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Returning my third copy of 'Black Acid Soul'

Elephantears

Elephantears

Trunkated Aesthete
I'd like to be talking about the music here, but instead it is the consuming frustration of receiving crap vinyl pressings. I've got multiple tics, one per rotation, most of the way through one track. So why put out a great recording of this singer - a recording that demands quiet backgrounds - then get Bernie Grundman to master it, then have no interesting in quality control of vinyl pressing? This should be an audiophile release, but I'm now returning my third copy of the LP!
 
When Cds became the dominant music carrier a lot record
pressing plants closed and skilled workers thrown out of
jobs. New plants don't, for the most part, have the skilled
workers anymore, hence all the complaints about poor
quality pressings, warped discs etc.
All my mother's records from the 50s and 60s were rigid
and flat and still are 60 years on.
Records never really recovered that sort of
quality since the early 70s oil crisis when records became
so thin they were almost see through!

Nostalgic regards Andy
 
Elephantears said:
I'd like to be talking about the music here, but instead it is the consuming frustration of receiving crap vinyl pressings. I've got multiple tics, one per rotation, most of the way through one track. So why put out a great recording of this singer - a recording that demands quiet backgrounds - then get Bernie Grundman to master it, then have no interesting in quality control of vinyl pressing? This should be an audiophile release, but I'm now returning my third copy of the LP!
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Frustrating that standard vinyl production is so poor that we only expect 'audiophile' pressings to arrive without scuffs, scratches, warps etc. Makes me think twice about shelling out £25-30 a pop I'm afraid these days.
 
I feel your pain, Andrew. I bought one of the original copies from Sounds of the Universe – it had a series of small scratches on one track plus about the biggest warp I've ever seen. Didn't relish a trip back to Soho so stuck the record under some heavy books and even heavier weights. After a week the warp was much diminished. Of course the scratches remain but they're not bad enough to ruin the experience completely.

It is frustrating and was part of small trend for me late last year were every record I bought had something wrong. Factoring in the rising prices, I've been gravitating back to CDs. I'll probably nab a CD of Black Acid Soul when the price tumbles.
 
I own about 600 odd vinyl albums. Most purchased in the 70’s, 80’s and early 90’s and they nearly all sound fab. I switched to CD only mid 90’s onwards mainly because I couldn’t buy new vinyl albums.
I’m not paying £20 - £30 quid or more for cr@p pressings much as I love vinyl. Especially when I can get the CD for less than a tenner.
 
paulfromcamden said:
Frustrating that standard vinyl production is so poor that we only expect 'audiophile' pressings to arrive without scuffs, scratches, warps etc. Makes me think twice about shelling out £25-30 a pop I'm afraid these days.
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Only starting buying music again this year after a fifteen year break. The vinyl has been good (lucky by the sounds of it) but CD has been also. Fifteen years ago the vinyl was preferred; now it’s pretty much ‘even stevens’.
That, with the vinyl wrapping being often ungenerous and the imaginative CD cardboard wraps,I’m losing my auto response to choose vinyl despite the price.
 
I've had similar problems. I returned my first copy of Black Acid Soul, it was just disappointing, I don't know what they'd done to it but it wasn't good enough (https://www.discogs.com/master/2285338-Lady-Blackbird-Black-Acid-Soul). Only a couple of clicks but there was some distortion on a couple of tracks which even my wife and daughter commented on, I complained. The second one sent to replace it was really no better, even with 2 vinyl copies I found I was preferring to stream (unusual for me as my digital set up is good but unremarkable). However I dithered and now I've left it too long to return. I bought the black vinyl versions - there was a lot of moaning about the coloured vinyl (is yours black @Elephantears?)

It was re-issued in January, and put in a different sleeve (https://www.discogs.com/release/21927103-Lady-Blackbird-Black-Acid-Soul), I bought that too in the hope the pressing would be better - in my experience, it is. Wish I hadn't wasted time on the first one, which paradoxically was supposed to be the 'Audiophile' pressing. I'll be the judge of that.

I like the sound of vinyl (when it's right) more than CD, I play legacy CDs but I don't buy new ones except the occasional charity shop buy. I f I'm playing digital I just stream it. However I buy vinyl from artists I stream a lot or otherwise want to support, but I share the view expressed upthread that it can be a frustrating experience, even new.
 
