Stones Beggars Banquet Decca Red Mono Indian press

[gangof4]

Hello people,

I was wondering how does Stones Beggars Banquet Red Decca Mono pressed in India compares with the UK press? Unfortunately never heard the original UK one.

The Indian Red Decca that I own sounds absolutely fantastic. It is among the best sounding vinyls in my collection (another being Captain Beefheart's awesome Trout Mask Replica on Blue Bizarre label which I just acquired for pretty cheap. I find all Bizarre label pressing (mainly Zappa) fantastic in terms of sound.)

Cheers

 

[bugsnest]

This is too nostalgic!

I owned this at one time - I am not sure if it was the exact pressing you mention but it was Beggar's Banquet and an Indian pressing in Mono. Maybe it was me or the qualiy of the LP I had (Chor Bazaar purchase!) but the thing sounded god awful! After I moved to the US I picked up a re-mastered stereo edition from Amoeba and was simply stunned how good it sounded... better than my CD!

I used to buy records in India in the early to mid 90's from Chor Bazaar and some of the roadside merchants in the Fort area. The Indian pressings I had were distinctly inferior except for a few. Some of the newer releases sounded too bright, imo. On a trip home I sold my entire collection to a guy in the Fort area (Razak?) who sold LP's on the street. I bet he made a fortune reselling these since I had a few gems in my collection - well, they felt like gems then for a poor college student who was always low on money

Is there a lot of interest in LP's now in India? It almost looked like it was of dying interest in Bombay back then (I left in 96) and only a handful of folks I knew would collect these actively....

 

[gangof4]

This is too nostalgic!

I owned this at one time - I am not sure if it was the exact pressing you mention but it was Beggar's Banquet and an Indian pressing in Mono. Maybe it was me or the qualiy of the LP I had (Chor Bazaar purchase!) but the thing sounded god awful! After I moved to the US I picked up a re-mastered stereo edition from Amoeba and was simply stunned how good it sounded... better than my CD!

I used to buy records in India in the early to mid 90's from Chor Bazaar and some of the roadside merchants in the Fort area. The Indian pressings I had were distinctly inferior except for a few. Some of the newer releases sounded too bright, imo. On a trip home I sold my entire collection to a guy in the Fort area (Razak?) who sold LP's on the street. I bet he made a fortune reselling these since I had a few gems in my collection - well, they felt like gems then for a poor college student who was always low on money

Is there a lot of interest in LP's now in India? It almost looked like it was of dying interest in Bombay back then (I left in 96) and only a handful of folks I knew would collect these actively....

Mid-90s was probably the peak of CD craze and I think lot of people must have disposed off their LP collection during that time (tho u had a totally different reason). As for comeback of vinyl, I believe a lot of it is to do with what is 'hip'. Owning a turntable is probably considered 'hip', at least in US.

As for the Indian Beggars Banquet, it is indeed a great sounding pressing. However, have to agree that a majority of them don't stand up to imported pressings.

 

[G401fan]

I have a red Decca mono of the Stones' first album from '64 that I recently found in Chor Bazaar in mint condition. The cover, sadly, was torn a bit.

The LP sounds just awesome. I have no doubt that the Indian copy of Beggars Banquet should sound as good, as many of the pressings from Gramaphone Co., Calcutta. were excellent, and hold out well today.

The trick is to find a copy that was virtually unplayed. In India, in the 60s and 70s, most people had no access to quality TTs, and were stuck with those old HMV and Philips sets that used ceramic cartridges, with easily-chipped sapphire styli, and tracking forces up to 10 gms. It's no wonder that most used Indian pressings sound so terrible, because the grooves have quite literally been worn out. In the US and UK they had moved on to MM cartridges by the early 60s, which is why it's easier to score a decent copy of LPs that are 40-50 years old.

 

[bugsnest]

I have a red Decca mono of the Stones' first album from '64 that I recently found in Chor Bazaar in mint condition. The cover, sadly, was torn a bit.

The LP sounds just awesome. I have no doubt that the Indian copy of Beggars Banquet should sound as good, as many of the pressings from Gramaphone Co., Calcutta. were excellent, and hold out well today.

The trick is to find a copy that was virtually unplayed. In India, in the 60s and 70s, most people had no access to quality TTs, and were stuck with those old HMV and Philips sets that used ceramic cartridges, with easily-chipped sapphire styli, and tracking forces up to 10 gms. It's no wonder that most used Indian pressings sound so terrible, because the grooves have quite literally been worn out. In the US and UK they had moved on to MM cartridges by the early 60s, which is why it's easier to score a decent copy of LPs that are 40-50 years old.

I am so glad you still collect and treasure LP's. I am certain your collection maybe the most prolific in India (it was even back in the day )

 

[murali_n]

Hi all,

We cant generalise all Indian pressings to be inferior, there are very good Indian pressings under labels like Capitol (Kraftwerk-Trans Europe Express), Polydor(All of BoneyM)and Atlantic(Cerrone-Love in C'Minor). :clapping:

Even in regional titles ECHO(of Ilaiyaraaja) were well recorded and pressed in the mid 80's to early 90's. The CDs cannot be compared to their Vinyl counterpart.

N.Murali

 

[gangof4]

I have a red Decca mono of the Stones' first album from '64 that I recently found in Chor Bazaar in mint condition. The cover, sadly, was torn a bit.

The LP sounds just awesome. I have no doubt that the Indian copy of Beggars Banquet should sound as good, as many of the pressings from Gramaphone Co., Calcutta. were excellent, and hold out well today.

The trick is to find a copy that was virtually unplayed. In India, in the 60s and 70s, most people had no access to quality TTs, and were stuck with those old HMV and Philips sets that used ceramic cartridges, with easily-chipped sapphire styli, and tracking forces up to 10 gms. It's no wonder that most used Indian pressings sound so terrible, because the grooves have quite literally been worn out. In the US and UK they had moved on to MM cartridges by the early 60s, which is why it's easier to score a decent copy of LPs that are 40-50 years old.

Yeah, totally agree with you on why Indian pressings invariably sound horrible. Fortunately, the copy that I have is not mint but very close to that. I bought it from someone who was selling a big chunk of his collection about seven years ago. So it was pretty well looked after.

 

[gangof4]

Hi all,

We cant generalise all Indian pressings to be inferior, there are very good Indian pressings under labels like Capitol (Kraftwerk-Trans Europe Express), Polydor(All of BoneyM)and Atlantic(Cerrone-Love in C'Minor). :clapping:

Even in regional titles ECHO(of Ilaiyaraaja) were well recorded and pressed in the mid 80's to early 90's. The CDs cannot be compared to their Vinyl counterpart.

N.Murali

I do not listen to the other bands that you mentioned but as for Kraftwerk, frankly Indian pressings on Capitol do not even come close to the original Kling Klang ones (I purchased Radio Activitat, with original German vocals, couple of weeks ago) or even EMI. Till a few months ago I also thought Indian pressings were pretty great (the fact is they are just good).