crackly vinyl...any help?

the copy of Confield i got the other day, which is in otherwise completely awesome condition, is extremely crackly when playing. it seems to be worse at the start of each side.

As you can see from this pic, it is cosmetically fine

but when played,

the stylus seems to kick up some kind of dirt because it needs a brushing down each side after playback. i've tried cleaning it with some record cleaning solution and a velvet brush, with no change.

anyone have any ideas?

Reason # 2 i hate Vinyls/why Vinyls are fucking overrated.

  On 4/18/2010 at 6:41 PM, Boxing Day said:

Reason # 2 i hate Vinyls/why Vinyls are fucking overrated.

of all the records i have, this is the only one that seems to have a problem with playback.

also, the plural of vinyl is vinyl.

  On 4/18/2010 at 6:41 PM, Boxing Day said:

Reason # 2 i hate Vinyls/why Vinyls are fucking overrated.

Facepalm all you want , but having a Vinyl is a pain in the ass.

  On 4/18/2010 at 6:51 PM, Boxing Day said:

Facepalm all you want , but having a Vinyl is a pain in the ass.

maybe for you, but as i've already stated - out of all the records i have, this is the only one giving me trouble.

Likely just a fair bit of dust and dirt through not being stored properly. Theres lots of theories about the best way to clean vinyl, but you can do it fairly simply with soapy water. Also get a vinyl brush if you don't have one.

http://www.vinylcare.co.uk/

  On 4/18/2010 at 6:53 PM, kakapo said:

Likely just a fair bit of dust and dirt through not being stored properly. Theres lots of theories about the best way to clean vinyl, but you can do it fairly simply with soapy water. Also get a vinyl brush if you don't have one.

 

http://www.vinylcare.co.uk/

yeah i've got two vinyl brushes - one carbon fiber one (which is only really useful to get superficial dust settled on the record) and my velvet pad brush.

thanks for the link though, i'll check it out.

Maybe clean them with some cleaning fluid?

  On 4/18/2010 at 7:06 PM, 277: 930-933 said:

Maybe clean them with some cleaning fluid?

already have done, as said in my original post. the sample is after it's been cleaned twice.

is the cartridge aligned properly? most of the crackle seems to be in the right channel.

You could try that carpenter's glue trick, but I've never done it myself.

Maybe you have to change your stylus. It happened to me when I started buying vinyls. My turntable were fairly old and every record I played was crackly as hell. I changed the needle, costed me 40€. The guy told me i had to change it every 200 hours of music listening. It still doesn't explain why you only experience this with your new vinyl. You should try playing it on another turntable.

  On 4/18/2010 at 7:12 PM, oscillik said:

  On 4/18/2010 at 7:06 PM, 277: 930-933 said:

Maybe clean them with some cleaning fluid?

already have done, as said in my original post. the sample is after it's been cleaned twice.

Sorry, must've read over that.

Perhaps some sort of cleansing fluid might do the trick?

goelfer will make the ultimate response for this thread (as he does for every vinyl thread)

On the same topic:

i've got a 500 copy limited edition of The Hopelessly Sad Story of The hideous End Of The World by Gangpol Und Mit. Well it's totally buckled.

1. I don't even know how the fuck it happened.

2. I tried to unbend it by putting it under a pile of books. Didn't work.

What should I do ?

Try heating it slightly while applying pressure, maybe put it between two glass plates if you have those.

yeah read a guide on baking a warped vinyl. (google)

spray lightly with WD40 and wipe with a soft, lint free cloth.

  On 4/18/2010 at 7:36 PM, beariksson said:

is the cartridge aligned properly? most of the crackle seems to be in the right channel.

it's an Ortofon Arkiv cart, so there's no way to align it really - it's one of those that just screws onto the end of the tonearm, but you're right - most of it is in the right channel.

  On 4/18/2010 at 7:41 PM, Capsaicin said:

You could try that carpenter's glue trick, but I've never done it myself.

i saw that on reddit recently, but i'm a bit anxious about trying it. i might have to give that a go, however.

