Immerse Your Soul In Love - The Radiohead Thread

Phaneronic said:
So there's someone on Discogs in a reply who I assume works at a record store talking about it being definitely United and having to replace copies, no idea what their method is but it could be the same as mine, which is to look at the indentations in the label. Not scientific I know but it's actually really reliable. I'll take photos in the morning to explain myself. There's also something about the look of the vinyl itself, but I don't have good words for it and I don't know how clearly it'd photograph...
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This is good enough for me.
UNITED I HATE THEE YOU ARE A POX
 
Lee Newman said:
Always clean your records and never put them back in the original sleeves, they are covered in whatever muck you just cleaned off.

These are in printed inners, feel like magazine paper. I’ll check runouts when I clean them.

I like the nifty bespoke trifold. Wish there were credits/liner notes.
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Well yes, clearly, but I’ve always found these XL Radiohead need an extra special clean. Like 10 turns rather than 5 in the spin clean. Maybe 2 wash cycles in the HumminGuru rather than 1 as well.
 
Mather said:
This is good enough for me.
UNITED I HATE THEE YOU ARE A POX
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YER NOT GONNA STOP ME

Though once I pointed it out to someone on Discogs they actually found this really helpful link as well: LP Pressing Rings And The Mystery Of The Deep Groove (April, 2021 Update)

And I guarantee ™️ that you can go pull out anything pressed by United or Optimal they'll match what's shown here, although a couple plants - especially Rainbo and MPO - can have a couple of different styles. And you can go look at people posting Kid A Mnesia on social media - namely Instagram - European ones will look like the Optimal and North America ones will look like the United.

Pressing Ring Comparison_Clean.png
Pressing Ring Comparison_Explanation.png
 
Soooooo I picked up the NA red Kid A Mnesia from my local yesterday and have only been able to spin the first disc so far but I can report that it is the most fucked up piece of new vinyl I have ever received. Just from looking at it you can see the vinyl wasn’t cut properly so the for the outer edge of the disc, half of it is a flat edge and the other half is pointed and as sharp as a knife. There are little divots scattered all over the place and there is a large scratch across two tracks on one side. As far as playback goes, it is terribly warped and off centre on both sides and there are multiple sections of repetitive clicking throughout both sides. Pretty much every possible defect a record can have aside from actually being cracked. Oh and I didn’t really inspect the labels but I think they are ok, so they got that part right. This is so disappointing. I was so hyped for this. I hope the other two discs are better but I’m going to have to return this regardless. I have the Scarry version coming from the UK at some point. Hopefully I can get a decent copy of that one so this release isn’t a total bust. I also hope I am in the monirity and the rest of your copies don’t have the same issues.
 
Mather said:
I don't think it's worth buying records anymore. Seriously. AP prices for absolute trash pressings from the worst pressing plants on the planet like United and GZ. I mean what's even the point...
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Eh. The vast majority of purchases I've made this year have been fine, stellar in a lot of cases but then again I've been being very choosy about what I buy, but I feel like this has actually been the best year for my collection since, like, 2014 or 15. And I'd like to think that things could improve once supply chain and capacity issues get sorted out, and in the meantime it's worth supporting the locals and the bands etc, but this hobby's so expensive that simply isn't responsible advice. But truthfully while I do think there is a speculation bubble {walmart exclusive pressings??} I just can't see vinyl disappearing - not in a world where some bands have to sell merch just to get by. It just makes too much since, almost as much as a band t-shirt. And so many people are still getting into the hobby, and unlike most fads there's at least $70 investment, and that's just the turntable - so I have to assume it'll get better. Whether it's now or a decade from now, time will only tell.

But that said I kinda don't get why people like to rag on Optimal, unless I've just failed to hear that it's really harsh on the stylus I'd rather a couple revolutions of no-fill as opposed to a whole off-center side's worth of pops n' clicks. Are my standards really that low?
 
