Nine Inch Nails – Ghosts I-IV

have had this box since it was released, was not aware of the sleeves/staining issue until I read these comments. Pulled my records out and yep, they have these weird swirling marks on them now. A visual bummer but still plays clean. Also shame on me for not listening to these for years.

here to confirm what others already have, the pressing is great while the packaging, well... leaves much to be desired. i bought an opened copy, so the records weren't warped (luckily) but there's a good amount of ringwear. i just ended up putting the first and second LP in the gatefold while the other two i put behind the cover in the outer sleeve to prevent further damage to the jacket.

sound-wise, the audio comes across very clear. i don't even have that fancy of a setup and it still sounded like there was a great dynamic quality to it. being an instrumental release, there's a decent amount of sound effects and background composition that genuinely sounds like it's being reproduced right in the room. of course, it'll vary track to track, but you do have to be a pretty dedicated NIN fan to bump into this album in the first place, so you won't be disappointed.

hopefully this can be repressed soon in a thicker gatefold but until then, it's best you get this release if you want vinyl of it since all the copies of the box set got ruined by using the dreaded PVC sleeves...

The pressing is quiet and sounds pretty good. Mine does have the warping issues on disc 3 and 4. Thankfully this doesn't affect playback too much, a small skip on disc 3 and nothing on disc 4. The quality is okay overall, but this album is in desperate need of a repress.

I tried ultrasonically cleaning mine but to no avail. The actual surface of the vinyl is stained and I would not think there is anyway to remove the marks. Having said that, my LPs all play very well with barely any surface noise and that is the main thing.

If you buy this record as unsealed I would think it is more or less a certainty that it will have these marks.

WARNING: The PVC sleeves that house the vinyl in this collector's set, off-gas onto the vinyl. This off-gassing DOES affect the vinyl and it affects the the playback in the areas that have the stripes with increased surface noise. Whether the stripes can be removed is, at this time, an open question. Anyone who has had this problem and has remedied the problem, please leave a comment in this review section. P.S. It would be a good idea to remove the records from the Special Edition and place them in regular Poly-lined inner sleeves to prevent further deterioration in the vinyl sound.

The sleeves they used to house wax have discolored my vinyl. The gases that come off the plastic sleeve cause this. However, In my case, It doesn't affect playback. Not sure if over more time it will cause the record to sound bad.

Got some bad warps on my 3rd LP in this set. Luckily my record weight helps it not effect playback. Sounds really good and clear otherwise! Poor quality control, but good pressing! I wouldn’t buy this record unless you have a good record weight to counter the warps.

Some great moments on this ambient-ish NIN album, but sadly I got two copies of the first press and both were so warped that they were completely unplayable. It seems likely that the lps were still warm when they were put in the double gatefold and then sealed by an over-zealous shrink wrapper so tightly that they warped. I hope the shrink wrapper/machine has learnt a thing or two. It might be better to try to get this one on cd or streaming?

Despite the warps in my copy, I'm blown away by how nice these sound. No complaints. Definitely wish there was better packaging, though. Glad I didn't overpay by as much on here. Maybe a definitive reissue can see the light of day eventually? Please? It's the only one TR missed in the initial announcement *five* years ago. It's tied with The Fragile as my favorite so I'd love to see it happen

Decided to give it a spin after years (bought it at the time of release).

So, yes:
- records are scratched right of the batch (thank you United) but nothing deep,
- records are flimsy but not that much (between 120 & 140gr),
- the cardboard of the cover is also flimsy & arrived a bit damaged,
- a simple gategold for 4 discs is obviously stupid,
- the absence of a booklet is appaling (especially when you know the CD & boxset versions have it),
- shitty paper inners.

No (on my copy at least):
- records weren't crammed inside the gatefold,
- records aren't warped (at least, no more than the last 10 records i've received recently)... i guess i got lucky,
- scratches aren't producing any particular sound, i'd say those guys plays fairly silently,
- records are not off-centered,
- records don't have any label issues.

Like everyone else i would have loved a better plant, a better design... but i guess we paid the price of Trent stubbornness to be indepedent for a while. We've all have seen how it turned out...
Anyway, for the price the NIN team was asking for it at the time ( we're talking about 4 LPs), all in all, it's an OK release.