I think the main culprit for warped records is the pressing plants themselves: they don't allow them to cool properly before shoving them into the packaging. Of all the new records I've bought, I've only ever really had a few with warps and mostly they've been quite minor. Interestingly, the few that have been badly warped enough to return have come from US pressing plants. My main issues have been marks and micro-scratches caused by poor handling/ QC at the plant which causes repetitive ticks/ pops and more recently (i.e. mid-2021) stitching which causes terrible "zipping" and almost digital sounding noise. These things happen WAY too often from my point of view. I've had to return so many records that it has directly affected the number I buy and the labels from which I buy them.
Completely agree, I think plants aren't cooling the records properly. I see a lot of warped records and I can't believe it is all happening from shipping, especially in the cooler months when the problem doesn't seem to drop in frequency.
Dish warps can be caused by shrinking the record before it's fully cooled. Chip and edge warps are more indicative of the record being left near a heat source. Dish warps were a bigger problem in the 70's and 80's than they appear to be now, but I'm not working at a record store to see the returns. I did work at a record store in the 80's and dish warps were a big problem, especially on major new releases where they'd rush to produce the records in quantity. I find surface blemishes to be a much bigger problem now than I ever remember it being 40-50 years ago.
First this video is validating. It is amazing how many people claim they don't encounter any of these quality issues. I have exchanged so many albums recently. One recent repress took 6 exchanges to get a copy that didn't have audible scratches and other defects. I dread buying limited releases on the chance I'll be stuck with a defective copy that won't play correctly. The solution is slow down and really understand the process and what is going wrong ie what causes which defects.
Good video. That are the issues everyone has buying new records. I grew up with records and i can`t remember any new record from the 80`s that had any issues. There`s also a issue with sharp record edges, which can harm the inner- and outersleeve. Try to buy vintage records in the record shop so you can inspect them. If you buying new music on vinyl, than welcome to the quality lottery. Greetings
Yea, I like to you my local record stores as much as I can. Even then, I've bought used records that looked perfect but sounded terrible (likely due to a blunt stylus running through them for years). Who said record collecting was easy huh! 😂
Absolutely correct! Some of the things that I’ve seen that really aggravate me are the dimples in the record surface, and like you said, I’ve returned an album three times and every new copy had the same dimples right in the record surface. The other thing that I’ve seen a few times is curly cues of vinyl plastic from the off cuts packaged in with the record that have scratched the record surface in transit. So by the time I opened it from the shrink wrap, it was already scratched and clicking. Just unbelievable lack of attention to detail. I’ve also received records that were cracked at the very edge and when I called the pressing plant, they admitted that a stack of records fell over and a lot of them got damaged. But after I returned that damaged disc, I got another album with more chipped edges. So basically they just packaged it up and shipped it anyway. Definitely not a manufacturer. I’ll ever buy from again. But I completely agree with you that this will kill the format for the younger generation. Or maybe,… as I’ve seen to my surprise, that some of these younger vinyl collectors don’t even own a turntable or even play the record. Hahah, they just want to own the artwork for their wall and then they stream the music anyway, which is kind of funny to me.
Off centered records are my biggest issue and the problem that affects the listening the most to me. I get that no record is perfectly centered but I feel like it’s a problem in at least 1 in every 3 records i buy it’s really irritating
During my final year at school I started a Saturday job working at a record shop in the city where I lived. I was then offered a full-time post when I left school. This was in 1969 and I was there for some time. I worked in the Classical department. (Can you believe it! A separate department for classical records. These days you are lucky to find any classical records in a record shop.) The majority of record shops were independent shops, other than a couple of ‘record bars’ in department stores where they were mainly restricted to selling the top 30 singles and best selling LPs. Faulty record pressings were common although these varied depending on which company issued the record. Certainly on the classical side there were problems with noisy pressings. Imagine a solo piano record with lots of quiet sections. Many records were slightly warped and certainly we had more than a fair-share of ‘off-centre’ pressings, often affecting one side of the record. However, I think the most problems we had were on the ‘pop’ side where customers would return records because they ‘jumped’. I would say of these that 99% would play on our players with no problem and the trouble was due to the basic pick-ups that were fitted to the less-expensive players. These were unable to track if the grooves of the record were heavily modulated (heavy bass notes, etc.). We would always exchange the record and would offer to exchange the record for another title if the customer wanted. Personally I found as time progressed that buying LPs was no longer a pleasure and I would only buy one if I felt I really wanted it and was prepared to ‘do battle’ for a half-decent pressing. (I remember a record being issued by a very popular classical singer and being told that if I really wanted a good pressing, the only advice they could give was to buy it on cassette). As the advent of the CD got nearer, I was really excited that the days of buying vinyl, with all its problems, were coming to an end for me. I know there are lots of arguments about CDs not sounding as good as vinyl, and yes, if you have a perfect vinyl pressing played on a high quality turntable then I am prepared to accept the advantage of vinyl. However, I now have a large CD collection and the number of CDs I’ve had problems with has been extremely low. With the reintroduction of vinyl, I assumed that pressing faults were something from the past and that now, all these years on, that problem had mainly been corrected. I’m very sad to hear that isn’t the case. Whatever the shortcomings in the sound of CDs, for me, I’m more than happy to accept this rather than go back to the days of fighting to get a half decent LP pressing. A final note. When digital recording was first being talked about, I understood that many of the record companies were getting very concerned because the master tapes they held were starting to deteriorate and they were extremely anxious to have a better system for archive purposes. Therefore, what are the source of recordings now being used to make LPs of music recorded (say) in the 1950s, 60s, 70s and (early) 80s?
I clean every new vinyl on my Degritter before playing. It’s incredible how many are mildly warped or have surface noise, should be totally unacceptable but seems to be the norm unless you go to the premium pressings.
Most of the faults you describe were what made me go over to CDs in the mid 80s, things had got shockingly bad in my experience. Rather disappointing to hear the industry doesn’t appear to have moved on!
You are wrong about that, quality control was much higher back then, why do you think original pressings are so highly prized? 99% of folks migrated to CD because they were simply following the herd and now cannot admit they were idiots to dump all their vinyl which would likely now be worth a fortune.
Almost every single record I buy these days clicks throughout. It's so weird, it's like people choose not to hear these issues. I notice the problems more so in scores - perhaps due to the atmospheric nature or perhaps they're being treated as merch and people by them as such. But it sucks and I send many records back now, it's so wasteful.
@@jeffsimon9594 There is a little truth to that but there is a big difference between non-fill issues and worn out vinyl crackle. New records shouldn't have either.
I take a very good care of LP's. I ultrasound wash even brand new ones and what pisses me off is that you buy audiophile LP paying mega $$$ and after 3 plays this records develops click and pops. I have LPs from the 60's that are in better condition than some from current pressing.
Could be. Hopefully it's not a non-fill issue or something? Does it sound ok? You'd hear a kind of wosshing sound if it was non-fill. Best to clean new records before the first play if you can. Thanks for watching
I think your right it is a pressing plant problem I've had countless double vinyl albums only to find one as flat as a pancake and the other one dish sometimes so badly you can just about see the top off the spindle.
