RSD 2021 6/12 (pressing/overall quality review) *first drop*

I agree, The packaging was really well done. usually you do not get this kind of extra stuff with out a $100 box set, which I never buy. Charlie Rouse sounds great on this date.

 

And make the store absorb the loss, since they can't return RSD stock to the distributor.

 

Iggy Pop Live at the Channel Boston July 1988

Audiophile this ain't, what with the layer of sibilance hissing up the place. But the bass is meaty enough to cut through nicely and you didn't come here for pretty, didya?! Ferocious, tight performance with standout axe work by the great Andy McCoy. My first Iggy show was downtown Detroit on this tour so maybe I'm just a little sentimental.

 

I had mentioned in the other RSD thread that while looking yesterday at my local shop's RSD offerings that did not sell on the day, I found a pleasant surprise in The Zombies Oddities & Extras. Just played it now while working, and I love it! Very quiet pressing, sound quality is great and the music is fantastic! A nice surprise that I wasn't expecting to find!

 

Bummer, but work pays for our awesome hobby!

Tough year but my family stayed healthy, so no complaints. I hope you are well too.

I'm fortunate to live near several Bull Moose locations!

 

Two Against Nature is great! As posted in another thread...

I can share my thoughts about Two Against Nature. Very nice pressing from Optimal in Germany - flat, centered and extremely quiet. I gave it a quick cleaning before playing/ripping it. I've already cleaned my rip up and listened to it three times tonight. Very few clicks and artifacts to clean-up - one of the best pressings I've had in this regard. It's cut by Scott Hull at Masterdisk and sounds really nice!

foobar2000 1.4 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2021-06-12 20:38:40

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed: Steely Dan / Two Against Nature (2021 RSD Release)
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DR Peak RMS Duration Track
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DR16 -0.77 dB -19.38 dB 5:54 01 - Gaslighting Abbie
DR15 -2.11 dB -19.66 dB 5:16 02 - What A Shame About Me
DR15 -1.54 dB -18.55 dB 6:17 03 - Two Against Nature
DR15 -1.75 dB -18.98 dB 4:09 04 - Janie Runaway
DR13 -3.07 dB -17.67 dB 4:09 05 - Almost Gothic
DR15 -0.70 dB -18.93 dB 6:15 06 - Jack Of Speed
DR14 -2.22 dB -18.17 dB 5:28 07 - Cousin Dupree
DR15 -0.90 dB -19.59 dB 5:34 08 - Negative Girl
DR13 -3.43 dB -18.69 dB 8:22 09 - West Of Hollywood
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of tracks: 9
Official DR value: DR15

Samplerate: 96000 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 24
Bitrate: 4608 kbps
Codec: PCM
================================================================================

 

So far:
All have been wet cleaned on my VPI machine.

Quiet Kenny- Pressing is perfect. Nice quality jacket. Sounds fantastic, playback is perfect, no complaints on this one.

Bobo Jenkins- Vinyl is lightweight pink marble color, no visible defects. Thin flimsy jacket. Sound quality is ok. I don’t think the recording was very good to begin with. Some trucks sound better than others. Sounds very gritty and raw, which suits this style blues. Vocals sound kind of muffled in some parts. Playback is pretty quiet in the VG+ To VG++ range. Some great blues here, which make up for its shortcomings.

 

Yes. As you say, the idea of the RSD release is to present the raw tape, warts and all.

The initial release of Palo Alto was prepped by "Grandmixer DXT" (I'd never heard of him, but apparently he is a DJ who was "one of the earliest to use turntables as a musical instrument in the 1980s"). This first release has a lot of sound processing: compression and EQ was added to give the music a more forward, aggressive feel, and for some reason the stereo image was also narrowed significantly. I don't love the sound of the original release myself.

But the first production also did a lot of digital clean-up, fixing the occasional flutter and speed instability, and repairing other tape flaws and anomalies.

