Endless Defective Brand New Vinyl

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

  1. Nick Brook

    Nick Brook Forum Resident

    Location:
    Yorkshire, UK.
    I read on a previous contribution to this thread ,something intimating that German and European pressings are more likely to be good quality , but I can't honestly say I feel that's the case anymore .
    I'm sure we all used to find it exciting unwrapping a brand new record , now replacing the thrill is a certain trepidation about how it's going to sound .

    On positive note , I have had a few fantastic pressings out of Europe , and some records from a small record label in London , Far Out Records , every pressing from them has been perfect . They press in the UK .
     
    YHF likes this.
  2. Tom Holvey

    Tom Holvey Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I've had some horrible luck with buying new vinyl online, returned half of them once or twice because of warps. To top it off, finally get a good Beatles White Album with no warp then find it skips on side 2:(, then when I return it I find Amazon jacked up the price by £10. I've got Rubber Soul (3rd try) and All Over the World ELO coming today so hoping all is well. The upside of Amazon is the returns process is so easy, simply print out the label and ship it back in the same box - I normally get my refund the morning after I post the record.
     
  3. Nick Brook

    Nick Brook Forum Resident

    Location:
    Yorkshire, UK.
    Sorry to hear about that Tom.

    If I get a record that's fundamentally sound , no clicks or rumbles , then I find it skipping , I put a penny on the head shell and let it run over the bit where it jumps , it sometimes cures it. It's worth a try.
     
  4. Marc Perman

    Marc Perman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    I stopped buying reissues on vinyl a few years ago, but mostly due to sound quality, not pressing issues. I suspect some of the unhappy purchases described in this forum are by listeners used to CDs, if the continuous commentary about centered labels, flatness, presence/absence of clicks, etc. are any indication.
     
  5. Tom Holvey

    Tom Holvey Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I've used this trick on a few used records I've bought but because Amazon returns are so easy I thought I'd try get a new one... Will probably reorder when the price goes down
     
    Talisman954 likes this.
  6. Talisman954

    Talisman954 Forum Resident Thread Starter

  7. Nick Brook

    Nick Brook Forum Resident

    Location:
    Yorkshire, UK.
    There's an element of truth Mark in what you say ,I listen to cds nearly as much as vinyl.

    But I've been a regular buyer of vinyl for over 30 years , I 've noticed a drop in standards over the last few years. What we used to take for granted , the odd click and bit of fizz or rumble between tracks or on the run in , has turned in to something much more intrusive in a lot of cases. Most of my older vinyl was all pressed in the UK , it's head and shoulders above modern stuff off the continent . Pallas used to be regarded as a safe bet , but not anymore.
     
  8. Yikes!
     
    jon9091, Phil Tate and Nick Brook like this.
  9. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    I wish people would knock off moaning about 180 gram and falling standards of pressing. In my experience quality has been improving in recent years. I still have at least one serious defect roughly in 10 records purchased and these are random across most plants. I would say the defect rate is no different than it ever was. Certainly I'm not one of those people who could claim not returning defective product from the 70s to the 90s. No record is perfect but some come close. I do feel the defect rate is dropping on my recent purchases.
     
    EasterEverywhere and e.s. like this.
  10. Tommyboy

    Tommyboy Senior Member

    Location:
    New York
    I'm sorry that you had to go through that. Been there and done that.

    To me, Universal Music Group is notorious for their cheapness. For the Beatles, they'll use Optimal. For the Stones mono box, UMe contracted with GZ to press the LPs. My box was in nice shape. They've used QRP in the past for some Who reissues. However, in the States, UMe has often utilized the services of United or Rainbo for their run of the mill $22-$25 reissues. In my experience, the results have been disastrous.
     
    Satrus and Strat-Mangler like this.
  11. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    I'm really hoping retailers can return merchandise like this back to them for a refund because it's not normal to go through so many of the same titles to get a good one.
     
  12. Tommyboy

    Tommyboy Senior Member

    Location:
    New York
    Exactly!

    Over the years, I've received defective pressings from not only the bottom feeders such as Rainbo or United, but the better outfits, like QRP and Pallas, Germany. It is what it is. Trying to do homework in advance helps.
     
    Ben Adams likes this.
  13. Tommyboy

    Tommyboy Senior Member

    Location:
    New York
    I hear you. It borders on insanity. Sometimes, I'll draw the line and move on.
     
    Strat-Mangler likes this.
  14. Summerisle

    Summerisle Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle, WA, USA
    We can talk and bitch about it all but what is the solution? Some say buy OG pressings which works for some.
     