Last year I bought chicago 18 touted as an audiophile pressing. Within the first minute there was a loud glitch/pop and generally there were light crackles noticeable in quieter passages. I ordered another at a slight discount only to find it had the same glitch/pop at the exact same place, with the record itself again looking perfect. Obviously an error in the mastering process transferring to the lacquer. Because of where I live it is not feasible to return records. I have been reluctant to purchase anything other than mofi releases since then, but I have just an order on its way now and I am crossing my fingers.
A very big problem seems to be ….. many factories are under too much and high pressure! Vinyl should have enough time to cool slowly down …. Factories in eastern europe often decrease that time to be faster…. Sorry for my bad english 🤷♂️ Greetings from Germany
Most of these I've never really had a problem with, but the one that's always kinda bothered me was the offcenter pressing. I've really only had this with older original records (I think more so with 45's) but there was really only 1 time when I had a really bad experience with new vinyl... I believe it was Record Store Day in 2012 when we got the Pink Floyd The Wall singles box that had the 3 45's perfectly reproduced in a nice box. The 1st record I think was okay, but one had a really bad warp and the other had a really bad offcenter pressing where it was virtually impossible to really play. I really started to worry if they were suddenly starting to cheapen some of these special releases. But as it turned out I was able to take it back to the record store I bought it from (Silver Platters for those who also live in Western Washington) and I was lucky enough that they did in fact have another copy which I didn't really expect and was able to exchange it. Fortunately this copy was much better! I was relieved and happy.
Hi. I just bought a brand new album. It has pops and crackles in it right from the beginning. I would think that this was pressed from a damaged master. Also, on the same album, there is distortion in about 5 seconds of audio which make me think it was poorly re-mastered. Does this make sense?
Ugh!! You said it. The quality control is lacks. Seems warpage and dirty records are the order of the day. Also the fidelity on some of the records are so low you have to keep turning up the volume. Also the cover reproduction of the cover arts are awful. Case in point, look at the latest 5th Dimension Greatest Hits On Earth lp (yeah i'm old), the cover colors reproduction is dull and the pictures looked washed out and gray compared to the original.
To me the worst failure of them all, is that some companies cut their acetates using a CD as the master source. No high resolution studio masters are used, they freaking use the damned CD or a 44,100 hz 16-bit source, which destroys the whole experience of HiFi. They think we wouldn't notice, but we do. Much more prone to happen on new cuts and re-issues. AVOID!
My biggest gripe with brand new records is when you buy a sealed LP, get it home, open it up and put it on the turntable, place the needle onto it . . . . and it SKIPS!!! Why is this? I would love to know the reason. It cannot by my stylus as I know EXACTLY to the minute how old it is (it gets replaced more often that is required.)
For me the off center of a record is totally unacceptable and it is caused by the stamper wich was not proprely centered. Some times only one of the sides can be off center. More attentions should be put in that process and make sure that the center of each stamper is properly adjusted.
This is a good video telling us about how the lack of QC affects us, the listener in many ways. Vinyl is not cheap to buy, and for the price, like you say it should be as close to perfect as it can get. Another problem I've had with new vinyl is lack of volume. The last 2 albums I've bought are pulp different class and Paul Wellers Stanley road. Both albums have very little volume and a very dull sound quality. Usually albums with 6 or 7 tracks per side don't suffer from poor volume, but some are just dire. If need be, they should press them onto 2 discs.
I've had more bad records in the last 4 months than in the year and a half before. I haven't had any off center or warping issues, its all manufacturing defect scuffs and scratches. Also the tight center hole issue but that's not worth returning over, to me.
It's funny how some folks are experiencing an improvement in quality, whereas others are reporting an increase in issues. I suppose that depends from region-to-region perhaps and where the records are pressed. Thanks for sharing your experience
I have over 6000 vinyls and I am buying less and less new records. Prices are now way too high that the quality control is way too bad. It even goes with reputable pressing plants like Optimal or RTI. I now ALWAYS look at comments on discogs before I buy a new record, and quite often I have been put off and either bought the CD or streamed on Spotify instead of buying the vinyls. So they are not getting my dollars anymore. I have invested in an ultrasonic cleaning machine and I rather buy old originals rather than dodgy coloured gimmicky re-issues (but that is another story).
Quality control... Something British record production definitely doesn't have here in the poor quality UK! We've got the warped remastered 180G versions of everything (7 out of 10 are warped), or the specially scratched scratch remixes, and the mispressed unplayable especially dirty editions -- all brand new with a twist of extra warping courtesy of polywrapping too tightly. All brand new and ready to be returned (mostly to a very famous record retailer with chains all over the UK). :0/
I recently bought McCartney's Ram 1/2 half speed Master. Side1 was excellent, side 2 had so much distortion it was embarrassing. This was pressed in Germany.
Lots of work seems to go into the weight of the record or the look of the artwork or sleeve compared to an original. But many times I find the source tape or maybe a poor mastercopy is being used and so that's what makes the record sound poor.
I'm with SCjuisy on this, I'm also one who bought records in the 1980's and never had any issues back then, not like today!!! What I think the problem today is, the very much lack of experience and knowhow from the pressing plants to storage! They don't have that same knowledge, skill and quality control that the guys who once in this industry finished I guess very early 90's when the plants closed down through cd popularity! These guys had all the experience, knowledge, skill, knowhow and what it takes, that was passed down to them from the decades and generations before them! Either the guys today 1) Don't have the same knowledge or 2) Have the knowledge, but are too lazy to put it into practice because there's so much money been made today hence the prices!!! I like to think its #1 if so maybe managers at these pressing plants can try hire some of these older guys if still around with good pay and get it sorted! It would be very worth a good pay for this knowledge and experience for this generation to know and keep up! Also keep people who buy the records much happier!
I've bought several lately that have scratches, have uncut flashed edges, warped, and white marks on the black records. I'm assuming the white is from contamination from using regrind. This is ridiculous. These prices we are paying are through the roof for something we can listen to online for free. We are paying for better sound. Not free skips and loud pops. It's unacceptable.
I've a couple thousand records and I can tell you that, literally, 7 out of 10 new records I buy have some sort of warp. Even minor warps produce some sort of flutter. I now own a record flattener and it's been the best accessory I've purchased beyond a RCM. As for off center records, it takes time to figure it out but you can slightly file a minor slot at the center hole and if you get the slot right at least you can reposition the record and get a proper center. We should not have to do any of these things though. Also agreed on the colored vinyl being contaminated... it's a bummer.
I still love collecting vinyl, old and new. But my one pet peeve that I really hate when buying new vinyl is the off centre pressings. Some are not too bad at all and wow and flutter is hardly audible, but when you get one that is so badly pressed off centre they sound so bad and are just unplayable. I think it's an issue that is just not acceptable in this day and age. There must surely be a way they can address this problem. Even if they just rotate the vinyl on a turntable and watch the grooves at the lead in for any side to side movement. They don't even have to play it cos if I can see when a record is very badly pressed off centre I'm sure someone in quality control can see it. It's totally unacceptable and needs to be addressed.
