First pressing LPs

I havn't had that good luck with imported pressings. The surfaces are usually quieter but the sonics have not always been to my liking. I have most problems with Japanese pressings, though there are some very good ones out there. My experience is that, very broadly, the pressing from the country where the work was recorded sounds best. The reasons are many. The one that seems to have the most currency is that record companies are reluctant to let valuble masters leave the country so they send dupes of "safety masters" for foreign pressings. These are often a minimum of one generation away from those tapes used in the country of origin.

They should have sent digital tapes! What a theory! The pressings from the country of origin sound best! How can a record be noisier and sound better? Vinylites always floor me. What about all the other links in the record making chain? What if the stampers are of poor quality? What if the job of pressing is awful? What if the raw material used sucks? Does every mastering facility in the USA get a first generation master tape with which to work? So many questions, so little time...

Somebody, anybody, please BUY the guy a pony.

Pbb, "how can a record be noisier and sound better?" The least noise is caused by not turning your sysem on at all. Does yours sound better that way? We all know that surface noise is but one of the myriad distortions in analog playback, why even you have been able to name a few sources of distortion in the mastering, plating and pressing process. Very good. You're finally learing. Just rather slowly. Oh, BTW, I'm not a "vinylite" (great word), I also use a tuner, CD player, open reel tape deck (Revox A77 modified, quite nice) and a Wollensak 8-track player, also modified, of course. No cassettes, yet anyway. Hey, maybe I'm an 8-trackkie.
Marty

"Can I always identify first pressing just by looking at the record?"

I can just by looking at the label. I have been buying and collecting lp's for so long now I can tell that way.

Thanks Marakanetz
I never new about the p or c thing I new there was a code too ,but I never paid much attention to them, only when I knew the code (not often)

Lugnut is right this is a easy way to learn "Goldmine and Jerry Osborne's record price guide books."

I like a lot of old UK progressive groups hence the UK first editions sound much better.
Germany, Holland and yes Japan have wonderful pressings but be sure you are comparing first editions. A first edition domestic will most times sound better that a third reissue Japanese release.

"Also,does it sound better in almost every case?"

The easy answer is yes they do, but the new audiophile labels like DCC and Classic Records reissues can't be beat.

Whats up with this whiny digital geek "get digital master tapes" that is a joke right? because if you have heard good analog you would not say such a dumb thing. Ask Albert Porter, go ahead and e-mail him if you want the truth. Albert has spent thousands on Digital and has given up because he says it is no contest.
Anyway this is a old topic and has been settled long ago.
Some I see are still in denial