firefoxUSSR Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 .... my only complaint is that the artwork doesn't cover the entire package. it's always cropped out with a border, as if they didn't get the proper art source, and didn't want it to look blown out and pixelated. as far as sound quality goes, both sound great in my opinion, but with nothing else to compare them to, who knows. On California by Mr Bungle... I raised an eyebrow at the back sleeve where the back art is about 1.5x CD art size..... I think honestly they just sourced that one from a CD mix/master... no two ways about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jared Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Not to mention that California is so damn quiet. That album - as well as all of the other Mr. Bungle stuff - needs a 2lp press. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefoxUSSR Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Not to mention that California is so damn quiet. That album - as well as all of the other Mr. Bungle stuff - needs a 2lp press. Weirdly quiet... it's 42 mins of music for christssake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgePeluso Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Plain Recordings packaging is inconsistent. Their audio sourcing is also inconsistent. Personally I have these from Plain: Mr Bungle - Mr Bungle Mr Bungle - California Elliott Smith - XO Elliott Smith - Figure 8 Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine The Fiona Apple & Elliott Smith albums are fantastic. Great audio quality and equally nice but not outstanding packaging. The Mr. Bungle releases-- Questionable artwork and audio on both (undersized, possibly not-appropriate mastering for vinyl). The self-titled disc shoves over 70 minutes of audio on a single LP (the same was done for Disco Volante by Bungle too). the only plain albums i have are: mr bungle - disco volante elliott smith - figure 8 my only complaint is that the artwork doesn't cover the entire package. it's always cropped out with a border, as if they didn't get the proper art source, and didn't want it to look blown out and pixelated. as far as sound quality goes, both sound great in my opinion, but with nothing else to compare them to, who knows. After years of hemming and hawing I finally broke down picked up Figure 8 (the only Elliott Smith record that took me so many years to get into), the 2010 Plain repress...and MY GOD is it awful. Worse than cd/mp3 transfer, three of the four sides are distorted and buzzing, and the packaging is shite. Definitely has that cropped border issue, and an ultra weak sleeve. It's like an MOV release, except they acrtuaklly use the Masters (most of the time). And all in it was $38 from Amazon after they lied about free shipping. What burns is I almost bought it in 2010 for $22 from a local and I was all "hmm, it's my least favorite album of his...". Dumbass. I can't believe some of the Plain pressings of Figure 8 are mint, I guess I got bummed on this one. Also, this just in: I'm officially done ordering from Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Shivers Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Plain Recordings pays a pressing plant and mastering facility to get the job done. It's not like they have their own equipment and are manufacturing everything on their own. Shouldn't the pressing plant and the person that cuts the lacquer be held accountable? I do admit that if the reference lacquer sounds like shit, then maybe they shouldn't 'OK' the project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamover Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 If you don't have a good source, don't press the record. The plant isn't responsible for finding the best master. They're responsible for making the best of what they are given. Plain used shitty masters on a lot of stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bacharach. Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Yeah, heard mixed things about their Elliott Smith presses, have held ofdf on pulling the trigger on those. I've been so gutted by Sparklehorse's Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot & Dreamt For Light Years, both awful sounding, very noisy (wouldn't even mind that much on a Sparklehorse record, but it's unbearbly loud on the quieter tracks). Vivadixie was sealed and seemed scuffed straight off the bat too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 My Vivadixie was like that too. I ended up just selling it and am going to buy an original soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxmartinxx Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 I own Red House Painters "Songs For A Blue Guitar", Jesus And Mary Chain "Automatic", and Paul Westerberg "14 Songs". The RHP sounds okay. The JAMC and Westerberg sound great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youspinmeround Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 That sparkle horse record was probably the worst record I ever bought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexH. Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 The first two Westerberg albums look and sound good. They just put out Suicaine Gratifaction, I haven't bought it because the cover looks sourced from an iTunes thumbnail and I'm not as familiar with that album. You'd think given the genres they put out and the general trend toward emphasis on packaging and sound quality that at some point they'd get their shit together, but hey, there are margins to meet and licensing ain't cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreatGreenOne77 Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 I've got Red House Painter's Songs for a Blue Guitar, both black & blue, but have only ever listened to the black one. It took me a while to really get a sense of how bad it sounds, but it's flat like floor tile compared to any Vinyl Films Kozelek release. The highs are just so anti-climatic and it's just as if you're listening to the CD to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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