📣 News Carpenters: "The Vinyl Collection"
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Cuppadan
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Rick-An Ordinary Fool
Well-Known Member
Cuppadan
Member
I don't know if they'd use GZ for a US release, but I have read both good and bad about United. Some records flawless, others...let's put it nicely and say they've been lacking. 
I've had issues with all pressing plants, but most were minor, and were just a fluke bad record out of many thousands sold. It happens! But I'll take my chances on something pressed at RTI, QRP, Pallas, etc. than some of the others out there. I think even our local new pressing plant Third Man Records could have done a far better job.
Honestly, I will (and have!) paid more for box sets when I knew the mastering and pressing were well done. Would everyone here have been happy paying $180-$200 for this same set if the vinyl were immaculately pressed? That still only works out to $15-$16 per record, which compared to other new vinyl releases, it still a really good deal.
I've had issues with all pressing plants, but most were minor, and were just a fluke bad record out of many thousands sold. It happens! But I'll take my chances on something pressed at RTI, QRP, Pallas, etc. than some of the others out there. I think even our local new pressing plant Third Man Records could have done a far better job.Honestly, I will (and have!) paid more for box sets when I knew the mastering and pressing were well done. Would everyone here have been happy paying $180-$200 for this same set if the vinyl were immaculately pressed? That still only works out to $15-$16 per record, which compared to other new vinyl releases, it still a really good deal.
Cuppadan
Member
I don't know if they'd use GZ for a US release, but I have read both good and bad about United. Some records flawless, others...let's put it nicely and say they've been lacking.
Honestly, I will (and have!) paid more for box sets when I knew the mastering and pressing were well done. Would everyone here have been happy paying $180-$200 for this same set if the vinyl were immaculately pressed? That still only works out to $15-$16 per record, which compared to other new vinyl releases, it still a really good deal.
I definitely would have paid more for MOFI quality. I would love to see this pressed using the One-Step process they used for Santana and Fagan.
...although I doubt at $100 each, nobody else here would have bought a One-Step.
This is just killin' me right now. I'm spinning the Diana Krall titles I purchased over the weekend. All For You is Krall's homage to Nat King Cole, and features the drummerless trio that Cole used on his early recordings. Lots of space in the music, plenty of quiet passages.
Krall has been on UMe labels for quite some time. All For You was on Impulse!, and others have been on Verve.
What's killin' me? The vinyl. The LPs are clean, almost spotless, save for a couple specs of dust. Almost no background noise to speak of, and only a very occasional tick here and there, many of which will disappear once cleaned. They even went so far as to put only three tunes per side on these records, so the grooves are not so pinched by trying to cram more than 20 minutes of music on one disc.
Yet the same UMe can't get us a clean set of Carpenters vinyl??
Krall has been on UMe labels for quite some time. All For You was on Impulse!, and others have been on Verve.
What's killin' me? The vinyl. The LPs are clean, almost spotless, save for a couple specs of dust. Almost no background noise to speak of, and only a very occasional tick here and there, many of which will disappear once cleaned. They even went so far as to put only three tunes per side on these records, so the grooves are not so pinched by trying to cram more than 20 minutes of music on one disc.
Yet the same UMe can't get us a clean set of Carpenters vinyl??
jaredjohnfisher
Well-Known Member
I wasn't going to unwrap mine right away, but, in light of these revealings, feel I should. Does anyone know who to contact regarding credit or exchange? Is it the retailer (in my case, Amazon) or UMe? Will the entire set need to be returned or could they possibly replace with the "sold individually" copy to make the process easier?
Returns always go back to the retailer. Amazon would only replace it with like product. I think there is a way to do an exchange (to keep the same price), but if you happen to order another, you could always "Frankenstein" a good set by keeping the best discs between the two sets, and returning the lesser full set back. Be sure to check return policies completely, especially since this is a music purchase.
Cuppadan
Member
I personally VOTE with my wallet. If any is bad I return all of it. If they don't like it then too bad. Give us a non-defective product.
Chris Mills
That was funny....like the dark vomited up
Rick-An Ordinary Fool
Well-Known Member
Also some retailers have time limits on music titles like 60 days which is why I plan to open all tonight or tomorrow night. Most won't refund but only exchange for same title or product. I still want the set but not like what I'm seeing so far.
It's sad that this is happening to our beloved Carpenters catalog. Why go through all that work Richard did back and forth with test pressing if the pressing plant is going to produce crap like this?
It's sad that this is happening to our beloved Carpenters catalog. Why go through all that work Richard did back and forth with test pressing if the pressing plant is going to produce crap like this?
