Ljblanken Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Hi, i am young(ish) and american so i rarely get british re-issues of american soul. but recently i have begun to notice that when i do get them and, even though they LOOK mint/mint-minus, they sound terrible. it's not crackles, background noise, it is that the high/loud parts sound totally distorted. for example, just last week i got a batch of records from a respectable source. 4 were originals (in the vg/vg+) and two were later british issues (incredibles "nothing else to say" on the Contemporaries label (1974?) and Patti/Emblems "i'm gonna love you a long long time" on the O.O.T.P. label ("out of the past"?)). the look clean and unplayed - but they sound awful!! the originals from the 60s looked beat up and dirty but sounded much better (despite the expected background noise). what is the deal? do they just alwasy sound like this? is it my equipment? (fyi - i have a decent stanton dj turntable with a new and decent Grado needle) is there anything i can do??? or is it just the way it is? Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Davetay Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 The Contempo should be ok, but O.U.T.P. is a bootleg label and the sound can be very hit and miss. Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Hi, i am young(ish) and american so i rarely get british re-issues of american soul. but recently i have begun to notice that when i do get them and, even though they LOOK mint/mint-minus, they sound terrible. it's not crackles, background noise, it is that the high/loud parts sound totally distorted. for example, just last week i got a batch of records from a respectable source. 4 were originals (in the vg/vg+) and two were later british issues (incredibles "nothing else to say" on the Contemporaries label (1974?) and Patti/Emblems "i'm gonna love you a long long time" on the O.O.T.P. label ("out of the past"?)). the look clean and unplayed - but they sound awful!! the originals from the 60s looked beat up and dirty but sounded much better (despite the expected background noise). what is the deal? do they just alwasy sound like this? is it my equipment? (fyi - i have a decent stanton dj turntable with a new and decent Grado needle) is there anything i can do??? or is it just the way it is? Stop buying uk re-issues. Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
francis t Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Saying do not buy British is not really the answer.It is bit like eating a bad apple and never eating fruit again! There are some good releases on London/Decca/ Brunswick which should sound fine.Likewise all the Capitol/Motown/Stateside/EMI labels.Stuff on President/Joe Boy might vary depending on the original tape source...but in some cases you will not get the tracks on 45 elsewhere.Avoid bootlegs if sound quality is paramount.Buying John Manships Bootleg guide might help with identifying the better releases sound wise. Northern soul 45s and sound quality has always been a problem, particularly on the higher fi.Buy an old seventies system-play those British 45s on full volume and get dancing!!! regards francis t REALSIDE RECORDS HOME OF GREAT SOUNDING VINYL! Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Guest TONY ROUNCE Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Hi, i am young(ish) and american so i rarely get british re-issues of american soul. but recently i have begun to notice that when i do get them and, even though they LOOK mint/mint-minus, they sound terrible. it's not crackles, background noise, it is that the high/loud parts sound totally distorted. for example, just last week i got a batch of records from a respectable source. 4 were originals (in the vg/vg+) and two were later british issues (incredibles "nothing else to say" on the Contemporaries label (1974?) and Patti/Emblems "i'm gonna love you a long long time" on the O.O.T.P. label ("out of the past"?)). the look clean and unplayed - but they sound awful!! the originals from the 60s looked beat up and dirty but sounded much better (despite the expected background noise). what is the deal? do they just alwasy sound like this? is it my equipment? (fyi - i have a decent stanton dj turntable with a new and decent Grado needle) is there anything i can do??? or is it just the way it is? OOTP 45s were actually pressed in the USA, so we're not accepting the balme for those, mate But yes, they were all dubbed from disc, as befits OOTP's standing as a wholly illegal and immoral enterprise! It's quite likely that the Incredibles on Contempo-Raries would have been dubbed from disc, not an uncommon occurrence here in the 50s, 60s and 70s. The original UK release on Stateside was definitely dubbed from disc, so if Contempo used one of those to make their master from rather than an Audio Arts 45, it would have been a dub of a dub! Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Gene-R Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Ive noticed that the cut of "There's Nothing Else To Say" on Contempo has a vocal track which is different and more overbearing than the Audio Arts release, and one that I've never heard anywhere else. Where would this one have come from? Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Pete S Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Contempo imported original copies of the Audio Arts lp's, changed the cover with a sticker and sold them in UK shops - they even had it in our village record shop Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Platters 81 Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Flower Shoppe on UK Polydor is awful compared to the US Copy...... Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Guest TONY ROUNCE Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Almost all of the UK 60s soul releases that were dubbed from disc on Polydor-distributed labels sound dreadful. The mastering engineer used to do most of them at the end of the day when the cutting stylus was too hot. Too hot cutting stylus = massive distortion. The singles were probably not considered much of a priority in the overall scheme of things. After all, they were only going to be played on Dansettes or, at a pinch, a pirate radio station on the AM band. If you want a good demonstration of how bad things could get, try playing Dee Dee Sharp's "My Best Friend's Man" on UK Atlantic and then follow through with a nice, clean Atco copy. They're barely recognisable as the same record. J J Barnes' "Deeper In Love" on UK Polydor is another good example of "hot cutting". Sounds great on Ric Tic, sounds bloody awful on UK. For years I actually thought that they were different takes, so hard is it to believe that they both spring from the same root as it were. Oh, and by the way, and while I'm here, those who covet a Darrell Banks on London might care to note that it's dubbed from a Revilot 45 . The Statside copy, however, is taken from a Revilot mastertape... Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Pete S Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Flower Shoppe on UK Polydor is awful compared to the US Copy...... Probably because it's a completely different recording! Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
TOAD Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 best contempo raries is deon jackson added girlie vocals not on the usa copy Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Ljblanken Posted July 17, 2009 Author Share Posted July 17, 2009 awesome. thanks for all of your input - learn a ton every time i use this forum!! Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Guest mel brat Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 (edited) It's quite likely that the Incredibles on Contempo-Raries would have been dubbed from disc, not an uncommon occurrence here in the 50s, 60s and 70s. The original UK release on Stateside was definitely dubbed from disc, so if Contempo used one of those to make their master from rather than an Audio Arts 45, it would have been a dub of a dub! I only recently remarked on here that the Rita Da Costa release on UK Contempo is also obviously dubbed from disc - and very possibly a bootleg at that! However, my other Contempo (and many other UK sides) sound fine to me! It's likely that this problem occurs more often with in-demand Northern Soul releases than with contemporary recordings, as the original master tape would have been too difficult to track down. A lot depends on the particular release, as it's by no means universal, with many UK releases sounding far BETTER than the US pressings in my own experience! Edited July 22, 2009 by mel brat Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 best contempo raries is deon jackson added girlie vocals not on the usa copy Yeah its great, best version of "I Can't Go On" and a really clear sound reproduction! Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Platters 81 Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Probably because it's a completely different recording! whats the circumstances behind that Pete? Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
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