What's with Picture Discs?

[meggy]

Anyone got any and how do they sound? Most seem to be advertised as 180g virgin vinyl but my bet is they're still mostly digital cut to vinyl.

So what's the big deal, the picture on the inner label? They ain't cheap.

 

[sqdlvr]

I've got some that were put out by Rhino, "Monkee Business" by The Monkees - An lp of album tracks and unreleased material, and "The Best of Annette Funicello". These sound horrible, the sonics are low and not good. I also have a Barry Manillow Greatest Hits Picture Disc from 1978 and it also sounds horrible....just stick with the regular vinyl....

 

[gelmhirst]

I purchased one, and quickly asked me fellow audiophool friends why there was so much surface noise. The answer; because it's a picture album, for looking at, not listening to...wish I knew that before spending 40 bucks.

 

[Bone Yard]

Bad boys running wild...you better get out of their waaay....

 

[cactuscowboy]

Anyone got any and how do they sound? Most seem to be advertised as 180g virgin vinyl but my bet is they're still mostly digital cut to vinyl.

So what's the big deal, the picture on the inner label? They ain't cheap.

I've got a lot of picture discs and colored vinyl, releases ranging from the early 50s through 2007. With one exception, they sound perfect, just like normal black vinyl. The one record that sounds bad is a picture disc of Iron Maiden - Killers, bought new a few months ago. Through a discussion on Record Collectors Guild, I came to find out the Iron Maiden picture discs are bootlegs. Stay away from them unless you just want a wall decoration.

So what's the big deal? I buy them because they look cool. I've got a Blondie pic disc that has a close-up (profile view) of Debbie Harry's head on one side. In the photo she's sticking out her tongue, and her tongue touches the spindle when the disc is played. Very freaky looking when you play the record!

I would not pay much attention to claims that all or most picture discs and colored vinyl are inferior. I own a helluva lot of them and I've listened to all of them. With one exception as noted, they sound fine.

 

[jeffn]

I have a few and they have varying quality. One, (Closer-Joy Division) starts a scuffing noise as soon as the stylus hits the vinyl and it continues in the background all the time. Another has the hole punched off centre so you here the scuff as the stylus is pulled this way and that around the LP. The others sound ok.

 

[gelmhirst]

cactuscowboy has me baffled. Guess what and ONLY pic disk I bought that has surface noise, an Iron Maiden album, Ltd Edition dbl disk, A Matter of Life and Death!...

 

[cactuscowboy]

cactuscowboy has me baffled. Guess what and ONLY pic disk I bought that has surface noise, an Iron Maiden album, Ltd Edition dbl disk, A Matter of Life and Death!...

"baffled"

Why are you baffled? It's my understanding that new Iron Maiden picture discs currently being sold are bootlegs. It should be no surprise the sound quality is bad.

 

[ozmoid]

I have a two-disc set of the Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack on picture discs. Sound quality is excellent, playback is rich, quiet and clean. I have some regular LP's that aren't recorded as well IMO.

I guess like everything else, quality is going to be all over the place.

 

[BULLWINKLE]

I have a Beatles "Sgt Peppers" that plays just fine. Not quite up to a 1st press or MOFI, but still good quality. YMMV. Brien

 

[Nitro]

The picture discs that are clear with a picture inserted in the middle have one side with normal vinyl. The opposite side is PVC, and it does not sound as good. Other pic discs (like Heart-Magazine) and colored vinyl records sound fine, depending on the pressing, just like regular records.

 

[Mr. Lin]

I also have had varying degrees of success with picture discs. A lot of times I've noticed they don't sound that great. Colored vinyl on the other hand almost never sounds inferior in my experience. I thought the theory behind picture discs sounding bad had to do with the thickness of the clear vinyl over the picture itself. In other words, they sound bad because the vinyl is so thin.

 

[slow_jazz]

I have a Linda Ronstadt lp with her on roller skates that sounds good. Forget the exact title at the moment....

 

[Dan ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ]

I have a Linda Ronstadt lp with her on roller skates that sounds good. Forget the exact title at the moment....

Same here..."Living In The U.S.A." Thicker vinyl over the pic insert is the reason why. The bad ones were done like EvaTone Soundsheets. Very thin and uneven vinyl surfaces. My "Parallel Lines" by Blondie is quite nice too.

 

[panhead]

Ive got two Frank Zappa picture disc's that sounds as good as any standard or audiophile grade vinyl.

 

[deaner33]

I also have had varying degrees of success with picture discs. A lot of times I've noticed they don't sound that great. Colored vinyl on the other hand almost never sounds inferior in my experience. I thought the theory behind picture discs sounding bad had to do with the thickness of the clear vinyl over the picture itself. In other words, they sound bad because the vinyl is so thin.

So how does that 13th Floor Elevators disc sound?

 

[Mr. Lin]

So how does that 13th Floor Elevators disc sound?

Meh... not that great, but then again I think it's not a particularly hi-fi recording to begin with. Good stuff though. In general the picture discs I have don't really sound very good.

 

[deaner33]

I've got Easter Everywhere on red 150 gram? vinyl. Still fairly low-fi sounding.

 

[Mr. Lin]

I've got Easter Everywhere on red 150 gram? vinyl. Still fairly low-fi sounding.

I've got that one too, and I happen to like it better than the one in my picture. Yeah, it's not a very good recording.

 

[Bone Yard]

I know they're albums but are you really supposed to play them? I always thought they were for framing/mounting......