Counterfeit Records Seized in Germany

[MylesBAstor]

http://thevinylfactory.com/vinyl-factory-news/german-authorities-seize-millions-counterfeit-vinyl-records/

[Alrainbow]

Nice read but where do they get made , from what master or source ?

[Bill Hart]

To answer Al's question, it could be any number of sources, right? Pulled from a commercial CD, a needle drop from a record, some tape copy somebody had--it's like the range of bogus VHS tapes that used to be sold on the street- some were 'hand cams' taken in the theatre- looked like Mystery Science Theatre 3000, with strange head shapes in front of you.
Hard goods piracy was pretty much a thing of the past, once MP3, ripping, compression algorithms and the Internet came into existence. Who would even bother making a CD to sell when people could grab the content from the Net? (I say this, having fought that battle professionally for many years, not because I advocate the practice). So, with the Resurgence of Vinyl (TM) comes the reboot of the hard goods pirate. Old school law-breaking. I could tell you stories about going on raids with the Federal Marshals back in the day to address counterfeiting, piracy and the like. It's a dirty business.

[MylesBAstor]

My guess, unless it's a bootleg, they're from a CD.

[Alrainbow]

Even more bull in buying our music to deal with.

[MylesBAstor]

Even more bull in buying our music to deal with.

[MylesBAstor]

I think something that isn't talked about a lot is that there's analog and then there's analog. Is the LP cut from the master tape or from a safety? Both are analog but.... To know that, have to know where the tapes are stored eg. which coast (or even overseas) and whether or not the record label will ship the masters. Most don't now like for instance RCA. Ergo why Chad used Ryan Smith in NYC and Kevin out on the West Coast. (or sometime Bernie too.) Or maybe in the case of a three track tape, they will create a new two track safety rather than say cutting from the three track master.

[Bill Hart]

The problem is really acute when you are dealing with the obscure stuff, or stuff that for one reason or another, got tied up for legal reasons. Myles- you had asked some time ago why that Classic test pressing of the Tool album (which Classic didn't release as far as I know) was so much money- even the authentic standard label copies are crazy money, because there were apparently disputes over rights that I think were only recently sorted, so there were no legit reissues available. There are pirate copies, which are horrible.
Ditto, on the rare records that have no real market for reissue, assuming the tapes still exist.
It is a minefield, because some of the labels seem quasi-legit, but there are some questionable ones--this isn't just about quality, it's whether the thing is even legal. (Though the quality pretty much sucks for the pirate copies of anything I've heard).
A lot of the legit, licensed reissues of this stuff are pulled from a digital copy. At this point, if you want the record you either choose to pay a fortune for the original pressing or buy a decent, cheap legit reissue. Some aren't bad, despite the digitization step. I can live with that, and if I decide at some point to buy an early pressing, I will. It's a question of buying 10 or 20 albums v one. You really got to love it to pay the tariff, or get lucky or both.
As to which tape copy was used as the source, it is a subject of controversy on the old records- the rule of country of origin (of the band) is often trumped by the country of mastering, but not always. Sometimes, the mastering trumps the issue of copy tape too. I think that's why the credentialed audiophile reissue houses are well loved by audiophiles: fewer headaches on source, condition, legitimacy.

[MylesBAstor]

Interesting question about the mastering aspect. Why is it that say for Mercury that sent copies of all its tapes all around the world to be pressed, the best are still the US pressing? I've seen Mercuries pressed in South Africa, India, etc. Same for RCA. The US pressings are superior to the UK releases that tend to be bass shy. And the differences are more than just say a later gen copy of the master tape.

Couple of years ago, picked up a copy of John Coltrane's Ballads on Impulse. Didn't check it real carefully, brought it home, cleaned it and then stuck the album on the table. Sounded horrible. Turns out was pressed in the Phillipines.