I recently got a warped record. I put it in a sleeve and stacked a whole bunch of heavy boxes on it in my kitchen where the floor is flat. Left it there for 10 days and BOOM! Good as new. Played well (:
I ended up with two LPs that have an uncommon manufacturing defect. When the machine pressed the discs, one small section on the edge stuck to the mold for a fraction of a second. This stretched the still-hot vinyl in that specific area, which pulled the grooves out of alignment. It sounds super freaky, and it is not repairable at all. As far as I know, this defect happens at random, so difficult to catch during large scale production. If you buy a brand new record, and it has this defect, return it to the store or contact the publisher for a replacement. The albums I have with this defect are Frijid Pink, "Frijid Pink" (1970) and The Thompson Twins, "Into the Gap" (1984).
My Vinyl Flat device has been and continues to be a real record saver. I went through a learning curve but it has paid off big time. If you ever get one (along with the warming pouch that's made for it), let me know and I can give you some valuable advice about using it successfully. Love your channel!!
Hi from England! I have had great results with my vinyl flat and groovy pouch. You just need a lot of patience. No noticeable increase in background noise, to my ears anyway!
One solution that I've used is simply placing the LP between two plates of plate glass (not sheet glass), and leaving the "sandwich" in the sun for about 30 minutes, laying flat. It works more quickly on warm sunny days. After 30 minute, bring everything back indoors and let it come back to room temperature, then test the LP to see if the warp has been reduced (or removed). If it needs more time, put it back between the plates and repeat. You can do this as often as needed, without the risk of damaging your LP.
With the oven method I slightly fixed one warp. It's still warped but a little bit playable. Another one did what you presented; the grooves were out of sync. So you're probably right. Throw them out.
This has me wondering & thinking if some record stores have the expensive machines that fix wrapped records. They flatten the record then put them out for sale in the used record bins.
I own a Clearaudio turntable, and I sprung for their "Outer Limit" weighted ring (I tried putting in a link to the item, but youtube refuses to post my comment when it has a link). It is super simple to use. You drop it on the record, and it weighs down the outer perimeter of the record. The ring's weight is 3.3 LBs. It will not help records like the super bent ones in your video. But for any record where you see your cartridge holding on like an amusement ride, the ring will nearly flatten out that record, and you will no longer have to hold your breath while playing that warped record (it will have nearly no warp under the weight of the ring). I have only one record which my cartridge cannot track, due to the level of warping -- the stylus skips. So that record is unplayable without the outer ring weight. But with the ring, that record plays with nearly no warp. The extra weight helps, sonically, the same as the weight (or clamp) that you drop over the spindle -- it adds mass to the record, which is desirable. But honestly, I cannot say that I hear any sonic improvement with the outer ring weight, except for warped records that it flattens during playback. I never checked if such out ring weights are available for other turntables. If they are precision made, and have heft, they will help with warped records. Just make sure that your motor can handle the additional mass, as well as your turntable's bearings. Cheers!
@@drwatson32bit There is an older model that some sites are still selling, and are probably available on eBay from time-to-time. Although they probably get the job done, I remember reading that they are a pain to line up and use, and you have to line it up for every record change. I would steer clear of them, because it should not be a chore to change records. The one I own was released after the aforementioned one. You simply attach a plastic guide around your turntable (easy to do). That guide stays there. Then, the heavy ring is simply placed over the lip of your record. There is one downside, which is that you have less of a record lip to aim for, when you want to hear the first song on a side. You do not want to drop the stylus onto the metal ring (I never did -- but I am careful). So you have to lower your stylus, and rush back to your seat if you want to catch the first notes of the first song.
get along bolt 7mm diameter and nut placing it in a drill on high speed heat it with a hairdryer on both sides for about 2 to 4 minutes depending on heat and hairdryer. make sure the record is level and the drill is clampdown
Thinking through the oven method....with 50yrs+ of playing records. You do NOT want hot vinyl touching hot glass, metal etc directly..... you're inviting groove deformation. You need a buffer of some kind and I'm thinking parchment paper. It can take the heat and well, it's paper so there's some cushioning, yet it's still thin enough not to interfere with the process(PP on both sides of the record). 170F for five minutes after the oven is preheated, take out, put on a flat surface(still inside the glass sandwich), add a book big enough to cover the area(weight is not important) and then put 20lbs on top of the book. Let sit until cool. I have a badly warped "Butterfield Blues Band Live" double album set....both records warped. Someone stored them horizontally in a garage is my bet. As soon as I get the glass, I'll come back in and give my results.
Can't wait to hear how it goes @kevin fetner ! I have a couple I wouldn't mind trying this with pending your results. (with a lot of trepidation). Keep me posted :)
@@TheJoyofVinylRecords I will! Going to the glass place tomorrow to see if they have or can make me a similar glass plate to one I found in the garage.
OK as promised I'm reporting back on this process. I had two glass squares about 17"....good size for the oven and plenty of extra glass around the record. Got some parchment paper folded it like a record sleeve....with a little extra. Set my oven to 170F. Really warped record as I said previously. 5 minutes in the oven and then took it out, put on a nice hard surface, put a big coffee table book on top and then added 20 lbs of flat weights....waited until cool(about a half hr). Nada. Tried 10 minutes, same routine ...nada. 30 minutes in the oven, same routine. This time it worked on all the warping...BUT....I have a dimpled surface throughout on both sides. I haven't played it yet, but it looks bad. I sure wouldn't do this to a good copy unless you're going to replace it. I have no idea what caused this, but it certainly wasn't the paper and/or the glass. Gotta be a factor of temperature, the vinyl, the weight......I'd say this myth is 'busted'. I'm gonna go -play the record right now. If I don't comment back, it suffered sonic degradation.
