What do you do when you get a bad vinyl record pressing?


I'm not talking about just buying any record off the shelf, taking it home and discovering it sounds like turds. I mean when after you've done as much research as you could to find out what particular pressing is the best sounding of that album and purchased it online or found it in the wild. 

I had my latest disappointment with The Cult. I remember the album, which I had on CD, from my college days and recalled there were some pretty cool songs on the album. In fact I recall liking the whole album. I wondered how it would sound on my rig now? So I did the research and got a NM Canadian pressing. This is the honest truth - the whole record sounds terrible with no bass except for She Sells Sanctuary! It's crazy how the mastering of every song on an album may not be from the same recording. Many times it seems there is one song or a couple that seems to just sound better than the other songs on the album. 

I was really bummed out. That album could have been such a killer album. Bernie Grundman or Steven Wilson should remix it. So what do I do when this happens and I love the album?

I play it on another rig. A less critically serious rig. Most times these albums spring to life and are great. Is it the coloration of the vintage gear? Who knows but sometimes ignorance is bliss!

vuch

Showing 1 response by lewm

"I had my latest disappointment with The Cult. I remember the album, which I had on CD, from my college days and recalled there were some pretty cool songs on the album. In fact I recall liking the whole album. I wondered how it would sound on my rig now?"

If you think about it, your system when you were young and in love with that music, was probably far inferior to what you have now. Plus, nostalgia is a pair of rose-colored glasses.  I would guess that the recording never was very good from a pure audiophile point of view (not criticizing the music per se).  So now you have had a dose of reality.  I had this happen decades ago when Classic or one of the other premium reissuers put out a Buddy Holly album full of great oldies.  I had never heard that music on anything but a cheap 45 rpm juke box or a car radio.  Guess what. The SQ does not hold up. You can hear all the warts.  Even Bernie Grundman cannot make chicken salad out of chicken s##t.