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...irritating!  It has happened to me although I don't remember where the records were pressed.  For example,  I have two unplayed copies of Rhino Handmade's 2003-ish "Last Waltz" LP box set with all the extra goodies and both have scuffs in pretty much the same place on side 2 of LP 1.  What happened?  Who knows?

I wonder at what point an increase in record production will make it profitable to manufacture new record presses?

Kind of the same experience last night I two of records i had got in the post yeesterday - but not RTI this time.  

The annoying one was a sealed '63 Riverside lp - cover said stereo but the label says mono - but right across one side are a series of 3 massive groove removing marks.  

The other was at Let Them Eat Vinyl Jackson Browne live concert with a number of semi-circle marks on one side.

Anyway what is going on with the Dylan camp - a stunning 1963 50th Anniversary 6lp Box set - pressed in Europe, cut at Sterling with all rare unreleased tracks - all plain covers and allegedly limited edition (400?) to protect copyright.

I've had some seriously warped records from RTI but nothing scratched like that. Looks horrible.

This same thing has happened to me. A few weeks ago I ordered a new sealed copy of Willie Nelson sings Kristofferson. I have an older copy of this and I like it a lot, so I jumped at the chance to get an unused sealed copy for 14.88 plus the 4.00 shipping. When I got it and opened it up it had scuff marks around the edges and about an inch long very audible scratch on side two. It was very disapointing, but I was able to get a refund. By the way, just a warning.  It is back on ebay at the same price with the comments that it has been play tested and plays perfectly. OH, MY. This is one album that I would really like to see reissued one day

I've had records damaged like this too.

Some sound OK, some sound awful.

Also had some perfect looking records full of cereal noises.

Did you contact the seller? What was their response? Did they offer you a refund or an exchange? Maybe a call to RTI is in order? Don't leave us hanging.

Wow, didn't know about this set! Apparently it was an RSD thing. Any indication as to who mastered it?

I have only occasionally ordered vinyl online and from this article/comments, as well as other websites, I must have been pretty lucky, as every disc has arrived in pristine condition.

However, reading the above does make me even more wary about buying LPs via mail order. 

Looks bad,

I got mine on Black Friday RSD (#1386) and I hadn't opened it until I saw the picture.  I was saving it until I could hand clean a bunch at once.  I may have been lucky, 6 sides look flawless but both sides of In Dreams have scuffs and some light scratches.  I am listening now to make sure they are not audible.  This is something you don't usually see on a new pressing though, looks like careless handling.  My store only got one and I was in line early and snatched it fast.  Great sounding so far, very quiet despite the appearance.  Will update, just 3 tracks to go.  The Jasmine phono stage has really broken in, this is a great sounding record.  Very stereo for sure (been playing alot of mono lately).  Can't wait for the review. 

RTI presses Mobile Fidelity's LPs.  Almost without fail the MoFi LPs I've purchased look immaculate when I take them out of their sleeves.  LP1 of this double LP set was the usual MoFi quality, but LP2 had obviously been roughly handled: you could see abrasions and scratches (not as bad as Mr. Fremer's LPs above though).  You could hear the scratches too.  No issues returning it for another - which is on the way - but this was highly unusual (in my experience) for MoFi LPs.  RTI must be under the gun.

I too have received many poor MOFI pressings, and recently went through 4 copies of The Band's "Stage Fright" before I could live with one that didn't have serious pops and ticks heard over several songs (Soundstage Direct was very accomodating with the replacement copies, BTW).

In most instances the flaws appeared to be a result of the pressing-process, as opposed to mishandling by someone.  Considering the cost of these records, and the way they're "hyped" by MOFI as being some of the best pressings ever made, they just don't live-up to the promises in many instances (I'm a huge fan of MOFI's mastering process, however).

Of the big three pressing plants - Pallas, Acoustic Sounds and RTI, it's RTI that is by a mile the most inconsistent, in my experience.

I'm sorry about your boxed-set, Michael, but thanks so much for bringing this issue up - it needed to be highlighted.

I don't have anything from them that's outright *bad*, but RTI's pressing quality is definitely inferior to:

- Pallas: The Nirvana titles are all excellent, especially the 45 RPM "In Utero."

- Record Industry: Super underrated, the pressing quality on Music on Vinyl titles is impeccable and incredibly consistent.  Haven't listened to my copy of my first non-MOV title from them, (Bernie Grundman mastered "Blood Sugar Sex Magik") as of yet, though I've heard it's stellar.  Why isn't this plant used more?

