nardes Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Played mine today and holy crap they both sound like crap. CONSTANT cracking/popping. Sounds like I'm listening to a campfire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Family Friendly Rap God Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Played mine today and holy crap they both sound like crap. CONSTANT cracking/popping. Sounds like I'm listening to a campfire That's my issue too. It's REALLY bad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Family Friendly Rap God Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 It's a picture disc. So yes. Thank you. I've heard the horror stories but this is my first time experiencing it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noname Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Duh, they are picture discs. They aren't for listening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StompingTurdle Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Can anyone explain to me WHY picture discs are known to suck? And do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeTerrain Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 pretty sure its the plastic sleeves they come in. they must leave some sort of residue on the record which affects play. TheEnigmyst 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batman Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 i immediately put mine in paper sleeves. those plastic sleeves suck and really affect the sound over time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalnutSoap Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Can anyone explain to me WHY picture discs are known to suck? And do. Picture discs are printed pieces of paper stuck on top of the vinyl with a clear layer added on top, which the grooves are pressed into. Because a printed picture contains different layers of colours, there are minute discrepancies in the height of the record once the clear top layer is added. This is the technical reason, I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowBearToe Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Grabbed both today. Lookin good. Will spin tomorrow Same here, they look great and my daughters were pretty excited when I showed them. We'll be spinning (and singing and dancing) to these tomorrow evening for sure haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noname Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Picture discs are printed pieces of paper stuck on top of the vinyl with a clear layer added on top, which the grooves are pressed into. Because a printed picture contains different layers of colours, there are minute discrepancies in the height of the record once the clear top layer is added. This is the technical reason, I believe. I believe it is because they are not vinyl at all but plastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
circuit bored records Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 I believe it is because they are not vinyl at all but plastic. I don't think this is accurate at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrrom92 Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 There are different methods of producing picture discs. Not all are inherently bad. It's definitely a product I'd like to see a pressing plant come out with a new and improved version of. It just takes experimentation and effort. I've heard some abysmal ones, I've heard ones that are better than black/colored vinyl. In general, the vintage ones that were pressed using a clear vinyl core tend to have the quietest surfaces - not any crackle but they still have that "whooshy" rumble to them, which is mostly masked by any music. It's quiet intros/outfits and solo'd instruments that are affected, so not all music is appropriate for a picture disc. A pop record could sound great as the music would reside well above the noise threshold. A classical or ambient record, not so much. For what it's worth, my little mermaid disc is pretty noisy. I'm not so upset about it, as I really don't even like that soundtrack. Let my future wife/daughter worry about it. The Lion King is significantly better, and only produced a couple of pops. the surface "rumble" is very noticeable in the silence prior to the opening vocals. Not perfect but it is pretty close. Picture discs are hand assembled and there is a lot of variance, so it's really going to be a case by case basis. If you're gonna choose one of many in the store, pick the one that seems to have the smoothest surface. And also one that some kid didn't bang around, as the disc is quite exposed in this type of sleeve. I caught the girl working the register at Hot Topic tapping her fingernails on the surface of one of them, so... There's that. Knowing that the end product was going to be a picture disc, they definitely could have cut the lacquers for The Lion King quite a bit hotter and still not run the risk of distortion with this material. This would have gone a long way to combat the poor s/n ratio of the final medium. But as I said, mine is already pretty quiet. Hot topic has a pretty shitty return policy when it comes to vinyl. If it's opened, they won't take it back. I know this from having gotten bad quality records from them in the past with major issues, and I've either been stuck with them or had to sell them privately. I would be very careful about getting a bad copy of these. Since they aren't sealed, you may be able to convince the store you never opened/played it if you want to return it for a better copy. But your mileage may vary. Hope this helps out anyone who's interested in this, or just curious about picture discs in general. In my opinion, even though it is not often the case, there is no reason a picture disc cannot be capable of providing a high fidelity listening experience compared to a standard pressed record. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Logan Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Hot topic has a pretty shitty return policy when it comes to vinyl. If it's opened, they won't take it back. I know this from having gotten bad quality records from them in the past with major issues, and I've either been stuck with them or had to sell them privately. I would be very careful about getting a bad copy of these. Since they aren't sealed, you may be able to convince the store you never opened/played it if you want to return it for a better copy. But your mileage may vary. Try calling their customer service line about it. It's a bit of a hassle and can take some talking, but if you are truly unhappy with your purchase they are generally pretty good at sending a replacement or at least taking it back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futures Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 I bought Killing Time from Hot Topic and when I opened it I realized it was cracked in half. Took it to a different location and they took it back, no problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexH. Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 You guys are tripping if you thought sound quality was ever going to be a priority for these releases bigbruise, smailtronic, circuit bored records and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nardes Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 You guys are tripping if you thought sound quality was ever going to be a priority for these releases I mean I knew going in that the sound isn't the best on picture discs.... but this is ridiculous. I played it for some family last night and they were just as appalled as me. The constant cracking/popping that's louder than the music itself... there's no excuse for that. ratbrain and Klefki 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbrh2001 Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 I mean I knew going in that the sound isn't the best on picture discs.... but this is ridiculous. I played it for some family last night and they were just as appalled as me. The constant cracking/popping that's louder than the music itself... there's no excuse for that. Sounds like you learned your lesson. Return that crap, buy the mp3s and move on. stl_ben 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
circuit bored records Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 You guys are tripping if you thought sound quality was ever going to be a priority for these releases stl_ben 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santa Bateman Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Not planning on really listening to this. Just to have there, looks nice. Not a problem ratbrain 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeb_enjoys_vinyl Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Picture discs are printed pieces of paper stuck on top of the vinyl with a clear layer added on top, which the grooves are pressed into. Because a printed picture contains different layers of colours, there are minute discrepancies in the height of the record once the clear top layer is added. This is the technical reason, I believe.The picture is on a piece of cardboard and sandwiched betwen two pieces of clear vinyl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmoney Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 emokid9963, TheEnigmyst, slinch and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureIsOutThere Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 WELL I'LL BE DAMNED Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noalarmplanet Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Not planning on really listening to this. Just to have there, looks nice. Not a problem Spoken like a true Notre Dame fan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManhattanValley Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 I was only going to buy The Little Mermaid, but at the store I went to, they had a buy one get one 50% off promotion so I snagged them both :b patreeeek 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smailtronic Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 Not planning on really listening to this. Just to have there, looks nice. Not a problem You are the problem. circuit bored records, caninesapien and Jollyronnie 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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