What do LPs pressed with worn out stamper sound like?

A worn record will exhibit other defects like numerous ticks and pops, excess sibilance and noticeable IGD. A worn stamper usually just sounds lifeless, but if it was also pressed with regrind vinyl it may also be noisy.

 

With 3500 LP's in my collection, and probably half that I have moved on due to condition issues I most likely already have heard one (or many).... not knowing or thinking it was a stamper issue though.

But the reason for my question -- I still don't know which ones that sounded bad might have been a worn stamper vs played poorly with a badly aligned stylus with excessive force, etc!

But now that I am reading this thread ---- I can recall many LP's that otherwise looked clean and shiny but sounded like crap --- I bet some of those were stamper related! I still have a number of them.

 

Was it a bonded tip, or nude? Just curious...I'm taking census lol.

 

It was a nude tip, Shure N75ED to be exact. Genuine USA made Shure.

 

You've mentioned in other posts however that you have heard big differences between pressings. To what do you attribute the biggest variation in pressing quality? Just curious.

 

Like I said above, one guaranteed way to obtain a pressing which was made by a very well-used stamper is to buy one which says "The Nice Price" on the cover. So avoiding these will certainly improve your odds of getting a decent pressing.

 

I can recall buying some of those Nice Price LP's back in the day brand new at places like Tower Records in Phoenix!! Why? Well, because they were cheap!!! LOL

At that point in time, the thought they were priced nicely due to a worn out stamper was the furthest thing from my mind.... ignorance is bliss!

 

I'm sure that all of us who have been around this hobby since analog's heyday did the same thing. I sure know that I did! And I also remember that many of those were some rather sonically disappointing records from what I recall.

 

Just want to say that I have quite a few nice price records that sound just great. Maybe luck but I doubt it.

 

Maybe some folk might upload an audio link to a record that the OP is referring to?
I'd like to hear what a bad stamper sounds like.

 

Yeah, but at that time I really didn't notice because my whole system was probably sonically disappointing --- different priorities back then.

Then again, I seem to remember that actually everything sounded good.... must have been due to other influences at that stage of my life

BTW, I still have some of those Nice Pricer's that I bought new back then as part of my collection!

 

I would think that they'd sound like complete ****.

 

I think old bootleg records or acetates would even sound better than this.

 

I have a scratched ITB album, but plays great, sounds great...I have a needle drop of it I made years ago...must have been an early stamper!

 

one thing is the high end is nearly gone! my friend and I had the same Beatles vinyl boot...his copy was sparkling mine was dull as hell...he bought his before I did...old stamper?

 

I am not sure how anyone here would know, for sure, that a dull sounding record was the result of the stamper that made it being worn. I've read over the years bits about the life of a stamper - how many records are made with one etc. So I infer that the last ones from a stamper probably don't sound as good as the earlier ones.

Over at Better Records Tom Port claimed (years ago) that someone at Warner Bros 'wiped' or polished some stampers. Later I found a NM copy of James Taylor's Sweet Baby James, an olive label, and man was it dull. Then I found an American Beauty, same un-played looking NM, and again, nothing above about 7 or 8k it seemed. Just dull dull dull. During one year I ran into half a dozen or so super clean looking Warner greenies - noted for their nice sonics - and they were awful with nothing on top. Wish I saved one. Maybe Port was right.

 

Look for spindle marks or a dulled edge to the center hole. If it's clean as a whistle but still sounds bad it could very well be the stamper.

 

I guess we’ll never know.

 

Maybe a website will emerge selling discount verified COLD STAMPERS!!!

 

Discrete production runs of a recording.

 

My copy of Can't Buy a Thrill was a Nice Price or Super Saver, whatever the budget line was, and last year I was able to get an original ABC pressing. The ABC pressing was clearer sounding, the high end was better, as opposed to the MCA copy, which just sounded dull and muffled.

Unfortunately, that ABC copy had groove damage on Kings, so I'm still in the hint for another one.

I've got other ones that sound pretty good though. Course, I haven't been able to compare them to an original pressing

 

Pressing made by United should all be ground in to little bits and set on fire. Evil ghost would fly out of the molten vinyl.