This was super informative, ty for sharing. I have 10 Japanese pressings now and am always impressed with the sonics and material presentation. I own an original J Abbey Road and have to admit I would pay a few $$$ for a matching obi as all of my other J pressings so (& I love it! 🤪). Agreed on the dynamics...just played a Synchronicity and Wrapped Around Your Finger drum attack cuts straight through your chest...if anything I would argue these mastering's are very well balanced. They are fairly affordable, consistently killer sonics, extremely well cared for, carefully crafted, and countless titles.
I have several Japanese records. First of all the lp covers and inserts are amazing, they’re high quality original replicas and look exactly as the original stuff did. They also include lyrics. It’s also true that not all Japanese records deliver the sound quality that’s expected. It does depend on the masters and so that can be a problem and a crapshoot. But in general they’re worth having as the quality is usually quite good and the covers, inserts etc. are beautiful made.
Plastic inner sleeves were also common in Oceania until the 90's and I have an original print copy of The Sound of Music with its' plastic inner sleeve that's still in pristine condition
The "outer band insert is cheap, as you have mentioned. I never save that part, dont care what some people think it is worth. I buy records and actually listen to them also, always open them up. I might have 10 or 12 Japanese pressings, they are way overpriced I think. For me, the way to go is If I cannot find a decent vinyl copy for a reasonable price, I buy the best compact disc I can find. Sometimes the cd sounds better than the vinyl. When I am dead and gone, I can just hear someone saying to themselves as they are looking over my vinyl," what a dumb poop, he didnt save the obi......
This is very informative. Thank you.
I have a lot of Japanese Pressing bought in the early seventies to late eighties and still have the obis attached and in excellent condition.
This was super informative, ty for sharing. I have 10 Japanese pressings now and am always impressed with the sonics and material presentation. I own an original J Abbey Road and have to admit I would pay a few $$$ for a matching obi as all of my other J pressings so (& I love it! 🤪). Agreed on the dynamics...just played a Synchronicity and Wrapped Around Your Finger drum attack cuts straight through your chest...if anything I would argue these mastering's are very well balanced. They are fairly affordable, consistently killer sonics, extremely well cared for, carefully crafted, and countless titles.
My favorite J/press is Bob Dylan's Blood On The Tracks. It sounds better on vinyl than CD
Great video! Thanks for the information!! I am sure it will be very useful in my future purchasing decisions!
I have several Japanese records. First of all the lp covers and inserts are amazing, they’re high quality original replicas and look exactly as the original stuff did. They also include lyrics. It’s also true that not all Japanese records deliver the sound quality that’s expected. It does depend on the masters and so that can be a problem and a crapshoot. But in general they’re worth having as the quality is usually quite good and the covers, inserts etc. are beautiful made.
Plastic inner sleeves were also common in Oceania until the 90's and I have an original print copy of The Sound of Music with its' plastic inner sleeve that's still in pristine condition
If you could do a list of 10 things I know about Japanese vinyl, now that would be impressive.
No matter how good Japanese pressings are technically, a major factor in sound quality can depend on what masters they used.
You need to track down the "Obi" books by Shinko Music-highly visual - very very cool!!
The "outer band insert is cheap, as you have mentioned. I never save that part, dont care what some people think it is worth. I buy records and actually listen to them also, always open them up. I might have 10 or 12 Japanese pressings, they are way overpriced I think. For me, the way to go is If I cannot find a decent vinyl copy for a reasonable price, I buy the best compact disc I can find. Sometimes the cd sounds better than the vinyl. When I am dead and gone, I can just hear someone saying to themselves as they are looking over my vinyl," what a dumb poop, he didnt save the obi......