The Motown 7S Box Set: Rare And Unused

[Dave Rimmer]

I did Dave and they offered to cover this by sending the return priority mail lol

 

That's nice of them, they send you shit product out, make you pay to send it back, and offer to send you more shit product out, but much quicker.

 

i've said I want a refund because I have no confidence in getting another copy that is ok. From the posts on here, it appears at least 50% of boxes sent out have been either missing items or duplicate items, or have faulty items.

[Soul-slider]

You can just see the future sales pitch....

"Limited Edition Motown Box Set....all singles present, no skips or jumps, flawless vinyl. Very Rare!! - £200" 

[Guest Andy Kempster]

got mine opened and checked by the seller before they despatched

 

number 0654, all present and correct

 

[Johnty]

Has anyone yet found a duplicate box with Marvin Gaye in yet,

As a few people have stated the Four Tops has a strange look to it & not the best sound on this track

[selectadisc]

Ordered mine from Amazon in Canada two weeks ago paid a wacking  $140 for it. Original delivery date was Nov 26. Had a message today saying delivery is now Dec 16-21. The site is still taking pre-orders, wonder if I will get newly pressed records? American Amazon is temporary out of stock and charging $140 as well!

[Soul16]

WELL THATS BOX 00908 PLAYED AND CLIP MY WINGS JUMPS ABOUT 3 TIMES ALSO THE MIX SEEMS TO FADE IN AND OUT ,WHILST ALL THE OTHER SIDES LOOK FLAWLESS THE 4 TOPS CLIP MY WINGS LOOKS VERY STRANGE ANY ONE ELSE NOTICE THIS.

KEV 

 

WILL PLAY THE OTHERS OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS AND REPORT IN 

KEV

 

I've just played my copy of the Four Tops, it plays through with no problems. I'm no expert on this track, but the mix clearly has an unfinished quality about it, especially given that the instrumental section is missing a saxophone/piano riff.

Regarding the way the record looks, it is definitely at odds with the other thirteen tracks in the set, in that the groove appears to be cut deeper and has far more lateral movement across the vinyl, more in keeping with records from the 1960's. The other cuts appear much tighter and finer with a wider run-out area.

[Modernsoulsucks]

My order has been cancelled by supplier, Sent2U. Product recalled.

 

ROD

[Steve S 60]

Ordered mine from Amazon in Canada two weeks ago paid a wacking  $140 for it. Original delivery date was Nov 26. Had a message today saying delivery is now Dec 16-21. The site is still taking pre-orders, wonder if I will get newly pressed records? American Amazon is temporary out of stock and charging $140 as well!

 

$85 on this website......worth cancelling the Amazon order?

 

https://www.wowhd.ca/home/various-motown-7s-box-rare-unused/dp/35684579#bc=3166

Edited November 27, 2013 by Steve S 60

[Paul McKay]

Had 2 sets, 1 for a present and both are as advertised. Haven't had the chance to play them yet though......

[selectadisc]

$85 on this website......worth cancelling the Amazon order?

 

https://www.wowhd.ca/home/various-motown-7s-box-rare-unused/dp/35684579#bc=3166

Cheers Steve,

I did just that. Never heard of the site before, but you can't argue with the price!

[Steve S 60]

Cheers Steve,

I did just that. Never heard of the site before, but you can't argue with the price!

 

No problem, I've used the UK site and had a few CDs off them recently, and am awaiting delivery of the Raphael Saadiq vinyl boxset. Not the quickest delivery, but if you're saving $55 compared with Amazon?

[Iancsloft]

Amazon are replacing mine only hope they are ok

They will prob replace yours with mine that I sent back this morning .Get yer dosh back Ted you know it makes sense lol

[Agentsmith]

I can see this getting really silly, just wondering how long it's going to take to get a replacement or refund, I got mine directly from Universal and sent it back yesterday, email said that there is stock there to replace they just can't replace the dodgy records on their own it has to be a fresh complete set, what worries me if these go out unchecked that the same problems are going to happen again, records skipping, records missing etc. would it not be fair to suggest a complete re press of the dodgy tracks which seem to be Temps, Tops and Spinners and a full quality control check throughout the process, someone somewhere is gonna get a good result out of this buying up all the faulty stock to sift through it and sell the good copies, I bet single copies will start to surface over the coming months for sale guaranteed, I think some of us would simply be happy with a playable complete and correct set. 

you've echoed my sentiments mark, quality control has gone out of the window and those numbskulls at universal simply don't "get it" about the beauty of vinyl...it has to be treated with respect and produced with the utmost professionalism, especially of the reproduction kind...what a disasterous oversight and you're also right.....there are people who will make gains from this, which we should all find totally repugnant, especially if it's done through evilbay. this box set really should have been received with a massive fanfare but the party is falling flat on it's face. i for one, am completely gobsmacked that it is going pear shaped in an  alarming manner, what sort of people are we, the tax payer, employing in this industry?.