There's been problems with the quality of records from the year dot. I have been collecting records for over 50 years now. When I was a child, I had 78s from the 1930s all the way through to the early 1960s. I still collect 45rpm singles from the 1950s and 60s as well as Lps. Lps NEVER use to be shrink wrapped here in the UK. This is the main cause of warping, as they are heated for the wrapping to shrink. I have found that the longer the records are kept sealed, the worse it will be. I know that the only way to guarantee that a record is in MINT CONDITION is for it to be sealed, but I would much sooner have a near flat record than one that is warped. I never list a record as mint condition, I much prefer to use the term MINT - when listing records for sale even if they have never been played, but the seal has been broken.
I have a reasonably priced record deck the rega planar 3 & very happy with it. But records should be perfect when buying new ( i expect minor defect second hand butany warp could get worse. I have just purchased a marantz cd6007usb/cd player & found myself playing that if I feel lazy.unless the vinyl albums perfect your not going to get pure sound like a CD player. I just like the nostalgic feel of records & the odd clicking sound takes me back to the similar sound I heard years ago pre cd days, the covers are better & readable. You just need to check any new records out when buying especially if its second hand take it out the sleeve before buying & check thoroughly. The other thing I find against cd's they sound too clinical & perfect. I now have about 400 flac albums that the marantz also plays via its usb port, great perfect sound & programmable if you don't want to keep getting up every 30 minutes to turn the album over. They all have a place but vinyl still has a luxurious character even if its lost its 100 % perfectioness. ( have I made up a new word) perfectioness. :)
Actually it appears to me that the quality has gone up recently. A few years ago I was buying high priced new records (which are all worth a lot more now on paper) and almost all arrived caked with dust. That issue seems to have gone away. Also the quality of the vinyl material even on cheaper records has improved to the point where surface noise is almost non-existent. I have had some issues with warped records (record 3 of the 3 boxed set Petty Wildflowers comes to mind) but they play perfectly fine.
Thanks Donald - yes, I too have noticed that in the last year or so, I'm getting less faulty or poor quality records. Fingers crossed things continue to improve!
I have heard many complaint about quality issues, but I think what is missing in the conversation is the context. Is this happening one out of three records, or one in twenty? Is this happening to all pressings, high quality and low quality? I do have issues, mainly mild warping and some sea splits on the inner/outer jackets, but it really happens maybe one in ten, so not a huge issue in my mind, and the higher quality records I buy tend to be in good condition (analogue productions, Blue Note etc)
For me it's at least 1 in 5 and the higher quality pressings are not excluded. AP is pretty good, but MoFi has a horrible QC problem with jackets as well as vinyl (non-fills, label issues, putting 2 of the same disc in a 2LP package, etc).
@@soundmatters I love Frusciante also. I did a video on Shadows Collide and Bicycle thief, sometime back. I was able to get a few other solo records back in 2004 when he was putting out just about a record a month. However I could not afford them all, seemed like he put out 10 records in a year.
@@shaunspins - Nice - send me a link. I've got the original 2004 CDs as I bought each one of those the day they came out. The records we sadly out of my budget in those days! But I managed most of the 2004 re-press versions. Same Sphere was off centre.
@@soundmatters Here is the link for John Frusciante 4th record review ua-cam.com/video/_9Ga0-GZQkE/v-deo.html I also did one on the bicycle thief. The record collection ones, I had to special order them when they came out.
@@shaunspins Great video on the early JF records there. Interesting stuff about the mastering on shadows. I don't have that one on vinyl so can't comment either way. I too burnt quite a few of those internet releases to CD back in the day. "From the Sounds Inside", "The Brown Bunny Soundtrack JF parts" & the acoustic/demo versions of Shadows. Nice to hear from someone with the same love for JF's solo efforts.
9 out of 10 new albums I buy from online retailers are either warped, scratched, or torn nowadays 🤦♂️ The quality control issue is getting more and more frequent because the majority of newcomers in the hobby don't even unbox and listen to the records they buy 😤👎🏼
Got Crosby’s Classic “remastered” first solo record- If I could only remember my name. Got it, cleaned it, played it. Sound shite with crackles and pops. Another 25 squid wasted. Might just stick to cds. Turntable is Project T1.
The poor quality control is exhausting and exasperating. I just today returned a Smiths LP and have to wait for a replacement due to defect at the end of side 1 causing an unrelenting skip. While at the store I noticed a new Dylan Blonde on blonde, got it home and sure enough, a popping gouge in side 4 and that entire record is warped. Now this has to go back. It really is a quality lottery. Absurd for that cost. Completely unacceptable.
I had to return a Bob Dylan record, it sounded like a crack-addicted street busker blowing tunelessly into a harmonica, imagine my shock when the shop staff informed me that is just what Dylan sounds like!!! 😳
I probably return every other record I’ve bought. I think this year I’ve already returned 7 out of 9. So I feel the production of vinyl has got a lot worse. I’ve stopped buying off Amazon and even 2 copies of a record had the same issues - Like clicks though-out side one or increased surface noise in between tracks. Other records I’ve bought new sound brilliant throughout. It’s got to th point where I dread playing a brand new record for the first time, as I now half expect there to be constant clicks or other surface noise.
From my understanding release agent is part of the vinyl mixture and not something applied to surfaces, it cannot be removed. I forgot what official high-tech literature I read that from but it was some complicated in-depth reading. I'm pretty sure it was from a manufacturer of vinyl albums.
Wish I could remember where I found that information about mold release compound. I do remember it was from a company that is involved in making vinyl records and not trying to sell a product. And it was just a small part of a huge volume of information about manufacturing vinyl albums.
With the price of new releases and reissues, the standard should be Mo-Fi type inner sleeves! So many come with awful paper sleeves. I don't buy picture discs, but I do buy shaped discs. The awful PVC packaging has got to go. It melds with the record! Just my 2 cents...
I'm sick and tired of new vinyl, it costs so much and not worth it, for me to send it back if I bought it online, I live in South Africa and with the exchange rate, I connot afford it. I grew up with vinyl, and love the format.Why do records from the 70s 80s and 90s pressed on Standard 120g are so much better, like in all the points you mentioned. Even the SA vinyl from that period, if taken care of are better eg Alan Parsons Project's I Robot is also gatefold. And another issue is the quality of the printing on the cover and inner sleeve. I bought as one example some ABBA records and the quality of the cover was so bad, it was unbelievable, compared to the SA records I have. I now have a few online stores that I trust, and have very good customer service, in Germany and UK and 2 South African online stores. By the way I now mostly buy the original pressings from 70s and 80s and they sound fantastic.
