EXPLAINED: Japanese Vinyl Records!

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Vinyl is what records are made from, they are LP's, records, albums etc. Do you also collect clear polycarbonate plastic substrate, with a reflective metallic layer, and a clear protective coating of acrylic plastic ie cd's?

There was always imports of records in NZ from the UK,Germany,US and Japan bought all the reissue of the Beatles UK flag series in 1976 with Obi and inserts, posters etc

I saw a few of those back in the day, and had no idea why they were different. Yes virgin vinyl does sound better, so does the older thicker vinyl from the 50's and 60's.

Is there anyplace on the web you could order them from?

I have many Japanese pressings of my fav artist Connie Francis and from the 1970's 1980's dble gatefolds and boxed sets of LP'S. her MOST RARITIES ARE HER jAPANESE SINGING ones[LET'S SING WITH CONNIE FRANCIS [very unique cover as Connie Francis is dressed as a geisha girl]-1st pressing], yes singing in japanese, but unfortunately only her hits dubbed in japanese, she didn't record any japanese original songs.This was the only language that she didn't record any original songs. The quality of them are awesome especially the cover art, i would say unique and amongst us CF collectors Japanese pressings are amongst the 1st to acquire .

Alsoy, Japanese versions tend to have extra bonus tracks for appeal

My pionerr tables never pop all vinyl cheep or top dollor play the same so mybe if you had a trash home rec.player maybe the vinyl would matter

It's not just vintage records it's newer ones too

Never really thought about it but it's kinda similar with CDs, they usually have a ton of bonus tracks

I'm personally always on the look out for Japanese vinyls only because I just love anything Japanese and it's more for the "exotic" side of things. But watching your video makes me very happy and I definitely learned something! :) When I visit my in laws in the Philippines there is always a great choice regarding Japanese editions.

Great intro, threw some Obi’s away! LOL! But informative & useful! Thank you for this video! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

The problem is with small number of pressings is they run out fast and in many cases not repressed for year's. I personally can't stand that.

Japanese manufacturing is usually just better overall. They seem to really care about making a quality product.

Fade Into You - Mazzy Star 🌟🌟🌟

Nice info. Never seen a red Toshiba, but all Toshiba pressings sounds great.

Everything made in Japan is better.

The Japanese Executive Bonus Tracks is what’s gotten me to buy Japanese Pressings on Physical

Japanese CDs also have a far superior sound quality than USA CDs in my opinion.

song of the day
KGLW odd life

The Obi strip? Wonder if he means the Old Ben strip...

I have 30 feet of records I bought from back before records got cancelled in 1989. In the early 1980s there was a record store that rented space inside a cheap store, it was Woolworth's or a store like that, in the mall near me. While no regular record store carried Japanese pressings, they did. And they were the best records I ever bought. Not only did they sound better than Mobile Fidelity, their covers were beautiful and far better than the originals. The Japanese albums didn't spam the cover like Mobile Fidelity, ruining it like intentionally scratching the record. The Japanese used thick high quality white cardboard and had great printing. If there were any extra inserts that came with the original, they were all included. I have the full complement of Zeppelin in Japanese pressings and each one includes a large fold out poster of them in concert. Also Japanese pressings always included the lyrics, which was uncommon before it became law. I bought all my favorite albums in Japanese pressings as soon as they appeared at that store. But I never cared about the OBIs and threw most of them away.

One album in particular stands out - "Honky Chateau" by Elton John. The version of "Rocket Man" on that album is absolutely stunning and amazingly better than any other recording of it I have ever heard.

Thank you for the interesting topic you cover in this video.
The advantage of using a thin plastic sleeve to keep a vinyl is that it is relatively easier to keep a vinyl free from mould, although it does never make them free from mould, especially if it sticks too well on the vinyl surface, it may be worse than paper. The good thing, however, is that if it has allowed mould to grow inside, it can show the mouldy spots easier than on the paper one so that you can have a better way of storing your vinyls. The downside of using paper inner sleeves is probably more associated with mould produced by the moist the paper attracts on the surface and the groove of the vinyl.
There is one thing to bear in mind if using thin plastic inner sleeves for your vinyls. It is the type and quality of the oil used to make the thin sleeve from. After a decade or two, if it is not made from good materials, the thin sleeve may leave a nasty thin wavy layer on the surface of the vinyl with the proximity of some other material causing a chemical reaction.
It pays to pay attention to where you store your vinyls and what kind of inner sleeve the vinyl is kept in.

