Better reissue label: Simply Vinyl or Music on Vinyl?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by pinkrudy, Mar 1, 2021.

  1. pinkrudy

    pinkrudy Senior Member Thread Starter

    So I've always heard the horror stories of how simply vinyl is CD sourced crap. i also used to have nirvana's nevermind on simply vinyl and always felt the album didnt sound like i remembered back in the 90s. So i got an original german press and right away i liked it better. the simply vinyl didnt sound bad just not how i remembered it.

    Music on vinyl gets a lot of praise. rightfully so because the reissue albums that would never be on vinyl otherwise. Good quiet pressing that also sound good.
    I have about 10 music on vinyl pressings and they all sound great. But to me they tend to sound a bit cold/steril? sort of the digital trademark. not a lot but just a bit. Still great though.

    Recently i've been buying a lot of simply vinyl reissues. i think i have like 7 now. I compared them to original USA pressings. and....I think they are great. They tend to retain the feeling of the original but are quieter pressings and the instruments pop out more. Not to mention the sound sounds pretty warm and could pass for analogue to me. i dont know if they remaster at halfspeed or something but it sounds better to me sonically than music on vinyl.

    These are the simply vinyl pressings i have:

    talk talk - colour of spring
    talk talk- its my life
    roxy music - avalon
    rage against the machine - self titled
    aerosmith - pump (this one is better than US press but still not that great)
    Blind faith - Self titled

    what do you think?
     
  2. fluffskul

    fluffskul Would rather be at a concert

    Location:
    albany, ny
    I voted MOV.

    Cold/Shril = digital’s trademark ? Not that.

    There are so many examples of wonderful sounding digital recordings and reproductions.
    And you’ve got a nicer player. do you have much experience with pre-loudness war CDs?

    but to get back on subject MOV > simply vinyl in my limited experience
     
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  3. Soundslave

    Soundslave Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tomsk,Russia
    I assumed that MOV is far better on that based on the reviews of different Simply Vinyl releases. As far as story goes, Record Industry was invovled in some pressings for Simply Vinyl and later on became the main factory for Music on Vinyl.
    I only have RATM's debut album as Simply Vinyl and I found it to be very good to listen to. As for MOV - have about 10 records from them and never had a letdown, to me they are standard of how LPs should be done in it's basic form (i.e. standard release on vinyl).
     
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  4. RichC

    RichC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Charlotte, NC
    The MOV of Rage's debut uses the original UK metals. Short of snagging an original U.S. RL, it's the best version of the album you'll get on vinyl. I have a copy and it blows the doors off.

    Not sure what source your SimplyVinyl version uses, but you owe it to yourself to grab the MOV. [EDIT: Looks like the in-print MOV no longer does this. Just the 2013. Sorry.]
     
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  5. Neonbeam

    Neonbeam All Art Was Once Contemporary

    Location:
    Planet Earth
    Not even close. MOV. The majority of SV releases are not especially good. All came in PVC sleeves. Their best stuff was probably the newer albums like Cardigans, Garbage or Marilyn Manson.
     
  6. Neonbeam

    Neonbeam All Art Was Once Contemporary

    Location:
    Planet Earth
    You managed to get some of their better titles. Their "Raw Power" is also very good. The majority isn't. Sold off all but ten albums.
     
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  7. jimod99

    jimod99 Daddy or chips?

    Location:
    Ottawa, ON
    Can’t really compare, when was the last time Simply Vinyl actually released an album, about 10 years ago???
     
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  8. pinkrudy

    pinkrudy Senior Member Thread Starter

    I suppose you have to buy used and can be expensive.
     
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  9. Soundslave

    Soundslave Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tomsk,Russia
    I'm aware of that being a huge RATM fan :) I also don't know what was used by SV, but I don't really have any desire to collect anymore versions since I have this SV variant, SACD and original EU CD. But you're right - after RATM XX was released a new remaster by Vlado Meller was made and MOV reissued it as a standalone. So basically there are two MOV versions of that album - the early one with original metal parts and a later one with 2012 digital remastering.
     
  10. vinylontubes

    vinylontubes Forum Resident

    Location:
    Katy, TX
    I'm just going to say that they are the same. MoV was brought to life because SV failed and Record Industry needed a new customer, so they hired themselves to fill the void of SV. But where I give credit to MoV is that they tend to release newer music that often hasn't been available on vinyl previously. This is something that SV rarely did. In my recollection, the only title that SV released that was close to being current was the Eagles' Hell Freezes Over and a few Hip-Hop releases. Sticking to newer releases, MoV can get digital masters and create something sonically similar to the what is know to be with the original digital releases. MoV isn't to me an audiophile label, they are reissue label. Their focus is to release music that isn't otherwise available on vinyl. I think this of other labels like Sundazed. I'm not suggesting that MoV or Sundazed don't try to put out the best stuff, but it's just not their focus. In fact, Sundazed have some great sounding releases. What SV did was compete with DCC, Classic Record, and MoFi with similar pricing and lower standards in getting the mastering done correctly. Ultimately this is why they failed. To be fair, DCC, Classic and MoFi failed as well. All of these labels failed because the '90s and early '00s were an extremely tough time to be selling vinyl. But the releases from the audiophile labels from that era are still held in high regard while SV's generally aren't. SV didn't just fail financially, they also failed with their releases.
     
