I Got Back Into Vinyl And..
May 20, 2022 15:48:57 GMT
Post by Mediocrates on May 20, 2022 15:48:57 GMT
First up:
Tinnitus Andronicus:
Tinnitus Andronicus:
I got back into vinyl a year ago and started buying new and vintage records and quickly discovered that my newfound appreciation for the music delivery format I grew up with was being stymied by surface noise, which soon became Enemy #1. I concluded it was entirely a matter of poor quality new pressings and worn old vintage records (both no doubt true but not entirely so) and went through multiple copies of various titles trying to get one that had a low enough amount of surface noise that I could listen without wringing my hands and wincing. Having upgraded to a new TT and cart this year, I finally bit the bullet and bought a decent RCM (Pro-Ject VC-E) which I believe is helping (buying one of these sooner might have saved me a few hundred dollars on buying the same record two or three times, not to mention the grief I put those Discogs sellers thru every time I complained about the NM record I paid top dollar for). But I'm still having noise issues, and upon closer listening I'm thinking a lot of this noise is static.
I've used an Audioquest carbon fiber brush (the one with the gold handle) since Day One and I always put my new vinyl acquisitions in MoFi archival inner sleeves (or a similar equivalent anti-static sleeve for the 10" and 7" records). And now I'm going through my collection and cleaning each record on the VC-E as I play it.
I tried a couple methods outlined at A Cheap and Very Effective Way to Get Rid of Static including the cheap Ronxxs wand and the recommendation to lightly mist the carbon brush with distilled water before brushing the record prior to each playback. Oh, and I got a stylus brush which I use regularly. I don't think the wand did a damned thing except put a scratch in one of my new records when I held it too close, but I don't know, it could be helping or maybe I'm not using it right.
Another thing is the wool mat that came with my Rega P6, I believe those kind of mats are prone to static and I know that in the past when I lifted a record off the platter it picked up the mat with it on some occasions (it hasn't done that since my new cleaning regimen of the VC-E and Ronxxs wand and misted carbon brush, so maybe those things are helping cut static to some extent). Now, I tried a different mat, I liked the feel of Herbie's Way Excellent II mat (don't ask me about how it changed the sound and tightened the bass and all that, I can't hear those subtle variations that other audiophiles claim to hear), but the thing I didn't like about that mat which I think is some kind of rubber composite is that it hugged the record so tightly that when I lift the record off the platter it puts a drag on the rotation and I don't think that is good for my motor and/or belt in the long run. When I'm playing one or more records I keep the table running until I've played my final record for the session because I don't think turning it on and off after every side is going to help the motor either (tell me if I worry too much, I just think this is sensitive and costly machinery, it's not made for scratching break beats in the dance club). So I sold the Herbie's mat and went back to using the felt (or wool) mat.
I don't know how much of this is climate related or what I could do about that anyway. But today I started listening closely to the kind of surface noise and when it goes crackle and phhhht I'm guessing that is static, not dirt or damage to the vinyl or a crummy pressing. And I picked up the needle and placed it back in the same groove without brushing the record or stylus and noticed that the noise isn't the same each time I play that passage, in fact it seems to diminish on the second or third play, and so now I know this has got to be static (this is happening on both old and new records that have been cleaned so it is not a case of the stylus dislodging dirt from the groove and improving subsequent playback... or is it?) So what's the next record care accessory I need to buy now, a Zerostat gun? Will that do the trick, if I can learn to use it properly? I'll pay $99 for one on Amazon ($20 cheaper than my usual online audio specialists) though I don't like the fact it's disposable and you have to keep replacing it. I paid $10 for that Ronxxs wand and at least I can use it to light candles which I do every day at my makeshift altar (and it's rechargeable by USB). I don't want to waste a hundred dollars on this thing if it won't help. And if it does help, will the record just accumulate more static as it is being played, how long does this static elimination last?
And one last thing I'd like some advice on (maybe the Zerostat can work for this problem) is this. I bought a brand new box set and took out the records which came in printed thin cardstock inner sleeves... or TRIED to take them out. These records were so charged with static I could hardly get them out of the sleeve with the paper clinging so tightly. The first one I just gripped the edge of the vinyl with thumb and finger and slowly drew it out of the sleeve with considerable force to part the vinyl from the paper, and I'm pretty sure I put some scratches and scuffs into these brand new records in the process. I learned to try to part the sleeve and then try to dislodge the record with minimal scraping against the paper but the static charge was just crazy. How can I get the record out of the stock paper sleeve next time without causing horrible scuffs and scratches when the static has an iron grip on the record inside the sleeve? If I had a Milty gun and pointed it at the outside of the inner sleeve would it clear the static? I thought about getting a blow dryer and putting it on cool dry to blow air into the sleeve while opening the sleeve to try to free the paper from clinging to the record.