I have heard so many horror stories about poor modern pressings that I really avoid them where I can - particularly given how massively overpriced they are. My own sole experience with a bad modern pressing was Radiohead's A Moon Shaped Pool on white vinyl. I couldn't understand why there was so much crackling etc on the discs. But thanks to the whiteness of the vinyl I could see dust and lint attached to the surface almost like it was pasted there. I reasoned that this must be release agent. I cleaned the (brand new) record three times (microfibre cloth plus spray cleaner). When I had finished the THIRD cleaning, the discs finally sounded right. In fact, they sounded brilliant. This was a useful lesson in the dangers of buying modern vinyl. I expect a lot of copies of that album were returned by confused purchasers who did not bother to clean a brand new record three times in a row - and why should they be expected to? It was also an in-principle vindication of my cleaning technique, of course.
the new vinyl records are waste of money. 50% of what I buy has a defect like warpage, inclusions, scratches, ripples, contaminated plastic. and the other 50% sound bad. Considering the cost it is massive waste if money and we are being ripped off. And thats all because of the rising popularity of the vinyl. Young people don't care as long as it spins and sound is coming from speakers they are happy. but if you send lot of money on HiFi ... I'll be probably better off with tidal and good DAC. Seriously I'm absolutely p..... off. I'll be sending every record I wont be happy with back to Amazon or Juno (if I'll ever buy any more)
Three problems I've encounter with new vinyl records: 1. Many, no, most modern new records I buy are covered in debris. This is very annoying on a brand new record that really should be spotless when opened. 2. Modern records seem to be very prone to picking up a strong static charge. 3. Records come in inner paper sleeves rather than the plastic type of old. Must be the modern dislike for plastic generally I guess. The practice of putting the record in a paper inner sleeve probably is the cause of 1 above and maybe also 2. I always use my own good quality non-paper inner sleeve for all new purchases. I'm an old bloke and I don't remember any of these problems when I was buying new records back in the 1970s and 80s. As the records I buy are all old classics I much prefer to buy a good vintage pressing rather than the modern rubbish and only buy a new pressing if I can't find an original vintage pressing.
I know one way to stop the bleeding, ,,,,, stop buying them and then they might get the hint,,,,,,,,,,, sorry to say at this point now but I'm probably going to go back to cd's
Brand new remastered Tales of Mystery and imagination by Alan Parsons Project. Skipped on the intro featuring Orson Wells . I took a risk and fixed it with a wooden toothpick. Still a slight click but enough Is enough.. 😡
Lots of bad pressings since at least early 60s, got really bad in the 70s as they cost reduced, using non virgin material and making discs thinner, etc There's a LOT of good reasons everyone jumped over to CD so fast through the 80s
@@QoraxAudio Indeed - we did a video on 180g vinyl too Love vinyl, and to be honest I've had less faulty pressings of late. I'd just like to see the issues addressed more openly so the format can continue to thrive
@@soundmatters Ah interesting... so you noticed it too? I had a gut feeling that the quality of recent pressings was improving last year, but I thought it was just my imagination.
I’ve been seeing a lot of records with bite marks in them. Like literal teeth marks like the guy at the factory has been chewing on them. I mean, some of these colors look good, but pack a lunch bro 4realz.
I bought a SYD BARRETT vinyl back in the 80's and not really a fault with the record but it has the side 1 label printed on both sides very confusing when smoking a doobie !!
List of defective new albums recently. Eagles mobile Fidelity Desperado. Pink Floyd the later use 1987 - 2019. Miles Davis Kind of Blue uhqr analogue Productions. All them witches live on the internet. Robin Trower go my way. Steve Gunn Duo Bay Head. Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band live bullet. Herb Alpert Tijuana Brass whipped cream and other Delights. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Angel dream. Parquet courts Sympathy For Life. All them witches first album. Record vacuum machine and tergitol could not help them. On a positive note recent purchases from Acoustic sound series Verve impulse have been exceptional! No cleaning needed other than compressed air after using milty zerostat gun. But even one of their albums I received has very light ticks on one side. What a shame to damage something that would have been otherwise perfect!
Sony music is a big quality fail from me, £20-£30 get you a warped, scuffed and filthy press in the UK unless its a two album set with proper inner sleeves. Most my sonys need cleaning on a regular basis butstill don't sound as they should.
YES! I have had more defective records from Sony/Legacy/Columbia due to scratches than any other label I can’t even believe it. Absolutely appalling. Much better luck with records that have a Made In Germany sticker on the back. Nearly all albums from Parlophone, RCA, Warner/Electra/Atlantic came in impeccable condition. I’m finding if they aren’t using plastic lined paper sleeves, 9 X out of 10 there is an issue.
Cheaping out on the manufacturing process allows the companies to widen the profit margin, I am in total and complete approval of this, as consumers we are cattle and should be ass r*ped until the end of times, Capitalism is our God if you are against it, you are a radical.
Gerard Stroh*** Sound Matters*** I got 2 New Pressings and one is My Fog Soundtrack on Color Vinyl and It Has Flaws in the Vinyl Records Like Spots and Dots On The Surface on The Records and I Got it on Amazon and it Was Made From Waxworks Records!!!! And Another Time I Got A 2 Record Set of John Lennen Imagine Remix on Clear Vinyl**** I Got it 2 Years Ago**** But Most of the Time The Records I Buy Were Good**** I should Just By Black Vinyl**** All From Gerard Stroh****
Most retailer expect you to pay for shipping if you send it back. Seriously...vinyl sucks ass. I'm done with it. Going back to CDs. Your vinyl is digital anyways.
I do a bit of both. Not all new records are bad, but I find the rate of issues higher than it should be. Saying that, I've had it come and go in phases.
It really is getting ridiculous. There have been QC issues for a long time, but no one near the extent we're seeing now.
I think the main culprit for warped records is the pressing plants themselves: they don't allow them to cool properly before shoving them into the packaging. Of all the new records I've bought, I've only ever really had a few with warps and mostly they've been quite minor. Interestingly, the few that have been badly warped enough to return have come from US pressing plants.
My main issues have been marks and micro-scratches caused by poor handling/ QC at the plant which causes repetitive ticks/ pops and more recently (i.e. mid-2021) stitching which causes terrible "zipping" and almost digital sounding noise. These things happen WAY too often from my point of view. I've had to return so many records that it has directly affected the number I buy and the labels from which I buy them.
Completely agree, I think plants aren't cooling the records properly. I see a lot of warped records and I can't believe it is all happening from shipping, especially in the cooler months when the problem doesn't seem to drop in frequency.
Dish warps can be caused by shrinking the record before it's fully cooled. Chip and edge warps are more indicative of the record being left near a heat source. Dish warps were a bigger problem in the 70's and 80's than they appear to be now, but I'm not working at a record store to see the returns. I did work at a record store in the 80's and dish warps were a big problem, especially on major new releases where they'd rush to produce the records in quantity.
I find surface blemishes to be a much bigger problem now than I ever remember it being 40-50 years ago.
Glad to see by your avatar you support The Current Thing
@@jeffsimon9594 I'm not someone that goes out to support "The Current Thing" but I take a dim view of despots deciding to invade their neighbours.
This is true.. All my records from US have the same warped issue
First this video is validating. It is amazing how many people claim they don't encounter any of these quality issues. I have exchanged so many albums recently. One recent repress took 6 exchanges to get a copy that didn't have audible scratches and other defects. I dread buying limited releases on the chance I'll be stuck with a defective copy that won't play correctly. The solution is slow down and really understand the process and what is going wrong ie what causes which defects.