  11. James Glennon

    James Glennon Senior Member

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    I am not a fan of Simply vinyl except to say they kept the vinyl flag flying while the major record companies tried to kill vinyl off

    I just kept one Simply Vinyl title... The Who's Tommy.

    Not a fan of Music On Vinyl either except for some titles...

    JD Souther's Tenderness (pressed from Bernie Grundman lacquers)
    Some Jimi Hendrix (pressed from (George Marino lacquers)
    Some Bob Dylan (pressed from Ryan K Smith lacquers)

    There were a lot of titles that were cut from digital, didn't like them.

    In saying that I never had a problem with the pressings, always flat and quiet.

    JG
     
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  12. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    I think you are correct MOV are the inheritors of what SV started, even down to the plastic sleeves and some catalogue choices, neither label are audiophile, both used whatever source the labels provided and both used the same pressing plant, the key point is that SV were releasing during vinyl's nadir and MOV during it's resurgence, I think that SV are sometimes unfairly maligned, much of what they put out was well done, not audiophile, but superior to many others and no orange vinyl, having said that I have a lot more titles from MOV, I guess they are about the same, both issuing titles the majors have ignored, both with decent pressings, both with mostly adequate, but rarely better mastering and both a good source for film music.
     
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  13. mpayan

    mpayan A Tad Rolled Off

    Didnt realize this. Which other artists/albums on MOV do you recommend?
     
  14. mcwlod

    mcwlod Outside Looking In

    Location:
    Sopot, Poland
    I've got plenty of MOV vinyl, my favourite ones are: Morphine "Cure For Pain", Slowdive "Soulvlaki" and Mad Season "Above" - I can easily recommend those ones, sound great to my ears.
     
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  15. Turntable Fan

    Turntable Fan Forum Resident

    I have many MoVs in my collection.
    John Mayer, Beth Hart and Rory Gallagher releases for example. They sound awesome.
     
  16. Neonbeam

    Neonbeam All Art Was Once Contemporary

    Location:
    Planet Earth
    This is not necessarily true. They did Garbage, Marilyn Manson, The Stone Roses, Cardigans, Pulp, James amongst others. Plus some Blood & Fire titles.
    The pressing quality was always outstanding, super quiet vinyl with polylinered inners. I also thought the printing on the covers was good. Around 1999 I really liked buying them, they seemed to be made with care. It was only later that I started to sell off selected titles and got rid of those pvc sleeves.

    MOV rather feels like a handy commodity to me. Their sleeves are usually oversaturated, the vinyl feels like a giant piece of plastic.... nothing lavish about them. I never bought one and thought "Oooooh, nice!" I usually buy them when I can't be bothered to shell out for an original.
     
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  17. SteveCam

    SteveCam Forum Resident

    MOFI failed? Aren't they still around and selling out their high end offerings?
     
  18. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    It's amazing how many labels can't get sleeves right, regardless of cost, I haven't bought any obvious Rock/Pop reissues from MOV and would imagine they are underwhelming compared to originals, as were SVs to be fair, but I have had the odd "Oooooh nice!" moment with soundtracks, perhaps the person responsible for them cares a little more, they've also brought out some Reggae reissues that are in many ways superior to originals although that's more down to failings with the original pressings, I just wish they'd use black vinyl for everything.
     
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  19. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    Current MoFi isn't the original company from 1977, they were bought up a few years back.
     
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  20. Lanark

    Lanark The French for deja-vu

    Location:
    Bath, UK
    The Simply Vinyl company officially folded in Jan 2016
     
  21. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    Their original business model changed around twenty years ago, from 180 gramme LPs to a mix with 125 gramme LPs and an extensive catalogue of Dance 12"s, I thought they'd effectively ceased trading about fifteen years ago.
     
    Last edited: Mar 2, 2021
  22. jimod99

    jimod99 Daddy or chips?

    Location:
    Ottawa, ON
    I've got a SV 12" of Underworlds "Rez"

    There was also a period of quite a few counterfeit pressings on "Simply Vinyl", The Clash "Give Em Enough Rope" and "Combat Rock" with Simply Vinyl labeling are counterfeits.
     
  23. johnwilliamhunte

    johnwilliamhunte In the land of Gods and Monsters

    My Simply Vinyl copy of Nevermind is missing part of Lithium for some reason, even that aside other pressings are better, but I have a few other Simply Vinyl records that are fine.
     
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  24. RichC

    RichC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Charlotte, NC
    I honestly don't own a lot of MOVs, and I wouldn't recommend their reissues of anything earlier than the 90s. But some of their pressings are pretty well regarded.... Alice In Chains' Unplugged for one. They also did the entire RATM catalog and all of those sound good, some better than the earlier presses. (Which were released during a low ebb for vinyl.)

    The other ones I own aren't audiophile but sound better than any other press (and are also stupid expensive now):
    The Mars Volta – De-Loused In The Comatorium (2014, Gold, 180g, Vinyl)
    (Original is a picture disc and sounds bad. MOV version is loud but dynamic. The band caused a stink after this release and basically pulled the license, meaning there's no cheap way to get this on vinyl anymore.)
    Brand New – The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me (2013, Red Marbled, 180 gram, Vinyl)
    (A favorite album of mine from a band not known for high vinyl quality. The original pressing and all the Triple Crown reissues are fairly mediocre. The still-in-print black MOV is probably the best option.)
     
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  25. mpayan

    mpayan A Tad Rolled Off

    Thanks! Appreciate the input.
     

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