Pixies – Surfer Rosa

If you’re curious, I put this (exact) pressing on burntable using my MOTU M4 if you want to hear (clips of) it in 96k/24bit (on my system, at least, a Rega Planar 3 and Elys 2 cart) by searching for the drop by id: 11292389 – would love any

My copy has a gold dot stamped in after the stamped number on the back, so it's number 004764 (gold dot).
I wonder, does the dot mark it as a repress, or do all versions have this dot after the number? I don't where it when I bought it.
Either way, sounds fantastic.

Level is quite low on this one, not as hot as my regular UK reissue, but with a little gain, oh boy, this baby comes alive! so much definition and natural room sound. And those drums.....wow, It's a sonic boom!. Highly recommended due to the fact that Albini's ethos fit the MoFi treatment quite well. A few pops here and there on my copy but nothing too distracting from what is in essence, a perfect album receiving stellar sonic enhancement. It's win-win!

Anybody else have an off-center pressing? Seems I got one for both this and Doolittle (both MFSL).

I have an unnumbered copy. Identical to the numbered copy but unstamped. Does anybody know what the deal is with that?

Holding Pressing No. 004975. Haven't heard the OP neither the reissue but very content with this one.

I’ve owned all the 4AD releases on vinyl for decades. Bought Surfer MFSL LP and hated it. I hang out at Steve Albini’s forum for his Electric Studio and I asked his opinion and he said it was not his work on the MFSL release. He recommended the SACD, So I purchased MFSL’s SACD release and it’s possibly the best sounding version I’ve heard. The rawness is there, but more importantly the drum SQ is spot on compared to the original release. Ive yet to hear a good MFSL version of what was called Altnerative music, except In Utero....even then the digital is much better than the vinyl, IMO. Sea Change is solid, but I don’t own the vinyl MFSL release— just the CD.

My copy is #002757! My”Trompe Le Mode” is the lowest of the four releases at #136, my “Bossanova” is #416, and lastly my copy of “Doolittle” is #2730. So I’m not sure how many of each are truly printed.

I’m not sure how they determine how many copies and what titles get released! I’m sure some titles get more pressings than others! I do know that I recently purchased the Ultradisc One Step Boxed version of Donald Fagen’s - “The Nightfly” that was $200.00 and it sold out while it was in preorder. It’s limited to 6,000 copies. I have #1264. I wish I had bought two copies as the price of these are insane on sites like Ebay with some bringing in upwards of $400.00.

The Highest numbered MFSL vinyl I own is Santana’s “Abraxis” at #010091 and it’s the single LP, not the half speed mastered 45 rpm version. I’m actually quite shocked it’s that high in number as I thought no title would be more than 10,000 at the most. The lowest that I own is Hall and Oats “H2O” coming in at #121. The first of the foil numbered album I own from MFSL is U2’s “The Unforgettable Fire”. It’s #3317. It is only four numbers as well. It uses the “anadisc 200 gain system” as does my R.E.M. “Murmur” at #0986 and “Reckoning“ at #1083. The interesting thing is that these pressings don’t have 6 digits in their Number like the newer ones do. So I’m sure less of these where made as this is about the time CDs took over and Vinyl was being phased out for most. I’ve been collecting since I was about 15 in the early 80’s. I still have some of the first albums I purchased! I couldn’t afford the price of the fancy editions like MFSL, Quiex, and the occasional Japanese import that would appear in the record shop. I still can’t buy all the titles I would like to buy, but I paid like $250 for that MFSL copy of “Reckoning” in 2013 as it was still sealed. I stumbled upon it at the Austin Vinyl Collectors Convention a few years back. Probably the most valuable album I have is either a Near Mint and really rare Gold, Silver, and Bronze color variant of The Police’s “Syncronicity” that’s in top notch shape, traded a duplicate copy of a MFSL version of Queen’s “The Game” plus $50.00 for it, or possibly my autographed Phish album “Fuego”! It missing John Fishmans signature, but it’s PSA/DNA documented and it was a gift, so not sure of its value!

I have many other MFSL Lps preceeding the MFSL U2 album that aren’t numbered, like Steely Dan and Cat Stevens but are long out of print! I Have roughly 110 MFSL LPs and about 45 or so of the older copies that are not numbered. They are very hard to find pressings and all in NM shape or I on them. I’m guessing the un-numbered releases are the more limited pressings with the exception of the boxed MOFI-UHQR series. These are very expensive and you don’t see them that often. There’s a copy of “Dark Side of The Moon” starting at almost $700 on Discogs right now! I love my vinyl,but that’s more than half of what my Clear Audio Meastro V2 MM cartridge cost me.

I’m a Huge fan of MFSL pressings but I love my large collection of Japanese vinyl imports as well. I’ve bought several hundred from Japanese dealers and the Japanese people take very good care of their vinyl collections! I’ve never gotten an album that wasn’t described as Near Mint that hasn’t looked as if is brand new. Also learned it makes since to remove the vinyl in the static free sleeve from the cover and you will not get those annoying seam splits that I despise from my wise Japanese sellers. Since the resurgence in viny, many of these Japanese pressing are through the roof as well! They lack the popping and noise of a lot of American pressings! So I generally try to buy the more expensive vinyl pressed by RTI, Pallas, MFSL and Analouge Productions. Without a doubt, my worst vinyl experience happened with a copy of Interpol’s “El Pintor” red vinyl! It literally rip my stylus out of my three year old cartridge. I learned to vacuum clean every new album I purchase before playing it after this incident. There was still rings of the cutting in the grooves I didn’t notice until it happened! Sadly a $25.00 album ruined a $900 cartridge!

Well, sorry for the long message, my ADHD is starting to show. I’m now curious just exactly how many copies are pressed by MFSL and if some titles get a larger number of pressings than others. There has to be a chart or guide showing the actual numbers pressed somewhere on the internet.

Happy collecting and sorry for getting off topic. If I find any info on pressing numbers I’ll post them for you guys,

Texasbear

Firstly - if you are coming to The Pixies for the first time, they landed on our planet in an age when most people were tape-to-taping cassettes. I played mine through a Sanyo which didn't have auto reverse, which pissed me off when I saw my friends Aiwa's with three band EQ. The guitar pedals were shrill, the picked bass was clanking and they were unstoppable; think two fingers up at the late 80's quest for spandex rock perfection, this was the debut of its younger pissed off brother and he changed everything.
This album is about boxing the neurotic. It's so loose in places you can see the lyric sheet scribblings and see them looking at each other with raised eyebrows for lyrical queues. Apparently Black Francis often changed the lyrics minutes before recording.
1. This MFSL is the best version you'll going to get from this period in indie rock, other than travelling back in time to 1988. It's a class pressing, so quiet and I have to say you would be spending a lot to get a M / M copy of the original.
2. The sound will always retain its brittle, abrasive sharpness, because that's exactly what the music is, but MFSL have balanced this very well and made it exceptionally listenable.
3. It has a thoroughly satisfying depth to the drums. The kick and toms punch through and lays the foundations so well.
4. Stereo width is not as big as their other releases, but they got better didn't they.
5. You can't go wrong with this - but I must say its not the same stereo hi-fidelity experience that Doolittle MFSL is... that should be where you are headed next.

Here is a thorough review of this pressing, with special attention to the sound qualities from song to song:

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/music/1011/rock/pixies_surfer_rosa.htm