Good video. That are the issues everyone has buying new records. I grew up with records and i can`t remember any new record from the 80`s that had any issues. There`s also a issue with sharp record edges, which can harm the inner- and outersleeve. Try to buy vintage records in the record shop so you can inspect them. If you buying new music on vinyl, than welcome to the quality lottery. Greetings
Yea, I like to you my local record stores as much as I can. Even then, I've bought used records that looked perfect but sounded terrible (likely due to a blunt stylus running through them for years). Who said record collecting was easy huh! 😂
And sometimes those sharp edges curl and form a trough that collects dust and other contaminants.
Absolutely correct! Some of the things that I’ve seen that really aggravate me are the dimples in the record surface, and like you said, I’ve returned an album three times and every new copy had the same dimples right in the record surface.
The other thing that I’ve seen a few times is curly cues of vinyl plastic from the off cuts packaged in with the record that have scratched the record surface in transit. So by the time I opened it from the shrink wrap, it was already scratched and clicking. Just unbelievable lack of attention to detail.
I’ve also received records that were cracked at the very edge and when I called the pressing plant, they admitted that a stack of records fell over and a lot of them got damaged. But after I returned that damaged disc, I got another album with more chipped edges. So basically they just packaged it up and shipped it anyway. Definitely not a manufacturer. I’ll ever buy from again.
But I completely agree with you that this will kill the format for the younger generation. Or maybe,… as I’ve seen to my surprise, that some of these younger vinyl collectors don’t even own a turntable or even play the record. Hahah, they just want to own the artwork for their wall and then they stream the music anyway, which is kind of funny to me.
Off centered records are my biggest issue and the problem that affects the listening the most to me. I get that no record is perfectly centered but I feel like it’s a problem in at least 1 in every 3 records i buy it’s really irritating
I agree. It’s far too common that it’s very noticeable. Annoying. Some are very audible, others not so much
During my final year at school I started a Saturday job working at a record shop in the city where I lived. I was then offered a full-time post when I left school. This was in 1969 and I was there for some time. I worked in the Classical department. (Can you believe it! A separate department for classical records. These days you are lucky to find any classical records in a record shop.) The majority of record shops were independent shops, other than a couple of ‘record bars’ in department stores where they were mainly restricted to selling the top 30 singles and best selling LPs.
Faulty record pressings were common although these varied depending on which company issued the record. Certainly on the classical side there were problems with noisy pressings. Imagine a solo piano record with lots of quiet sections. Many records were slightly warped and certainly we had more than a fair-share of ‘off-centre’ pressings, often affecting one side of the record.
However, I think the most problems we had were on the ‘pop’ side where customers would return records because they ‘jumped’.
I would say of these that 99% would play on our players with no problem and the trouble was due to the basic pick-ups that were fitted to the less-expensive players. These were unable to track if the grooves of the record were heavily modulated (heavy bass notes, etc.). We would always exchange the record and would offer to exchange the record for another title if the customer wanted.
Personally I found as time progressed that buying LPs was no longer a pleasure and I would only buy one if I felt I really wanted it and was prepared to ‘do battle’ for a half-decent pressing. (I remember a record being issued by a very popular classical singer and being told that if I really wanted a good pressing, the only advice they could give was to buy it on cassette).
As the advent of the CD got nearer, I was really excited that the days of buying vinyl, with all its problems, were coming to an end for me. I know there are lots of arguments about CDs not sounding as good as vinyl, and yes, if you have a perfect vinyl pressing played on a high quality turntable then I am prepared to accept the advantage of vinyl. However, I now have a large CD collection and the number of CDs I’ve had problems with has been extremely low. With the reintroduction of vinyl, I assumed that pressing faults were something from the past and that now, all these years on, that problem had mainly been corrected. I’m very sad to hear that isn’t the case. Whatever the shortcomings in the sound of CDs, for me, I’m more than happy to accept this rather than go back to the days of fighting to get a half decent LP pressing.
A final note. When digital recording was first being talked about, I understood that many of the record companies were getting very concerned because the master tapes they held were starting to deteriorate and they were extremely anxious to have a better system for archive purposes. Therefore, what are the source of recordings now being used to make LPs of music recorded (say) in the 1950s, 60s, 70s and (early) 80s?
Some new records are in a worse shape than most of my oldest records from the 70s and 80s. Even with no visible damage some sound crappy and noisy.
I clean every new vinyl on my Degritter before playing. It’s incredible how many are mildly warped or have surface noise, should be totally unacceptable but seems to be the norm unless you go to the premium pressings.
I had one of those white blips on a new Santana album from mofi. Returned it for a new one without any problems.
Most of the faults you describe were what made me go over to CDs in the mid 80s, things had got shockingly bad in my experience. Rather disappointing to hear the industry doesn’t appear to have moved on!
You are wrong about that, quality control was much higher back then, why do you think original pressings are so highly prized? 99% of folks migrated to CD because they were simply following the herd and now cannot admit they were idiots to dump all their vinyl which would likely now be worth a fortune.
@@jeffsimon9594 Well that’s fucking genius knowing what records I bought nearly 40 years ago and the condition of them. 🙄
@@andygilbert1877 I did not hurl profanities at you sweetcheeks 😘
Almost every single record I buy these days clicks throughout. It's so weird, it's like people choose not to hear these issues. I notice the problems more so in scores - perhaps due to the atmospheric nature or perhaps they're being treated as merch and people by them as such. But it sucks and I send many records back now, it's so wasteful.
Your average hipster will claim "Hey dude that's just part & parcel of vinyl" 🙄
@@jeffsimon9594 There is a little truth to that but there is a big difference between non-fill issues and worn out vinyl crackle. New records shouldn't have either.
@@Swayeee True but it is easy for noobs to confuse and conflate these issues, which has the net effect of letting the manufacturers off the hook.
I take a very good care of LP's. I ultrasound wash even brand new ones and what pisses me off is that you buy audiophile LP paying mega $$$ and after 3 plays this records develops click and pops. I have LPs from the 60's that are in better condition than some from current pressing.
I have LPS with a dull finish on one side. I was told that it's from the vinyl washer wasn't applied before packing
Could be. Hopefully it's not a non-fill issue or something? Does it sound ok? You'd hear a kind of wosshing sound if it was non-fill. Best to clean new records before the first play if you can. Thanks for watching
I think your right it is a pressing plant problem I've had countless double vinyl albums only to find one as flat as a pancake and the other one dish sometimes so badly you can just about see the top off the spindle.
Last year I bought chicago 18 touted as an audiophile pressing. Within the first minute there was a loud glitch/pop and generally there were light crackles noticeable in quieter passages. I ordered another at a slight discount only to find it had the same glitch/pop at the exact same place, with the record itself again looking perfect. Obviously an error in the mastering process transferring to the lacquer. Because of where I live it is not feasible to return records. I have been reluctant to purchase anything other than mofi releases since then, but I have just an order on its way now and I am crossing my fingers.
