Jack White (2) – Blunderbuss

Mine sounds great, no issue with background noise. Good depth in the range.

Great sounding recording beautifully mastered & pressed on whisper-quiet vinyl on my copy.

Pretty quiet pressing for me. Jack seems to like a pretty gritty and compressed master on his vinyl. Don’t get on with Lazaretto pressing too much either. But there’s something about this pressings sound that keeps it Jack. Will keep it with the good stuff.

No clicks or drum loops etc on my record. But the sound is quite dirty. Not drastically bad but a bit annoying. Like you hear everything but subconsciously understand that there must be more. When tune in the same song on streaming, then comes the thought - yes, there's definitely more!
New records from TMR do need cleaning.

I have some noticeable surface noise between tracks, but sounds great otherwise. I'll give it a clean

Not the best sounding pressing (but it's URP so then you know), a professional cleaning of this record will definitely help the quality of the sound. Album is great, number 761 in the overall rank in "best ever albums".

Source Wiki:
Blunderbuss is the debut solo album by Jack White. It was released in digital and physical formats beginning April 23, 2012, through Third Man Records, in association with XL Recordings and Columbia Records. Written almost entirely by White, the album was recorded and produced by him at Third Man Studio in Nashville, Tennessee. Various musical styles appear throughout, including blues rock, folk, and country soul.

The album received positive reviews from music critics, who praised White's ambitious songwriting and often compared the record favorably to his work for the White Stripes. It debuted at number one in five countries and reached the top 10 in ten other countries. It was certified platinum in Canada and gold by record industry trade groups internationally. The album was nominated for Album of the Year and Best Rock Album at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, while the single "Freedom at 21" was nominated for Best Rock Song. In addition, the single "I'm Shakin'" received a nomination for Best Rock Performance at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.

The lead single from Blunderbuss, "Love Interruption", was released on January 30, 2012 via White's website. The single "Sixteen Saltines" was ed to White's YouTube channel on March 13, and seven days later, the song was released as the second single via 7-inch vinyl with a cover of U2's "Love Is Blindness" as its B-side. On April 1, Third Man Records released the album's third single, "Freedom at 21", by attaching flexi disc copies of the song to 1000 helium balloons. A music video for the fourth and final single, a cover of Little Willie John's "I'm Shakin'", was released on October 10, and twenty days later, the single was released digitally and via 7-inch vinyl with the B-side "Blues on Two Trees".

Mine sounds quiet and crystal clear with great imaging. I cleaned it with tergitol and the ultrasonic. I think some of the TMR pressings are dusty.

I've had this record since day one and have listened to it many, many times. Recently I've made a series of upgrades to my system and invested in a record cleaning machine. I ed that I always liked the way this sounded, but that it always had quite a bit of noise between tracks, so I figured it was time to revisit this. One spin on the vacuum-cleaning machine and BOOM, all of the surface noise is completely gone. But how does it compare sonically now that I can listen more critically?

For a modern rock album, it is not mixed or produced to sound like one. With other contemporary rock groups always going for an "in-your-face," crushed sound, including Jack's own bands, White does a complete 180 from his own usual playbook. This thing was recorded with minimal compression and peak limiting. Not only that, nothing is in your face on this album at all. The drums are laid back, the vocals are front and center but not "up front," and even the guitars sort of sit back. It makes for a very unique listening experience, especially compared to a record like "Elephant" or "Sea of Cowards." This style has all of the elements sitting well together, but I can't help but wonder if this would have REALLY soared if the lacquer had been cut at a high end mastering facility by a more-renowned audiophile engineer ( KPG, CB / BG, RKS) and not just the average-to-good-sounding equipment used by Wes Garland at NRP. (Though he can be fantastic!) Still, it's a nice listen. It breathes appropriately, hits you a little harder when it needs to, and never fatigues.

However, not all is perfect. I think most of my quips have to do with the mixing and mic placement while recording. The whole album is a little dark sounding, and at times can be a little muddy. Nothing is well defined, and nothing "WOWS" you like it should. Bass is a little underwhelming, cymbals are restricted by their lack of air. Pianos don't quite shimmer the way they could, and vocals are a little held back. Acoustic guitars are clear but lack energy. On "Sixteen Saltines," Jack's double-tracked voice sounds like it's behind a thick veil. The hard panning of the vocals might have something to do with it, but I feel like they need a serious EQ job. The very cool drums with that equally cool delay on "Freedom at 21" sort of struggle to cut through; they often make the song sound a bit muddy and lack focus. The brushes on "On and On" don't sound genuine and similar the hot rods on the drums on the title cut are almost where I'd like them to be, but not quite.

Are these nitpicks? You could consider them so, I suppose. Overall it is still a very pleasant listen, but considering how much Jack White and TMR are into the whole analog thing, I could see how you might be a little disappointed when listening to this much praised LP. It's certainly a fine sounding album, but it won't blow your mind with its sound quality. For some real Jack White ear-candy, pick up original pressings of "icky Thump" and "Consolers of the Lonely." Still, don't let my negative nitpicks stop you from buying this record. It's a great solo album chock full of unusual and interesting sounds - and I like that!

Another bad press from TMR. I have 3 LPs from them. Lazaretto, Elephant and Blunderbuss. All of them with a very noisy background. Blunderbuss has also a drumloop on the Side B, second song. The drum goes endless on the first seconds of the song. Don't bother to adjust anti-skating and stylus VTF... it is a LP issue. Better to stick with Tidal for TMR albuns.

Does anyone else have an endless drumloop at the beginning of B2/Trash Tongue Talker? Is this intentional or is it a bad pressing I have? I heard Jack likes adding some loop tracks on his records, but not sure with this as it sounds a little off.