Chris Mills
That was funny....like the dark vomited up
andywithaz
Well-Known Member
I am so glad I did not get this set, because I almost just ordered it last week. I thought that since such care was taken with the remastering for vinyl and with the high quality vinyl, it might sound as good or even better than the 1998 remastered classic CDs. Apparently I was wrong...
Cuppadan
Member
Don't say that! If at first you don't press good vinyl, try, try again.
tomswift2002
Well-Known Member
Don’t know where you got the decades, but these vinyls were probably mastered from at least second generation digital copies, as the Remastered Classics Digital masters were most likely copied from the first generation analog masters.
Rick-An Ordinary Fool
Well-Known Member
So here is what I found opening the 3rd album from the box set. These pics were literally taken right after I opened the tan album. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a defect in the hole pressing. The plastic from the record was left in the hole and it's actually sticking up in the air. I think it might also be cracked so I'm afraid to touch that area too much. That is not all...there are scuffs and scratches in certain spots. In the first pic you can see my camera reflection on the bottom right side, the scuff marks are in the middle but also click the photo because right below the scuff marks in the middle you will see a fine line going from the inner groove almost all the way to the outer groove in a straight line. The 2nd pic also has reflection of my camera on the top left side but look at the scuff marks at the beginning of track 1 and then other scratches and marks in the middle.
I can deal with dust and debris because I have a good record cleaning machine and proper fluid but this other crap I can't deal with, this is brand new vinyl and I don't feel it should look like this. This set was not cheap and I don't think it's asking for too much for some quality.
On a good note, I've already reached out to the retailer and received a prompt response. They want me to open all the LP's and let them know which ones I find unacceptable and want a replacement on. So it sounds like they will be replacing individually instead of returning the entire box, which I am very happy about. So now I just need to kick myself in gear and get to some cleaning and listening pretty darn fast.
I pray that any replacements I obtain are better than this Tan album I've received. The quality control on this pressing plant is pretty poor in my opinion. Oh how I wish Richard was watching...
I can deal with dust and debris because I have a good record cleaning machine and proper fluid but this other crap I can't deal with, this is brand new vinyl and I don't feel it should look like this. This set was not cheap and I don't think it's asking for too much for some quality.
On a good note, I've already reached out to the retailer and received a prompt response. They want me to open all the LP's and let them know which ones I find unacceptable and want a replacement on. So it sounds like they will be replacing individually instead of returning the entire box, which I am very happy about. So now I just need to kick myself in gear and get to some cleaning and listening pretty darn fast.
I pray that any replacements I obtain are better than this Tan album I've received. The quality control on this pressing plant is pretty poor in my opinion. Oh how I wish Richard was watching...
Rick-An Ordinary Fool
Well-Known Member
Rick-An Ordinary Fool
Well-Known Member
Misael Castillo Lopez
Active Member
And me to collect money to buy this
, and it takes 3 weeks to get to Chile ... if it comes in these conditions it is almost impossible for me to change it since I do not buy it directly from amazon but by an intermediary company so I cost around 280 dollars, I will cross my fingers ....
Cuppadan
Member
It seems to me that there was absolutely no QC on this. They just pressed and packaged. Who the hell authorized this $#!^?
Rick-An Ordinary Fool
Well-Known Member
Agreed, all it takes is a quick glance side to side before stuffing it into the sleeves to see this one should have been tossed out. That makes me think there was no quality check at this plant.
I can't get passed the fact that much time had to be spent by Richard listening to these test presses and then they went to all the expense with mastering and then made the artwork box, labels and cover art to be top notch and then stuff them into nice quality rice paper sleeves for protection and then the pressing plant churns out this kind of product. That's the part that bothers me. It's not any ones fault except for the pressing plant and lack of quality control. It's a bummer for sure.
jaredjohnfisher
Well-Known Member
I unwrapped my set tonight and seem to be one of the luckier buyers. The records in my set look very good overall. There were only two noticeable "scratches" upon my initial inspection. Hopefully neither will not be audible upon playing (after cleaning). These imperfections were found on the tracks, "Those Good Old Dreams" and "Aurora". (I would've traded a perfect "Horizon" for a flawed "Ticket To Ride", instead! LOL) A few of the records did have sloppy spindle holes or a small (sharp-edged) chip in the outer edge, but, overall, nothing like some have described. Personally, I absolutely dread going to the post office, so I am relieved. My sympathies go out to those fellow forum members who received bad sets. Most of the records in my set have nice plastic-lined inner sleeves (except those that had printed inner sleeves). I thought I read that some were buying their own plastic sleeves and I'm not sure why. I do wish each album had one. My intention with this post is to restore confidence to those members who are on the fence or fearing every set is going to be defective. Hopefully, only a very small percentage will be. Better yet, the high number of returns should cause the manufacturer to step up the quality control.
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