Hot Stampers (Better Records) - One more question...

No, I just chalked it up to experience. None of them are terrible copies, I just wasn’t impressed. I remember thinking that if they were amazing, I would probably do it again despite price. I wish I could locate my other posting as it was a lot fresher in my mind at the time.

 

You did a lot better than me. No hard feelings.

 

Over the past several years I had searched out and acquired numerous copies of Pretzel Logic, Aja, (let's face it, all of the Steely Dan albums), plus Innervisions and a handful of others with the intention of finding the best-sounding pressing. I didn't care about the collectability -- I just wanted sonic nirvana.

This is a habit that costs a lot of money; I bought Japanese, British, German and US pressings -- some with the same matrices and some that were represses. I took the plunge on Better Records when I felt like I had hit a wall with Aja and Innervisions in particular. When Port's versions sounded noticeably better (not miles ahead, mind you, but noticeably improved) than the copies I had already amassed, I did the math related to what I spent during the hunt versus what it cost to get it from him.

The price difference was largely negligible, which made the cost of buying Better Records "worth it" to me. I'm always in the hunt for a dynamite pressing, but sometimes it becomes so futile (e.g. Innervisions is an unforgiving b**ch) that I want to surrender, plunk down a few bills to Port, and then refocus my energies on a different white whale.

 

Yes,his sonic playgrade is his own ball of wax and he hears what he hears and is entitled to say how marvellous it is.However,anyone trying to convince me that any second-hand record or third-hand or 50th hand(we don't know how many people have owned these records) can be mint is going to have a tough job.

 

HE
NOT SOTTO VOCE - JUST ASKING AND GLAD TO BE SET STRAIGHT. THNX SO MUCH!



v

 

Wow, I found a NM copy for $40 in NYC.

 

At least mine was almost certainly unplayed though these were not sealed in UK on release. Think I bought from a dutch seller thro discogs (which may mean you pay more). Your copy should have been priced at least double. Actually I think I payed bottom end for an unplayed mint copy.

 

Still standing by that comment. Incredibly that they are to grade this record mint minus minus. Shows that they consider their customers to be idiots.

 

I wouldn’t settle for any less than mint minus minus minus minus plus plus...

 

The fact that Better Records ‘debunked’ so many great sounding records discredits them for me. They slated the recent Paul Simon - Graceland reissue but consensus on here seems to be that the reissue is superior to the original?

 

Yeah a good rule is probably not to buy from anyone who does not know that you cannot just add "pluses" and minuses" to a grading as you like.

 

They hate all reissues. Why? Because they are not from "hot stampers" - whatever that is.

Oh and the other reason: They do not make any money with reissues

 

modern reissues lack the "tubey analog bliss," LOL.

 

I agree that word is bad, but "thingy" is much worse, even though it doesn't relate to records.

 

The 2012 Ryan Smith cut is nice actually. I haven't done any direct comparisons to the old US Sterling Direct Metal. Maybe I'll play around with them tonight.

 

So completely agreed. People using the word "minty" in the context whereby they are a seller in a potential transaction makes my skin crawl and automatically assume that they are either 1) con artists, 2) stupid, or 3) both.

Mint means it's sealed.
NM means it's not sealed, but not otherwise any different from something that just became unsealed, and didn't have any blemishes on it.

True NM is the ultimate gold standard for any record, IMO. I'd rather have an unsealed record in verified NM than a sealed one where the dice haven't yet been rolled.

If there is any visible mark or blemish to the naked eye, it can't be higher than VG+.

Yes, many records are VG+ right out of the shrink-wrap, because of the pressing plant/packing process.

Throw some non-fill in there, and they drop to Good+ right out of the shrink wrap. Even if they are "mint, except for some non-fill."

 

If Better Records is selling original Graceland pressings for more than $15 they’re stealing.

 

Well....they actually have a Super Hot Stamper with an A++ on both sides for $199.99.

 

Good God...

 

Right.....I don't understand it either. Just go to your nearest record store and pick up the cleanest original copy they have for $12. It's that easy.

 

Absolutely ridiculous. I had to go check out his site myself. $499 for a "White Hot Stamper" Sgt Pepper with "tubey magic" mentioned every couple words just to catch your attention. No indication at all if it's a mono or stereo pressing at all, and it's described as "Mint Minus Minus" but has "*NOTE: There is a small mark on side two, track four, that makes three loud pops during the rooster crowing." So, what you're really getting here is a VG or VG+ record of unknown mix and master, who knows what pressing it is, and you're spending $500 on it. What a scam.

Edit: went back and looked some more, he mentions "tubey magic" 5 times on a copy of sketches of spain, graded as "mint minus minus" but yet it has 16 pops on one of the tracks. So, you're getting a VG- copy you could buy for $20 anywhere, but you're spending $150 on it.

All it seems like he does is just fill his descriptions full of buzz words, prices at over top value, and then over grades the hell out of these records. Not hard to see that this is all set up to make money off of stupid people willing to pay several hundred dollars over value for a beat up record just because some guy says it has "tubey magic" 5 times. I can spend $500 on a couple hundred great used records and get more satisfaction than one unknown beat up pressing of sgt pepper.

 

I'm unfamiliar with the history of that one - the original is not good?

 

Mostly agreed, but I still don't have a problem with the basic premise of his business model. If there's a market for $100-$500 used albums out there because they've been carefully compared to other pressings and came out on top, so be it.

But why can't the records be graded on a standard grading system - if not Goldmine, then one of the others? Most people who buy used records are familiar with it. A-minus-minus-minus with "some pops on the first side a few ticks on side 2" just call it the VG or VG+ that it is. Anybody who is interested in buying them already knows that they won some kind of sound quality shoot-out, so the album grade may not be all that important to them unless under a VG. At least that would be honest. At least he's offering a guarantee.

 

When I

It's very good, but not especially hard to find in excellent condition for $10-15.