Vinyl Questions

[Livin' in New Orleans]

1. I made the mistake of putting my copy of W(TA) in the actual jacket, without the paper sleeve... it was difficult to remove, and now the surface of the LP has many of what appear to be scuff marks... is this harmful, and is my LP ruined?

 

2. I have a lot of dust building up, how can I prevent this?

[stooka]

How does it sound when you play it?

[Livin' in New Orleans]

How does it sound when you play it?

 

It sounds pretty perfect.. I mean it has like two pops throughout the whole thing and I am positive that those are just normal.. I guess I got lucky

[bobfrombob]

If it sounds good, then it's ok.

 

As for the dust, start by using the paper sleeve/dust jacket. I'm not a scientist but I think the majority of the dust is attracted due to static elecricity. In the day, there were variouis products you could buy. Most popular were different kinds of "brushes" and cloths that sometimes had some sort of anti-static properties. You could also buy anti static "guns". There were specifically designed for the purpose - it's a fairly delicate thing but an lp can take some degree of abuse. I haven't looked for these in years but I'm sure you could get one in a higher end audio shop.

 

Use your common sense - don't brush an lp or rub it with something that you think would scuff it, and brush in a circular motion with the grooves, or along the grooves - not across the groves.

 

Of course this is all knowledge from an older guy and may be obsolete by now.

[cryptique]

See if you can find an old Discwasher (and some D4 liquid) on eBay or somewhere.

 

 

Some other company is producing this product now, but I've read that the updated version is horrible. If you can find a 20-year-old Discwasher, pick it up. The liquid can be replicated with common household materials, if I recall correctly.

[jff]

See if you can find an old Discwasher (and some D4 liquid) on eBay or somewhere.

 

 

Some other company is producing this product now, but I've read that the updated version is horrible. If you can find a 20-year-old Discwasher, pick it up. The liquid can be replicated with common household materials, if I recall correctly.

 

My local phono expert told me to buy a gallon of distilled water and add a couple teaspoons of isopropyl rubbing alcohol. 10 lifetimes worth of D4 Liquid for only a few dollars.

[Central Scrutinizer]

See if you can find an old Discwasher (and some D4 liquid) on eBay or somewhere.

 

 

Some other company is producing this product now, but I've read that the updated version is horrible. If you can find a 20-year-old Discwasher, pick it up. The liquid can be replicated with common household materials, if I recall correctly.

RCA is making it now. I think the liquid is distilled water with a touch of isopropyl alcohol.

 

If you find a 20-year-old Discwasher, can you only use it on 20-year-old records?

[cryptique]

My local phono expert told me to buy a gallon of distilled water and add a couple teaspoons of isopropyl rubbing alcohol. 10 lifetimes worth of D4 Liquid for only a few dollars.

Makes sense. Someone told me how to make it years ago but I never wrote it down.

 

RCA is making it now.

Yeah, and from what I've read, making it rather poorly.

[LouieB]

If it sounds good, then it's ok.

 

 

Of course this is all knowledge from an older guy and may be obsolete by now.

Just play your album and enjoy it. Don't freak out.

 

As far as being old, considering this is 100 year old technology I don't think there is anything new to be said about record maintenance. All LPs experience some wear over time and all pick up small dings and pops that are somewhat unavoidable. Don't sweat it too badly. Don't touch the grooves if you can help it and clean it as needed and it will play for a long time.

 

LouieB

[HungryHippo]

i think acousticsounds.com has an impressive collection of vinyl brushes. i recently bought a new stylus and was cleaning it with this old hardcore Pulsar toothbrush. bad idea. i was listening to Ryan Adams moments later and kept hearing music playing behind the music. was strange. come to find out, the stylus was touching the vinyl in 2 spots. these records are are high maintenance. i'm going back to cds

[Livin' in New Orleans]

Just play your album and enjoy it. Don't freak out.

 

As far as being old, considering this is 100 year old technology I don't think there is anything new to be said about record maintenance. All LPs experience some wear over time and all pick up small dings and pops that are somewhat unavoidable. Don't sweat it too badly. Don't touch the grooves if you can help it and clean it as needed and it will play for a long time.

