Endless Defective Brand New Vinyl

Being buying a few Dylan re issues recently .
Returned 2 albums , one by GZ and one Optimol . The GZ had some dreadful clicks but other wise ok , the Optimal
was rumbly fizzy rubbish , both were Dylan re issues .
The Record Industries re issues have all been nigh on perfect , and surprisingly , to me anyway , a couple of GZ are really good . The Optimal ones that are ok , are only ok at best .

 

Not long ago, I decided to follow one rule: Do not purchase anything pressed by Rainbo Records. That joke of a pressing plant is simply incapable of pressing decent records; they can't even put them in the sleeves without scratching them! Since then, I've had fewer issues with defective records. My Amazon return rate has gone down exponentially.

 

How do you know if they pressed it beforehand ?

 

Usually, I check discogs. There are also certain labels that I know from past experience - such as Domino USA and Polyvinyl. I avoid anything from those labels. Universal uses them a lot too, so I usually go for EU pressings of those unless I know the NA pressing was done elsewhere (funnily enough, you'll never see Universal have a Nirvana or Beck release pressed at Rainbo!)

 

perhaps it will go against a theme of this thread, but a bit of good news.
Just opened Unicorn "Laughing up your sleeve" (73-73 demos). they using what they claim RTI technology (dunno what it means) - but print is very good, sounds excellent, no scratches. Polylined inner. thick vinyl (dunno if it is 180 or 150 gr).
May be it is actually sad news that brand new record which is not defective in any way is worth reporting ))).

 

New vinyl from .. and it isnt even close.
Fingerprints scratches. Chips. Dirt.
I have never had any problem . Ever. Before.

 

It was Universal.
They asked for a picture. Of the damage
Sending another lp. One question asked.

Many people get a second damaged disk....

 

How did you get Universal to respond? And how did you find an email address? I've tried to contact them over the past year for a couple of releases that were bad and no luck.

 

I don’t know if it’s just me, but I seem to have more issues with any Universal (UMG) release (which unfortunately covers a lot of labels) than anything else. Clearly they don’t care about this. Eventually I seem to find good copies, but that is why I try to by most new releases from Amazon. Makes returns easy.

 

I just saw the worst pressing of a vinyl I've ever seen!

It was White Stripe's Elephant, brand new from amazon, and holy wow, a dent, a bump, scratches, and numerous pock-marks ("pot-holes") throughout all four sides. Pathetic!
I've never seen a new vinyl is such bad shape. How does this even happen?

 

i went through 3 copies of that with the same issues. pressed at united though, so we can't really expect anything different.

 

Yeah, I figured as much, which is why I opted for a refund instead of an exchange.

With 3rd Man mastering/pressing going full bore recently and taking on more work, I wonder if they'll start pressing copies of WS vinyl there instead of United.

 

Here's a defect I've not seen before, and I've been buying records (with a "short" break during the 90s & 00s) since around 1969. Just picked up a copy of Raspberries "Pop Art Live" RSD17 3 LP set, very clean and quiet; probably only played once or twice and kept clean. The lead out groove on Side 3 caused the stylus to stick with a couple of loud pops each revolution. After checking the LP, I discovered one of the matrix/etc. numbers that were engraved in the deadwax were engraved over the lead out groove. Only 2 or 3 digits, and these were hand engraved. The rest of the set is fine.

But, like I said, I've never come across this before.

 

Here's a little beauty from the RSD/Black Friday Bobbie Gentry release, Ode to Billie Joe. Still factory sealed, the record was absolutely filthy all over and the massive scuff & scratch was unplayable. Thank goodness the indie shop I bought it from was able to swap it out, otherwise it would've been another $20 down the drain.

 

Honestly, RSD starts to be a big farce for real vinyl lovers. From availability to quality, there’s a lot of room for improvement.

 

I wouldn't fault the organizers but rather the pressing plants for quality issues.

The main problem with RSD is the need to have X amount of copies at the ready for a specific date on top of regular orders. Most of the RSD offerings in the last couple of years seem to be colored vinyl which is yet another special circumstances the pressing plants have to account for. Although I have no idea what the workflow is, my guess is battery of tests have to be conducted to ensure the proper outcome of alternating the regular process after which the albums can be manufactured. This constant churning of different versions of albums slows down production which ads pressure to whomever is in charge of the plant whose numbers need to be accounted for.

