Vinyl foibles
I'd like to make this a space to ask questions about vinyl problems you're having trouble solving. I have a lot of questions, but I think it's better if we ask one at a time, or else I think we could have long lists.
Here is my first question. I have a Degritter album washer. I think it works great. I wash all my albums once, but not before I play them again and again. Somehow, though, and this includes new albums no one else has ever touched, they pick up ticks and what sounds like scratches. I rewash the album and it sounds like new again. I only touch albums by their edges. How do inner bands become so dirty that sometimes a smudge can last a minute or more? I've been playing vinyl albums for more years than many of you have lived, and I have learned to be very careful with vinyl. Are there vinyl gremlins haunting my album shelves?
As you say, if it has pads, the dirt and grime would mostly accumulate in the bottom of the reservoir of water afterwards, not remain on the pads. l have casually observed some really bad practices in some record shops where the owners have cleaned many records, using a spray and cloth, or tea towel. To the uneducated this may look fine, but unless a clean cloth, or towel is used each time, if someone wants to attempt to clean like this, records are only just being cross-contaminated. |
Oy! Here we go again with the static charge. The zerostat works just fine if used as directed. Playing an LP does not induce a static charge on an LP. Removing an LP from its paper sleeve before play is a huge cause of static charge. Touching an LP when we ourselves are charged by walking across a carpet or etc. is another source. The game is never over. If you discharge an LP thoroughly, you can charge it up again a second later by touch, etc., so don’t say that this or that method doesn’t work just because you thought you discharged an LP and it proved later to be charged up again. |
@audio-b-dog - before you knew those albums had been 'digitized', were you displeased with the sound of them? 'Digitized' music can sound quite different when playing it digitally through a DAC, and playing it on a turntable through a cartridge and tonearm and phono preamp. |
Beg to differ. Here is what ChatGPT finds: Yes, a diamond stylus playing an LP does create static charges due to friction between the non-conductive vinyl and stylus, pulling dust and causing crackles, a phenomenon exacerbated by dry air, but proper setup, cleaning (stylus & record), humidity control, and grounded brushes help mitigate it. Why It Happens:
How It Affects Your Record:
Solutions:
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How about just putting the record back in it's sleeve immediately after you get done playing it and not sitting it down on any surface other than your turntable's mat. Columbic activity is a give-in, static surface charges abound. Yesterday we had dew points of -7 outside and probably even lower in here with the HVAC running. No noise. Ignore all this rabble and just observe good hygiene practices. Try washing your hands before going into the listening room and handling your records. A good indication would be if you notice grime around the faceplates and controls on your equipment and around the light switch outside your bathroom. |
