whenever i get a bad Vinyl pressing, i just trade it back at a local Vinyl store
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!
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+1 @joeycastillo - donate to a vinyl store ASAP to get disappointment off my mind |
@lewn, @tablejockey, @kennyc +1 Yes! donating a record gives you a great feeling. Seeing the enjoyment on a person’s face is priceless when they find out you are giving them the album and don’t want anything for it. Donating to a vinyl store is also very cool, awesome suggestion! I had the chance to test my hypothesis. Would the Cult Love Canadian pressing sound better on a vintage rig than on my high end rig? I hooked my newly refurbished Harman Kardon 930 Twin Powered receiver to a buddy’s Technics SL-2100 / Audio-Technica cartridge and his bookshelf speakers of which I forget the brand. It was a generic brand sounding name. They had a tweeter, 5" grey shinny plastic woofer and were front ported. We were both really blown away with the sonics! All of the tone controls were set to neutral. The bass was there! Heavy, appropriate, what I remember the album sounding like. The only questionable thing I noticed was that the volume knob was at 50%. It was a nice listening level, not too loud. Sure enough, my buddy confirmed my suspicion that his speakers were 4 ohm. Tomorrow night I’ll finally have the chance to put the new HK930 in my vintage rig! I also have an Audio-Techica cartridge on the AKAI linear tracking tt. I suspect I’ll get a little more volume from the Infinity RS4b speakers since they’re rated 8 to 4 ohms in the specs. I did pull the trigger on a UK pressing that tablejocky recommended. It would be nice to get a pressing that sounds KILLER on the main rig. We’ll see when it arrives? Worst case scenario is a shoot out of Canadian vs UK on the vintage rig.
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The bass was there! Why it's missing on your main rig is a mystery? My 1st inclination is the cartridge/setup. If other LP's are fine, then never mind. The album Electric is especially punchy as it was produced by Rick Rubin. The Cult – Electric – Vinyl (First pressing, Gatefold, LP, Album, Stereo), 1987 [r861424] | Discogs A little closer to epic 70's recordings like a debut Montrose or debut Van Halen by Ted Templeman. |
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