[Jimmy Mack]

i might contact my local trading standards office and get them to look into this .

[Guest motownmad]

Just received email from Amazon, Universa lMusic have recalled all stock of this due to all the problems they are having with it, they do not know when it will be available again. So you lucky few who have got complete sets are sitting on some rare dics.

Nigel

 

Dear nigel noscoe,

I am contacting you regarding an issue with your recent order of The Motown 7s Vinyl Box Set.

In the past couple of days it has come to our attention that there has been some serious flaws in the production of this vinyl set. It appears that some discs are missing, some are duplicated and there is no sign of some at all. Please accept my deepest apologies for this as I realise this will cause disappointment.

You are able to see other peoples experiences of the set's issues through the product reviews on Amazon.

Due to these severe mistakes by the production team, Universal Music have recalled all stock and so of course we do not have any available to fulfil your order.

We have been in contact with Universal Music over the past couple of days to see when we will receive new stock in but they have been unable to give us a date as of yet.

We are not sure how long it may take for Universal to produce more stock of this set. So we are wondering if you would like to keep the order on with us and wait for new stock to arrive or would you prefer to cancel the order at this time?

I am truly sorry for any inconvenience caused by this mistake, this was of course out of our control.

Please let me know your thoughts and if you have any queries I will try and answer them the best I can.

 

Kind Regards

Hannah

HTS Scotland

[Agentsmith]

well having said what ive said, against adversity and having opened the box, which i really didn't want to do, i find the complete set there...i wouldn't be at all surprised if there were people working at universal, who've never seen a vinyl record in their lives, let alone heard one...what a bloody shambles!!, it's contemptible that they could even be thinking they're dealing with teenagers or twenty somethings in refusing refunds or any other spin they put on their calamity...worse that they may even be disrespecting those age groups, as a good number are soulies who are just as interested in this product...right now they should justifiably be drowning under a tidal wave of seething anger, getting their arses well and truly kicked and getting the production line rolling again to put right what they've done wrong, limited edition or not. "take what yer can, give nothing back" springs to mind?

[TOAD]

Yawn another rant ^^^

[Cheapsiderecords]

Ordered mine from Amazon in Canada two weeks ago paid a wacking  $140 for it. Original delivery date was Nov 26. Had a message today saying delivery is now Dec 16-21. The site is still taking pre-orders, wonder if I will get newly pressed records? American Amazon is temporary out of stock and charging $140 as well!

I got the updated delivery date email about an hour a go from Amazon.ca 

 

Fingers and toes crossed here Rich

[Cheapsiderecords]

Cheers Steve,

I did just that. Never heard of the site before, but you can't argue with the price!

Just read this and have done exactly the same, thanks guys

[Staceys Dad]

if its a limited edition how the hell can they replace them if you send it back.......

[Mark Bicknell]

Just received email from Amazon, Universa lMusic have recalled all stock of this due to all the problems they are having with it, they do not know when it will be available again. So you lucky few who have got complete sets are sitting on some rare dics.

Nigel

 

Dear nigel noscoe,

I am contacting you regarding an issue with your recent order of The Motown 7s Vinyl Box Set.

In the past couple of days it has come to our attention that there has been some serious flaws in the production of this vinyl set. It appears that some discs are missing, some are duplicated and there is no sign of some at all. Please accept my deepest apologies for this as I realise this will cause disappointment.

You are able to see other peoples experiences of the set's issues through the product reviews on Amazon.

Due to these severe mistakes by the production team, Universal Music have recalled all stock and so of course we do not have any available to fulfil your order.

We have been in contact with Universal Music over the past couple of days to see when we will receive new stock in but they have been unable to give us a date as of yet.

We are not sure how long it may take for Universal to produce more stock of this set. So we are wondering if you would like to keep the order on with us and wait for new stock to arrive or would you prefer to cancel the order at this time?