 

LouieB

 

Ok, I got the cleaning kit, and there is no more dust at all.. However, subtle crackling continues throughout.. it isn't very noticeable, and is audible more during quiet parts/up close to the turntable. Is this crackling normal?

[cryptique]

There shouldn't be much crackling with a new piece of 180-gram audiophile vinyl, but if it's been damaged, then it's not unreasonable that you'd hear crackling. But my guess is that it's not a vinyl issue.

 

It could be your turntable. The most likely non-vinyl culprit is probably your stylus. It could be dirty or damaged. There could also be a loose connection somewhere, or any number of other issues. It's pretty finicky technology.

 

If you decide to clean your stylus, do some reading first -- it's not necessarily as simple a process as you might think, and they make a special brush for that task.

 

It could also be static. Personally, I don't think I've ever had many problems with static -- but you can get an anti-static gun that supposedly eliminates it (not cheap, unfortunately). There's probably a less expensive, homebrew way to do it, but I don't know what it is.

[Livin' in New Orleans]

There shouldn't be much crackling with a new piece of 180-gram audiophile vinyl, but if it's been damaged, then it's not unreasonable that you'd hear crackling. But my guess is that it's not a vinyl issue.

 

It could be your turntable. The most likely non-vinyl culprit is probably your stylus. It could be dirty or damaged. There could also be a loose connection somewhere, or any number of other issues. It's pretty finicky technology.

 

If you decide to clean your stylus, do some reading first -- it's not necessarily as simple a process as you might think, and they make a special brush for that task.

 

It could also be static. Personally, I don't think I've ever had many problems with static -- but you can get an anti-static gun that supposedly eliminates it (not cheap, unfortunately). There's probably a less expensive, homebrew way to do it, but I don't know what it is.

It isn't super noticeable, and it isn't all the time, but between songs I definitely hear it, and it is more prominent during quiet songs.. Not super loud and noticeable, just when I listen closely

[cryptique]

It isn't super noticeable, and it isn't all the time, but between songs I definitely hear it, and it is more prominent during quiet songs.. Not super loud and noticeable, just when I listen closely

Welcome to the wonderful world of analog sound reproduction.

[LouieB]

Welcome to the wonderful world of analog sound reproduction.

Exactly.

 

Getting a 180 gram album is no guarantee that it won't have some imperfections. Remember this is not all that precise, it is a piece of plastic with some grooves cut in it, which is manufactured by pressing some molten plastic in a die. One would hope that all record companies are being careful, but that has never been the case, not in the old days and not now, particularly when demand is up and the number of available pressers is limited. So while everyone extolls the virtues of vinyl sound, to those raised on digital there is going to be some noise at some point, unless you have a perfect record and a perfect turntable and a really highend system. This is why I said relax about this.

 

I have mentioned this before but Laurie's Planet of Sound here in Chicago carries alot of new vinyl and when you buy an album you can not bring it back. In the old days you could return vinyl records, but that was because all records were vinyl and companies made lots of them. Now they don't.

 

LouieB

[Livin' in New Orleans]

Exactly.

 

Getting a 180 gram album is no guarantee that it won't have some imperfections. Remember this is not all that precise, it is a piece of plastic with some grooves cut in it, which is manufactured by pressing some molten plastic in a die. One would hope that all record companies are being careful, but that has never been the case, not in the old days and not now, particularly when demand is up and the number of available pressers is limited. So while everyone extolls the virtues of vinyl sound, to those raised on digital there is going to be some noise at some point, unless you have a perfect record and a perfect turntable and a really highend system. This is why I said relax about this.

 

I have mentioned this before but Laurie's Planet of Sound here in Chicago carries alot of new vinyl and when you buy an album you can not bring it back. In the old days you could return vinyl records, but that was because all records were vinyl and companies made lots of them. Now they don't.

 

LouieB

 

Good to know... Like I said, the noise doesn't distort from the awesome and warm sound quality of the record.. I was just wondering if the subtle crackling throughout was caused by my carelessness with the sleeve. However, I see now that this is simply a normal part of the sound of records.