I’m very happy with the sound of the Rated R reissue. I have not previously owned on vinyl. I’ve cleaned up my original red SFTD as well as the new reissue & look forward to A/B’ing these sometime before the weekend is over.
Looks like the Rated R reissue sold out rapidly--Amazon's stock went from a release date to "only available through 3rd party sellers". I'm surprised at that in a way (since Deaf seems to be plenty available still), but Rated R is certainly my favorite QOTSA record to this day.
I love my 2019 SFTD copy! It has some marks on the cover tho. There are slightly darker red areas. Strange. 9.9/10!
That’s wild to me too. Rated has been in print for years (albeit not the same cut as the 2019 version) while SFTD has been out of circulation for a decade and a half... funny how things work out sometimes!
They were supposedly panicking after underestimating demand on SFTD initially so there's a fair chance they had a load more pressed up for that title but not the others I guess.
Checked yesterday and it appears Amazon got some more Rated R. That would be nice—they already did some reissues of both a few years ago, and they’re already fetching high prices.
Too bad--0riginals are going to be even more cost-prohibitive. I would especially like to have Sky Valley on vinyl--one great stoner rock classic.
The bad reviews of Rated X were for the early GZ pressing I think. Apparently GZ later recut it with their new DMM machine and it was a great sounding reissue, if you read on the thread many people were looking for it... Queens of the Stone Age - Rated X (2nd pressing) @GeorgeZ : “Yes, this is a 2014 reissue cut here at GZ Vinyl by our new DMM mastering system. The previous 77874E1,E2 version was cut elsewhere and we only press it.” I believe Amazon is now selling the Optimal Media pressing now. I bought mine earlier this year. If you get this: Queens Of The Stone Age - Rated R (X-Rated) then it sounds amazing to my ear. If not, just return it.
Got my copy of Songs for the Deaf today. Amazon completely wrecked the packaging so it is going to have to go back but I gave it a spin and it is really great. Beautifully quiet pressing, no surface noise at all and lovely clean vinyl in a lined jacket. You will not be disappointed with this. Sound is huge, but surprisingly good channel and instrument separation for such a storming set. I will be going to get the Rater R reissue as well after this being so good. On another note I have the Kyuss reissues from a while back (mixture of two sorts, one german reissue pressed at optimal and two US pressings via Rhino I believe). They sound ok. Not stellar but not a complete mess. Needed a clean if I remember rightly. They could definitely do with a reissue campaign where they go back to the tapes or at least spread these albums out over two records as they are a bit long for one record. Boy they are commanding a lofty price now though. I will continue to enjoy them, its Kyuss after all!
Are all the reissues done at Pallas? If so, it looks like I'll have to double dip on Lullabies and Rated R (Vulgaris is a no brainer upgrade over the 10" version).
Wasn't a huge fan of VMP please before, and after receiving and opening my SFTD Im pretty sure I won't be using them again. I contacted customer services four times with no response whatsoever. Im sure it doesnt happen that often but if you're still after a copy I reckon a secondary seller is a safer bet.
Unfortunately, VMP stopped offering replacements for seam splits and other cosmetic issues that don’t affect playback. They took flak for it in their forum shortly before they closed it.
Yeah VMP has been putting me off also for a replacement cover. If VMP arent going to offer replacement covers then they should offer to open and place the lps outside of the cover so the lps do not move around and split the cover.
On the other hand, VMP provides free replacements for defective vinyl and doesn't ask for the original copy to be sent back. They eat a lot of money doing this. Frankly, I think they made the right decision regarding seam splits. "The record's fine, but you want us to send another one for free while you can go sell the one with a seam split at your local? We don't think so." Interesting aside: I've been with them since 2015 and have never received anything with a seam split.
I think those posters above were speaking about the lack of provision of replacement sleeves only, rather than seeking replacements of both record & sleeve just for a seam split. They can run their business as they choose - but seems as though they would indeed eat a lot of money by taking the customer's word on defective vinyl and sending out replacement records, while at the same time potentially diminishing goodwill with others by refusing to send replacements for defective sleeves. "The record's defective according to you, so we'll send another one for free while you can go sell the (very possibly fine) first one at your local".
I wasn't looking for replacement records, just a replacement cover. Or a refund. Or the common courtesy of a reply! The records were sent in a loose bag, as opposed to cellophane, which seems precarious at best. And they didn't have to take my word for it - I sent them plenty of photos. Poor customer service. A seam split may not prevent me playing the records but the whole premise of VMP is based on collectability. Seam splits aren't for collectors.
They should replace anything that’s not as good as new, but I think more blame should be placed on USPS. Those mailers used on the Lips and QOTSA should protect against some pretty sloppy handling.
Those loose bags are normally the sign of a higher-quality pressing plant (like QRP), and have been at least since Mobile Fidelity started pressing records in the late ‘70s. Less chance of a warped record in a loose bag as opposed to shrink-wrapped cellophane.
I just got my SFTD from Amazon UK, top seam splits, slightly warped (the box looked like it had been leaned on or sat on, in lp mailer no outer box), side 2 center label looks like it has a case of boils, 5mm high. Tried to get a replacement, but as of 1 Dec Amazon UK no longer ships to NZ due to GST on imports being imposed at the seller. No customer satisfaction here.
I don't think loose shrink wrap has anything to do with seam splits. Whatever plastic wrap the record is in just can’t move within the box it’s packed in. As far as I can tell that’s the only thing that will protect seams from splitting during shipment. Amazon’s record boxes are really simple and work well; LPs won’t move at all. I’m shocked to see a seam split that bad on that QOTSA album. I’ve been buying most of my records online for the last 10 years and have never seen anything like that. You’d think they’d have a better way to box them up. When amazon uses their (proprietary?) lp boxes they never ever have seam splits. I have my VMP Songs For The Deaf arriving Saturday. Hopefully it’s an isolated issue.
The German Elektra pressings - of which there are at least three - are pretty good. Obviously some of them would be better served as double discs but for what they are, they are definitely not bad.
I bought those German Elektra pressings on release too, I'm not sure I'd call them especially good in an objective sense but they're probably a bit better than they have any right to be being such bottom-heavy music with 50 minutes-plus crammed on one LP. Personally I definitely wouldn't pay a used premium for them when there's so much potential room for improvement. Hopefully it'll happen one day.