Clicks and pops far too common on New vinyl

What can be done to stop the huge problem of manufacturing defects in new vinyl.I a lot of records didn't have any problems.I have started by ing record labels about it .

I think it's basically a problem constructed by the loss of experience in the recording industry, a hugh demand that can hardly be satisfied by those few pressing plants left over and the simple fact that these records get sold.
Don't really see where we as customers could help to solve this situation other than simply not buying stuff made by companies known to produce with low quality standards.
Never had issues with stuff done by Optimal Media or ThirdmanRecords e.g., on the other hand i'm very critical if a record was done by GZ Media.
I think it wasn't really that different back in the days with all the budget pressings done for big shop companies.
But as i wrote most of the old and wise guys have ed who had skills like "Oh well, put some dish cleaner in the matrix so no dust will stuck there." The companies never told the public about stuff like this, but some of the old wise men spreaded knowledge via the net.
And of course no record was ever meant to be perfect.

jumpinfrom6to6
How can we as record buyers overcome the huge problem of manufacturing defects in new vinyl.

Vote with your dollars and review records so others can see what's good/bad out there. My experience with most new colored vinyl is that it sounds like shit, give or take. I much prefer black wax but that doesn't seem as "cool" for a lotta folks into records now.

Honestly, with that these companies are charging for new records now the quality should be top notch AND each release should come with a digital version. $30+ on average is a lot to ask for something new with defects.

highpriest23
on the other hand i'm very critical if a record was done by GZ Media

Having actually visited their manufacturing facility two years ago, I hear you.
But… ryba smrdí od hlavy, as the Czech saying goes: A fish rots from the head down.

[quote=highpriest23][/quote]

Yes I hope a lot of record companies are aware of the lack of quality control. Also the CD version is done perfectly,so what are they doing wrong when mastering it for vinyl to cause these pops and clicks.

It's because second shift does the vinyl mastering. The front office has gone home for the day and no one is around to keep an eye on them.

jumpinfrom6to6
I can't get a refund on New vinyl at my store.

find a better store

CNTRL_SCRUTINIZER
review records so others can see what's good/bad out there.

yes, write reviews on bad and also well done vinyl here on discogs, share your experience, it helps a lot.

highpriest23
I think it's basically a problem constructed by the loss of experience in the recording industry, a hugh demand that can hardly be satisfied by those few pressing plants left over and the simple fact that these records get sold.
Don't really see where we as customers could help to solve this situation other than simply not buying stuff made by companies known to produce with low quality standards.
Never had issues with stuff done by Optimal Media or ThirdmanRecords e.g., on the other hand i'm very critical if a record was done by GZ Media.
I think it wasn't really that different back in the days with all the budget pressings done for big shop companies.
But as i wrote most of the old and wise guys have ed who had skills like "Oh well, put some dish cleaner in the matrix so no dust will stuck there." The companies never told the public about stuff like this, but some of the old wise men spreaded knowledge via the net.
And of course no record was ever meant to be perfect.

devin306
rockin50stonowI can't get a refund on New vinyl at my store.

find a better store

No there's no better stores for miles and besides its not the stores fault the records have flaws.

My bottom line is if the album is newly released or a current release, buy it from Amazon or someone else with a bullet proof return policy. If it's out of print then I come here and roll the dice.

I have found that a lot of the new vinyl that I have bought (albums NOT 12" singles) that upon first listen is full of surface noise is fixed after giving them a deep clean, I used to think it was pressing faults but I believe most of it is loose debris left via the pressing and post press handling process.

If you have the option take your vinyl to a professional cleaner and see what they can do.

AskeladdenBlack
I have found that a lot of the new vinyl that I have bought (albums NOT 12" singles) that upon first listen is full of surface noise is fixed after giving them a deep clean, I used to think it was pressing faults but I believe most of it is loose debris left via the pressing and post press handling process.

If you have the option take your vinyl to a professional cleaner and see what they can do.

In my case that is certainly (usually) true for, of all things, Rainbo Records pressings. Looks and plays awful when first taken out of the inner sleeve, then after a deep clean got so much better. Not so much for pressings by MPO or GZ however. Even with cleaning those don't clean up at all, due to scuffs/scratches/non-fill from the factory.