Phaneronic said:
Eh. The vast majority of purchases I've made this year have been fine, stellar in a lot of cases but then again I've been being very choosy about what I buy, but I feel like this has actually been the best year for my collection since, like, 2014 or 15. And I'd like to think that things could improve once supply chain and capacity issues get sorted out, and in the meantime it's worth supporting the locals and the bands etc, but this hobby's so expensive that simply isn't responsible advice. But truthfully while I do think there is a speculation bubble {walmart exclusive pressings??} I just can't see vinyl disappearing - not in a world where some bands have to sell merch just to get by. It just makes too much since, almost as much as a band t-shirt. And so many people are still getting into the hobby, and unlike most fads there's at least $70 investment, and that's just the turntable - so I have to assume it'll get better. Whether it's now or a decade from now, time will only tell.

But that said I kinda don't get why people like to rag on Optimal, unless I've just failed to hear that it's really harsh on the stylus I'd rather a couple revolutions of no-fill as opposed to a whole off-center side's worth of pops n' clicks. Are my standards really that low?
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If I run down the list of albums I've bought in the last 5 months that were pressed this year it's about 80% bad pressings littered with no fill and noise. That includes everything from GZ/VMP (Wu, PE, OutKast, Volta) multiple BN Classic albums from Optimal, a couple of represses from RTI... the list goes on. And now for prices to get this insane, $75+ for a trash United pressed with seemingly zero quality control... It's beyond the pale.
 
Mather said:
If I run down the list of albums I've bought in the last 5 months that were pressed this year it's about 80% bad pressings littered with no fill and noise. That includes everything from GZ/VMP (Wu, PE, OutKast, Volta) multiple BN Classic albums from Optimal, a couple of represses from RTI... the list goes on. And now for prices to get this insane, $75+ for a trash United pressed with seemingly zero quality control... It's beyond the pale.
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Yeah, but you live in that vinyl warp tunnel so it’s not a fair comparison.
 
Almost done listening to Kid A. I think it sounds pretty good...I'll have to compare to my other copy eventually. Definitely a little off centered as I can see some major sway with my needle, but doesn't seem to be affecting the sound. There was a huge chunk of wax in the run-in groove to side A as well, so the QC was definitely bad on these things. No pops or clicks even without cleaning though. On to Amnesiac..
 
Mather said:
If I run down the list of albums I've bought in the last 5 months that were pressed this year it's about 80% bad pressings littered with no fill and noise. That includes everything from GZ/VMP (Wu, PE, OutKast, Volta) multiple BN Classic albums from Optimal, a couple of represses from RTI... the list goes on. And now for prices to get this insane, $75+ for a trash United pressed with seemingly zero quality control... It's beyond the pale.
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I suppose I can't argue but I gave up on VMP, if only because I realized I was allowing their wonky curation to eat up my vinyl budget and that they actually kinda ruined my seeking out of music for it, not dealing with the pressings is a bonus, and this year I've been sticking to pressings I can expect will be good - Squarepusher, Talking Heads - or stuff I'm willing to take a risk on, if only for a laugh - see here.

What I do wonder is how much qc the labels themselves can exert because I've gotten jusy about as many things through Warp as I have from the Blue Note Classics - all Optimal - and the latter have had the problems you describe while the former has been literally perfect. Or maybe it's something in the music itself, as though the more modulated grooves are easier to press somehow.

Lastly, I've kinda thought $25/LP was was excessive but not unlikely, and that was back in 2014, accounting for inflation the price is a lot but not outside what I'd expect. I mean, The White Album reissues have never gone for less than $50 when not on sale. Not saying it's what these things should cost just saying that I don't think this is much of a change from 8 years ago. The fact it's dreck from United maybe points to something that's been there for the whole vinyl revival and the backups have just exacerbated.
 
Side one seems all good. I’m not as versed in these as you cats, but there was nothing that cried out as distorted to me.

The edge warp is a little more pronounced on side two, unsure if it will be a clamp play moving forward. It does produce a very slight wish at its peak, but this was inaudible once the sound started.

I did notice that the color is not consistent through out. Side one had almost striation marks. Side two just looks cloudy in spaces. There’s also a slight bit of surface noise present in the music on side two, really only noticeable in the quietest parts.
 
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