Original Records vs. Reissues

Here's one for you... when faced with the choice of buying an original copy of a record or its brand new reissue, which do you go for?
Find out more at JoyOfVinyl.com
Written & Produced by Rick Coste
To learn more about Rick and his work go to RickCoste.com

[@Kalprog]

Well said and accurate. Nothing wrong with an "old" original especially if it came from the era of craftsmen and quality control. Checking out used as opposed to new is part of the fun and immersive experience of crate digging. You can always tell if vinyl was owned by someone with an equal passion just by its condition and overall appearance. Unfortunetly today with the demand so high and plants so scarce plus the inexperience of those pressing them we have an unknown with new and sealed. In time it will improve but its still great to see the "classics" in the shops shiny and fresh but also economically sensible to have the option. Long Live Vinyl!

[@TheJoyofVinylRecords]

I second that @KurtKalapach!

[@NoEgg4u]

Shortly before J&R (New York City) closed down, I decided to try out some new vinyl. It was a long time since I purchased new vinyl. It is also the last time that I purchased new vinyl. Every pressing had the life sucked out of it. But they played with almost no surface noise. It was a chore to listen to them. They never engaged me. There was no joy. My takeaway is that the record companies and/or the pressing plants came up with a new formula, somewhere in the process, that addressed a stereotype of vinyl (that it was noisy). In doing so, they killed the dynamics, and made the songs sound 2D and without realism. They sacrificed everything that was exciting about the wonderful sound of vinyl, just to make the records play more quietly (when the solution is to clean your records, and dial in your turntable for optimal tracking -- but few people do so). That was something like 10+ years ago. Have things changed with new vinyl? I do not know. But I suspect that new vinyl still sucks -- perhaps even more. So once again, vinyl gets a bad rap, and deservedly so. The sad part is that people that grew up with only digital, and are interested in this whole vinyl / turntable thing, will be thinking: "Why do some people love the sound of vinyl, and say it is better than digital?" And they are right to think that, based on hearing only new vinyl. Vinyl should sound amazing, and can sound amazing, if you know enough to avoid the myriad of pitfalls. Digital is no holy grail to audio nirvana, either. It has its own issues, but can sound amazing when all of the stars line up. There are the "Re-Masters" (an unofficial admission by the studios that they did an inadequate job the first time around). And Re-Re-Masters (conveying that their first fix (the Re-Master) was yet another botched job). Re-Masters, I have come to conclude, is not an effort by the studios to improve the sound quality. Rather, it is to have you re-purchase the same albums -- because the re-masters never (to my experience) sound better -- they always sound worse. I would love for a standard to be agreed upon, such that the record companies provide the names and photos of the personnel that put together that which you are hearing. This way, the public can bestow praise on the people that are credited for doing an outstanding job, as well as the public knowing who is at fault for when they do a lousy job. We would see a pattern of whose work is done right, and whose work is done wrong. We will learn who is focused on compression, loudness, and over-processing, and who is focused on realism and accuracy.

[@vinyldale]

Wow, your story telling and delivery and photography at this level is amazing, your channel is gonna sky rocket, subscribed 👍

[@TheJoyofVinylRecords]

Thank you @Vinyl Dale!

[@Andersljungberg]

The problem is that when the vinyl record has been played too many times, the sound quality deteriorates, especially if your predecessors used a cartridge that was worn and damaged.

[@TheReal1953]

Not always. Newer micro-line styli can often pick up from the walls of the grooves material that the old ellipticals didn't. Translation.... your old records can sound newer. On the other hand, if you're buying records that were 'plowed' originally with ceramic carts......

[@frankmathiesen1779]

I buy mainly original used records depending on the prices. If the original cost twice the price of a new record i go with the new. There is something special about the original but It all come down to priority how much you will spend on your collection.

[@MarioCantin]

I just got Killers 180 gram a week ago and I completely agree. When it came to getting Genesis The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, I found an original pressing on eBay, as I love that sound, and don’t care for the 2017 re-issue. It all depends. Some albums, I want an old pressing, some I prefer new. And if I can find an original German pressing, sometimes, that’s all the better.

[@alexfalcao]

People who grew up listening to vinyl will know the difference when listening to some new pressings. I had some bad experience with new vinyl releases with the exception of the Blue Note Record Classic on Tone Poet series. Even the Beatles I find difference in dynamics compared to the originals.

