New vinyl is pissing me off

I return at least half the new records I get from Amazon. Usually warps. I wonder if it’s down to how they store their stock or if it’s down to the pressing plant? I much prefer to buy used from discogs wherever possible.

In some cases the warping on new vinyl is due to Shrink wrapping. In the 50’s and 60’s UK pressings were not shrink wrapped. The covers were often laminated (Clarifoil) to protect the cover art and the seams of the records (Seams often split on non laminated records in transit - the record moves about and slices through the seams) . US pressing of the same period however were often not laminated and simply shrink wrapped which often caused warping if done too tightly. (They also suffer greater ring wear (Circular ghosting / impression of the records periphery)

On still sealed vintage pressings it is advisable to ask the seller to open (If you intend to play it) prior to shipping to check for this defect specifically (That said unscrupulous vendors may re shrink records to hike price) Shrink wrap can also continue to shrink given the right (Wrong) storage which again leads to warp over time

The above is not the sole cause of warp in new pressings (sleeving the records warm / over stacking in factory / poor quality protection when shipping out from factory / temperature issues / vinyl composition and many more variables can all nause a record before it gets to a shop.

I am Tony Blair - Loose weight now, ask me how

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I doubt that very much.
Consumer law applies, the product must be of good standard and fit for purpose.
in this case the retailer is the consumer and has a contract with the supplier.

Independent pressing plants today have shocking quality control in comparison to large co’s like Decca / Columbia in the 60’s. I’ve got a book on EMI Hays somewhere which shows the quality control process for classical record production around the time STEREO was introduced. Banks of women listening to the mother stampers. Banks of 301’s listening to the subsequent test pressings. Further testing / listening of the actual pressings - In short this type of arrangement is very costly 20% of all final pressings were rejected by the plant !!!

*Importantly most new releases receive test pressings prior to the full stock pressing run so in theory the artist / management are the quality control and actually give the green light to some shockingly pressed recordings to be manufactured

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ffs :grinning:

Strangely, my experiences seem to be the exact opposite of yours.

I can’t remember the last time I had to return an LP to Amazon, but most of the (s/h) records I’ve bought through discogs have been misdescribed/over-rated regarding condition.

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Quality control - an idea of then…

Genuine Stereo analogue recording

Disk defect detector

Another one

Some more with further quality control going on behind

Mother disk testing
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More
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Stock pressing quality control

More

Beatles QC

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Vs Now - The pressing plants do not have the budget to employ that many people in QC or indeed the equipment to ensure genuine quality. Instead they ship out test pressings to a band who have waited an age to get their records done so they can try and get some money in to survive. Such small acts / management play them on a piece of shit record player and give the plant the green light for the run.

P.S Garrards rule!

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Tidal for you then :+1:

my experience is the same as yours Jim. Can’t remember the last warped one I had.

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The records I have purchased new over the last year or 2 have, on the whole, been very good. I dont remember any being warped, off centre or poorly pressed. Infact all my recenet purchase have been truly excellent quality.

Perhaps 3 to 5 years ago i was becoming frustrated with warped discs and returned quite a few, but that has stopped now.

I just wish they’d press an album on 1 disc rather than doubles, since we got a new (very) comfortable sofa its an absolute chore getting up every 10 minutes.

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I don’t buy much new music on vinyl these days so don’t have a feel for the ‘problem’, but the Gregory Porter Donna bought me for Christmas is totally excellent :+1:

I did like Pete’s story of having one delivered by Amazon, where they folded it in half to get it through his letter box!

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I rarely buy through Discogs. What I do buy there is usually impossible to find otherwise and therefore expensive by default. I have a simple rule: dealer must have done 50 transactions minimum and have a rating above 99%. If not, I will wait for another copy to show up as asking for photographs etc is no guarantee.

I’ve only ever had issues when departing from this approach, which was admittedly for an ultra-rare Heads 7" where the dealer received the record back by return as it did not come with the items the advert promised, but he “hoped I wouldn’t mind”. :roll_eyes:

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I’ve bought approximately 100 LPs from Discogs over the last 4 years. I’ve had 3 or 4 issues in that time with condition of records, both new and used. All have been resolved quickly and satisfactorily.

Guess I have been lucky?

Or you are not very fussy :grinning:

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Taken as a compliment, thank you. :grinning:

Not had any problems with Discogs but plenty with Amazon, who are the worst “warped record” offender, by far.

Could we for once have a thread where everyone agrees consistently? (Trump thread excepted) …I’m trying to get some guidance here :flushed:

No.

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And then the point of the forum would be?

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