If it weren't for all these surface noise and maintenance issues vinyl would probably be my favorite medium to listen to music but I'd at least like to get a handle on this problem and it looks like static is my next opponent.
BTW I've read that the ultrasonic RCMs do a great job of clearing static but I've already made my purchase, it seemed like it wasn't worth getting a cheap Chinese knockoff ultrasound cleaner and I didn't have the money for a Degritter or some reputable and proven model so I settled on the wet wash and vacuum approach (it's a big step up from the Discwasher type hand cleaning I was doing before).
I've used an Audioquest carbon fiber brush (the one with the gold handle) since Day One and I always put my new vinyl acquisitions in MoFi archival inner sleeves (or a similar equivalent anti-static sleeve for the 10" and 7" records). And now I'm going through my collection and cleaning each record on the VC-E as I play it.
I tried a couple methods outlined at A Cheap and Very Effective Way to Get Rid of Static including the cheap Ronxxs wand and the recommendation to lightly mist the carbon brush with distilled water before brushing the record prior to each playback. Oh, and I got a stylus brush which I use regularly. I don't think the wand did a damned thing except put a scratch in one of my new records when I held it too close, but I don't know, it could be helping or maybe I'm not using it right.
Another thing is the wool mat that came with my Rega P6, I believe those kind of mats are prone to static and I know that in the past when I lifted a record off the platter it picked up the mat with it on some occasions (it hasn't done that since my new cleaning regimen of the VC-E and Ronxxs wand and misted carbon brush, so maybe those things are helping cut static to some extent). Now, I tried a different mat, I liked the feel of Herbie's Way Excellent II mat (don't ask me about how it changed the sound and tightened the bass and all that, I can't hear those subtle variations that other audiophiles claim to hear), but the thing I didn't like about that mat which I think is some kind of rubber composite is that it hugged the record so tightly that when I lift the record off the platter it puts a drag on the rotation and I don't think that is good for my motor and/or belt in the long run. When I'm playing one or more records I keep the table running until I've played my final record for the session because I don't think turning it on and off after every side is going to help the motor either (tell me if I worry too much, I just think this is sensitive and costly machinery, it's not made for scratching break beats in the dance club). So I sold the Herbie's mat and went back to using the felt (or wool) mat.
I don't know how much of this is climate related or what I could do about that anyway. But today I started listening closely to the kind of surface noise and when it goes crackle and phhhht I'm guessing that is static, not dirt or damage to the vinyl or a crummy pressing. And I picked up the needle and placed it back in the same groove without brushing the record or stylus and noticed that the noise isn't the same each time I play that passage, in fact it seems to diminish on the second or third play, and so now I know this has got to be static (this is happening on both old and new records that have been cleaned so it is not a case of the stylus dislodging dirt from the groove and improving subsequent playback... or is it?) So what's the next record care accessory I need to buy now, a Zerostat gun? Will that do the trick, if I can learn to use it properly? I'll pay $99 for one on Amazon ($20 cheaper than my usual online audio specialists) though I don't like the fact it's disposable and you have to keep replacing it. I paid $10 for that Ronxxs wand and at least I can use it to light candles which I do every day at my makeshift altar (and it's rechargeable by USB). I don't want to waste a hundred dollars on this thing if it won't help. And if it does help, will the record just accumulate more static as it is being played, how long does this static elimination last?
And one last thing I'd like some advice on (maybe the Zerostat can work for this problem) is this. I bought a brand new box set and took out the records which came in printed thin cardstock inner sleeves... or TRIED to take them out. These records were so charged with static I could hardly get them out of the sleeve with the paper clinging so tightly. The first one I just gripped the edge of the vinyl with thumb and finger and slowly drew it out of the sleeve with considerable force to part the vinyl from the paper, and I'm pretty sure I put some scratches and scuffs into these brand new records in the process. I learned to try to part the sleeve and then try to dislodge the record with minimal scraping against the paper but the static charge was just crazy. How can I get the record out of the stock paper sleeve next time without causing horrible scuffs and scratches when the static has an iron grip on the record inside the sleeve? If I had a Milty gun and pointed it at the outside of the inner sleeve would it clear the static? I thought about getting a blow dryer and putting it on cool dry to blow air into the sleeve while opening the sleeve to try to free the paper from clinging to the record.
If it weren't for all these surface noise and maintenance issues vinyl would probably be my favorite medium to listen to music but I'd at least like to get a handle on this problem and it looks like static is my next opponent.
BTW I've read that the ultrasonic RCMs do a great job of clearing static but I've already made my purchase, it seemed like it wasn't worth getting a cheap Chinese knockoff ultrasound cleaner and I didn't have the money for a Degritter or some reputable and proven model so I settled on the wet wash and vacuum approach (it's a big step up from the Discwasher type hand cleaning I was doing before).