Tool (2) – Undertow

The beginnings of what would become one of the progressive bands of all time. They were certainly looking for their sound but still a lot of good stuff here.

Sounds decent but fairly dirty and noisy out of the packaging. Likely not the best pressing.

I picked up a copy in VG+ condition last year for around $25. It sounds great - crispy, punchy and clean. One of the best sounding records in my collection. I haven't had the opportunity to hear any of the earlier pressings, but I would be surprised if they are much better. If you can grab this pressing for a reasonable price, don't hesitate.

This is one of those pressings where you either get gold or garbage. I’ve owned two, but I don’t feel like digging any further. The one I have is decent. No warp or distortion, some surface noise but it’s passable. Maybe Tool isn’t ideal on vinyl ? They don’t seem to care about the format.

Just unwrapped a new one from a local store and playing with my new LP Gear T4P REFERENCE SERIES VS on a Technics SL-QD33 with Dynaco A35 speakers. Simply amazing sound. I'm in love.

Sounds incredible, very slight pops and crackles in some tracks. Almost non perceivable warp, probably on how the seller had it stored.

Great one, sounds really good, tested with headphones, no noise on my 2nd hand copy. Impressed.

Should be considered a bootleg with that kind of Frankensteined audio quality. Audio levels and mixing are all over the place. Waste of a pressing. Don't bother if you actually want to listen to it.

Dirty, slightly warped, slight pops and crackle in places. But you know what? It sounds insane.

Good manufacture, nice edges, flat discs, well centered. No pops, only very slight crackles sometimes during quiet moments (like some micro dust remaining in the grooves) but not really disturbing. Very good sound quality and no disturbing crackles nor pops when music played. Side D has a very long quiet moment at the end and some side noises very slightly audible (like if anti-skid was not set properly). I am overall really happy with this version ! It is waaay better than many other LP's pressed nowadays.

(Stylus ortofon elliptical club yellow)