2. analog
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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 3 responses by mylogic

mylogic
434 posts
 

Unwanted records and avoiding the bin/trash final destiny.

A LOGICAL OFFERED UP SOLUTION…… “Vinyl Turnover Delight”

 

RECIPE

Preheat oven to 180 degrees

Undress (not you) the record

Place on middle shelf with a cardboard base

Allow to cook/heat (door open) for one minute

Remove from oven and evenly bend up the sides

Form vinyl into a nice round rippled bowl

Stand for one minute (the vinyl, not you)

End result is a nice round crinkled plant pot

The pot also has the requisite hole in the bottom

No crackles, pops or bad recording ever again

Serve on a suitable saucer.

“A splendid time is guaranteed for all”

 

If you can’t live with a sub standard recording or pressing, don’t punish yourself ever again.

Disclaimer….. The above solution is obviously a one way trip.

@slaw use cover for “Wall art??”


 

mylogic
434 posts
 

@jsd52756 “l think there were a pile of lathe chips on the floor after an LP was played”

l love exaggeration if it makes a scenario more funny.
Are you really being serious, or did  you use something like a scalpel or a safety pin as a stylus with your Zero 100?

Perhaps being young you made a mistake and had the cartridge tracking at 2 ounces instead of 2 grams?*
 

* means l am exaggerating.

mylogic
434 posts
 

@jsd52756 “Not quite lathe chips, but that turntable (Garrard Zero 100) was deplorable”

My scalpel joking aside, l know the Garrard Zero 100 very well. I did only know of one owner who loved it, a girl. I think she just liked the “bling l👀k” with all that see through plastic arm pivot mechanism.

The idea was sound mathematics but the resulting sound was never great. Too much horizontal friction in the engineering to make the null point “zero” all through the record.  The cartridge angle movement while playing was a novelty selling point.

As l say, on paper correct tracking was a good idea but there was just too much to overcome with the engineering. Also you could not use the lightest tracking cartridges with so much leveraging to move the cartridge.

In the 70s 1.25 grams was the preferred tracking weight for Shure V15’s and the Goldring G900 series for examples. With the Zero 100 not a good idea… think of doubling that with over 2 and up to 3 grams to stay in the groove. It could never track any of the so called Shure “trackability” test records.

Garrard tried and failed, but they did sell a lot. For the serious hi-fi enthusiast it was only ever considered a gimmick at best.

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