I’ve bought a huge amount of new vinyl over the covid lockdown period and mostly it has been very good. I don’t have this one though so can’t comment. One thing I highly recommend doing if possible is giving all new vinyl a clean on a good wet vacuum cleaner before the first play Especially so if the record was shipped in a paper or card inner. My theory is any dust or card particles is statically attracted to the vinyl and the stylus can then stick it into the groove wall. Wet cleaning, removing static and then storing in a good poly inner gives you the best chance.

That said any issues need to be defined, e.g. is it a) a pressing flaw e.g. stitching, infill etc (issues with the press being too hot or cold causing the vinyl not to reach the outer edge properly), or b) actual physical damage e.g. a scratch, something foreign stamped into the surface? If the former the whole batch may well be impacted, if the latter then another copy may well fix it. One problem at present is vinyl is in such high demand that the pressing plants are often backlogged for a year or more, so a repress may not arrive for a very, very long time.
 
Woodface said:
I think vinyl is increasingly a fashion item
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Yeah you're probably right there. Though there are also markets (older jazz fans being one) who complain loudly if something is only released on vinyl/download.

I"m just in the habit of playing records. If I buy something on CD it doesn't get played so much. Daft but there you go.
 
paulfromcamden said:
Yeah you're probably right there. Though there are also markets (older jazz fans being one) who complain loudly if something is only released on vinyl/download.

I"m just in the habit of playing records. If I buy something on CD it doesn't get played so much. Daft but there you go.
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If the music is great it transcends format, I used to be the same but it is just confirmation bias IMV. I get consistently great results on digital, can’t say the same about vinyl sadly.
 
paulfromcamden said:
I"m just in the habit of playing records. If I buy something on CD it doesn't get played so much. Daft but there you go.
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Same for me. I do like a digital copy to use on the move or occasionally around the house. It never seems quite right having to stream from Spotify when I've bought the vinyl release.

I like the Bandcamp model of lossless download immediately followed by the record in the post as it gets around the problem of some labels either not including a download card or one with MP3s.

For this album, I've just ordered the vinyl and CD from Amazon. I'd have preferred to go through Bandcamp for only £1 more, but I'm reticent to do so if there is a high likelihood that I'll have to return the vinyl and stick with the CD. That will be much easier through Amazon.

Still, the upside is that this is an outstanding album that I might not have heard about if it hadn't been for problems with the vinyl versions!
 
Problem with Bandcamp can be the eye watering delivery charges. Would’ve bought latest Big Thief on CD through them but ended up with a download.
 
I bought a new 180g album recently and it had a step pressed into the surface. Didn’t realise until I tried to play it and was chucking the stylus in the air. Never had that before!
 
Woodface said:
Problem with Bandcamp can be the eye watering delivery charges. Would’ve bought latest Big Thief on CD through them but ended up with a download.
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It definitely can be. This label wasn't too bad as it was £4 to post the record, so I'd have ended up with that and the digital for £31, instead of giving Amazon £18 for the record and £10 for the CD.

I find that it is the lack of different versions that can be annoying - in this case no black vinyl and no CD. The latter doesn't matter to me as I've not got a CD player, but if you're setting up a Bandcamp account, you'd have thought you'd see as much through there as possible.
 
kingston12 said:
It definitely can be. This label wasn't too bad as it was £4 to post the record, so I'd have ended up with that and the digital for £31, instead of giving Amazon £18 for the record and £10 for the CD.

I find that it is the lack of different versions that can be annoying - in this case no black vinyl and no CD. The latter doesn't matter to me as I've not got a CD player, but if you're setting up a Bandcamp account, you'd have thought you'd see as much through there as possible.
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Yes, Amazon didn’t have the CD of Big Thief & the vinyl on Bandcamp required about £15 of postage.

I have a CD player but find myself using the Zen media player increasingly. I bought the latest Sault record on vinyl, not a great pressing & 45rpm, played it once.
 
Tony L said:
One problem at present is vinyl is in such high demand that the pressing plants are often backlogged for a year or more, so a repress may not arrive for a very, very long time.
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You would have thought that there was enough demand now to make it worthwhile opening a new pressing plant in the UK; I'm sure it would be very profitable. Obviously the new people would have to be trained up; all the more reason to do it now while there's still some old engineers around.
 
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