LP's: the measure of off-centre record spindle holes ?


Good day. On the basis some are more sensitive to pitch than others, the measure of how far off centre spindle holes can be before they affect enjoyment of music will of course vary. I'd be curious if there is something like consensus  on this dimension from the seasoned LP lovers on the forum ? 
psf4972

Showing 1 response by ghsmd

I usually notice this audibly, especially with piano or sustained strings, and it drives me nuts!

If not too bad, a workaround is to slightly enlarge the center hole with a reamer tool and reposition.  Do this away from the turntable and carefully brush away any vinyl scraps.  Return the record to the turntable centered by eye on spindle and hold in place with a reflex clamp.  Note where tonearm has greatest excursion from center, lightly mark the direction on the label with pencil (or post-it style flag).  Remove clamp and push record against spindle at that location to correct, and re-clamp.  Sometimes a few iterations are needed.  Next time you play the record, you can just look for your pencil mark.

Important:  The eccentricity not correlated between the the two sides, so this process needs to be repeated on the other side.  Usually the production hole is well centered in the vinyl, but somehow the master with the grooves wasn't aligned when pressed.