AskeladdenBlack
I have found that a lot of the new vinyl that I have bought (albums NOT 12" singles) that upon first listen is full of surface noise is fixed after giving them a deep clean, I used to think it was pressing faults but I believe most of it is loose debris left via the pressing and post press handling process.

If you have the option take your vinyl to a professional cleaner and see what they can do.

I have a cleaning machine.What I'm talking about is flaws in the vinyl , either due to mastering or stampers at pressing plants.

AskeladdenBlack
I have found that a lot of the new vinyl that I have bought (albums NOT 12" singles) that upon first listen is full of surface noise is fixed after giving them a deep clean, I used to think it was pressing faults but I believe most of it is loose debris left via the pressing and post press handling process.

If you have the option take your vinyl to a professional cleaner and see what they can do.

I don't know if you've heard a certain release by the group 2017 reissue Overkill -Horrorscope, which has a loud click on track 3 which a lot of people have reported the same on their own copies.No amount of cleaning can remove this.

For sure without a doubt there are plenty of pressings that have pressing defects and no amount of cleaning will take out a bit of paper embedded into the wax, however some noise/pop issues can not be blamed on pressing faults but on post press storage and handling and I have found that I have been able to tidy them up whilst many people keep sending their copies back thinking that they are pressing faults.

Certain pressing plants are better at quality control than others,not just handling,but in cleanliness when making the stampers.

This pressing does not have paper in the wax , it's not a one off , all copies have the same click in the same place , the question is why? The CD version does not have it though so its something they are doing in the manufacturing of the record.

highpriest23
I think it's basically a problem constructed by the loss of experience in the recording industry, a hugh demand that can hardly be satisfied by those few pressing plants left over and the simple fact that these records get sold.
Don't really see where we as customers could help to solve this situation other than simply not buying stuff made by companies known to produce with low quality standards.
Never had issues with stuff done by Optimal Media or ThirdmanRecords e.g., on the other hand i'm very critical if a record was done by GZ Media.
I think it wasn't really that different back in the days with all the budget pressings done for big shop companies.
But as i wrote most of the old and wise guys have ed who had skills like "Oh well, put some dish cleaner in the matrix so no dust will stuck there." The companies never told the public about stuff like this, but some of the old wise men spreaded knowledge via the net.
And of course no record was ever meant to be perfect.

I think that it may help if someone knew the record inside out, so if someone tested the mothers for noises they would hear any flaws.

highpriest23
I think it's basically a problem constructed by the loss of experience in the recording industry, a hugh demand that can hardly be satisfied by those few pressing plants left over and the simple fact that these records get sold.
Don't really see where we as customers could help to solve this situation other than simply not buying stuff made by companies known to produce with low quality standards.
Never had issues with stuff done by Optimal Media or ThirdmanRecords e.g., on the other hand i'm very critical if a record was done by GZ Media.
I think it wasn't really that different back in the days with all the budget pressings done for big shop companies.
But as i wrote most of the old and wise guys have ed who had skills like "Oh well, put some dish cleaner in the matrix so no dust will stuck there." The companies never told the public about stuff like this, but some of the old wise men spreaded knowledge via the net.
And of course no record was ever meant to be perfect.

I think that it may help if someone knew the record inside out, so if someone did a test hearing on the mother
stampers for noises they would hear any pops,or that one spec of dust that landed on the lacquer .

jumpinfrom6to6
highpriest23I think it's basically a problem constructed by the loss of experience in the recording industry, a hugh demand that can hardly be satisfied by those few pressing plants left over and the simple fact that these records get sold.
Don't really see where we as customers could help to solve this situation other than simply not buying stuff made by companies known to produce with low quality standards.
Never had issues with stuff done by Optimal Media or ThirdmanRecords e.g., on the other hand i'm very critical if a record was done by GZ Media.
I think it wasn't really that different back in the days with all the budget pressings done for big shop companies.
But as i wrote most of the old and wise guys have ed who had skills like "Oh well, put some dish cleaner in the matrix so no dust will stuck there." The companies never told the public about stuff like this, but some of the old wise men spreaded knowledge via the net.
And of course no record was ever meant to be perfect.