[@thomaslytle5519]

You hit the nail on the head when you said “quality control was at an all time high, back when vinyl was king”. A clean original copy of an album will blow a new pressing away, Any day! With the exception of a few record companies like Analogue Productions (who Really care about sound and quality of their pressings), there is almost literally No Q.C. on the vinyl being pressed these days. Off center spindle holes, warps, surface noise, and not to mention pressing c.d.s to vinyl for a quick cash grab are rampant these days. I don’t recall Ever having to worry about these things, or having to read reviews before buying a record, growing up in the 70’s-80’s. Nowadays it’s a crap shoot. I’d say that until I learned the hard way, at least 90% of the new vinyl records I bought since 2016 have been Crap! Furthermore, I can Always tell right away (by ear) when a record is digitally sourced! Separation of instrumentation, sound stage, and overall Realism is totally lost on a digitally sourced or remastered album. For me (and many), It defeats the whole purpose of listening to vinyl. For me there is no argument! If an album was recorded analog, it should Stay Analog! If it was recorded digitally, then keep it on cd and streaming. A digital recording will Not sound any better by pressing it on a record. The Truth is: there is more Crap new pressings out there than there is Truly good new pressings. They’re out there, but you Really have to do your research. Again something we didn’t have to do when vinyl was the main format.

[@TheJoyofVinylRecords]

Well put @Thomas Lytle. Those center holes have been an issue I've never run across until recent years.

[@thomaslytle5519]

@@TheJoyofVinylRecords Yeah! I’d say it’s at least every other new pressing out there. Spindle holes and everything else I said. But if those holes are off, you might as well send the record back cuz it’s gonna sound like warpy crap

[@michaelackley5773]

Just found your channel really like your videos

[@TheJoyofVinylRecords]

Thanks Michael!

[@leon9021]

Simple, yet complicated, its a case by case basis.

[@curtis8516]

I've been buying a lot of new vinyl, the only issue I have is the constant gamble of problems with audio and sleeves that have been scanned from an original, resulting in blurry artwork.

[@Vintage_vibe_vinyl]

Funny just finding this video, curious about people’s opinion. I have probably bumped into you at Skeletone though! Repressing? Necessary evil but unfortunately usually the remastered editions. Personally I take the chance on OG/ early repress if possible with original mastering. Then there is an economic and availability factor. I try to look into the sourcing and buy high quality reissues when buying new. I have a 200g King Crimson- Red 1974 original stereo mix that Robert Fripp approved the new cut masters. Sound is unreal! The couple extra dollars at best on the right new copy can go a long way.

[@TheJoyofVinylRecords]

It sounds like we follow the same routine for deciding on which copy to buy! Seems so long ago that I made this video 😂😂😂 - glad you stumbled upon it

[@Albee213]

I prefer and pretty much only buy originals. I do not care about sound quality, I do have a good setup, I listen to LPs to have a piece of history. There are exceptions, sometimes the originals are too expensive or hard to find. Right now resale is good on new and used LPs. So its hard to go wrong with either. However most my LPs collections are first prints or damn close to it and their resale will always be high.

[@RGMDG]

Thanks Rick. I enjoyed the commentary.. Just starting to listed to vinyl again.. Got rid of too many good Vinyl albums. Depressing thinking about it. So I won't.

[@TheJoyofVinylRecords]

Welcome back to vinyl @Robert! Glad you're here.

[@TheReal1953]

My original copy of Tommy was always noisy and no RCM's back then. Nothing more advanced than the Discwasher stuff. I cleaned it not long ago and it sounds remarkably better than it ever has before. Pretty good for 50yrs old. I watched a video on how the Germans were making stampers from the lacquered masters. They weren't just spraying silver/nickle onto the lacquer like we do in the states. They had many more steps/machines to make sure there were no irregularities and maximum adhesion. Those wily Germans.......

[@calvinnapier9977]

Rick you would think for the premium price we're now paying for vinyl, we could expect a premium product!

[@TheJoyofVinylRecords]

You are so right!

[@CBT5777]

Iron Maiden will always sound good!

[@rael2099]

If I want vinyl to survive, I will purchase new vinyl, unless it's a notorious bad pressing, or if the original artwork wasn't reproduced faithfully and in its entirety. So far, old vinyl prices have increased, and I'd have to pay costly shipping fees in many cases. Also, nothing compares to the joy of unwrapping a new vinyl, and I don't really know what type of equipment played that used vinyl 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@TheJoyofVinylRecords]

Completely agree on the joy of unwrapping a sealed record!

[@jjankosky]

I am much more interested in owning a good original than a new pressing of any record. But sometimes its hard to get an original for a decent price and I end up getting a new pressing trying to at least get ones that came from the analog source. I'm not even interested in any music that was recorded digitally and then translated to vinyl. There is nothing wrong with digital. It has huge advantages over analog in many ways. I just don't personally see the point of buying any vinyl record where digital has been a part in the chain. I'm happy to listen to those on CD\Streaming. I have all the Dire Strait LPs up to Brothers in Arms. Great album but it was recorded digitally so IMHO I don't think owning it on vinyl is worth it.

[@TheJoyofVinylRecords]

@Jeffrey Jankosky - funny you mention Brothers In Arms. Just listened to the copy I bought the week it came out. Still sounds great and brings back memories.

[@larspeterandreassen237]

In my opinion far too many recently pressed records are of unacceptable quality. I have many older records that I have purchased in far from mint condition, that nevertheless have less surface noise than recently made records. So in my mind there is no doubt, an original record in decent (Or better condition) is almost always preferable to a new record. I also frequently have to purchase the cd when I´ve bought recently released records, as many new records simply does not sound very good, even the relatively few ones where the pressing quality is ok. This is despite having a tt that is considerably more expensive than my cd drive/converter (Which are older hi-end components).