I am truly sorry for any inconvenience caused by this mistake, this was of course out of our control.

Please let me know your thoughts and if you have any queries I will try and answer them the best I can.

 

Kind Regards

Hannah

HTS Scotland

Only perfect sets will be worth money the faulty dodgy ones are worthless.

[Soul-slider]

Soul Brother now sold out.

[Seano]

Just playing some through again and so far very pleased that all have played fine, including Temptations, Spinners and Four Tops. As others have mentioned, the surface of the Four Tops looks more grainy than the others in the set, and all of them attract the tiny white paper bits as if they've been specially treated to have high static somehow.

But.... Have you checked the runout groove?

112637H1/A and 112637H2/A (Marvin Gaye / Spinners)

112638H1/A and 112638H2/A (Frank Wilson / Originals)

112639H1/A and 112639H2/A (Diana Ross / Stevie Wonder - but this one has an 'A' stamped over a 'B' at the end)

112640H1/A and 112640H2/A (Four Tops / Tammi Terrell)

112641H1/A and 112641H2/A (Barbara McNair / David Ruffin)

112642H1/A and 112642H2/A (Temptations / Kim Weston)

112643H1/A and 112643H2/A (Chris Clark / Isley Brothers)

So the numbering clearly follows the set as in Richard's sleeve notes. But opposite those stamps in the runout, you see another number stamp that replicates the number printed under the large 45 on the label, followed by an 'A' or 'B'.

And here's the bit that may be useful after all that chinstroker bumph - on the 'a' side it also has 'www.gzvinyl.com' which I presume is the company who actually pressed these records. If you don't get any joy from Amazon, Universal etc, maybe worth looking at them?

As they might have said if these had been pressed back when they were recorded : "It's what's in the grooves that counts."

[Ringleader]

I just bought mine this evening in a shop in Soho  - No. 0750 - i opened them in the shop to check they were all there and they were.

 

I was going to buy online till I read all the posts

 

All seem to play great, no skips - very pleased however I had to pay £54.95

[cmc]

Pre-ordered my box set at Amazon.  Got it on the day it came out.  All the records in the right order.  No skips or jumps.  Box number 299.   Played them all a few times.  Now going to stop being paranoid and enjoy them.  Sorry to hear a few people have had problems with them.

 

Charlie Mc.

[Sutty]

Downloads are shoddy, no tagging of artists or box title, no artwork, no thought at all

Records are all in there and play fine but try telling that to my iphone!

[alfie00soul]

Cheers Steve,

I did just that. Never heard of the site before, but you can't argue with the price!

 

 

Same here... cheers for the info... 

 

Alfie

[Triode]

'www.gzvinyl.com' !!! So they were manufactured in the Czech Repulic this company is known for its poor quality control and also for doing work for Universal ..........

Triode

[Guest Paul]

'www.gzvinyl.com' !!! So they were manufactured in the Czech Repulic this company is known for its poor quality control and also for doing work for Universal ..........

Triode

 

GZ can be okay sometimes but definitely not the best plant in the world for attention to detail / quality control / communications.

I and others find them a bit too risky so I'm disappointed that UMG used them for such an ambitious project as a boxed set.

Paul

 

[Mark Bicknell]

GZ can be okay sometimes but definitely not the best plant in the world for attention to detail / quality control / communications.

I and others find them a bit too risky so I'm disappointed that UMG used them for such an ambitious project as a boxed set.

Paul

 

Are there no pressing plants left in the UK Paul? or is it all down to costs, seems if it is the case then it's gonna bite Universal on the arse, tend to agree with an early posting on this thread that if a smaller company had have done this then the attention to detail would have been paramount.

[TOAD]

As i said in a earlier post i have had around 25 45s from universal all thick vinyl and limited costing approx £8 so they can provide a decent press or have these come from a separate pressing plant ?

[TOAD]

Just checked my universal Trojan 45s and they use the GZ plant

[Guest Paul]

Are there no pressing plants left in the UK Paul? or is it all down to costs, seems if it is the case then it's gonna bite Universal on the arse, tend to agree with an early posting on this thread that if a smaller company had have done this then the attention to detail would have been paramount.

 

Hi Mark,

Yes there's one good one and a couple of tiny plants in the UK. I always liked to support British industry so I over the years I mostly used EMI, Lambourne (ASL), Damont and Portalspace etc but all are gone now apart from one. And Only Vinyl also closed last year, they had some experienced staff.

