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Blue Note reissues

I became a serious vinyl convert less than a year ago and ever since have been buying records regularly to enlarge my collection. I listen almost exclusively to jazz and buy new reissues of jazz releases, most of them on Blue Note, but also Prestige, Riverside and Columbia.

To say that I am disappointed by the quality of the vinyl is an understatement. Virtually every record is warped, which I can live with, reluctantly. A bigger problem is the distortion that becomes more and more prevalent on reissues. It's a short buzzing sound, which sounds kind of like the sound of lost airwaves on the radio but higher in pitch. I know it's not my cart as I have records that sound perfect, and it's in the the same spot on faulty records so it must be a quality issue with transfer and manufacture.
I also own quite a few used original pressings or old reissues and none of them have a similar defect, which leads me to believe that it is a current problem with quality control. It is extremely frustrating as I've spent thousands of dollars on my rig and record cleaning machine only to spin warped records that sound distorted.

I know this topic has been discussed many times here on A-gon but I would actually like to do something about it. I know many designers and manufacturers read the forum, but it seems not record companies' reps as it's not getting any better. As a community of many thousands who pay a lot of money to indulge in our hobby and passion, I think we should be able to exert some level of pressure on companies like Blue Note to release products of high quality. I'm open to ideas and suggestions. Where I could, I emailed the record company, but Blue Note for example has not contact info at all. Also, I'm afraid single emails won't do much.
actusreus
mmai
37 posts
 
Have a similar experience - almost all new reissues I bought are warped. In fact, those heavy 180-gram vinyls are worse than the ordinary ones.

For this reason, I hesitate to plunge $600 into the Bill Evans Riverside reissues from Analogue Productions, although I am very tempting.

I'd be glad to sign and mail that letter if you have a draft.
actusreus OP
733 posts
 
Thanks Mmai. Unfortunately it appears there just isn't enough interest in petitioning the record companies. I'll keep this option open, of course. In the meantime, I suggest sticking with releases from Mobile Fidelity (rather limited selection unfortunately), 45s from Blue Note, or select releases from other companies. I've had a more positive experience with 180-gram vinyl than you so I'd recommend going that route, but I agree it can be hit or miss. However, all of the 180-gram vinyl I've bought in the past few months has been terrific. My last purchase was The Dave Brubeck Quartet "Time Further Out" from Columbia and the quality is top notch. I stopped purchasing the $10-12 reissues a while ago and never looked back; it's just a waste of money.
mothra
110 posts
 
Some blue note recordings have distortion on them. Especialy earlier stuff. Van Gelder doesn't pad the mics down much and you can hear it on solos sometimes or loud drums or vibes.
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Actusreus,

I've no experience with the cheapie Blue Note reissues, but the sound you described is consistent with pressing voids, which are caused when the vinyl plug and mold are not up to temperature when pressed. The vinyl can't flow into all the groove modulations and literally leaves a void (gap) between vinyl and stamper wall. It sounds exactly as you described:
It's a short buzzing sound, which sounds kind of like the sound of lost airwaves on the radio but higher in pitch.
Pressing voids occur more often on the L channel (inner groove wall) than the R (outer), but can occur in either.

Typical flaw resulting from a rushed manufacturing process.
dopogue
1,773 posts
 
I've bought those cheap ($10-12) Blue Note reissues, said to be Scorpios, and have never encountered any buzzing sounds or other anomalies. In fact, I've been generally pleased with them -- not expecting much to begin with -- and have collected about a dozen of them. Are they sonically close to the 45 rpm reissues? No. But they're not bad IME and the ones I've bought have been perfectly flat, looked very good, and the covers are beautiful.
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