When purchasing vinyl, collectors are turned on by owning a copy of an original pressing. Knowing that what you hear is what people first heard on that fateful album release day is a warm feeling. Some records were instant hits and people lined up around the block to get a copy Day 1, while other albums, such as the Nick Drake catalog, took many years to gain in popularity resulting in the originals becoming a rare treasure. The problem is, these records are getting old and finding them in good shape is hard. With vinyl, condition is everything. A record previously owned by someone who may not have set the cartridge up correctly, or used a budget stylus made of something less desirable than diamond, will never regain the power of a fresh copy. Hearing a noisy background that sounds like a campfire is a dead giveaway that the record you hold was "well-loved," even if the surface is scratch-free.
The alternative to hunting down clean original pressings? Reissues. The problem is, some reissues are not made well. One clue to a bad reissue is shrink wrap packaging. Often (but not always) when I open up a modern vinyl that comes in shrink wrap, the thing is warped. I believe this is evidence of packaging the record too soon, before it has had a chance to cool from the press. On the other hand, every time I buy a record in a perforated bag (every RTI pressing I have come across is packaged like this), I get a nice flat record.
Another thing to be wary of are albums cut with a CD Master. Vinyl collectors love the wide dynamic range that is usually found on old vinyl and absent from many modern CDs. For an excellent explanation of what I'm on about here, please refer to this YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gmex_4hreQ
A good resource to check before dropping cash on a new record is the Dynamic Range Database:
http://www.dr.loudness-war.info/
Many users upload the dynamic range info of various CD and Vinyl releases. If the vinyl has a significantly wider range, chances are the source is a different from the CD.
Say you have the option to buy a clean original or a new reissue, and they are the same price. No brainer right? Why risk the reissue when you know it was cut from a 40-50 year old tape and may still have gone through a digital stage? The originals are guaranteed all-analog and cut from the master tapes in prime condition. Consider the listening comparison I have here today, the song "Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones. The first clip is recorded from an original, blue-label US pressing of Hot Rocks, while the second clip is recorded from the 2013 Hot Rocks clear vinyl reissue, confirmed to be digitally (albeit DSD) mastered.
Satisfaction Original US:
http://www.filefactory.com/file/2506hb6yjjxt/1971_wav
Satisfaction 2013:
http://www.filefactory.com/file/5tnvsk08klwt/2013_wav
The conclusion here is to not fear the reissue. You're getting a clean, new piece of wax, and sometimes the mastering is expertly done. Anything pressed at RTI or QRP, or is sealed in a perforated bag, or makes some effort to convince you that the record inside was made with care such as listing the name of the mastering engineer should be a safe bet. I also recommend to not fear digitally mastered vinyl. In fact, lots of classical vinyl from the 80's proudly proclaimed the fact that a digital stage was used and those records sound immensely superior to many all-analog recordings.
Do not judge until the record is under the needle.
The alternative to hunting down clean original pressings? Reissues. The problem is, some reissues are not made well. One clue to a bad reissue is shrink wrap packaging. Often (but not always) when I open up a modern vinyl that comes in shrink wrap, the thing is warped. I believe this is evidence of packaging the record too soon, before it has had a chance to cool from the press. On the other hand, every time I buy a record in a perforated bag (every RTI pressing I have come across is packaged like this), I get a nice flat record.
Another thing to be wary of are albums cut with a CD Master. Vinyl collectors love the wide dynamic range that is usually found on old vinyl and absent from many modern CDs. For an excellent explanation of what I'm on about here, please refer to this YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gmex_4hreQ
A good resource to check before dropping cash on a new record is the Dynamic Range Database:
http://www.dr.loudness-war.info/
Many users upload the dynamic range info of various CD and Vinyl releases. If the vinyl has a significantly wider range, chances are the source is a different from the CD.
Say you have the option to buy a clean original or a new reissue, and they are the same price. No brainer right? Why risk the reissue when you know it was cut from a 40-50 year old tape and may still have gone through a digital stage? The originals are guaranteed all-analog and cut from the master tapes in prime condition. Consider the listening comparison I have here today, the song "Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones. The first clip is recorded from an original, blue-label US pressing of Hot Rocks, while the second clip is recorded from the 2013 Hot Rocks clear vinyl reissue, confirmed to be digitally (albeit DSD) mastered.
Satisfaction Original US:
http://www.filefactory.com/file/2506hb6yjjxt/1971_wav
Satisfaction 2013:
http://www.filefactory.com/file/5tnvsk08klwt/2013_wav
The conclusion here is to not fear the reissue. You're getting a clean, new piece of wax, and sometimes the mastering is expertly done. Anything pressed at RTI or QRP, or is sealed in a perforated bag, or makes some effort to convince you that the record inside was made with care such as listing the name of the mastering engineer should be a safe bet. I also recommend to not fear digitally mastered vinyl. In fact, lots of classical vinyl from the 80's proudly proclaimed the fact that a digital stage was used and those records sound immensely superior to many all-analog recordings.
Do not judge until the record is under the needle.
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