I think that it may help if someone knew the record inside out, so if someone did a test hearing on the mother
stampers for noises they would hear any pops,or that one spec of dust that landed on the lacquer .

jumpinfrom6to6


I think that it may help if someone knew the record inside out, so if someone did a test hearing on the mother
stampers for noises they would hear any pops,or that one spec of dust that landed on the lacquer .

It's just the way it is. There are quality pressing plants out there and then there are the ones who don't care. It is up to us to be as smart as possible to defend ourselves against the schlock makers. Noise from a couple of consumers is just that. But when someone like Amazon or Music Direct returns half of their stock as defective and wants a refund, that gets noticed.

Brick and mortar doesn't have much clout anymore. The local record store is in the same boat that we are in. When it's brand new, no one knows what they're getting until they open it and try and play it. More than likely, they eat it more often than they get credit for defective returns.

All's I can say is that learn who makes good records and who doesn't. Don't buy anything from those who don't. An informed buyer is a smart buyer and will have less things to worry about. The first thing I learned about the music industry over 50 years ago is that ethics is a dirty word.

I was wondering how many people are buying vinyl as an investment anymore. All these records, never opened, never played, are a ticking time bomb for the music aficionado who is after a clean copy years after the release. And then it is hard to tell who's to blame. Having said that, I know that some factories do offer (for a different price) alternate standards when cutting a vinyl. And for big record companies, which always demand a contract and penalties in case something goes wrong, they do take extra care when cutting. I heard a story about Nick Cave's latest album, having flaws, and many copies were returned to the shops. I don't know if they were recalled and destroyed or they were re-distributed to other markets. I guess there is always a similar company logic as with the faulty cars, if you Fight Club movie. And no human lives are in danger from a faulty record...

I agree that too many new repressings have pops and clicks in them. One reason is that the plant doing the repressing is either dusty, or they are using recycled vinyl from the cuttings. For example if the company presses 20,000 copies, they are going to have a lot of scrap vinyl on the floor. It’s not uncommon that this is swept up and reused after it is filtered! The degree to what and how much debris is removed is questionable. This was a common practice the first time the vinyl ruled the world before digital took over. Many of the later vinyl pressing near the end of the vinyl “heyday” were made from old vinyl that was recycled, thus you would open a brand new album and it had a click or pop already embedded into the new LP. As CDs took over and vinyl was pressed lesser than just a decade prior to the CD, it often wasn’t a great pressing and it was an art form that lost people who wanted to learn the proper way to press vinyl Lps.

I try to buy records pressed at record plants like Pallas, or RTI . Hollywood Records is good, and most EU pressings are better than American pressings, I buy some vinyl that’s colored as a collectible, like the RSD “Phish-Slip,Scrath,and ” as I’m a Phish fan! I generally buy the 180g black vinyl copy once it comes out. But I generally like black vinyl.

There are some record companies I avoid like the plague! I bought the 3 different colored versions of “Interpol - El Pintor” and the red copy was a complete mess! It literally had strings of vinyl still in the grooves of the vinyl as well as the cover. It was from the local Hastings “Going Out Of Business” sale and the last day! I got the red copy there for $9.99 plus they gave me a copy of the CD with it! So I was stuck with this terrible copy.

I clean everything that I buy , both new and used on a VPI vacuum cleaner and dry it on a rack I built that is like a ladder and they lean at an angle. The vinyl only touches the edge of the wood, and there’s a center strut with a round piece of wood that’s cut at an angle and has foam padding as to keep from damaging the paper label! I then remove the static that vacuuming creates, I use the stationary Furatech DeStat II Static remover as well as a Milty Blue Gun, which actually does work! This sounds OCD but I learned the hard way that not cleaning my vinyl is a huge mistake, even new copies! After a good drying and static removal, I put them into MFSL Sleeves as the are better and affordable inner sleeves. If the original inner is printed, I shot the Milty gun into the paper sleeve and then pull it out. If it has static that makes the vinyl hard to pull out of the paper inner sleeve, you can see actual surface scratches this leaves. If it’s just white paper I rip the innner sleeve off! I keep the printed inners with the new MFSL sleeves inside the cover. I trash the paper ones unless they are poly lined. There’s a company in the U.K. that sells the absolute best inner sleeves I’ve ever used, but they are very pricey, like $3.00 each with the stupid tariffs! But still they’ve never been cheap! All of this is just a one time thing and I just maintain them with a grounded big brush that’s really wide and I hit it with the Milty gun before I flip the album as playing your vinyl actually creates static! Then I put it up after a good brushing! Rarely do I vacuum them again unless they get something on them.

