Somewhere in Time - Original Pressing

M

Martin Sterry

Prowler
Hi,

I just got an original copy of Somewhere in Time & the vinyl looks in great condition but on 'Stranger in a Strange Land' it seems to miss out a bit at the start where the guitars are building up & a tom roll should be & seems to almost 'jump' to where the riff is already going.

I read on Youtube that someone else had a problem with this track on the original pressing, does anybody else know anything?

Many thanks
 
I bought every Maiden album from SIT up until FOTD on day of release, on vinyl, from Fareham's 'Venus Records', never had a 'skip' on any of them. Vinyl in those days was notoriously dodgy though, the pressings were really thin to save on costs, (compared to my uncle's old Rainbow and Deep Purple records), and I did regularly have to take other records back because of this issue (Wildhearts debut release 'Mondo Akimbo A-Go-Go' went back three times!

These were the days when the adverts for Maiden albums used to go on about 'Direct Metal Mastering', for those of us old enough to remember.
 
Yeah, it is amazing to compare the thickness of a record released today versus 80s records. Or 80s versus 60s and 70s. Late 80s seem to be the thinnest based on what I have,
 
I love my original pressing of SiT. I believe there's a couple pronounced pops, and the needle got stuck once (during TLOLDR I think), but it sounds so much crisper and heavier than the crap remaster from 1998. Vinyl ftw.
 
Martin Sterry said:
Thanks rolpol, it must be damage, the only downside to vinyl can't do much about skips/jumps.
Click to expand...


What pressing? My US copy sounds great start to finish. Also, some skips can be fixed. One trick is rubbing your fingertip quickly back and forth over the damaged area until the friction heats up the area. Then quickly play the record through the scratch. I would use an old stylus for this. Sometimes the vinyl will soften enough for the stylus to straighten out the groove.
 
My dad used to say, "put a penny on top of the needle" to hold it down through skips. Worked ok.
 
Thanks for the feedback/tips. It is an original U.K. pressing & I can't see any damage to know where to start. The sleeve & insert are nearmint so will look out for a cheaper copy with ex vinyl & a worn sleeve/inner sleeve an swap them round.
 
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