This new "Custodian's Mix" is more of a straight transfer. To me, it sounds much nicer in many ways, with more air, better tonality, and an unfutzed-with stereo field with Monk on the right and Charlie Rouse on the left. But the tape flaws are allowed to stand. So people who are really bothered by those things may not dig it. (Speaking for myself, I'm able to listen through a few seconds of flutter here and there, but I know it drives some people batty.)

 

Madness - I Do Like to be B-Side the A-Side

Excellent mastering, great sound and spot on pressing, no issues.

 

Rockit

 

Which Pure Pleasure LPs are from digital?

I know many if not all of the Strata East titles are mastered from original vinyl, because the original tapes are missing or lost. But I wasn't aware of PP working from digital.

The label has done a lot of AAA editions of classic blues and jazz over the years, including more than 30 titles remastered by our host, Steve Hoffman, and Kevin Gray. So they have a fair amount of equity with me. I generally think of them as a quality label.

 

Can anyone tell me whether the Tears for Fears live album has a download code?

 

Thank you very much for this. That answers a lot of questions. I might pick one up if I see it in the wild anywhere.

 

Waiting for my copies of Rage Against the Machine - Battle of Mexico City and Gruntruck - Push, will report back for sure!
Wonder about Pearl Jam - Alive single, but it seems like it was pushed to 17th of July :0

 

As far as I remember the RSD site always had it listed of July 17th.

 

oh, okay then. I somehow thought it was the First Drop haha)

 

Grateful Dead Box discs 3 and 4: clean and flat. Both play with a few ticks here and there but nothing significant and probably nothing that a cleaning wouldn't fix.

Sorry to hear that at least one person here had warped discs from this set. Mine are all flat, even the one with the etching.

 

The free firmware updates are relatively easy and offer dramatic upgrades.

If you’re really curious, I’d email Shannon Parks about his Puffin. He writes back quickly and he will give you honest answers. I wanted to purchase his previous product, the Budgie, and he truthfully explained why it might be flawed in my system.

It’s available through Amazon, so you can try it risk-free. I did, and I never returned it.

 

I don't know what the RSD rules are, but I expect they have some sort of protection against defective products, or at least an agreement with the suppliers. Either way a crappy product (purchased at retail) is never the consumer's burden to bear, that's why we have consumer protection laws, warranties, etc..

 

They (retailers) don’t have protection; they absorb the loss on any returned vinyl.

So it comes down to how strongly one believes you shouldn’t bear the burden. I personally don’t have an issue with returning clearly defective vinyl. But returning vinyl with minor issues (or especially issues more likely related to hardware, not the LP) because of OCD expectations of perfection does little more than drive up costs for all.

 

The real problem is the record labels and pressing plants not having to bear any of the burden.Why should retailers,many small shops and consumers have to be out their money for defective product,with no expectation of a refund at all.This seems to get worse every year.
There is no incentive at all for labels and plants to do better,if they don't take ownership of the problem.They all have their money.I have tried never to return something from RSD unless it's really bad and still feel bad returning it knowing my store is going to eat the cost of it.It's not their fault at all.

 

anyone check out the Genesis/Knebworth 12"? - I grabbed a copy for a friend who ended up needing it and wondering how it sounds.

 

Another local store had five copies of the Warpaint album so I decided to take another chance. This is unbelievable but: The new copy sounded great throughout, it's like day and night. Zero surface noise so apparently there are good and bad batches. My first copy will be returned tomorrow. A really strange experience.

(For reference I just listened to parts of my first copy again and wow. This is completely noticeable! Especially the - quiet - start of "Majesty" sounds like "The Warpaint Campfire Tapes". Not good!)

 

Hm.... sounds great, congrats? I'll send you a PM!

 

Mine has no download card. I will say the show sounds surprisingly good. I doubted my judgment for picking it up, until the stylus started running through the grooves. No buyer’s remorse on this one.