So what I learned with the “Mexican Summer” Pressing of the “Interpol” red vinyl LP was quite disastrous. I removed the strings of red vinyl from the album, I inspected it under a 200 watt halogen lamp, I vacuumed the vinyl way longer than I do others and used a stiffer brush! I then reinspected it again and it looked okay, but I thought I will vacuum it once more, and I did but not as much as the first time. I dried it and looked it over again very carefully under my 200 watt halogen lamp and I saw that it appeared very clean! I played this album the next day, all of a sudden I heard silence. It was on the B side about halfway through! I looked at my turntable and my tone arm was in the middle of the paper label against the record clamp, I immediately felt nauseous as I had paid more for the Cartridge than the turntable! It is a $1,200 Clear Audio Mesatro Ebony V2 MM cartridge and as I turned off the turntable and it slowed down, I could see a small grain of red wax and my stylus laying on the LP exactly near where the sound cut out! The small piece of debris was disloged as was the stylus of my $1,200 cartridge! I was extremely pissed and I still hav3 the LP, but I will never play. It again on my turntable.

I replaced the cartridge and that is what actually started my OCD issue about cleaning every LP I add to my collection. So I reluctantly purchase from companies that I’ve never heard of or know nothing about! Also this site is on my iPhone, so I look up everything and look at reviews of the sound quality! I also look to see which pressing seems to be the most popular as they generally are the best sounding. Most of the time.

Sadly one of the best pressing facilities went out of business, I have the complete Doors reissues by Analouge Productions and they sound incredible. But they went out of business. So do the half speed remastered Peter Gabriel Lps that are now out of print, they sound absolutely incredible and they give you a High Resolution of the album if you have a portable High Resolution player, which I do have! They where pressed by “Charisma”. Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers half speed mastered reissue of “Damn The Torpedoes” sounds incredible and it says “Geffen“ Pressed it! I’ve never had issues with most LPs that “ RTI “ have pressed or MFSL has pressed, but I’ve gotten a few MFSL albums that where brand new and had oily spots on them. Vacuuming took them off, but you can do this without buying a vacuum, just get a good enzymatic cleaner and I like the MoFi rubber brushes with the replaceable pads.

The comments above by Rokin50stonow are very spot on, I think he’s absolutely correct in the fact that the newer generation of people who are pressing the reissues just aren’t as experienced as those of the “Heyday” of vinyl before the CD came along!

I also buy from a lot of sellers in Japan, but the price of the Japanese pressings has skyrocketed as well. I was buying prestine copies of my favorite albums for about $10 to $25 a copy, now some of them are close to $200 which is a huge increase since there’s been a huge resurgence in vinyl. The shipping was costing more than the albums, but they are all prestine copies and they don’t have nowhere near as many pops or clicks as you would expect. I think they take better care of their scruff than we do as a culture. It’s where I learned that shipping the LP outside of the cover in a seperate manner prevents those horrible seam splits that is common with some mail order vinyl Lps. A Deep Enzyme cleaner is good for getting some of the pops or clicks put as it’s dirt or debris that is causing it!

