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New Vinyl Defects

I'd like a little input from you vinylphiles out there.

My buying recently shifted back to almost exclusively vinyl rather than CD. I'm buying mostly "pre-owned", but recently purchased an armload of new and 180 gram pressings. A recent order of 4 LPs, 2 of them were defective. One is unplayable - it had label glue on the last track, and (this is the really odd part) the grooves were off-center, so much I could see the tonearm oscillating back and forth, and the sound was also oscillating. The other one wasn't so bad, or unusual, the first track had near-constant "scratching" sound for nearly the whole song. I recall this as being pretty common in "my before cd" days, but assumed with 180 gram LP's that the QC may be better.

Here's the questions:
1) is the above unusual? That is, is 50% defective - common, or anomaly?
2) What's the likelyhood that if I send back the second LP (Johnny Cash "American V: A Hundred Highways") for a replacement, that I'll get a good copy? I like it and will tolerate the first track if they're all bad.
bdgregory

Showing 1 response by jependleton

jependleton
155 posts
 
I agree with the comments of the others here. A record being new and pressed on 180 gram vinyl doesn't mean that the rest of the production process has been performed to strict quality standards. It is also important to clean records before they are played the first time, and to keep them clean.

It is important to perform an initial thorough cleaning to remove the mold release that is on new records. The mold release can cause a 'veiled' or 'scratchy' sound, and will attract dust,etc. to the record. It will also foster microbial growth on the record. A good enzymatic cleaner is the most effective for removing mold release. By the way, the Audio Intelligent Vinyl Solutions products will be back on the market in a few days and they offer an enzymatic formula and a product line the was picked as the Stereo Times Analog Product of The Year in 2005. Their products are the most effective that I've found in over 30 years of cleaning records.

Good luck with your analog rig.
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