Blue Valentine, by Tom Waits had a "booger" of almost plaster that wouldn't come off with my nail after being soaked for 10 minutes. Sad.
A very big problem seems to be ….. many factories are under too much and high pressure!
Vinyl should have enough time to cool slowly down ….
Factories in eastern europe often decrease that time to be faster….
Sorry for my bad english 🤷♂️
Greetings from Germany
The time pressure dues to production bottlenecks and lack of facilities to meet demand certainly doesn't help.
These issues are why alot of people have gone back to CDs
Most of these I've never really had a problem with, but the one that's always kinda bothered me was the offcenter pressing. I've really only had this with older original records (I think more so with 45's) but there was really only 1 time when I had a really bad experience with new vinyl...
I believe it was Record Store Day in 2012 when we got the Pink Floyd The Wall singles box that had the 3 45's perfectly reproduced in a nice box. The 1st record I think was okay, but one had a really bad warp and the other had a really bad offcenter pressing where it was virtually impossible to really play. I really started to worry if they were suddenly starting to cheapen some of these special releases. But as it turned out I was able to take it back to the record store I bought it from (Silver Platters for those who also live in Western Washington) and I was lucky enough that they did in fact have another copy which I didn't really expect and was able to exchange it. Fortunately this copy was much better! I was relieved and happy.
Thanks for sharing. Glad to hear that second copy was better. Happy spinning!
Great video, thank you for this, I just opened a new record and found these orange bubbles on a black record, dont think its going to play properly
That’s a new one! 😬🤞
Hi. I just bought a brand new album. It has pops and crackles in it right from the beginning. I would think that this was pressed from a damaged master. Also, on the same album, there is distortion in about 5 seconds of audio which make me think it was poorly re-mastered. Does this make sense?
That is just normal
Ugh!! You said it. The quality control is lacks. Seems warpage and dirty records are the order of the day. Also the fidelity on some of the records are so low you have to keep turning up the volume. Also the cover reproduction of the cover arts are awful. Case in point, look at the latest 5th Dimension Greatest Hits On Earth lp (yeah i'm old), the cover colors reproduction is dull and the pictures looked washed out and gray compared to the original.
To me the worst failure of them all, is that some companies cut their acetates using a CD as the master source. No high resolution studio masters are used, they freaking use the damned CD or a 44,100 hz 16-bit source, which destroys the whole experience of HiFi. They think we wouldn't notice, but we do. Much more prone to happen on new cuts and re-issues. AVOID!
My biggest gripe with brand new records is when you buy a sealed LP, get it home, open it up and put it on the turntable, place the needle onto it . . . . and it SKIPS!!! Why is this? I would love to know the reason. It cannot by my stylus as I know EXACTLY to the minute how old it is (it gets replaced more often that is required.)
For me the off center of a record is totally unacceptable and it is caused by the stamper wich was not proprely centered. Some times only one of the sides can be off center. More attentions should be put in that process and make sure that the center of each stamper is properly adjusted.
This is a good video telling us about how the lack of QC affects us, the listener in many ways. Vinyl is not cheap to buy, and for the price, like you say it should be as close to perfect as it can get. Another problem I've had with new vinyl is lack of volume. The last 2 albums I've bought are pulp different class and Paul Wellers Stanley road. Both albums have very little volume and a very dull sound quality. Usually albums with 6 or 7 tracks per side don't suffer from poor volume, but some are just dire. If need be, they should press them onto 2 discs.
I've had more bad records in the last 4 months than in the year and a half before. I haven't had any off center or warping issues, its all manufacturing defect scuffs and scratches.
Also the tight center hole issue but that's not worth returning over, to me.
It's funny how some folks are experiencing an improvement in quality, whereas others are reporting an increase in issues. I suppose that depends from region-to-region perhaps and where the records are pressed.
Thanks for sharing your experience
I have over 6000 vinyls and I am buying less and less new records. Prices are now way too high that the quality control is way too bad. It even goes with reputable pressing plants like Optimal or RTI. I now ALWAYS look at comments on discogs before I buy a new record, and quite often I have been put off and either bought the CD or streamed on Spotify instead of buying the vinyls. So they are not getting my dollars anymore. I have invested in an ultrasonic cleaning machine and I rather buy old originals rather than dodgy coloured gimmicky re-issues (but that is another story).
Quality control... Something British record production definitely doesn't have here in the poor quality UK! We've got the warped remastered 180G versions of everything (7 out of 10 are warped), or the specially scratched scratch remixes, and the mispressed unplayable especially dirty editions -- all brand new with a twist of extra warping courtesy of polywrapping too tightly. All brand new and ready to be returned (mostly to a very famous record retailer with chains all over the UK). :0/
I recently bought McCartney's Ram 1/2 half speed Master. Side1 was excellent, side 2 had so much distortion it was embarrassing.
This was pressed in Germany.
Lots of work seems to go into the weight of the record or the look of the artwork or sleeve compared to an original. But many times I find the source tape or maybe a poor mastercopy is being used and so that's what makes the record sound poor.
I'm with SCjuisy on this, I'm also one who bought records in the 1980's and never had any issues back then, not like today!!! What I think the problem today is, the very much lack of experience and knowhow from the pressing plants to storage! They don't have that same knowledge, skill and quality control that the guys who once in this industry finished I guess very early 90's when the plants closed down through cd popularity! These guys had all the experience, knowledge, skill, knowhow and what it takes, that was passed down to them from the decades and generations before them! Either the guys today 1) Don't have the same knowledge or 2) Have the knowledge, but are too lazy to put it into practice because there's so much money been made today hence the prices!!! I like to think its #1 if so maybe managers at these pressing plants can try hire some of these older guys if still around with good pay and get it sorted! It would be very worth a good pay for this knowledge and experience for this generation to know and keep up! Also keep people who buy the records much happier!
Yes, the guys with specialized knowledge of the machines involved are all either RIP or in their 80s or 90s! Vinyl is on borrowed time sadly.
I've bought several lately that have scratches, have uncut flashed edges, warped, and white marks on the black records. I'm assuming the white is from contamination from using regrind. This is ridiculous. These prices we are paying are through the roof for something we can listen to online for free. We are paying for better sound. Not free skips and loud pops. It's unacceptable.
White marks on black vinyl is a new one to me. Crazy
I've a couple thousand records and I can tell you that, literally, 7 out of 10 new records I buy have some sort of warp. Even minor warps produce some sort of flutter. I now own a record flattener and it's been the best accessory I've purchased beyond a RCM. As for off center records, it takes time to figure it out but you can slightly file a minor slot at the center hole and if you get the slot right at least you can reposition the record and get a proper center. We should not have to do any of these things though. Also agreed on the colored vinyl being contaminated... it's a bummer.
Having the same issue- Im really thinking of buying a flatner.
