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

zombie.modernist said:
but it seems they spend money on a lot of low value added stuff like adding foil stamping to everything that could be spent on the core product. I just wish they would stop acting like using GZ is anything but a cost cutting measure, like when they claimed their best sounding RHH records were cut at GZ.
Click to expand...

Because somebody in the VC team really, REALLY wants VMP to become full blown Newbury and realllyyy wish people like us would shut up saying things like "this is the same sounding record on Amzn for $12" on their new albums. They want to spend a couple bucks on foil covers and get $30 out of people. The Classics sub crowd is truly the last bastion of discerning listener they cater to, and I have no doubt when they get a chance to cut corners there, they will.

This is why I am going to be keeping an eye out on The Soft Bulletin's pressing details- if it isn't significantly upgraded I'm not resubbing for it.
 
TheThinWhiteDuke said:
Because somebody in the VC team really, REALLY wants VMP to become full blown Newbury and realllyyy wish people like us would shut up saying things like "this is the same sounding record on Amzn for $12" on their new albums. They want to spend a couple bucks on foil covers and get $30 out of people. The Classics sub crowd is truly the last bastion of discerning listener they cater to, and I have no doubt when they get a chance to cut corners there, they will.

This is why I am going to be keeping an eye out on The Soft Bulletin's pressing details- if it isn't significantly upgraded I'm not resubbing for it.
Click to expand...


I agree. I think Classics is an odd duck, since they've really increased the quality as of recent times. Some may disagree, but the early days of Classics were nothing special to me, lots of in-house cuts, and on black vinyl too, so doubt too much was put into the production costs. Some like The Soul of a Bell have already been done to higher standards (by Speakers Corner in that case). I think Classics and Anthology is an attempt to cater to a completely different market than essentials and RHH, hoping to get the younger audiophile crowd with deeper pockets to keep buying, vs just going for a few one-off purchases by the UO and NC crowd. If it fails to make money I wonder if they will cut corners as you suggest.

I will shout out Newbury for being a great local store in the New England area though. I have heard their mail order sucks and their "pressings" aren't worth a damn. Just a side hussle to keep their doors open which I can respect a bit more than the big guys at UO and such.
 
TheThinWhiteDuke said:
Because somebody in the VC team really, REALLY wants VMP to become full blown Newbury and realllyyy wish people like us would shut up saying things like "this is the same sounding record on Amzn for $12" on their new albums. They want to spend a couple bucks on foil covers and get $30 out of people. The Classics sub crowd is truly the last bastion of discerning listener they cater to, and I have no doubt when they get a chance to cut corners there, they will.

This is why I am going to be keeping an eye out on The Soft Bulletin's pressing details- if it isn't significantly upgraded I'm not resubbing for it.
Click to expand...

The Soft Bulletin will probably just be a reused pressing — but the higher quality jacket, the custom art print, the booklet they sometimes put in there (like for Jorge Ben and Mitzki) and the colored vinyl are what make it worth it to buy the VMP version.....but yeah for some exclusives like the new Let It Bleed for example, the only difference between the one you get from VMP and the one you get on amazon is the color of the vinyl and you pay at least $10 more for it, totally not worth it.
 
zombie.modernist said:
They keep acting like “good master” = AAA cut. I would doubt Daydream was finished in the analog domain, so not even a factor here. I think it really just needs some attention from a proper engineer that would cut a lacquer. GZ has admitted they do very little to the files they are given to optimize sonically for vinyl, meaning no taming of hot sibilants outside of their tolerances for tracking, no EQ etc. I get how this would raise costs by a few hundred dollars over the run, but it seems they spend money on a lot of low value added stuff like adding foil stamping to everything that could be spent on the core product. I just wish they would stop acting like using GZ is anything but a cost cutting measure, like when they claimed their best sounding RHH records were cut at GZ.
Click to expand...
I want every VMP staff member to read this post!
 
Tyr said:
You only need the right VMP staff member to read this post. The one with the decision-making ability. And at VMP HQ, there are only a couple of those left.
Click to expand...
Let’s hope Storf or someone else who works at VMP reads the post then! It needs to be posted on Reddit!

@zombie.modernist - Do you ever post on Reddit? You need to put that eye-opening post on Reddit because it’s so true!!! What you said about GZ, Mariah, costs being put towards towards foil stamps over sound quality etc. I just want Storf and more VMP subscribers to read that post!

I think it could make an impact!
 
tonythegamer said:

Berhana 'HAN' | Vinyl Me, Please

When you listen to the debut album from R&B pop chameleon Berhana, it'll come as no surprise that he's a film buff. The 27-year-old studied film in New York City, and his vision is cinematic. He sees music primarily in its capacity for storytelling, for escapism. That's why HAN, the LP, has a...
app.vinylmeplease.com app.vinylmeplease.com
Click to expand...
Yo. I'm digging this.
 
They seriously should’ve made Mariah Carey the Essentials September ROTM instead of Jim Sullivan. That way, they would have - a more dedicated remaster, which would have improved the sound of the pressing. Also. the packaging maybe would have been done a lot better.

I can’t get over Jim Sullivan being a ROTM over Mariah Carey. Like VMP need to stop being scared to do a 90’s R&B/Pop album as a ROTM!
 
Last edited:
NathanRicaud said:
They seriously should’ve made Mariah Carey the Essentials September ROTM instead of Jim Sullivan. That way, they would have - more dedicated remaster, which would have improved the sound of the pressing. Also. the packaging maybe would have been done a lot better.

I can’t get over Jim Sullivan being a ROTM over Mariah Carey. Like VMP need to stop being scared to do a 90’s R&B/Pop album as a ROTM!
Click to expand...
Jim Sullivan is cool, but I feel like it should have been an exclusive vs a ROTM
 
NathanRicaud said:
Let’s hope Storf or someone else who works at VMP reads the post then! It needs to be posted on Reddit!

@zombie.modernist - Do you ever post on Reddit? You need to put that eye-opening post on Reddit because it’s so true!!! What you said about GZ, Mariah, costs being put towards towards foil stamps over sound quality etc. I just want Storf and more VMP subscribers to read that post!

I think it could make an impact!
Click to expand...

I do have a Reddit account, but I don't want to jump in the comments on this one, mostly because I don't have the pressing so I don't want to just complain from the peanut gallery, or just get jumped on by the VMP fanboys / staff.

As for the technical stuff, I said this many times at the old place and just felt like it fell on deaf ears. I went hard against Storf's lines on the pressing of Veedon Fleece (which still annoys me) and most of what was said was largely dismissed. He kept pulling up the whole BS line about AAA on that too. The scale of that pressing run was one in which the few hundred they would spend on a lacquer cut could easily be justified. If they pull this for Essentials, they're going to pull it for exclusives like they did with Mariah.

If you read the magazine articles you can see there is no articulated difference between digital masters, vinyl mastering, source, and signal chain. Not sure if that is just Storf not understanding (don't blame him, he's not the director of audiophilia there) or points to a broader misunderstanding within VMP. The cynic in me says the bean counters understand and don't care. The pressings done at GZ are made to cater to the UO Crosley crowd, while the Classics and Anthologies cater to more of an audiophile crowd.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top