on the first 30 seconds of side two, as well as a repeating click for about 15 seconds on the last track of side one. Both of these defects are immediately visible - I would think out of any new vinyl the half speed master stuff would have decent QC. Apparently not.
     
  20. jonnyhambone

    jonnyhambone Forum Resident

    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    that’s just Donna
     
    krisjay, A6mzero, uzn007 and 2 others like this.
  21. Tommyboy

    Tommyboy Senior Member

    Location:
    New York
    Apologies about your experience. QRP and RTI who pressed your records are not immune to problems. What makes matters worse is QRP boasts about having the best pressing plant in the world, blah, blah, blah and they fall short. Perhaps Chad Kassem should spend more time fixing QC issues, so his records can live up to the marketing hype.

    I don’t think the terms flat and centered are used in a mocking way. We all want are new albums to be that way!
     
  22. Former Lee Warmer

    Former Lee Warmer Emotional Rescue

    Location:
    NoBoCoMO
    I picked up STP No. 4 from MOV and it has tiny little surface bubbles all over the LP, and they are audible.

    I've reached out to them and haven't heard back.
     
  23. Former Lee Warmer

    Former Lee Warmer Emotional Rescue

    Location:
    NoBoCoMO
    It doesn't matter how well it's manufactured if they have some boob who doesn't care grabbing it with their greasy fingers and slamming the LPs into the inner sleeves and crushing them into the jackets.
     
    GentleSenator likes this.
  24. DeRosa

    DeRosa Vinyl Forever

    I think there are two parts to the "premium" vinyl pressings that are supposed to set them apart from the generic plants.
    First is the background noise level, the really good ones should be very quiet, due to the vinyl formula and the process.
    I don't mean with regard to fewer ticks and pops, just the stylus is picking up less unwanted base level noise.
    Second would be quality control at the better pressing plants should be higher, meaning they inspect more copies,
    play them and check how the run of pressing is performing, doing more detailed visual inspection (which i admit will
    only tell you so much) and more careful handling of the vinyl to reduce physical damage after pressing.

    That said, it all goes off the rails at every plant. As everyone knows who has bought what is essentially a random sample
    of product from a variety of plants, the actual quality varies massively. Like you said, it's possible to have a perfect copy
    from any inexpensive plant, and there are duds from the highest priced plants like RTI and QRP.

    There is a lot that goes wrong in the pressing process; most of it related to the heat cycle or timing being off, resulting in
    dishing, warping, or non-fill. If the stamper isn't aligned you'll get that batch maybe with one or both sides off-center.
    Basic physical characteristics should be caught by simple QC, i've wondered for a long time why they don't place samples
    on a piece of glass or stone, check for flatness, and then spin it to ensure it's centered. We've all seen the photos of someone
    with white gloves holding a record and looking at it, I'm not sure what they're looking for other than scratches.

    I'm sure many perfectly pressed records have been ruined by rough processing before it gets into the sleeve, (why poly lined
    sleeves aren't standard everywhere is a mystery to me) but that leaves the one thing that seems to be a total crap-shoot
    which is pops and clicks. I've never really understood why some copies seem to be filled with them, when others in the
    same batch do not. Every time i've had a premium record play with tons of noise, the replacement is usually near perfect.
    It makes you wonder what exactly is happening that one is full of ticks and pops, and other exact copies aren't.
     
    sennj and Gez like this.
  25. I have gone through two copies of this. Both have very annoying non fill issues
     

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