Re: [ARSCLIST] Record tracking,and ageing, was De-static question

[David Lennick <dlennick@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Tom Fine wrote:

> Didn't RCA go to hell when they adopted that "dynagroove" system? It's not just them with 70's
> reissues. Everyone got lazy. Listen to MCA reissues of Command and Kapp records. They're horrible.
> Capitol umpteenth pressing of Beatles records, which is what I grew up with in the 70's and 80's,
> weren't so hot either.

On the other hand, there were RCA masterings and pressings of some Vox and Murray Hill sets, and they're
wonderful. MCA...feh. Westminster Gold....you can hear the bits of oxide dropping off the reel. MCA
Canada once sent a pressing of "Tommy" (or maybe JC Superstar) into the stores, minus center holes.

> I really think there was a different emphasis from the early 70s onward. Vinyl was thinner but
> quieter. Pressing cycles were shorter. Mastering was more automated and the equipment in use did NOT
> sound good when you pushed it out to the edge. Plus records were being recorded and mastered with
> Dolby A and more compression than ye olde days. The then-new generation of mastering guys were more
> likely to strictly collar levels and often squashed dynamic range too compared to the olden days. On
> the other hand, as we've said, the records were quieter and, as long as they weren't warped out of
> the sleeve from day 1 and the hole was punched well-centered, they played just fine on anything that
> was out there.

As long as you cleaned the bits of shavings and crap out of them first. Sony Canada turned out a
fabulous product from about the mid 70s on....US Columbia pressings, I was once advised, needed to be
played 5 times before the grooves were free of leftover crud.

dl