  15. Nick Brook

    Nick Brook Forum Resident

    Location:
    Yorkshire, UK.
    This maybe UK specific.
    30 Years ago , in the UK , the price of a vinyl album was equivalent to 4 pints of beer , currently one could buy 6 pints of beer , so the price in real terms has jumped up 50% , without any increase in quality . Some of us feel that the quality has actually dropped .
    I don't pretend that records back in the day were perfect , but i can count on one hand the records i returned to my regular record shop over a period of years.
     
    MrSka57 and tin ears like this.
  16. Lemon Curry

    Lemon Curry (A) Face In The Crowd

    Location:
    Mahwah, NJ
    There is definitely QC issues with new vinyl above and beyond what I ever experienced in pre CD days.

    Names like The Beatles are not exempt. My first try at Sgt. Pepper 50 vinyl had the notorious "whoosh" defect. The second attempt has it also, but not loud enough for me to return it.

    My miss rate from Amazon is perhaps one out of three or four having a returnable defect. That is just too high.

    We read about pressing capacity being added around the world, and I hope this will lead to improved QC. For the OP I would say hang in there - do research, consider exploring original pressings. The sonics of vinyl is worth it. But yes with new pressings be prepared to return things more than you would like.
     
    Tom Holvey likes this.
  17. Pavol Stromcek

    Pavol Stromcek Senior Member

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Where has anyone complained about centered or not centered labels?
     
    vudicus likes this.
  18. Marc Perman

    Marc Perman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    I don't doubt it. I pretty much stopped buying vinyl reissues a couple of years ago and had quite good luck pressing-wise up to then.
     
  19. Dennis Metz

    Dennis Metz Born In A Motor City south of Detroit

    Location:
    Fonthill, Ontario
    Not everyone has caught the vinyl bug. :edthumbs::cheers:
     
  20. hockman

    hockman Forum Resident

    New vinyl records are a bad joke to me, I avoid most of them. Occasionally I buy reissues but only if the original is very rare and/or expensive and sometimes from small specialist labels that put out interesting stuff that's lovingly produced. For the latter, I have a number of LPs from Superfly, Analog Africa and Soundway (African music). They all have been fine without any problems.

    But, yes, generally I don't buy new records.
     
  21. Ben Adams

    Ben Adams Forum Resident

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ, USA
    One of the worst, noisiest pieces of vinyl I've bought in the last three years was a QRP pressing. Absolutely insane levels of baked in rice krispies. I exchanged it several times and never found a quiet copy. Bowie's Heathen, Friday Music version. Gave up and got a flawless MOV version for less money.
     
    Tommyboy likes this.
  22. Hamhead

    Hamhead The Bear From Delaware

    I gave up buying records since I have a store and I'm selling them and don't want to bring anymore in the house, besides my wife will kill me.

    The last record I bought that had a chunk o' matter in the vinyl was the mono pressing of Magical Mystery Tour,
    in all places at the end of "Flying" as the song is fading out, you hear "thump.............thump..............thump" for 8 revolutions.
    QC has gone down the crapper as the plants and labels don't care as long as people are buying these things. The problem is.... not all people are playing these on Crosleys and cheap belt drive tables but expensive rigs that cost as much as a new transmission. These people are going to kill a good thing if they keep this up. That's why I'm into hi def downloads now, I got tired of returning defective records.

    BTW how did you get such sharp close ups of the record's grooves, great pictures.
     
    Last edited: Sep 9, 2017
  23. Farmer Mike

    Farmer Mike Forum Resident

    If you are a good customer and that shop can't force that record back to their distributor for a replacement, you should find another shop.
    Also if MOFI had any interest in their reputation in case like this, they should take the damn thing back and figure out what went wrong.
     
  24. Jking3002

    Jking3002 Forum Resident

    My experiences with new vinyl are also poor and I've probably bought 75 pieces in the last 3 years. I prefer used vinyl though prices continue to rise. I find myself buying more and more new (and used) CDs. Come on CD revival!
     
    Dodoz likes this.
  25. husafreak

    husafreak Great F'n music that's difficult to listen to!

    Location:
    NorCal, Bay Area
    Busy thread! Thanks for some good info. I'm a karma kinda guy so after reading your responses I ordered another copy (from Music Direct this time) and I'm going to send the defective copy back to MoFi, they can keep it as a "present" from me or give me a refund, I'll leave that up to them. I'll mention both Jim Davis and the guy that refused a refund in the package.
    But yeah, I was disappointed. I see MoFi as a boutique brand and expect better service and support for the prices they charge. It's not OK to just say that records are impossible to warranty. Amazon doesn't. The QC is a mystery though, I have a nice TT, VPI Scout 2 with a properly set up Blackbird cartridge. I told both the original shop and MoFi that anyway. It manages all my other records without an issue. And all my MoFi vinyl is pristine except for this one.
    But hey, customer service has always had its ups and downs, why should vinyl be any different?
     
    Talisman954 likes this.

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