Another faulty vinyl purchase

[aeberbach]

A few weeks ago I saw a mention of Great Grandpa's "Patience Moonbeam" - I listened to it, loved it, ordered it. There was some some kind of confusion with the order and when I followed up it was apparent it wasn't going to arrive before the removalists come tomorrow to pack up all my stuff to move internationally. So I got on the train, went in to the place that sold it, and picked up my copy.

This is the problem...

There are a few of these bumps clustered around the area but the main one shown here is like a wart, maybe 2mm high! There's no way a needle will track through that and there don't even appear to be any tracks to follow. The vinyl is a blue mixed with gold splashes, it's kind of nice but I would be just as happy with plain black as long as it plays properly. I suppose now I will be picking up another copy in the week remaining - if they have any more copies, this may have been the last - and weighing up whether I should put it in checked luggage with all the extremes of temperature and handling that involves.

At least when I was out picking this up I chanced on Rocksteady Records near the corner of Elizabeth and Lonsdale St, Melbourne. Nice store! I picked up "A Moon Shaped Pool" and "Helplessness Blues"... still early days for my collection.

 

[SONDEKNZ]

@aeberbach

I feel your pain...

You know you need to take it back. And in your position, I would absolutely open the replacement copy in front of the store staff, just to cover yourself. Who knows? You may need to open two or three!

Present-day vinyl record production standards seem to range from utterly appalling to slightly warped, but (almost) acceptable, unless you are bloody lucky!

We do have a handful of pressings from the last 25-years and we have been quite lucky to snag some pristine examples. That said, we have had our share of dogs, which is why I stopped buying present-day vinyl pressings.

I know that there are some very exclusive labels that make a dependably pristine job of their LP pressings, but most of them are priced well beyond what we would be prepared to pay, to try a new album. Even if it was a mint all-analog remaster of my favourite (say) 1978 album, I would still prefer to buy a NM original pressing from a reputable trader.
[Yes, there are a few reputable traders on DISCOGS with whom I regularly trust my hard-earned...]

After culling 70% of our collection of original vinyl pressings - before leaving New Zealand - we still own more than 3000 LPs and we truly love listening to them. It is a daily activity and our turntable is easily my favourite appliance. But I have to confess: If I was a younger man and listened to mostly post-Y2K music, I simply wouldn't bother with vinyl. The new vinyl software is just too patchy and disappointing.

Besides, most recordings from the last ten years sound simply sensational - even in digital format! - so why take the risk?

This... From a devoted vinyl addict!!!

Anyway, I've had my whinge... back to the collecting of sumptuous new vinyl records!

 

[Buck Rogers]

My four worst pressings are all Colored Vinyl purchased within the past 6 months.

Bladerunner Black Lotus LP is not a very good pressing but it was 12$ (they must have known it was crap) so I just bought another one.

The volume is at least one half of a normal black vinyl.

The Midnight "Monsters" I tried two pressings and they both have cross modulation distortion in the very first track.

It's a very loud Ripping/Scratch sound that tests my speakers (They don't need testing).

I would pay double if I could just get a good Black LP.

 

[dietz31684]

I returned 3 copies of David Gilmours newest album Luck and Strange due to poor quality (scratched out of the package). I just gave up on vinyl for that album and will stream it if I want to listen. It was colored vinyl (teal translucent) for whatever that's worth.