The best plants are on the continent, my own favourite is R.I. who have the former CBS/Sony plant in the Netherlands, it was originally owned by Artone so it has a lot of history and is staffed by friendly experts, I always get great product and service from them.

In theory GZ can press good records, they have some old EMI presses, but care and detail and communications are lacking.

 

The truth is the very best way to press records is complicated and expensive - I do the mastering here, get lacquers cut at EMI Abbey Road, labels printed in London, processing done in Holland and pressings done at R.I. ...and then I do a final quality control here because it's inevitable that some records could be imperfect in some way.

 

A major label won't go to those extremes, they focus on price and turnaround and hope for the best. And, like everyone, UMG use different plants from time to time because of capacity problems etc.

 

Paul

[Soulfuljules]

Received my 2 Box Sets yesterday (1 for me, 1 meant to be a present). Ordered these from Amazon Italy, paid 44 € each, including p&p, which makes it quite cheaper than the original uk price.

 

Both sets are ok and they play ok. Those who have had problems with skips might need to check their stylus, weight on the tonearm or the anti-skating. As the vinyl is quite thin, the grooves themselves are not as deep as on the average 60's/70's 45, so this might be the cause for skipping.

 

Sound quality is very good, albeit a bit too compressed for my likings, but that's what the kind of sound you get in 2013, I guess...

 

An amazing box set and thoroughly recommended to all music lovers

[Johnty]

Just looked on ebay first ones I have seen sold as singles theres no Marvin Gaye listed

Theres sure to be a few more of these before long

[Steve S 60]

Just received the following e-mail from Universal's Support Team....

 

 

Hello, Steve.

 

Thank you for your email regarding your order for 'The Motown 7's Box - Rare and Unreleased' (3394908).

 

Unfortunately, the above item has been delayed due to a manufacturing issue that customers from other online retailers have experienced where by one of the vinyl's was duplicate and another missing. So that the supplier can work to resolve this issue before our orders are dispatched, we have been given a preliminary stock take date of the 9th December, 2013 and as soon as we take stock of the item, it will be dispatched to you immediately and you will receive email confirmation.

 

Steve, please allow me to apologise for any inconvenience this will cause and if you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us.

 

Thank you.

 

William Westerside.

 

 

Universal Music Direct Support Team

[Mark Bicknell]

Latest email today from Universal, seems they are waiting on new stock, so fingers crossed.

 

 

 

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your reply.

Please accept my apologies for the delay in this response.

The issue has been raised further with our head office, due to the fact of
similar issues that have been raised by other customers.

We are in the process of receving new stock from the manufacturers and are
currently wating on an ETA from the label which we should have been today.

I can issue you with a full refund if that is was you require, or alternatively,
I can advise you later on today of when we are due more stock.

Kind Regards,

Anthony O'Brien
Universal Music


Universal Music Direct Support Team

 

[Ronjon]

Received my 2 Box Sets yesterday (1 for me, 1 meant to be a present). Ordered these from Amazon Italy, paid 44 € each, including p&p, which makes it quite cheaper than the original uk price.

 

Both sets are ok and they play ok. Those who have had problems with skips might need to check their stylus, weight on the tonearm or the anti-skating. As the vinyl is quite thin, the grooves themselves are not as deep as on the average 60's/70's 45, so this might be the cause for skipping.

 

Sound quality is very good, albeit a bit too compressed for my likings, but that's what the kind of sound you get in 2013, I guess...

 

An amazing box set and thoroughly recommended to all music lovers

 

Particularly agree with the second paragraph. I tried the Temps on a small Steepletone I have downstairs and it skipped like crazy but when I tried on my Numark decks upstairs they all played fine right through. 

[Denbo]

Just playing some through again and so far very pleased that all have played fine, including Temptations, Spinners and Four Tops. As others have mentioned, the surface of the Four Tops looks more grainy than the others in the set, and all of them attract the tiny white paper bits as if they've been specially treated to have high static somehow.

But.... Have you checked the runout groove?

112637H1/A and 112637H2/A (Marvin Gaye / Spinners)

112638H1/A and 112638H2/A (Frank Wilson / Originals)

112639H1/A and 112639H2/A (Diana Ross / Stevie Wonder - but this one has an 'A' stamped over a 'B' at the end)

112640H1/A and 112640H2/A (Four Tops / Tammi Terrell)

112641H1/A and 112641H2/A (Barbara McNair / David Ruffin)

112642H1/A and 112642H2/A (Temptations / Kim Weston)

112643H1/A and 112643H2/A (Chris Clark / Isley Brothers)

So the numbering clearly follows the set as in Richard's sleeve notes. But opposite those stamps in the runout, you see another number stamp that replicates the number printed under the large 45 on the label, followed by an 'A' or 'B'.