And all of that (usually) for a different color slab of vinyl. If it's an album like the live Billy Joel one that came out only for RSD and has not yet had a wide release, that's a terrific addition to a music lover's catalog but the bling-focused colored LPs are, IMHO, the main factor contributing to QC problem.

 

Found this big piece of flash making a nice scratch on a new RTI pressed record.

 

To be fair, the RSD organization is doing a fine marketing and advertizing job, kudos to all working hard to keep this event ongoing.

I am not faulting anyone. The whole RSD concept has to be rethought to fulfill consumers expectations which are availability and quality. The RSD mission is to bring out consumers from their home to their local independent vinyl stores and promote the vinyl media.

So far, it had the opposite effect on me and my experience is surely not unique. Long waiting lines, sold out items, non-available items and defective items that could or couldn’t be replaced.

A note about recent vinyl pressings (RSD or Non-RSD)
While I am still spinning the same amount of vinyl, my purchases have drastically diminished since 2 years. Price and quality issue are the main reasons for this sudden drop in purchasing.

 

Need to Vent. Non-fill! Damn Non-fill. I mean how in the can they not press vinyl so the grooves are fully formed??? I'm noticing more and more new records having this issue regardless of plant. So frustrating when records these days are $$$.

And why is non-fill NOT part of record grading? I never ever see it mentioned....

 

hey what´s the deal with WHOOSHING ...... i´ve never encountered this from QRP before, but the recent john coltrane QRP release BLUE WORLD, has whooshing that goes on for the entirety of side A, and i recently saw someone here refer to this issue, in connection with QRP ......

is this an issue that can be solved by getting a replacement or will the whole batch be infected with this anomaly

 

Most sellers grade records visually. In my experience, most cases of non-fill can be relatively easy to miss when giving an LP a quick look under regular lighting.

I requested a play-grade for a record costing about $150. The seller mentioned he would and get back to me. Asked a couple more times for an update and was ignored. Guess he didn't want to make the sale. Some sellers can't be bothered to be diligent in verifying a record's condition. Their time is of paramount importance but the prospective buyers' isn't. In situations like that, I just walk away.

I've encountered that on a few records. Even a DCC copy of Best of the Doobie Brothers. It can happen to any plant to have some lemons here and there but there can be instances of a plant being more prone to it. In the case of the aforementioned DCC, it was visually obvious that there would be that problem but in all other cases, there were no visual cues.

QRP has been getting flack recently regarding the Abbey Road LPs. Some crackling, off-center sides, pops & clicks... Meanwhile the Optimal-pressed albums were always flawless. My guess is they're being pressured to produce a ton more records than they would be comfortable with manufacturing with properly applied QC.

Due to this, I always buy my records from sources that'll take them back such as Amazon. Yes, it sucks the local shops won't see my $ but at the price most of the records I'm interested in are, I can't take the chance of throwing money out the window.

 

Picked up the new Simple Minds 2 lp best of vinyl new release this weekend, was rather concerned when the vinyl came in hard cardboard style inserts, i was right to be concerned, pretty loud and noisy vinyl, but track 1 side one had bad damage.
I would normally do an exchange but the vinyl was unusually noisy on most tracks so I returned it.
This was my first piece of vinyl in a month or so, I slowed down due to the frustration of having these issues.
I grabbed some XTC like Black Sea reissue and that was perfect.

 

I've been having better luck lately than in the past. Bought about seven King Crimson and four Jean-Michel Jarre, and they were all pristine. One of the King Crimson had a ''tick'', but it was just before the first track began, so I can forgive that.

 

Made the mistake of picking up Marshall Tucker s/t. Fantastic mastering by Kevin Gray ruined by crappy pressing. Non-fill and severely off center side 2.

 

Yeah, who pressed this?

The reason I ask is because I bought the 2 LP yellow vinyl Greatest Hits also mastered by Kevin and it's warped on one record, there's some non-fill and a couple of scratches thrown in for good measure. This could have been a great reissue but they blew it.