Vinyl Junkies …

Vinyl Me Please are working with QRP in Salinas which is the pressing plant that was set up by Chad Kassem of Analogue Productions, the label I was talking about up thread.

Now I like AP for the sound quality and the brilliant sleeve reproductions but QRP is not without it's manufacturing issues. When you have no fill on one side of a 2x45rpm release that costs £50 at dealer prices it's deflating to say the least. It's almost worse that the rest of the package is so good. I just had that happen with Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins on Analogue Productions.

If you are buying from the states it's not worth considering replacement of individual disks as you need to post the damaged ones back and then they'll usually only post replacements with another order. Essentially, if you are buying special presses from the states you stand to lose pretty much the entire expense + postage and taxes if that pressing has an issue. I'm probably seeing issues in 1 in 10 pressings from this price bracket.

Also bear in mind that US labels get a halo effect because US buyers are paying much less relatively and there are lots of them. They are not so keen on labels like Speakers Corner because they have to add import duties etc. and they end up costing enough that a buyer will have higher expectations.

It's a shame that there aren't too many places pressing records in the UK. We used to be quite good at it.

In terms of you paying £36 for an import. It's enough that you'll be annoyed if it arrives warped, or worse still badly pressed. In the big picture it's the price of hunting for the good pressings, you will lose some money on bad pressings along the way.