And here's the bit that may be useful after all that chinstroker bumph - on the 'a' side it also has 'www.gzvinyl.com' which I presume is the company who actually pressed these records. If you don't get any joy from Amazon, Universal etc, maybe worth looking at them?

As they might have said if these had been pressed back when they were recorded : "It's what's in the grooves that counts."

 

What about the record numbers on the label on the right hand side? They end with, starting at 0, then 1, 2, then 3 I think, then a gap, then 6, 7, 8, 9.

Correct me if I've got the numbers slightly wrong. But why the gap in the numbers?

Edited November 28, 2013 by denbo

[Marc Forrest]

So, not the biggest amazon lover I ordered two sets at my fave record shop here in berlin. they are safe and sound there since last week. I will go there RIGHT now, open them, play them and hopefully will return home with two perfect and complete sets.

 

if they are I will let you folks know which shop so you can order online if you like ;)

[Steve S 60]

So, not the biggest amazon lover I ordered two sets at my fave record shop here in berlin. they are safe and sound there since last week. I will go there RIGHT now, open them, play them and hopefully will return home with two perfect and complete sets.

 

if they are I will let you folks know which shop so you can order online if you like ;)

 

I think it's a lottery wherever you get them from.  Maybe best going with a supplier who will be best placed to offer a replacement should you draw a dud.  Universal will obviously have first dibs, followed by Amazon, with the small independents lower down the pecking order.

[Mark Bicknell]

Just had this email from Universal, looks like my replacement has been processed so I really don't know what's going on lol

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Mark

We would like to let you know that your free replacement order has been processed and will be despatched shortly. Your order number is 3398884.

ORDER SUMMARY PRODUCT NAME PRICE QTY STATUS TOTAL PRICE

Various Artists

The Motown 7s Box - Rare And Unreleased

Vinyl

£44.99 1 In Progress £44.99 Delivery Details Recipient: Mr Mark Bicknell  

 

[Dr Good Soul]

Mine arrived today from SoulBrother

All present & correct play ok no skipping

BUT, a couple are dished

Loved Starved Heart being the worst

Anyone else had this ?

[Soul-slider]

Mine arrived today from SoulBrother

All present & correct play ok no skipping

BUT, a couple are dished

Loved Starved Heart being the worst

Anyone else had this ?

I got mine from SoulBrother this afternoon, ain't had time to play them yet but they look in perfect condition. 

[kevinsoulman]

What about the record numbers on the label on the right hand side? They end with, starting at 0, then 1, 2, then 3 I think, then a gap, then 6, 7, 8, 9.

Correct me if I've got the numbers slightly wrong. But why the gap in the numbers?

I MENTIONED THIS IN AN EARLIER POST PLOY TO GET YOU TO BUY SET NUMBER TWO TO FILL IN THE GAPS METHINKS

THEY JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT ANORAKS WE ARE

KEV

[Soul-slider]

No, they KNOW what anoraks we are, they knew we would spot the number gaps. Numbers 4 + 5 will appear in box 2 as you say. 

[Marc Forrest]

So, not the biggest amazon lover I ordered two sets at my fave record shop here in berlin. they are safe and sound there since last week. I will go there RIGHT now, open them, play them and hopefully will return home with two perfect and complete sets. if they are I will let you folks know which shop so you can order online if you like ;)

all complete and no skipping at all. Well pleased I am. They have two box sets left at soultrade.de

[Tim Finch]

Mine arrived today from SoulBrother

All present & correct play ok no skipping

BUT, a couple are dished

Loved Starved Heart being the worst

Anyone else had this ?

Yes. Mine's the same. Looking at it l doubted the Marvin Gaye was playable but it plays fine.

Edited November 28, 2013 by Tim Finch

[Guest east rob]

got an email today. mod set sent in error. agreed to send it back when the motown set turns up.

now I have been refunded cos they are out of stock....

soulbrother out of stock now as well,, pissed right off as you can imagine!

[Liamgp]

Judging by all the complaints...who's packing these box sets? Stevie Wonder??