- Quality Record Pressings: I only have the Nirvana "Incesticide" 2 LP 45 RPM RSD exclusive, but the pressing quality is better on that, too.

RTI definitely deserves to be placed *near* the top of the heap, just not at the very top.  Oddly, even though I've heard complaints about how the MFSL titles seem to be given much more care from RTI than those from other labels, the best-pressed RTI LP I have isn't from MFSL (Friday Music's "From Elvis in Memphis).

At least they're still much better than United Record Pressing, though I do have a URP title (Bernie Grundman-mastered RSD "Pretty in Pink" soundtrack) that plays nicely.  I felt stupid for not exchanging my copy of Pearl Jam's "Ten" that I got a few months ago when I saw they are theoretically capable of pressing a record decently.

BTW, since I haven't played most of my MFSLs more than a few times yet: Is the "sounds better after multiple plays due to the stylus polishing the grooves" claim BS, legit, or somewhere in between?  Sounds at least somewhat fishy to me since it's not like the message is included on RTI LPs pressed for other labels.

Buying good vinyls can get so expensive, especially when you live in Europe. I ordered the MOFI In a silent way from either acoustic sounds or music direct, and there were finger traces all over both sides. It is really annoying cos I had to pay big bucks for the shipping and for the taxes, just to find myself disappointed like that. And these companies won't refund shipping costs for an exchange, so yeah, not much I can do.

Just to say, these kinds of inconsistencies shouldn't be acceptable when you pay a premium for a product.

You know what sucks, Mikey? Quality Record Pressings. I've purchased about 20 of their discs and every single one of them is dish warped. Most had an unacceptable amount of noise somewhere on the disc. 200g is too heavy; Classic Records couldn't press 200 well either. My best experience with vinyl quality over the last 4 years has been with RTI. QRP needs some serious overhaul. 

They were always noisy and compressed sounding.  I could get better sound out of a used cassette on my Nakamichi's.  Most, but not all new pressings are sub par compared to older pressings.  With some exceptions, my gut us that the quality of pop music pressing pretty much peaked by the early 1990's when the big 3's pressing plants shut down (albeit temporarily).

I'd love to see new modern plants come online, if for no other reason that modern technology would (hopefully) bring the price down and the quality up.

Time will tell.

In the meanwhile, don't buy RTI.  Fool me once, shame on me... you know the rest.

That is a shame. I always recommended RTI first when people have asked me where to get their bands LP pressed. I have been getting a lot of great records from QRP recently, it seems like their initial teething problems have passed.

 To see what RTI charges for a pressing of  an LP, and what we pay retail. Is a real eye opener !!!! To say the least the  very least that is ........

... it would seem the ease with which a buyer can get a sufficient replacement copy is what's most important.

In my case that's exacerbated by lack of local record stores (a 40 mile drive each way isn't quite "local" in my opinion, especailly when you have to drive back to exchange it.) Internet purchase returns can be a shipping challenge but overall are actually less hassle.

My first copy of the 45rpm Charlie Brown Christmas looked a bit like that on one or two of the sides. Not as bad, but certainly sloppy. It really makes you wonder what procedures would permit this, because if it's so dependent upon a human element to prevent it, we're all in serious trouble and the RTI manager in Micheal's case will continue to be "distressed" with no relief.

The local shops I've frequented tell me they can't return defective LPs to the distributor. I know labels aren't nearly as generous with returns as they were decades ago, but I suspect (I hope) there's still a mechanism for retailers to do so. How else would a record label ever know if there's a problem? Nevertheless I've never been turned down when there's a problem. But if buying while out of town I politely ask to open sealed records first.

I never buy sealed originals of old LPs. First, the "M" (mint) rating is meaningless for the reasons mentioned above, where the record turns out to be damaged. Second, some sellers are thiefs and own a shrink-wrap machine. Give a me an EX, VG+ or maybe even a VG rating any day of the week.

Put all 4 records back in the sleeves & jackets.

Put the jackets back in the slipcase the way they came out.

Hold one hand over the opening of the slipcase.

Shake.  (to simulate what would happen in UPS / FedSx / USPS transit)

My records didn't look quite as bad as the ones pictured but it's pretty obvious to me what's going on.  Maybe they didn't travel as far?

If Record Technology (or whomever....) was responsible for designing this packaging, they should be reamed because it doesn't appear that any fore-thought went into it.  My guess is that the records were fine up until the time they left the pressing plant. 
Kinda disappointing............