I avoid buying vinyl from Amazon as well, they will send you a crappy copy and I’ve sent too many back as they arrived with seam splits I couldn’t live with. Amazon UK however is a good place to buy from as they get more EU pressings , not junk. I bought an incredible “Suede” collection from Amazon UK that was dropped shipped by the pressing company, it was even cheaper after it came out. So I’ve purchased a few boxed sets from Amazon UK and I’ve gotten a great price on them. But I’ve bought a few albums that have been total disappointments, and one mentioned above pressed by Mexican Summer that actually cost me about $1,300 after having to replace my cartridge. Now , I will look up a title using discogs and the catalog number to see if there have been any complaints about the version. I have had issues with gold or silver metallic colored vinyl as well. Grizzly Bear - Shields looks like it actually gold plated, but it’s a terrible album and the tonearn skates all over the album. I’ve actually had more issues with colored vinyl pressings than Clear and Black, the translucent colored vinyl is not bad either, it’s the splattered colored vinyl and the half red, half white or some other solid color combination that I’ve had the most trouble with as far as sound quality.

I know this is a lot to take in , but I agree with what you are saying. It’s a terrible experience to buy a new pressing only to get popping and clicks through the whole album. They sell a device for this but it’s like $2,000. It works well as I saw one in action at the Austin Vinyl Convention this past year, it’s called the Sugarcube S2 pop and crack remover and it works as a DAC as well. It’s a nice accessory, but it is something you or any of us really shouldn’t need with new vinyl pressings.

If the album is over $50.00, I research it first, but if it’s like $25.00, I will sometimes take a chance on buying it and hope for the best.

James ( Texasbear )

https://discogs.programascracks.com/Grizzly-Bear-Shields/release/3865470

devin306
rockin50stonowI can't get a refund on New vinyl at my store.

find a better store

I have purchased a few I’ve returned and if they don’t take them back, I call Amex and they remove the charge! But it’s not the stores, it the labels or pressing facilities that are putting out these poorly pressed reissues! Reviews are of great help as well, that’s a real good point that was made above!

AskeladdenBlack
For sure without a doubt there are plenty of pressings that have pressing defects and no amount of cleaning will take out a bit of paper embedded into the wax, however some noise/pop issues can not be blamed on pressing faults but on post press storage and handling and I have found that I have been able to tidy them up whilst many people keep sending their copies back thinking that they are pressing faults.

I absolutely agree with you as well, proper handling and storage will eleminate many pops especially if your house is dry or dusty! We have replacement windows in our house and it’s still dusty, but I make use of my record brushes by cleaning the album before putting into the sleeve and I use the Japanese resealable outer covers to fight dust.

Texasbear
proper handling and storage

I was actually talking about the entire pressing process, most workers wear latex gloves which eliminates hand oils however they get covered in dust and crap which is drawn to the surface of the record, also many people who give a shit about not touching the playing surface dont think about the fact that they dont have clean finger tips & when they touch the label that oil and grime then ends up on the inside of the inner sleeve and as you slide the record in and out that grime ends up on the playing surface anyway. I make sure I continuously wash my hands whenever I am handling records.
And yes I am OCD about it.

AskeladdenBlack
Texasbearproper handling and storage

I was actually talking about the entire pressing process, most workers wear latex gloves which eliminates hand oils however they get covered in dust and crap which is drawn to the surface of the record, also many people who give a shit about not touching the playing surface dont think about the fact that they dont have clean finger tips & when they touch the label that oil and grime then ends up on the inside of the inner sleeve and as you slide the record in and out that grime ends up on the playing surface anyway. I make sure I continuously wash my hands whenever I am handling records.
And yes I am OCD about it.

I agree with you, I never touch my vinyl surface , only the edges! Plus I wash my hands as well! Every single time I play my vinyl or my CDs! If I have an album that’s not been listened to in awhile, I will reclean it with the vacuum cleaner! Yes, That’s OCD as well! I’ve been accused by many friends and family of spending more time taking care of my vinyl lps than playing them! I don’t handle them by the label either. I never use the popular handling method of the 70s! The old thumb on the edge with the pointer finger in the hole method many use. The only thing I touch is the outer edge with both hands and move the hole to where it’s directly over the spindle, only releasing it when they align. I don’t touch the spindle to the label either as I’ve learned over time how to align it perfectly.

