Old records Vs new heavy weight records

[makinmusic]

I was curious on getting some opinions on old records Vs new records.

What with all these new records splatter effect individual coloured records limited quantities of this colour of that splatter hitting the market.

Curious to see what others make of the new records.

I have a large collection including first presses of older style records many various genres of music.

Will these new fangled records keep there value, increase in value?

Is the music industry just flooding the market with to many limited edition this and that?

Is this just a ploy to get more money for the same music?

Personally I buy the music to listen to and even if I buy a rare older copy and it's still in the wrapper it gets opened and played almost immediately in most cases.
Some may call me for that but music is meant to be listened to.

I don't tend to buy thinking one day this will be worth a lot and il cash in.

As I can't take them with me my daughter is under strict instructions she can only sell my collection after listening to every single record at the rate I buy them it will probably take her in to retirement age.

What are your thoughts on this?

 

[daytona600]

Top Three
1/ Source Analogue or Digital
2/ Mastering Engineer
3/ Pressed & Plated at premium pressing Plant

Weight is irrelevant 140/150/180/200gram, What vinyl formulae is used makes a big difference

 

[Entrigo]

I am not massively into coloured records and definitely not into splatter, zoetropic or whatever, so don't have much basis for comparison, but I keep reading how these fancy versions aren't meant to be as good - possibly because of the dyes which need to be added to the vinyl mix?

Anyway, yes, definitely a ploy to get more money out of us fools haha

 

[nopiano]

Some of the best LPs I have date from the late 1950s and 1960s. Super smooth sleeves, beautiful shine on the vinyl, smooth edges, holes the right size, and quiet surfaces even today.

I have the odd 180g and special edition from Mobile Fidelity, for example, but no modern coloured ‘vinyl’.

 

[nads]

The biggest difference is that there is no one checking the discs before they are packed.

Often they still have release agent in the groves. And I have had coloured and black that have had surface defects. Not to mention off center labels.

Picture discs tend to have had the worse sound reproduction due to the material sandwiched between two halves to give an image. Splatter and dual colour are fine and really cam about due to a shortage of the Black due to demand.

 

[record_spot]

I enjoy vinyl, have done for decades, not least as when I was growing up in the late 60s, 70s and 80s, it was the predominant format along with tapes and to a lesser extent, radio. I always liked the coloured vinyl albums back then. Out of the Blue in blue vinyl, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road on yellow vinyl and so on.

These days, it's a bit of a cash cow, though some reissues are terrific. I think Bowie's label could wind back on the 5 yearly anniversary releases - the 40th Anniversary Station to Station, or Low soon becomes the 45th Anniversary version and this year the 50th one...

For all that though, the format is still pretty solid. I've had a few duds that I had to return, but those are on the fingers of one hand and the rest have more or less been excellent. That includes coloured vinyl and the few zoetrope editions I have as I can't really fault those in a hurry either. The expense is of course the main issue for many now and it didn't help that - in the UK at least - HMV bumped up their 3 for £55 deal to now become 3 for £66 which is now a harder effort to justify, or at least, you need to be pretty forensic about your choices (my tip would be something like Gilmour's last album (usually about £35+), The Phoenecian Scheme soundtrack (£30+) and then your last album pretty much becomes a freebie in the deal.

The deals are out there - many independent record shops have their bargain bin sections with LPs at £14.99 or less. One album that's well worth seeking out is the soundtrack to Flag Day which is pretty impressive and not a duffer on it.

At the same time, when I see prices for old Genesis albums coming in at over £40, you have to laugh. for the most part, they're using the frankly crap 2007 remixes. Find a decent earlier copy, or get a hold of the CDs on Atlantic or Charisma. Much better audio and mastering.

On the other hand, I didn't baulk to hand over £55 for Beyonce's Cowboy Carter reissue (with all the tracks) that came in a kind of special edition set with full size booklet and picture sleeves. Pressing quality is top notch.

Overall though, a decent 8/10 for the format from me. It could be better and cost will remain an issue, but artists make their output worth the money, then it's easier to justify to an extent, especially when you consider that manufacturing costs won't be going down anytime soon.

After that, you pays your money...