Possible cause of harsh mids?


Once in a while you get that used album that sounds good except for a static like distortion on some more dynamic vocals, horns, guitar.  Just typical for some old albums?  Listening to Corea - The Leprechaun.  It's a very good sounding album, well balanced with great dynamics.  But, that annoying distortion rears its ugly head once in a while.  
pkatsuleas
Does this Corea album exhibit the effect every time when played. How do other albums sound, any harshness?

There’s no mistaking sibilance, It’s a narrow frequency range in the upper mids or highs, the sssss sound. It's sounds different than distortion.
Is the loading on your phonostage set correctly for your cart?

MC has listed the most likely causes if this is a persistent problem.


Static like distortion and sibilance are two entirely different things. If the OP had heard this on other records he would have reported it. If his phono stage were overloading it would also do it on other records. I would tend to believe the OP and that it is a unique problem with this record, which means it is a problem with the record. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it is usually a duck. In millercarbon's world it becomes an ostrich.  
I only have sibilance issues on a small handful of records. Sounds like groove damage.
@noromance 
Yes, sibilance on records is atypical. 
I bought some classical records from a private seller online, all had distortion. It sounded like he played them on an old Victrola.


I’ve gone through this for years, realigning cartridges more times than I can remember. All this to no avail, as it is the pressing as stated. Some older records were played on cheap a$$ players without antiskating, hence it is mostly heard in the left channel as the stylus was digging excessively into that groove wall. It sounds like sssss and often splashes into the left channel. It is annoying as hell, but short of tossing certain records, I just put up with it. I often just buy a replacement record, which often times solves the issue. There are also some poorly pressed brand new records that do this, however the ssssss and splashing is not necessarily in the left channel, just excessive sssss sound.
Classic Records Nora Jones come away with me had this issue on certain songs.