When replacing my Vinyl or large collection of Japanese MLPS CDs back into their sleeves I hold it open and lower the lp into the inner sleeve by its edge with both hands and let it gently slide in at an angle, I never just drop them in. That’s a good way to split the outer cover. Once it’s mostly heading in, I touch only the outside of the inner bag, on my cds as well, never the inside! As you mentioned, your hands are covered in oils and even after washing them they will build up oil over time if you touch nothing else for a few minutes.

I have purchased a few brand new MFSL Lps that have had oily finger prints all over them! So I always look over the album under a 200 watt halogen bulb , then clean it , then put it away. I also change my inner sleeves when they start to look like they aren’t as white as a new one. I buy these 1,000 at a time by the case. I’m not trying to one up you on this but I’m just as OCD about my investment in my collection as well! And I have been known to use latex gloves myself! Especially when cleaning them! The only thing that touches my labels are foam from my drying rack and a record clamp on my vacuum or turntable. But I make a habit of never touching the grooves, only the edge of the album. Also I clean my stylus regularly with an electrostatic cleaner you dip it into. It’s what ClearAudio Recommended for the stylus I have. I never use a stylus brush.

Hi!

With much interest I have been reading some of the posts in this thread. I agree that there are or might be pressings of different quality out there, and also that colored viny, as opposed to black vinyl, usually doesn't sound as good. I can ascertain that from my experience as a collector.

But I also want to add the following thought which crossed my mind a while back and seems to fit in this discussion: Maybe we are just used to listening to near perfect recordings on cds and in well-encoded streams or mp3s, which makes us more sensible to all those little errors that are typical for a recording on vinyl, more critical of the errors. It will always be a flawed medium.

Merry Christmas!

subsch
Maybe we are just used to listening to near perfect recordings on cds and in well-encoded streams or mp3s

I started out listening to vinyl and never really strayed other than djing serato when I am out. For me the quality of black pressing's as a general rule has stayed roughly consistent over the past 30 years however the recent rise of gimmicky splatter et etc pressings has been the problem. That said I can now get most well known "bad" coloured and splatter pressings sounding close...ish to clean black pressings after several deep cleans.

Texasbear
I’ve been accused by many friends and family of spending more time taking care of my vinyl lps than playing them!

Hahaha same here.

AskeladdenBlack
TexasbearI’ve been accused by many friends and family of spending more time taking care of my vinyl lps than playing them!

Hahaha same here.

Well when you have vinyl in your collection that has skyrocketed in price it’s inevitable that OCD is going to kick in! Hell, just assuming a mass collection as well as multiple copies of the same release is already an OCD issue already! I have been taking care of my albums for decades, when people didn’t even want vinyl and now that many great artists like Tom Petty and others have ed way too soon, the price for some titles has skyrocketed in value! I’ve always had a turntable and in the 90’s when I was broke mostly, I had a hard time finding receivers that had phono jacks. So I discovered the evil credit card!

I purchased an Adcom preamp and two Adcom 555 amps. I have had the Adcom 555 amps rebuilt recently and added the fans to them like the last models have. But I’m currently using an Outlaw Receiver and the two Adcom amps in my private set up in my music room. I generally play my SACDs on our Home Entertainment system. I have an Oppo UDH 205 that has an incredible headphone amp that does MQA playback as well as High Resolution music files, I sometimes listen to it in the living room if I’m not interested in what’s on the TV. Are you a Pisces by chance? I am and they seem to be OCD about everything.

It depends on the pressing plant I´d say. I advise you to avoid GZ media in Czech Republic.

subsch
Hi!

With much interest I have been reading some of the posts in this thread. I agree that there are or might be pressings of different quality out there, and also that colored viny, as opposed to black vinyl, usually doesn't sound as good. I can ascertain that from my experience as a collector.

But I also want to add the following thought which crossed my mind a while back and seems to fit in this discussion: Maybe we are just used to listening to near perfect recordings on cds and in well-encoded streams or mp3s, which makes us more sensible to all those little errors that are typical for a recording on vinyl, more critical of the errors. It will always be a flawed medium.

Merry Christmas!

