Warped Records

It must be the customers fault for bad quality.

When people bought less cds...it was because people were stealing music...not that the economy was weak and the industry priced cds at almost $20 a piece.
However, they had to price them that high because people don't buy enough and steal music....not that the music industry just got caught price fixing music again. Hopefully the music industry will try a make money by working with consumers instead of cheating or gouging them.

I too have noticed what seems to be an unusual amount of warping in the small number of new records I purchase. I've wondered if perhaps improper storage might be the culprit. In my mind's eye I see boxes and boxes of horizontally positioned lps stacked on top of each other in some warehouse in New Jersey, kind of like the last scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

I've not had problems with warped records as much as I have with off center pressings and noise. My most recent new vinyl pressings:

Pink Floyd's DSOTM 180gram 30th anniversary LP off center pressing

Eagles Hotel California 180gram German reissue from original master tapes still had annoying pops even though I cleaned it with a VPI 16.5 record cleaner before playing.

Rolling Stones a bigger bang 2xLP 180gram Holland pressing - this pressing is flawless.

Also the use of heavy paper inner sleeves is disturbing. I can literally hear the dirt scratching the record as I remove it from the factory inner sleeve. Most of the "audiophile" pressings I have bought have packaged like that. Titles like Pink Floyd's PULSE, and Echoes the best of Pink Floyd, and the 97 Vinyl Collection.

Sugarbrie
Thanks for idea.

John Mellencamp's Lonesome Jubilee (New)arrived warped and unplayable. It sat for months until I remembered reading this thread. I put the Lp between two 14"X 24"X 1/2" slabs of granite, places it outside for 3 hours with a very heavy toolbox on top. I removed the toolbox, left the vinyl pressed between the slabs and carried it into the house. After a few hours cooling the Lp was flat and sounds great. Oh ya it was over 110 degrees yesterday. It appears that the Nevada summer is good for something other than melanoma and heat stroke.

Interesting thread. I too have had slight warps in some recent purchases. I use the Oracle clamp and spindle washer, and, mostly, am able to get rid of the warps, or diminish them, so I can ignore them. Maybe we shouldn't be ignoring any defective records sent out. The prices retailers are getting should equal pristine products to our door. This is a hobby, in a sense, but why tolerate warped records at $20. a pop, and up?
Let's all start returning any defective products. I know with Music Direct, they'll usually just say, "okay, we'll take 10% off your next order," but that's just letting the problem of poor quality vinyl perpetuate. Only if enough product gets returned, will someone pay attention to quality control. IMHO
You shouldn't have to spend $800 dollars for a record flattener for records you've just purchased new!

Rolloff