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Vinyl from Barnes & Noble

 Last week I used a Christmas gift card to purchase an LP there. 180 gm , pressed at RTI, new 25th anniversary  remaster.... The album was wrapped in a baggy crinkly plastic. Inside that was the typical vinyl sleeve, which was not sealed. When I took the LP out I was amazed.... Filthy, covered in fingerprints with 2 very prominent scratches covering one entire side.. This was obviously not virgin vinyl. B & N of course returned it. The associate told me " you wouldn't believe  how often this happens ." ???!!!   I asked if it was company policy to repackage used items and sell them as new. He didn't answer that, instead merely insisting that this is a common occurrence. WTF!   Any one care to comment/ have similar experience?

winoguy17
gasbose's avatar
gasbose
82 posts
 
I think you're lucky just to have a Barnes and Nobles around .. bookshops are an endangered species now...
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,510 posts
 
Exactly, winoguy17. But since jnorris made an overly-broad, sweeping generalization (that all LP's are made from digital sources, and that all new albums are recorded digitally), let me refute that allegation. There are many, many new albums being recorded on analog multitrack (16-24 tracks) recorders, though it is true that a fair number of those master tapes are then converted to digital for processing. But there are exceptions; the great Americana label New West (home to SO many great artists, including Rodney Crowell, Buddy Miller, Jim Lauderdale, Steve Earle, Richard Thompson, John Hiatt, many others) puts a sticker on the plastic wrap of it's LP's proclaiming them to be "Audio Mastered For Vinyl". The bassist in Los Straightjackets records them on his 2" 3M multitrack recorded, intentionally avoiding all digital conversion. He is not alone---so does Jack White and other analog purists. Sure, they're in the minority, but a not-insignificant one.
jnorris2005
185 posts
 
@winoguy17 


 "This has nothing to do with analog vs digital for gods sake"

Correct, and I have no desire to step into that fray.  My point is that people are buying vinyl at ridiculous prices, putting up with its idiosyncrasies, and are not getting what they paid for.

@bdp24 

There are a number of truly analog sourced albums still out there, and I applaud their efforts, but you're not going to find them at Barnes and Noble or FYE.  "Overly-broad" or "sweeping"?  Perhaps a little, but not too far from the truth.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,510 posts
 

jnorris, I long ago decided to not buy any new LP that was made from a digital source. What's the point, right? Any LP that Barnes & Noble is selling is no different from the same title sold by any other retailer, assuming it's on the same label, etc. For instance, I was in a B & N right before Christmas, and I saw the new Sheryl Crow in stock. I don't know if that LP was made with any digital processing, but if it in fact wasn't, that would prove your assertion incorrect, right? I don't understand your insistence that Barnes & Noble, in contrast to any and all other LP retailers, has ONLY LP's made from digital sources. Upon what do you base that statement?

The one exception to the above are the "special" pressings of some LP's that are Barnes & Noble exclusives---the occasional colored vinyl edition B & N alone has. Whether or not any of them have any digital processing I don't know. Michael Fremer is an invaluable source for information about the source used to make every LP he reviews.

gromitinwa's avatar
gromitinwa
11 posts
 
There are some truly bizarre responses on this thread, e.g. "which album", "analogue vs digital", ...

OP - I've not yet had a problem at B&N, though I've not bought a huge amount of vinyl there so far.
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