Is it me or are the new vinyl reissues sounding bad!!

I am just getting back to listening to records again and loving it. I have notice a trend that a lot of the new stuff that is being reissued really sounds bad. Non fill though out the record, pops here pops there.. all of this can really be fixed with temperature. I own a record pressing plant and know this.

I recently got the Stray Cats - Build For Speed and it sounds TERRIBLE!! If the record companies think that this increase in Albums sales is going to continue, they see that when you pay $20 for a record it should at least sound as good as the original album. And of course they are bragging that it is on 180 gram - but who cares is the record has non fill through out.

I dont want to call out the pressing plant who pressed it did it - but I have noticed more records they have done Johnny Cash for example that have really sounded bad.

I thinking that the way to go on some of these albums is get a sealed copy off ebay. Which sucks in my mind. I really want to support this new wave of records coming out.

Now I have gotten some Dylan Stuff from Sundazed and some Elvis on Simply Vinyl that I have really loved!!

Would love to hear discussion on this matter -

thanks

Mark
Ultimix Records

 

Hi Mark, welcome to the forum!

Since getting back into vinyl in 2006, I've noticed the quality is all over the map, too.

The thing that drives me craziest is off center pressings. I'm not talking just a little off, I mean enough to be audible. I'd estimate that at least a third of the 40 or so new vinyl LPs I've bought have had at least one off center side. That for me is the least forgivable, especially at $50 for a 2LP 45rpm set. What happened to the QC?

In the same time frame I've bought about 200 used LPs and off center sides were apparently relatively infrequent in the old days.

For new vinyl Warner/Rhino has been consistently high quality in terms of vinyl and packaging, including poly-lined inner sleeves. Capitol's packaging has been excellent, too (except they use cheap white paper inner sleeves for releases where the original album did not have custom inner sleeves). Actually the paper inner sleeves are common to the major labels except for Warner/Rhino. Even Sundazed uses them; the Sundazed Simon and Garfunkel titles I bought yesterday were covered with paper dust and they sound it, too, even though I vacuum cleaned them prior to play. On first play they're already not NM.

 

I'm afraid this will be one of the negative results of this new "vinyl renaissance" all the kids are talking about.
As the vinyl trend grows, having a vinyl pressing available will become more of a marketing necessity. As a result, we're going to get a lot of releases that are merely hash-job pressings or poorly mastered CDs on black plastic.
It's up to us as consumers to ask our retailers about the provenance (remaster? analog source? pressing quality?) of these LPs and not buy 'em if they're crap.
If we only buy good stuff, they'll only make good stuff. Unfortunately, we're a tiny minority, and they'll sell scads of crappy vinyl and it won't make one whit of a difference to most consumers.
Still, there are many great new pressings--new release and reissue alike--out there, which is one positive result of this new "vinyl renaissance" all the kids are talking about.

 

I can't see asking a retailer where an album was pressed.. I wish it was that simple. There has got to be a way to list where something that is out new or coming out new - where it is going to be pressed. It just really frustrates me getting the new stuff and it sound that bad....

Mark

 

Source is probably the likely culprit in many cases.

If you master a vinyl pressing from a CD that was a piece of crap in the first place...

 

What's "non fill", for those of us who don't own a record pressing plant?

 

Sorry - its when vinyl doesnt fill up the grooves and thus gives you something like a HISSY sound to it or a small crackling sound - A lot of time it can be in just one channel. You can really hear it in between songs and normally non fill occurs at the beginning of the album, since that is towards the outside.

Non fill can be fixed with adjusting the temperature on the steam. You just have to make sure you have someone listening to the record through out the pressing. When temperature in the plant goes up and down - winter - summer etc.. it really does matter.

Mark

 

where have you heard this? what titles?

i think maybe the John Mayer Continuum LP had this problem. or maybe it was just crap vinyl used.

 

I am not saying that ALL sound bad. Not trying to be a downer... I am just disappointed in some of the quality in the pressing that I have picked up. I am just getting back in to vinyl was really looking forward to listening to some of the new vinyl I picked up and was very unhappy with the way they sounded.

Stray Cats - Built For Speed
Springsteen - Magic
Cash - IV and V

I have been hearing all this that vinyl is coming back in a big way and was curious if others were not happy with some of the quality of the records. I would love for vinyl to make a huge comeback - but at $20-$34 for a record that quality wise is not good is not good for the new people discovering records for the 1st time.

I love records and have gotten some really good stuff as well - Dylan and Elvis stuff have blown me away!!

Mark

 

Also when I mean new - I mean in the last year of so.. sorry. And yes I am newbie - just wanted to get opinions on this... I am thinking its more of quality control issue at the plant and the labels need to jump on this before its too late.. that's all..



Mark

 

That is what I am getting at.. I wish there was a review site that had reviews of the new vinyl stuff coming out. that would be awesome!!!

 

i'm sure there are people in this forum who could help you out.
or just do a search.

 

The good, the bad, and the ugly...

I've heard some of the BEST NEW VINYL of my life this year, including:

The Raconteurs ~ Consolers of the Lonely (analogue)

Ray La Montagne ~ Gossip In The Grain (digital)

Jenny Lewis ~ Acid Tongue (analogue)

Fleet Foxes ~ Fleet Foxes

Gary Louris ~ Vagabonds


Lots of great vinyl out there--still, and ****te, ya just gotta look for it...


Oh, and welcome new kid on the block!

Tis a great place...

 

Thanks - I excited I found this forum and will be reading reading reading...

 

I hear ya... I love and CANT believe the records I have heard on Sundaze, Classic Records and Simply Vinyl..

It just BLEW me away!!!!!!!!! I was like.. now I need a new tube amp, I need new speakers..lol

 

It really is a shame that the "Because Sound Matters" thing isn't working like it should have... Looking for the red sticker on the front of a new lp would have been great for us who want a good sounding album! Sadly these stickers and records are quite scarce.

 

Such as?

 

My copy of That Lucky Old Sun is not only poppy and degraded-sounding but came complete with two extremely audible scratches that killed 1:30 to 2:00 of music; one to a side. Most frustrating but Insound did a very swift refund (and didn't even require me to send the LP back from NZ!) which I spent on some quality polycarb.

 

I'm in total agreement with you on this Steve.

You go into Amoeba these days, and their vinyl bins are at least 50% new vinyl these days. Whether it be a new release by an artist, or a reissue of classic albums. There are so many reissues, with absolutely no mention of how it was remastered, let alone who did the remastering, that there's no way I can take a gamble on them, only to find I've wasted my money.

It's kind of sad, because finding good used/old vinyl LP's in the bins at Amoeba, reasonably priced, is almost becoming a thing of the past. As I've mentioned in another thread, these days it seems anything remotely worth while at Amoeba, is put on the wall, with a jacked up price tag.

BTW Steve, do you know if the Joni Mitchell 'Blue' LP you remastered, is still in print? The same for Yes 'Fragile', and the Tom Petty album.

 

Except for Warner who seems to be getting things right ie ZZ Tom, Tom Petty, White Stripes etc. a lot of the titles you and Kevin and Stan have been doing for Warner have been great.

I've picked up some great vinyl lately from Music Matters, Sundazed, Classic Records and Analogue Productions. Today I just cracked open an APO Jimmy D. Lane 45 rpm with the infamous KG/SH. Wow, it sounds fantastic.

 

I got 3 titles this week,and I like the way they all sound:

The Cure 4:13 Dream

Metallica Death Magnetic (2 lp version)

Coldplay A Rush Of Blood To The Head (reissue, not original)

 

And before you pull the trigger on any new vinyl, just ask us here first.