I have been buying records for 40 years,99.9% of the stuff I got way before CDs came out were guaranteed to play well,it was second nature to buy one and not have to worry about a factory defect in the vinyl.I never had to return any, they should have people listening to them with a trained ear, checking for noises before they get pressed.I had a record with the same fault in the same area on the record reported by numerous people.
If a spec of dust gets on the lacquer from a dusty environment,and then a mother gets made and is not checked,all the records pressed from it will have the same defect.

jumpinfrom6to6
I have been buying records for 40 years,99.9% of the stuff I got way before CDs came out were guaranteed to play well,it was second nature to buy one and not have to worry about a factory defect in the vinyl.I never had to return any, they should have people listening to them with a trained ear, checking for noises before they get pressed.I had a record with the same fault in the same area on the record reported by numerous people.
If a spec of dust gets on the lacquer from a dusty environment,and then a mother gets made and is not checked,all the records pressed from it will have the same defect.

Hi!

I have not that much of experience and insight. Thank you for the info. I think you made that point very clear. So from what I understand, there's expertise lacking in the pressing plants recently as opposed to earlier times?

Happy new 2019!

That’s exactly how most collectors who’ve been collecting vinyl since the 70’s feel. The true “Masters” of vinyl pressings have mostly pasted away or they are too old too work now! So you got new to “the artform of a proper pressing generation” who haven’t quite got it completely correct yet. As vinyl pretty much died when the Cd came out, the art of proper vinyl pressing died with it. Some companies continued on through the CD period, but most companies completely shut down.

Basically the newer pressing are done by those learning the art of how to properly make a great pressing. I have a copy of Betty LaVette’s “ Scene of the Crime” (US pressing) and I returned two copies as the B side had a very distinct pop in the same location for about 5 rotations. I got a refund and mail ordered a copy and still has the pop!

I’ve had issues with RSD pressings as well. The multicolored Porno for Pyros limited edition of 1000 pressings ( referred to as the tye die pressing ) of their debut album is pressed off center, so I’ve had to make the spindle hole larger! There’s a tool for that as well. Finally R.E.M.’s Chronic town in a great translucent blue has a lipped edge, so the first two songs can’t be played.

I don’t know if the RSD albums are rushed out or what but I’ve purchased a few that left me dissatisfied. I’ve personally been partial to Japanese pressings and European Pressings as well. I have an extension collection of Japanese Vinyl that are complete with the OBI as well as the other items that came with the album, but I have also purchased many albums pressed at Pallas , RTI , and Quality Records. Analouge Production made some of the best pressings, The Doors Series is incredible and well made from pressing to cover, but sadly they are no longer in business. I like Mobile Fidelity, but I have received copies that were not up to the standard expected from a $50 album. I have received a few with greasy finger prints as well as off center spindle holes.

It’s just that I’ve noticed that since the resurgence of vinyl, and the more popular it becomes again, that like everything else in this fast paced world of greed, vinyl is not getting the respect it deserves from some of the companies that have popped up since its resurgence.

Now there’s talk of High Definition vinyl lps and time will tell if it’s a good idea or a gimmick. Here’s the link to the article in Pitchfork :

https://pitchfork.com/news/high-definition-vinyl-is-happening-possibly-as-early-as-next-year/

Keep collecting and Happy New Year as well,

Texasbear

What baffles me is that when the record company gets the test pressings, they should be able to hear these clicks and pops and should tell the pressing plants to go at it again. Isn't that part of what the test pressing is for?

Texasbear
devin306rockin50stonowI can't get a refund on New vinyl at my store.

find a better store

I have purchased a few I’ve returned and if they don’t take them back, I call Amex and they remove the charge! But it’s not the stores, it the labels or pressing facilities that are putting out these poorly pressed reissues! Reviews are of great help as well, that’s a real good point that was made above!

Appreciate you reading my ADD thread. Unfortunately there are no record stores where we live, only in Austin. With this Covid-19 issue going on, I buy from sellers here and from other online shops. I have a few online shops that are really good with shipping and getting pressings that I want in my collection. I go to Austin frequently, but it’s not as often with this pandemic going around. I’m living with someone who is extremely high risk.

Thanks again for the comment,

Texasbear