  On 4/18/2010 at 7:42 PM, Babar said:

Maybe you have to change your stylus. It happened to me when I started buying vinyls. My turntable were fairly old and every record I played was crackly as hell. I changed the needle, costed me 40€. The guy told me i had to change it every 200 hours of music listening. It still doesn't explain why you only experience this with your new vinyl. You should try playing it on another turntable.

i'm not too sure it is my stylus, as my other records are fine, and a lot of dirt seems to be lifted out of the grooves and collected onto the stylus when playing Confield. but i know what you mean - my previous cart is an Ortofon Pro cart and i think the stylus needs replacing on that. i don't have access to another turntable though :(

  On 4/18/2010 at 7:46 PM, 277: 930-933 said:

  On 4/18/2010 at 7:12 PM, oscillik said:

  On 4/18/2010 at 7:06 PM, 277: 930-933 said:

Maybe clean them with some cleaning fluid?

already have done, as said in my original post. the sample is after it's been cleaned twice.

 

Sorry, must've read over that.

 

Perhaps some sort of cleansing fluid might do the trick?

well i was thinking about using some kind of liquid cleaner, but if you think a cleansing fluid might work, i'll try it. any other ideas?

It could be a bad pressing...

Did you get it new from a store? Maybe you can have it exchanged.

If it's worse at the start of each side, I'd say it's a bad pressing, but I put up with a really shitty turntable here and even shittier pressings, so I can't really say much...

  On 4/18/2010 at 7:50 PM, Glass Plate said:

goelfer will make the ultimate response for this thread (as he does for every vinyl thread)

lol ...award for worst misspelling of my user name ever...

First things first... even if a record looks mint/VG+ doesn't necessarily mean it is mint/VG+ because what is worse than a scratch is groove damage which is essentially impossible to spot unless you play it before you buy it.... This is often the case when buying used records from people who do not know how to properly configure their setup, which I would guess is about 75% of the people out there. If there is groove damage... you are pretty much

What causes groove damage?

1. Improperly configured turntables... especially with VTA (vertical tracking force) [the amount of weight your cartridge puts on the record]

2. Damaged styli - this can be a very nasty one.

3. Improperly aligned cartridge - google "azimuth"

How to get rid of surface noise (the pops/crackles):

Usually crackling means static build up... some records are prone to it, some not. The record sleeve is usually the element to blame. You can try maybe a mixture of 3 parts distilled water with 1 part isophropyl... or 2 parts distilled, 1 part deionized water and 1 part isophropyl. I usually also add a small drop of windex (helps get the solution deep into the grooves) to my home brew mix. Pour the mix into a serving bottle, shake well before use, and pour a hefty amount on the record. I usually put the record on my TT, set it to 33 RPM and pour as the record is spinning. Grab a velvet cloth and spread the solution so it reaches all the grooves. I got my velvet from a fabric store, I got 3 yards of it for $5... really beats spending $30 on a "record cleaning brush" that is essentially the same thing. Use the velvet cloth to scrub the record 1/4 at a time, DO NOT scrub hard... if you have a stubborn piece of dirt/dust you might accidentally scrub it into the record, thus damaging it. Once I am done scrubbing I usually set the TT to 78RPM for about 15 seconds. If you look closely you should see that the solution should have formed into little droplets on the surface. The idea here is as the solution formed into these droplets it takes the dirt/dust with it and encapsulates into the droplet.

You can also buy a zerostat to easily illuminate static but they run at around $100, but a zerostat will not clean your record how I described above.

Drying:

This can be tricky... the only true way I have found to dry a record is by vacuum. If you use a cotton cloth you risk leaving debris on the record, plus a nasty static charge. They have "vacuum record cleaning machines" out there that cost anywhere between $150- $3000 but what I did was take my hand vacuum and built a rather ghetto looking attachment that is perfect for my records. Build from PVC pipe, a stripe of velvet and $5.

My little step by step guide with bad, very rushed/limited pics:

1. Put record on turntable (if you have an older turntable use that... I use my DJ turntable to clean on since it can take a beating my Xpression III cannot) I am using my $1 Grover Washington Mister Magic LP I picked up a few weeks back which I am about to rip.

2. Blow off any loose debris on the record either by using your mouth or using compressed air

3. Set TT to 33RPM and apply your solution... i usually do 3-4 rings.

4. Spread the solution along all the grooves with your wet cleaning brush (velvet is the best thing to use), your entire record surface should look glossy.

5. Gently scrub 1/4 of the record at a time

6. Set TT to 78RPM and let spin for about 15 seconds... the ending result should look something like this with the surface droplets:

7. Attach vacuum and turn it on. Hold the attachment so it is statically set on the record and hand crank the record 1 revolution; the vacuum should pick up all the water/debris:

Well I'm off to go dig in some crates... let me know if you need any more pictures or have any questions.

^

ingenious

posting from my phone so it'll be brief, just wanted to say thanks goffer for the in depth reply, with pics :D very awesome