Definitive Audiophile pressings

Selaws said:
Yusef has arrived!

Packaging actually looked less secure compared to last time, but no damage that I can see so no complaints.

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Opened it up, cleaned and had my first playthrough.

Firstly I do have the Coltrane One-Step to compare it to in terms of quality and I have to say that the copy of the Coltrane I received is better than the Lateef. The Yusef's jacket has these small abrasions/scratches peppered on front of mine (looks like dust in the photo) and there's a small dent to the side. The record is slightly warped which isn't good considering this is meant to be a premium item.

On to the music. The warp isn't significant enough to affect play so I'm not overly worried about that (other than the fact that it's not a cheap set and therefore should be flat). It might benefit from a second clean but there is definitely a few ticks to the first track that appears off and on for the first 30 seconds. Not significant but offputting when not expected.

The sound itself really is fantastic though, I can't fault it at all. Sounds insanely good and certainly an upgrade from the VMP pressing (which I was happy with, to be honest). It's one that I can see myself playing a lot and it helps that it's a blinding session as well.

I have emailed Craft about the issues but last time they made it clear that there were no replacements to be had.

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Selaws said:
Opened it up, cleaned and had my first playthrough.

Firstly I do have the Coltrane One-Step to compare it to in terms of quality and I have to say that the copy of the Coltrane I received is better than the Lateef. The Yusef's jacket has these small abrasions/scratches peppered on front of mine (looks like dust in the photo) and there's a small dent to the side. The record is slightly warped which isn't good considering this is meant to be a premium item.

On to the music. The warp isn't significant enough to affect play so I'm not overly worried about that (other than the fact that it's not a cheap set and therefore should be flat). It might benefit from a second clean but there is definitely a few ticks to the first track that appears off and on for the first 30 seconds. Not significant but offputting when not expected.

The sound itself really is fantastic though, I can't fault it at all. Sounds insanely good and certainly an upgrade from the VMP pressing (which I was happy with, to be honest). It's one that I can see myself playing a lot and it helps that it's a blinding session as well.

I have emailed Craft about the issues but last time they made it clear that there were no replacements to be had.

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Thanks for the review! I'm eager to get my copy.

Me: watching for the mailman all day.

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My Coltrane One Step had a big tear down the middle of the insert, likely from the manufacturer ripping it when inserting into the linen box with the record. Craft could not provide me with a replacement of the insert, but did give me a partial refund. So you may want to inquire about that option if you are dissatisfied with the copy you received. If it was a $20 album and the defects were minor, I'd say why bother, but at $100 expectations are definitely higher.

Also, @MikeH hooked me up with an extra Coltrane One-Step insert he had, so I do have a near mint copy now. Don't tell Craft though, they may want their $20 back. Ha ha.
 
zdkaiser said:
Thanks for the review! I'm eager to get my copy.

Me: watching for the mailman all day.

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My Coltrane One Step had a big tear down the middle of the insert, likely from the manufacturer ripping it when inserting into the linen box with the record. Craft could not provide me with a replacement of the insert, but did give me a partial refund. So you may want to inquire about that option if you are dissatisfied with the copy you received. If it was a $20 album and the defects were minor, I'd say why bother, but at $100 expectations are definitely higher.

Also, @MikeH hooked me up with an extra Coltrane One-Step insert he had, so I do have a near mint copy now. Don't tell Craft though, they may want their $20 back. Ha ha.
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Hopefully, I get a response soon.

I have to say that although it does sound fantastic I do wish their QC was better. If a small one-man label like Sam Records can check each one then a big company like Craft has no excuse.
 
The Denmarkian Wonder said:
If you get a box-set (from Amazon) where the shrink over the barcode is removed and the barcode has been crossed out with a black marker, does that mean return item or something?
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It may very well be. Generally that is done to items to indicate that there are no returns - i.e. closeout, discounted, or a promotional item.

I wouldn't consider it new, since it would drop the grading of a sleeve down out of NM.
 
wmeugene said:
It may very well be. Generally that is done to items to indicate that there are no returns - i.e. closeout, discounted, or a promotional item.

I wouldn't consider it new, since it would drop the grading of a sleeve down out of NM.
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The box has some damage various places but the shrink still has the hype stickers so it hasn't been resealed. It most likely must have been sent back due to the damage and Amazon just sent it to me instead and it wasn't a warehouse deal or anything.
 
The Denmarkian Wonder said:
If you get a box-set (from Amazon) where the shrink over the barcode is removed and the barcode has been crossed out with a black marker, does that mean return item or something?
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I do order a decent amount from Amazon Warehouse which is all returns and I don't think I've gotten a slashed/crossed out bar code - usually Warehouse will put stickers over the barcode to reflect their new barcode if anything. I agree with wmeugene that I do see them on closeouts and promos mostly.

If I had to guess, I bet someone bought an item with a busted up item or damaged the item themselves, ordered a new one from Amazon, marked it for return as not needed or whatever, and returned the damaged item.

I wouldn't accept that as new without some mitigating reason (I recently got a Steve Earle record with some damage but that's also....noticeably pricier to get anywhere else and it's OOS now so I accepted it) personally, I think Amazon got scammed and tried to pass it along.
 
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Selaws said:
Hopefully, I get a response soon.

I have to say that although it does sound fantastic I do wish their QC was better. If a small one-man label like Sam Records can check each one then a big company like Craft has no excuse.
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Maybe I just got lucky but they sent me a new box last time when mine was unnumbered. My guess is the distribution accidentally included the replacement boxes (with no numbers stamped) in the initial shipments, then they opened the remaining boxes to split up record replacements and box replacements. I’m hoping they figure it out this time but all my conversations with their CS seem that they do care about customer feedback and try to help as best they can. They took a few days to get back to me about the box replacement but they did remember and responded.
 
Russ I said:
Think of an extended piano chord that instead of staying true to its sound warbles back and forth (with each rotation of the record) between a sound that's slightly off key and the true sound of the chord. It's something you won't necessarily hear if there's a lot going on with the music, but any extended notes, be they voice or music, will be noticeably off.
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The piano is where I think I can hear it, but it’s also very subtle.
 
Selaws said:
Hopefully, I get a response soon.

I have to say that although it does sound fantastic I do wish their QC was better. If a small one-man label like Sam Records can check each one then a big company like Craft has no excuse.
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I'm still a bit miffed about the issues with the Coltrane set. I think they must have known about them, but just couldn't press any replacements sleeves, or boxes, so just sent them out anyway. Probably the same with Lateef.

It's shocking that they didn't manufacture any spare sleeves & boxes.
 
MikeH said:
Maybe I just got lucky but they sent me a new box last time when mine was unnumbered. My guess is the distribution accidentally included the replacement boxes (with no numbers stamped) in the initial shipments, then they opened the remaining boxes to split up record replacements and box replacements. I’m hoping they figure it out this time but all my conversations with their CS seem that they do care about customer feedback and try to help as best they can. They took a few days to get back to me about the box replacement but they did remember and responded.
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they told me I could return it if I wanted, or take a token refund.
 
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e.s. said:
For me, these reports of damage across both releases and poor customer service response are just further confirmation that I don't need to bother with Craft's Small Batch releases going forward.
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To be hones I suspect they will get their act together for the future releases. It's going to depend on what titles are available for me (and probably a bigger influence is how much I should spend on vinyl, now that I'm finally coming out of lockdown).
 
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