My most expensive find to date is the Toshiba-EMI pro-use pressing of Dark side of the moon. However, it was rumored that many radio stations used these ultra high quality pressings for broadcast due to their fidelity. The one I own definitely has wear and tear although it looks perfect and is very dynamic and quiet in the quiet parts. It's the prize of my collection although the quality at the end of each side is compromised by the inner ring angle, it's very congested. The US heavy vinyl remasters sound better, but for a product of it's time it is mostly excellent.

Ironic how average Japanese releases were better overall then the pro use and other series took it a step further for audiophiles. Just wish I had the obi.

Niceeeeeeeeee

Great video. Quick question: why did they stop making Vinyl of this quality?

I picked up Balzac into the light with the obi for $20 in Australia. Sounds great!

I always thought that was not a big deal an there was nothing special about them. Until I actually ordered a batch from Japan, oh boy was I in for a change of mind.

The Japanese versions come with a lyric sheet in English and Japanese.

I was shopping around my local antique shop years ago and came across a Japanese print of The Empire Strikes Back soundtrack with the obi still on. I wasn’t looking for records that day, nor was I a record collector. Now that I am and know how rare it is, I’m glad I bought it (for just $15 😎).

Recently, my great uncle gifted me his Dark Side of the Moon original master record just bc I told him I like vinyls.

These are my 2 prized records. They are very special to me, but I had no idea they were so sought after. Thanks for the knowledge!❤

The obi stip is the coolest part

I just got a Black Sabbath Japanese live vinyl

us vinyl made cheap and japans not so - but now even usa want to join and grab money from new vinyl sales thus increasing quality and price -If the are well made is a another matter , but the worst when i bought vinyl in the 1970s-80 were canadian pressings -Grats

Back from the dead - Halestorm

Prince Of The Universe by Queen

I have 1 Japanese record in my collection,and I didn’t know it was Japanese at first. I got a copy of Candy-O at a local store for about $10, when I got home to open it nothing seemed out of the ordinary. English cover, english record. But I noticed the inner sleeve wasn’t actually an inner sleeve and could be opened. There I saw lyrics, song titles, and a description of the Cars’ history all in Japanese! That’s when I knew I had found something truly special.

I have 1 Japanese record in my collection,and I didn’t know it was Japanese at first. I got a copy of Candy-O at a local store for about $10, when I got home to open it nothing seemed out of the ordinary. English cover, english record. But I noticed the inner sleeve wasn’t actually an inner sleeve and could be opened. There I saw lyrics, song titles, and a description of the Cars’ history all in Japanese! That’s when I knew I had found something truly special

Late to the party here.. Anyways, I own 100's of Japanese records. Living in Japan, it's not really much of a thing. I pick them up all the time!

That being said, 80's Japanese records are amazing.

No wonder why audiophile culture is so huge there

My understanding having lived thru the times , purchased and still have many Japanese albums.... American vinyl was 70% virgin and 30% recycled. This is why you could buy an album and end up with a piece of paper sticking out of the grooves (part of the label for a recycled album). I started purchasing Japanese albums after JVC invented the CD4 vinyl which they created for 4 channel albums. It never really took off. But the vinyl is light years better and you could not make it in the USA because of environmental reasons.

As to the pressings in Japan is was practice to replace the mold after no more than 5000 albums. In the states that number was 100,000 (at least that is what investigation yielded way back when). So immediately the Japanese pressing will sound far better than the average or in honestly any American pressing. Comparing the dynamic range of the Japanese albums to anything I have ever heard...The only thing I have heard that had better dynamics was an artists pressing, of a very famous album, loaned to me by that artist so I could hear for myself. It was eye opening as the artist's pressing had instruments that were buried on the albums we kids bought.

Love me some Japanese albums. Beatles to Aja, Classical and Jazz. Yup, that's some good stuff.

METAL JESUS ROCKS!

And this is how much bullshittery someone can make up to justify the absurdities of 'merican's reality alienation

I saw a few Japanese vinyls with the obi at a flea market here in Italy, didn't know they were rare 🫢 I did think that the obis were a very cool addition though

Welcome to why is this in my recommended. But great video anyway. Not interested in vinal records but still interesting

Cool shade discs in the background. Thanks to internet it's now easier to find japanese vinyls. Mercaria JP is a good place

Funny, back when I first was buying records in the 80s (yes, I'm old) I used to buy Japanese records because they had songs unreleased in North America. Never thought much about the quality aspects.

I have a few Japanese pressings I bought back in the early-mid 1980's.

Song of the day " the night Chicago died" by paper lace.

Into Dust - Bladee