[@johnbrentford5513]

There was NOT a steep decline in vinyl sales when the CD was introduced. It took nearly fifteen years for CD to take over.

[@TheReal1953]

Actually, about ten yrs if we agree that CD's came out in 1982. Record storage warehouses were dumping new records at fantastic prices. I bought about 50 albums during that period, all sealed, all original pressings. I thought it had to be some kind of gimmick, but it wasn't. However, like a lot of college kids in the 1970's, I got burnt by one of those Columbia House 'deals' where you had to buy so many a month or they'd come after you. Sounds ridiculous now, but it was very real and they advertised in all the magazines that we read back in the day .

[@johnbrentford5513]

@@TheReal1953 It didn't happen over night it to several years to happen.

[@Brian-qg8dg]

I was around in LA/OC Ca- CD was new, expensive and had very limited titles from 1983-1995ish. By 1987, CD and Cassette were starting to dominate vinyl. By 1990, vinyl was pretty much done. By 1993- vinyl was almost obsolete

[@Andersljungberg]

There are reviews on KZbin, among others, where they compare the sound quality of different versions of the same album

[@NoEgg4u]

Please post any links that you feel are worth watching.

[@Andersljungberg]

@@NoEgg4u When writing links on KZbin that are usually deleted, I have discovered but I can try anyway. this youtube channel usually reviews sound quality on vinyl records .otherwise you may have heard of the youtube channel Anadialog kzbin.info/www/bejne/nmfKeaWHa6msrsU

[@NoEgg4u]

@@Andersljungberg I was not aware of that channel. I watched a few of his videos, and I agree with much of what he states (some things I just cannot confirm whether or not he is correct -- but he probably is correct).

[@chadergeist]

What is a "blister" on the Dynaflex records?

[@TheJoyofVinylRecords]

Hi @chadergeist82! A "blister" is an imperfection in the pressing process where a heated bubble of air makes its way to the surface of the record and instead of popping it cools, creating a blister. Due to the thinness of the Dynaflex record there was no space for air bubbles during the pressing process. - or so the theory goes.

[@chadergeist]

@@TheJoyofVinylRecords I've notice something similar on lp's, where there is a tiny tiny bump in the middle of the grooves on one side and either nothing in the same spot on the other side or there might be a inner impression from the tiny tiny bump.

[@leepage8028]

You need to do your research on the CDs. They have not been surpassed by vinyl.

[@chadergeist]

I don't deal with reissues. The mastering can be ehhh and i hate that they cut the grooves of the reissues so close together, leaving a lot of lead out grooves cause of this bullshit called inner groove distortion. They even put the album in 45 rpm speed...leading to two lp's instead of one.

[@zulumax1]

Certain record companies are just not making good quality pressings, noisy, flashing of the plastic left from the mold, etc. I keep an eye on what companies have poor quality control and will not buy from that label again. It is a shame to spend over $25 for a piece of plastic that is new, yet worse sounding than an old pressing. The 25th anniversary reissue of Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd is amazing, and so is the 45 RPM reissue of Fleetwood Mac Rumors. Seems the reissues are really really good, or really really bad.

[@TheJoyofVinylRecords]

Completely agree @zulumax1. I am always wary when it comes to a new pressing and have come across many bad ones.

[@sdjslkdjlsskldjslkdjsl8262]

Iron Maiden remasters are unbelievably bad, even for metal (a genre known for having a problem with brickwalled remasters). They just compress the sound until the drums barely peak anymore, totally flat sound. What's the point of "HiGh ReSoLuTiOn" if you treat the waveforms like that?

[@redcomusic]

1st choice: Original pressing CD 2nd choice: The mp3 album from iTunes or Amazon 3rd choice: Original pressing LP in VG+ cover and record (very rare I'd had to do this)

[@PopPop_2]

Bought the reissue of Heaven and Hell. Sounds really bad.. $40 wasted.. that's the business..

[@TheJoyofVinylRecords]

@Pop Pop #2 - Sorry to hear that! Especially for $40. I feel your pain. Had the same thing happen recently with a Beatles reissue. Wasn't the worst thing I've heard but the OG was a bit too expensive. i should have gone for it.

[@jefffoster3557]

Vinyl is still the inferior medium. No amount of resurgence via nostalgia will change that fact.

[@NoEgg4u]

Inferior in what way?

[@outofvideos]

@@NoEgg4u Ease of use. ;)

[@NoEgg4u]

@@outofvideos I agree. But sometimes easy is not ideal. Some tasks are more fulfilling when they are more involved. When I know that I am dropping the stylus on one of my better sounding pressings, the anticipation of what is about to happen is pleasing. Clicking on a computer's file to play it, although far simpler, is not as gratifying.

[@firdaussani7165]

so to me ,press first press really difrent big true sound