Grateful Dead Europe 72 Chris Bellman - Distortion?

Hi Everyone:

I tried to tuck this question into the other Dead threads and didn't get a reply. I recently purchased the Chris Bellman cut/reissued vinyl of this album. There is distortion throughout most of the 3 LPs, but some passages are almost unlistenable. The crescendo at the end of "Morning Dew" ( i.e. "I guess it doesn't matter...anyway.") The acapella vocals at the end of " I Know You Rider." These examples are REAL bad. A static like, fuzzy distorted sound. Both examples are at the end of sides, but when the vocals kick in on "Truckin" (at the start of a side) its just as bad. So it is not an inner groove thing.

I returned the first LP I received assuming it was a flawed pressing, but the replacement is the same. I cleaned the LP's before playing so it's not that.

I checked every aspect of my system in almost OCD-like fashion and it is not my system for sure.

Curious if anyone else has had the same issues.

JQ

 

I picked up a copy of this reissue three or four months ago and have no issues with it at all. It sounds fantastic and plays dead quiet.

What you're describing sounds like groove wear, but I don't understand how you'd have it on a new record.

 

The plot thickens. Fact is, I can't find any negative commentary regarding this LP reissue anywhere, which makes me wonder what the heck is going on. When it is not distorting it does indeed sound wonderful. The distortion is almost like an overloaded speaker or a tape in which the recording levels were set too high. I know it's not mis-tracking because I don't have this issue with any of my records, including hard to track records that give my friends fits

 

End of side distortion sounds like a cartridge alignment problem to me.

Start of side distortion? That’s just weird. Try another copy if you can. Mine sounds great.

 

I'm on my second copy. Definitely not an alignment issue, I can assure you that. The whole affair is very strange. There is distortion through all three LPs - the examples I gave are just the worst examples.

 

Just purchased this. Flat and quiet vinyl. Played on my man cave set up....denon dl103 cart on a denon dp1500 turntable. Byer dynamics SUT then through the phono section of a Fisher 500b receiver. Speakers are Paradigm Studio 40s with a HSU sub. Not hearing any distortion to speak of. I'm happy with the purchase. It was on sale at Amazon and less than $40 so good value too.

 

So.............. Despite assuring everyone it wasn't my setup...it was. It's puzzling though that I never had any issues with mistracking when using this stylus (Shibata on AT cart set at 1.25 VTF.) Only this LP- odd. I tried playing this LP with my Jico SAS stylus and distortion is gone.

So let me rephrase the question Does anyone find this LP particularly tough to track?? There are a ton of dynamics on this album, particularly the harmony vocals which rise in volume at times (example: the end of "I Know You Rider.")

Anyway - sorry for the false alarm. This album sounds great. I wish I could find the vinyl pressing of Volume 2 for a fair price.

 

Glad you figured it out. Vinyl playback can be a pita. Can't tell u how many times my music sounded a bit off. Only to find I didn't flip the switch back from mono to stereo...lol.

Mess around with your anti skating to see if tracking improves. Mine seemed to track ok. Too me the end of China Cat can get a bit grainy on my system. I just chalked it up to limitations in the original recording.

 

I had a distortion issue as well about 6 months ago. It wasn’t happening 100% of the time and not with all albums.

I took the table to my local place and they could not repeat the issue, but after a bit they got it to repeat. A close look at the stylus under the microscope showed slight wear unevenly on one side of the needle (also was ever so slightly bent to the left which I’m sure was my bad). This was the reason for me.

 

If this is the reissue from five or six years ago I thought it sounded terrible. Muffled no depth or good soundstage Just lifeless. I returned my copy and found a good original Warner Brother. So much better. .

 

Just did a shoot out against my Artisan 1A Burbank. The Burbank won imo. More detail and depth as Mazzy mentioned.

I don't think the Bellman is bad, just a bit lacking. Since the first pressing olive green is getting hard to find and a bit pricey in great condition, the Bellman cut might be fine for less fussy folks.

For those looking I can vouch for the Artisan Burbank if you can find one. I don't think it gives up anything to the olive green label.

 

Sold the Bellman cut. Didn't sound bad, but wasn't what I was hoping for...especially after I compared it to my Artisan cut.

I will continue to look for a artisan Burbank or Greenie in better condition than the one I own.

 

Had the same issue today with an AT Shibata, this was an AT33Sa. It was a lone track (the last track) on the newest Taylor Swift LP, I had no issues playing it before with a DL-103 and Shure V15, the distortion was so bad it sounded like a tube had gone bad or I was overloading the AD converter (I was doing a needledrop). The track is actually the quietest track on the album, solo piano and vocals mostly. I swapped out the AT33Sa for a Denon DL-103M and no issues on the track. Searching for Shibata distortion brought me here. If it would be helpful to anyone I can gladly post clips of the distorted and non-distorted playback...such an odd experience I have never had with any other cartridge.

Chris

 

Same deal for me. My AT w/ Shibata stylus was in use for over a year and I never heard it mistrack anything - ever. That's why I said with certainty early on that it was not my setup. But swapping in a Jico SAS - distortion totally gone. I even recently played it on a BOTL TT with a basic Elliptical stylus and it tracked fine. Why the Shibata has so much trouble tracking this Dead record is beyond me! And like you - when I first heard it, I thought my speaker was busted or I accidentally set the gain too high on my preamp.