Vinyl Me Please (store, exclusives, swaps, etc)

[tonythegamer]

I got it this month. Sounds good after first (unfocused) listen and the cover looks nice with the shiny gold text. There’s no insert at all, though, which is weird. Small warp, but I think all the records I have in this gold color are warped.

Mine had an EXTREMELY slight warp but I attributed it to just me trying to be picky with VMP and called it good

 

[RowBearToe]

Well got Mariah and Room 41. Honestly I’m surprised to report that neither are warped and both sound quite good. At least I can say that I had a good month from VMP

EDIT: Was I one of the first to get Mariah? I’m reading back and I’m not seeing anyone saying they got it...

I got it this month. Sounds good after first (unfocused) listen and the cover looks nice with the shiny gold text. There’s no insert at all, though, which is weird. Small warp, but I think all the records I have in this gold color are warped.

I got my Mariah in too, but I'm not totally happy with how it sounds. Had inner groove distortion and quite a bit of sibilance with S's and D's, especially on the last track on each side (I Am Free and Looking In). I cleaned it and it didn't help either problem. Also have a click for the last minute or so of I Am Free. I honestly didn't really notice it until I listened to the last song on each side, the rest of the album sounded pretty good. Anyone else have these problems?

 

[zombie.modernist]

I got my Mariah in too, but I'm not totally happy with how it sounds. Had inner groove distortion and quite a bit of sibilance with S's and D's, especially on the last track on each side (I Am Free and Looking In). I cleaned it and it didn't help either problem. Also have a click for the last minute or so of I Am Free. I honestly didn't really notice it until I listened to the last song on each side, the rest of the album sounded pretty good. Anyone else have these problems?

Sad to hear. Hate to be “that guy” but what cart / stylus are you tracking this with? TBH I don’t have this pressing and was a bit weary with GZ cutting it. To my ears the Ludwig CD master of this album is very “hot on top” and in the upper midrange like a lot of 90s r&b designed for CD playback. Gives it a lot of presence and sparkle but it would make for a difficult master for vinyl. Sometimes when GZ is given a master like that they just produce some bright hard to track crap.

 

[zombie.modernist]

Also when the pressing was sold a lot of the focus was on the quality of pressing. It was disappointing for many expecting a more dynamic listen

The standard pressing wasn’t that great either. A bit of noise, not one of QRP’s finest pressings.

 

[RowBearToe]

Sad to hear. Hate to be “that guy” but what cart / stylus are you tracking this with? TBH I don’t have this pressing and was a bit weary with GZ cutting it. To my ears the Ludwig CD master of this album is very “hot on top” and in the upper midrange like a lot of 90s r&b designed for CD playback. Gives it a lot of presence and sparkle but it would make for a difficult master for vinyl. Sometimes when GZ is given a master like that they just produce some bright hard to track crap.

Definitely a valid question, I have a Music Hall mmf-2.2 TT with a Music Hall Magic 2 stylus. I know a lot of the time that 90s R&B was cut hot, so that's why I'm worried it won't just be me with this problem. I didn't notice it the first couple times I listened to it because I was doing other things too, but when I sat down and gave it a dedicated listen, that's when I noticed it.

 

[Ponman2003]

Gives it a lot of presence and sparkle

 

[zombie.modernist]

Definitely a valid question, I have a Music Hall mmf-2.2 TT with a Music Hall Magic 2 stylus. I know a lot of the time that 90s R&B was cut hot, so that's why I'm worried it won't just be me with this problem. I didn't notice it the first couple times I listened to it because I was doing other things too, but when I sat down and gave it a dedicated listen, that's when I noticed it.

Yeah I'd say it's something that will effect a large number of people that get it, considering the vast majority of people use an elliptical stylus like your Magic 2. IME sibilance on the inner grooves is always tamed with a better profile, and I rarely have a lot of problems since I moved to a MicroLine. Sadly I find, the records that sounded really bad and spitty with a decent elliptical still don't sound amazing even with improved tracking. Sounds like it could be a bunk cut here. I've had a lot of luck with GZ masters recently, but I certainly have some from a few years ago that sound pretty bad with elliptical and only passable with the MicroLine. Too bad this didn't go to a proper engineer, especially since the $35 MSRP is approaching audiophile prices.

 

[Turbo]

How's the Paul Cauthen pressing? I'm thinking about picking that up. Digging several of the tunes on there, notably the faster tempo tracks. The rest is decent too.

 

[WhiteDahlias]

Got my VMP shipment of Dawes, Blakey, and Paul Cauthen and my Dawes disc 1 is warped. Other two sound great.

Anyone else get a warped copy of Dawes?

My Dawes disc 1 was also warped. =(

 

[Ghost]

My How I Got Over is pretty noisy for a new record man, there’s a persistent click for a majority of The Fire. Asking for a replacement. $27 for a scratched record seems a bit steep lol

 

[NathanRicaud]

So.....does the pressing for Mariah Carey’s “Daydream” not sound stunning?!!??

 

[Renée]

So.....does the pressing for Mariah Carey’s “Daydream” not sound stunning?!!??

My copy sounds fine. Some run-out noise, like any other GZ pressing, but I had no major issues with it. Perfectly listenable, decent enough sound quality.

 

[bfly]

decent enough

for $35

 

[Matt M]

How's the Paul Cauthen pressing? I'm thinking about picking that up. Digging several of the tunes on there, notably the faster tempo tracks. The rest is decent too.

Sounds pretty great to me!

 

[Renée]

for $35

I used a swap to get mine, so only $23 for me

 

[Rip_City]

for $35

Excellent point. That price point starts to borderline on audiophile releases (Tone Poet reissues from Blue Note are $6 cheaper at one of my locals).

 

[hickmbr4]

My Dawes disc 1 was also warped. =(

Put me down for another warped Dawes Disc 1. And not just a minor warp, but a fairly large unplayable warp...

 

[NathanRicaud]

I’m hoping my Mariah Carey “Daydream” doesn’t have any sound issues. But the good thing is that VMP pressed so much copies of this exclusives. So it’s nice to know I will get a replacement if there are any tracks that have sound distortion/ticking etc

 

[Chris V]

Put me down for another warped Dawes Disc 1. And not just a minor warp, but a fairly large unplayable warp...

Mine is the same. Both discs have large warps on the edges and are unplayable. The jacket is really tight, I wonder if that contributed?

 

[imtheocean]

Thanks to all those that recommended Alice Coltrane as a swap. Really glad I got it before it sold out in the store. Spinning it now, excellent pressing.