I have had problems with all the major high-end pressing plants over the years. Pallas pressings are notorious for arriving with a massive static charge that seems permanent, making it impossible to keep them clean and play quietly. Not all, by any means, but a significant percentage. And one Ella Fitzgerald reissue from ORG (at $59.95) arrived with both 45 rpm discs scuffed and scratched, not to mention warped, and one disc had what looked like a large piece of donut or other pastry smeared into one side. Even when they don't arrive with food attached to them, those staticky discs are filthy out of the shrinkwrap, just covered in dust. 

I also agree with the poster who said QRP has problems with dish warps -- I have had to return at least 1 in 3 of their records because they were so dish warped the record surface did not come anywhere near touching the mat. Also a fair number of off-center pressings, including several of the Doors 45 rpm's. QRP seems to have solved a lot of the noise issues, but with the dish warping and off-center pressings, they are still stuck at the 33% defect rate that I have experienced with RTI and Pallas over the years.

And just yesterday I played my most recent Music Matters 45 rpm Jazz Messengers LPs, which were pressed at RTI. One disc had a small scratch right at the beginning of a side, which rendered it unplayable. On that same side was a greasy splotch that could have been a fingerprint. 

I have cut way back on my new vinyl purchases, because it's just too frustrating and time consuming to return 1 in 3 albums. In fact, I was going to subscribe to the AP Prestige reissue series, but after going through three copies of the first Coltrane issue, I gave up and canceled. They were all severely dish warped. Maybe things improved, but my patience ran out. 

...but I've never been dissatisfied with pressings from many of these plants mentioned here.  Granted, I've only bought one QRP release.  I'm saving my pennies for the SRV box.  I have all the Classic Records Zeppelin albums and they seem flawless to me.  The only "dish warped" records I've received have been from Omnivore and I'm not sure who presses their records.  Every new record gets a good vacuum clean on the VPI using full strength Disc Doctor cleaner (I don't even fuck around with dillution).  Even all the bitching about the Beatles box had me perplexed.  All my records were fine.  Perfect? Meh...maybe not, but neither are my original Parlaphone pressings thanks to 60's teenagers.

I see this constant whining about pressing quality of new vinyl on Audio Karma as well, and I just don't see it nearly as often as so many others do.

Oh well...Merry Christmas, y'all.  Yee-Hawwww!

I bought Jeff Buckley's 'Grace' (Sony/Legacy) LP and it looked like a dog's dinner on one side, probably the worst pressing I have seen. Stuck it on the turntable and was amazed that it was practically silent.

James, Dublin, Ireland

I was just commenting to friends over the past week or so how frustrated I've gotten with buying used LPs as of late.  Maybe my local Detroit area just has shit for used vinyl (the whole area is shit, but that's another matter entirely), but just about all I've bought have been very noisy (even after a few trips through the vacuum), or so worn that to me they are unplayable.  I picked up a copy of Queen's "The Game" two weeks ago that has the cymbals shaved off on "Dragon Attack".  Nice.  Bet it sounded sweet through those Panasonic Thrusters.

What I wouldn't give to have some of my favorites on nice new pressings.  While it is still somewhat of a gamble, a reputable retailer will take back defectives, and at least I don't risk having bought one that was apparently played with a ten pound blunt instrument.  I've had a couple of RTI issues myself, but it's part for the course--I've had issues with all the "name" pressing plants.  

Absolute worst were those US Beatles reissues...I can count on one hand the number of LPs I've bought that skipped right out of the package, and "Rubber Soul" was one of them; "Revolver" even came with some nice free scratches through half of "Eleanor Rigby".  I got a refund and ordered replacements pressed in the UK, and they are immaculate.

I have literally never gotten a record from Classic Records that I haven't had to return, in some case more than once, to get a good copy. The Dylan bootlegs, Blue Note reissues, you name it. In the case of Coltrane's One Down, One Up, I quit while I was behind on my third copy when Acoustic Sounds started to seem annoyed. The second disc of the copy I ended up with has a spindle hole abot half again as large as it should be. I have to center it visually, and spin it to make sure I got it right. That was the last one I bought.

Dear Mr. Fremer

I am surprised that, being enough demand for possible new record presses, there are not enough demand for new record cutting consoles (Neumann and Ortofon should have the know how), or even analog recording machines (it appears that no new machines are manufactured at the moment) when there are more places cutting or recording than the ones pressing records and being also less space demanding and also less expensive than setting up a record pressing plant. Any ideas on the reason for this?

Best regards

JJ Zarate