I still love collecting vinyl, old and new. But my one pet peeve that I really hate when buying new vinyl is the off centre pressings. Some are not too bad at all and wow and flutter is hardly audible, but when you get one that is so badly pressed off centre they sound so bad and are just unplayable. I think it's an issue that is just not acceptable in this day and age. There must surely be a way they can address this problem. Even if they just rotate the vinyl on a turntable and watch the grooves at the lead in for any side to side movement. They don't even have to play it cos if I can see when a record is very badly pressed off centre I'm sure someone in quality control can see it. It's totally unacceptable and needs to be addressed.
There's been problems with the quality of records from the year dot. I have been collecting records for over 50 years now. When I was a child, I had 78s from the 1930s all the way through to the early 1960s. I still collect 45rpm singles from the 1950s and 60s as well as Lps. Lps NEVER use to be shrink wrapped here in the UK. This is the main cause of warping, as they are heated for the wrapping to shrink. I have found that the longer the records are kept sealed, the worse it will be. I know that the only way to guarantee that a record is in MINT CONDITION is for it to be sealed, but I would much sooner have a near flat record than one that is warped.
I never list a record as mint condition, I much prefer to use the term MINT - when listing records for sale even if they have never been played, but the seal has been broken.
I think you forgot one of the most common and most significant to the sound quality: non-fill issues
Yea, that's a good addition. That woshy sound you get with non-fill - super annoying
I have a reasonably priced record deck the rega planar 3 & very happy with it. But records should be perfect when buying new ( i expect minor defect second hand butany warp could get worse. I have just purchased a marantz cd6007usb/cd player & found myself playing that if I feel lazy.unless the vinyl albums perfect your not going to get pure sound like a CD player. I just like the nostalgic feel of records & the odd clicking sound takes me back to the similar sound I heard years ago pre cd days, the covers are better & readable. You just need to check any new records out when buying especially if its second hand take it out the sleeve before buying & check thoroughly. The other thing I find against cd's they sound too clinical & perfect. I now have about 400 flac albums that the marantz also plays via its usb port, great perfect sound & programmable if you don't want to keep getting up every 30 minutes to turn the album over. They all have a place but vinyl still has a luxurious character even if its lost its 100 % perfectioness. ( have I made up a new word) perfectioness. :)
Actually it appears to me that the quality has gone up recently. A few years ago I was buying high priced new records (which are all worth a lot more now on paper) and almost all arrived caked with dust. That issue seems to have gone away. Also the quality of the vinyl material even on cheaper records has improved to the point where surface noise is almost non-existent. I have had some issues with warped records (record 3 of the 3 boxed set Petty Wildflowers comes to mind) but they play perfectly fine.
Thanks Donald - yes, I too have noticed that in the last year or so, I'm getting less faulty or poor quality records. Fingers crossed things continue to improve!
I have heard many complaint about quality issues, but I think what is missing in the conversation is the context. Is this happening one out of three records, or one in twenty? Is this happening to all pressings, high quality and low quality? I do have issues, mainly mild warping and some sea splits on the inner/outer jackets, but it really happens maybe one in ten, so not a huge issue in my mind, and the higher quality records I buy tend to be in good condition (analogue productions, Blue Note etc)
For me it's at least 1 in 5 and the higher quality pressings are not excluded. AP is pretty good, but MoFi has a horrible QC problem with jackets as well as vinyl (non-fills, label issues, putting 2 of the same disc in a 2LP package, etc).
Nice to see Frusciante records in video. I had one record with a warp so bad, one side of the record was 1/2 inch raised.
Love JF. Sadly, that “off center example” is Sphere In The Heart of Silence” A 2012 repress
Half raised is ridiculous 🤦♂️
@@soundmatters I love Frusciante also. I did a video on Shadows Collide and Bicycle thief, sometime back. I was able to get a few other solo records back in 2004 when he was putting out just about a record a month. However I could not afford them all, seemed like he put out 10 records in a year.
@@shaunspins - Nice - send me a link. I've got the original 2004 CDs as I bought each one of those the day they came out. The records we sadly out of my budget in those days! But I managed most of the 2004 re-press versions. Same Sphere was off centre.
@@soundmatters Here is the link for John Frusciante 4th record review
ua-cam.com/video/_9Ga0-GZQkE/v-deo.html
I also did one on the bicycle thief. The record collection ones, I had to special order them when they came out.
@@shaunspins Great video on the early JF records there. Interesting stuff about the mastering on shadows. I don't have that one on vinyl so can't comment either way.
I too burnt quite a few of those internet releases to CD back in the day. "From the Sounds Inside", "The Brown Bunny Soundtrack JF parts" & the acoustic/demo versions of Shadows.
Nice to hear from someone with the same love for JF's solo efforts.
9 out of 10 new albums I buy from online retailers are either warped, scratched, or torn nowadays 🤦♂️ The quality control issue is getting more and more frequent because the majority of newcomers in the hobby don't even unbox and listen to the records they buy 😤👎🏼
Got Crosby’s Classic “remastered” first solo record- If I could only remember my name. Got it, cleaned it, played it. Sound shite with crackles and pops. Another 25 squid wasted. Might just stick to cds. Turntable is Project T1.
The poor quality control is exhausting and exasperating. I just today returned a Smiths LP and have to wait for a replacement due to defect at the end of side 1 causing an unrelenting skip. While at the store I noticed a new Dylan Blonde on blonde, got it home and sure enough, a popping gouge in side 4 and that entire record is warped. Now this has to go back. It really is a quality lottery. Absurd for that cost. Completely unacceptable.
I had to return a Bob Dylan record, it sounded like a crack-addicted street busker blowing tunelessly into a harmonica, imagine my shock when the shop staff informed me that is just what Dylan sounds like!!! 😳
I probably return every other record I’ve bought. I think this year I’ve already returned 7 out of 9. So I feel the production of vinyl has got a lot worse. I’ve stopped buying off Amazon and even 2 copies of a record had the same issues - Like clicks though-out side one or increased surface noise in between tracks. Other records I’ve bought new sound brilliant throughout.
It’s got to th point where I dread playing a brand new record for the first time, as I now half expect there to be constant clicks or other surface noise.
From my understanding release agent is part of the vinyl mixture and not something applied to surfaces, it cannot be removed. I forgot what official high-tech literature I read that from but it was some complicated in-depth reading. I'm pretty sure it was from a manufacturer of vinyl albums.
Interesting. If you remember the source of that info, do let me know. Cheers
Wish I could remember where I found that information about mold release compound. I do remember it was from a company that is involved in making vinyl records and not trying to sell a product. And it was just a small part of a huge volume of information about manufacturing vinyl albums.
With the price of new releases and reissues, the standard should be Mo-Fi type inner sleeves! So many come with awful paper sleeves. I don't buy picture discs, but I do buy shaped discs. The awful PVC packaging has got to go. It melds with the record! Just my 2 cents...
I'd have to agree!
I'm sick and tired of new vinyl, it costs so much and not worth it, for me to send it back if I bought it online, I live in South Africa and with the exchange rate, I connot afford it. I grew up with vinyl, and love the format.Why do records from the 70s 80s and 90s pressed on Standard 120g are so much better, like in all the points you mentioned. Even the SA vinyl from that period, if taken care of are better eg Alan Parsons Project's I Robot is also gatefold. And another issue is the quality of the printing on the cover and inner sleeve. I bought as one example some ABBA records and the quality of the cover was so bad, it was unbelievable, compared to the SA records I have. I now have a few online stores that I trust, and have very good customer service, in Germany and UK and 2 South African online stores. By the way I now mostly buy the original pressings from 70s and 80s and they sound fantastic.
I have heard so many horror stories about poor modern pressings that I really avoid them where I can - particularly given how massively overpriced they are. My own sole experience with a bad modern pressing was Radiohead's A Moon Shaped Pool on white vinyl. I couldn't understand why there was so much crackling etc on the discs.
But thanks to the whiteness of the vinyl I could see dust and lint attached to the surface almost like it was pasted there. I reasoned that this must be release agent. I cleaned the (brand new) record three times (microfibre cloth plus spray cleaner). When I had finished the THIRD cleaning, the discs finally sounded right. In fact, they sounded brilliant.
This was a useful lesson in the dangers of buying modern vinyl. I expect a lot of copies of that album were returned by confused purchasers who did not bother to clean a brand new record three times in a row - and why should they be expected to? It was also an in-principle vindication of my cleaning technique, of course.
the new vinyl records are waste of money. 50% of what I buy has a defect like warpage, inclusions, scratches, ripples, contaminated plastic. and the other 50% sound bad. Considering the cost it is massive waste if money and we are being ripped off. And thats all because of the rising popularity of the vinyl. Young people don't care as long as it spins and sound is coming from speakers they are happy. but if you send lot of money on HiFi ... I'll be probably better off with tidal and good DAC. Seriously I'm absolutely p..... off. I'll be sending every record I wont be happy with back to Amazon or Juno (if I'll ever buy any more)
Three problems I've encounter with new vinyl records:
1. Many, no, most modern new records I buy are covered in debris. This is very annoying on a brand new record that really should be spotless when opened.
2. Modern records seem to be very prone to picking up a strong static charge.
3. Records come in inner paper sleeves rather than the plastic type of old. Must be the modern dislike for plastic generally I guess. The practice of putting the record in a paper inner sleeve probably is the cause of 1 above and maybe also 2. I always use my own good quality non-paper inner sleeve for all new purchases.
I'm an old bloke and I don't remember any of these problems when I was buying new records back in the 1970s and 80s.
As the records I buy are all old classics I much prefer to buy a good vintage pressing rather than the modern rubbish and only buy a new pressing if I can't find an original vintage pressing.
I know one way to stop the bleeding, ,,,,, stop buying them and then they might get the hint,,,,,,,,,,, sorry to say at this point now but I'm probably going to go back to cd's
Brand new remastered Tales of Mystery and imagination by Alan Parsons Project. Skipped on the intro featuring Orson Wells . I took a risk and fixed it with a wooden toothpick. Still a slight click but enough Is enough.. 😡
That's annoying! The toothpick method really works well, but shame a new record wasn't as it should be
I personally wouldn't bother with new records as most of them are created using digital files! So you aren't getting the true analogue sound anyway.
Lots of bad pressings since at least early 60s, got really bad in the 70s as they cost reduced, using non virgin material and making discs thinner, etc
There's a LOT of good reasons everyone jumped over to CD so fast through the 80s
Ah yes those oil crisis records... paper thin 100 grams stuff.
Just as bad as the overweight 180/200 grams hype records of today.
@@QoraxAudio Indeed - we did a video on 180g vinyl too
Love vinyl, and to be honest I've had less faulty pressings of late. I'd just like to see the issues addressed more openly so the format can continue to thrive
@@soundmatters Ah interesting... so you noticed it too?
I had a gut feeling that the quality of recent pressings was improving last year, but I thought it was just my imagination.
Is it possible to return a disc due to printing errors...? It is what buyers must demand even if the vinyl has been tested.
Sometimes, a printing error (such as a typo or some other anomaly) can actually raise the value of a pressing.
@@soundmatters I mean errors in the microgrooves...jumps, clicks...
I’ve been seeing a lot of records with bite marks in them. Like literal teeth marks like the guy at the factory has been chewing on them. I mean, some of these colors look good, but pack a lunch bro 4realz.
Haha! For real!?
@@soundmatters lol nah just goofing
@@JesusJones207 🤣- I've heard of a company called "Delicious Vinyl" but that would be taking a love for records to the extreme 😆
I bought a SYD BARRETT vinyl back in the 80's and not really a fault with the record but it has the side 1 label printed on both sides very confusing when smoking a doobie !!
Haha! I have a few albums where the wrong album name is printed on the spine... Throws me every time
List of defective new albums recently. Eagles mobile Fidelity Desperado. Pink Floyd the later use 1987 - 2019. Miles Davis Kind of Blue uhqr analogue Productions. All them witches live on the internet. Robin Trower go my way. Steve Gunn Duo Bay Head. Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band live bullet. Herb Alpert Tijuana Brass whipped cream and other Delights. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Angel dream. Parquet courts Sympathy For Life. All them witches first album. Record vacuum machine and tergitol could not help them. On a positive note recent purchases from Acoustic sound series Verve impulse have been exceptional! No cleaning needed other than compressed air after using milty zerostat gun. But even one of their albums I received has very light ticks on one side. What a shame to damage something that would have been otherwise perfect!
Sony music is a big quality fail from me, £20-£30 get you a warped, scuffed and filthy press in the UK unless its a two album set with proper inner sleeves. Most my sonys need cleaning on a regular basis butstill don't sound as they should.
YES! I have had more defective records from Sony/Legacy/Columbia due to scratches than any other label I can’t even believe it. Absolutely appalling. Much better luck with records that have a Made In Germany sticker on the back. Nearly all albums from Parlophone, RCA, Warner/Electra/Atlantic came in impeccable condition. I’m finding if they aren’t using plastic lined paper sleeves, 9 X out of 10 there is an issue.
Cheaping out on the manufacturing process allows the companies to widen the profit margin, I am in total and complete approval of this, as consumers we are cattle and should be ass r*ped until the end of times, Capitalism is our God if you are against it, you are a radical.
Gerard Stroh***
Sound Matters***
I got 2 New Pressings and one is My Fog Soundtrack on Color Vinyl and It Has Flaws in the Vinyl Records Like Spots and Dots On The Surface on The Records and I Got it on Amazon and it Was Made From Waxworks Records!!!!
And Another Time I Got A 2 Record Set of John Lennen Imagine Remix on Clear Vinyl****
I Got it 2 Years Ago****
But Most of the Time The Records I Buy Were Good****
I should Just By Black Vinyl****
All From Gerard Stroh****
Most retailer expect you to pay for shipping if you send it back. Seriously...vinyl sucks ass. I'm done with it. Going back to CDs. Your vinyl is digital anyways.
have never had a problem of this sort in 50+ years of buying LPs
Buy 2nd hand.
I do a bit of both. Not all new records are bad, but I find the rate of issues higher than it should be. Saying that, I've had it come and go in phases.