Thanks for the update @kevin fetner ! Strange about the dimpling. Good experiment. It reinforces my fear of ever trying it out unless, to your point, I was replacing it anyway. I certainly wouldn't think of trying it with one of my more expensive records with a slight warp that bugs me every time I put it on the TT. I have to not look at it as it spins, but it sounds fine.
Well...not only was this record warped, but it was out of round. So while initially, it had a warp that was untrackable, it was also throwing my stylus side to side(laterally). So I can't really determine if there's sonic degradation from the process. If I had all kinds of time and some sponsorship, I could maybe find a time interval short of 30 minutes that wouldn't cause the dimpling. Or maybe even a temperature/oven less destructive.
@@TheReal1953 Holy cow! 170 DEGREES??? IMHO, that's WAY too hot. I've had great success with a method I confess isn't available to most people, but could be duplicated using the basic physical principles. First, LOW heat. In fact, more "warmth" than heat. For that, I found our 116 year old trusty radiator enclosure works beautifully. First, let me say we have a passive radiant heat system, not active (hissing radiator with steam coming out). The exceedingly flat surface of the metal enclosure is 12" wide - perfect for an LP. I measured the surface temperature of the top (directly over the radiator) and it in the dead of winter with our heat on, it measures 92F. Nice and toasty to place your flat palm on. I can't imagine risking anything hotter than that. At any rate, the temperature was very even across the entire surface, so I placed a badly warped record in its poly-vinyl sleeve directly on the top of the radiator enclosure and a 12 X 12" piece of sheet glass on top of it, with about 40 lbs worth of large coffee table books on top of that. I left it there for 24 hours and voila! A *perfectly* flat vinyl record. I looked at the grooves using a 10X magnifier and didn't see any signs of damage at all, but just to be safe, I swapped out my expensive Ortofon Blue cartridge with a less expensive Red. It played beautifully and sounded great. So the takeway here is: WARMTH (92F) not HEAT. And TIME. 24 hours minimum. You can approximate these conditions without having an old passive radiant heat system with a metal radiator enclosure like mine.
@@BrentWatkins-creative-services As I said, I don't have access to anything but a newer oven that at its MINIMUM is 170F. Stove ovens used to go down to around 120-130F. I would have been a lot more comfortable with that range.
Yes. I've successfully done it several times with the Vinyl Flat and it's heat pouch. 👍 One I'm currently trying to fix as we speak is one of the infamous German, HörZu - Die Beatles (Please Please Me). NM record, but both warped & dished to hell and back! Really unfortunate, but hopefully I can work my magic. Wish me luck! 😜
Yeah, somewhat.. It took most of the warping & dishing out, and is actually playable now, but it's not perfectly flat. I may try again to see if I can get it flatter.
So you tried the oven method "low" with one record one time? I think the exact temperature really matters. The temperature that I have seen recommended is about 220°F What temperature did you try and for how long? And, if your oven is anything like mine, you should probably watch it carefully and put a meat thermometer with an alarm inside of it to tell you if it goes over a certain temperature. It really doesn't seem like very useful advice to say you try something one time and then that means that it can't be done and you should just buy another record. I buy a lot of oddball stuff for a dollar. A couple of them are warped. I'm not going to hunt down another copy for 10 or more dollars just to see if I like it.
@0:56 "180 gram" records. I have never heard one that sounded right. I gave up on heavy vinyl years ago. Do you have any that have outstanding sound quality? Which ones?
Hi @Perhaps . I can't say "outstanding". Nirvana's 'Nevermind' was acceptable, as was one of my Coltrane discs - just can't remember which one at the moment. I'll have to check.
@@TheJoyofVinylRecords That is my point. If there are no reports of anyone having an outstanding sounding 180 gram pressing, then why purchase them? The right standard pressing will at least give you a shot at outstanding sound quality. I am focusing on sound quality. I understand that there are other reasons to purchase records of all types. But if sound quality is the #1 priority (it is for me), then purchasing heavy vinyl is like purchasing lottery tickets that have no winners.
A few years ago i tried to get into vinyl but was scared off of it, i had bought a 120$ victrola 5 in 1 and a album (daft punk discovery). Later i saw a lot of videos saying to never use those as after just a few uses they damage the grooves and start to sound terrible, then i saw other videos saying that the cheaper players don't cause any real damage as long as it works as intended, maybe just not sound as good as a more expensive one. So i instead got into cassettes for my analog sound and started collecting walkman units. I was wanting to get into vinyl again since my local wallart has hundreds of new on sale. Ps, my original us release of the white album is the warped one
Never too late to hop into vinyl! You can find a really decent turntable for not much more than the Victrola you bought, as well a good pair of speakers. For a little less than $250 you can have a very good to listen to your "unwarped" records :) Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!
@@JacMac9608 There are a couple in that price range. To stay at $250 or less there's the Audio Technica AT-LP60x or the U-Turn Orbit. They are safe and of good quality. I have purchased both for friends and family first getting into vinyl.
I have three of those cheapies. They aren't going to ruin your records. Now I wouldn't play something really valuable on it, but general items or stuff you buy at the thrift store is totally okay. Plus I would recommend an upgrade in the needles. The red stylus I replace with a beige stylus which is a diamond tipped needle with steel reinforcement. They are like $15 for a pack a of three.
There are a few different kinds of warps, they're not all created equal. So a simple dish-shaped warp from too-tight shrinkwrap might be fixed to some degree by a flat surface and a stack of encyclopedias over a week or two. I had a rare Third Man Vault LP that had this issue, and while the warp isn't gone, it went from needle jumping to needle surfing, the warp was reduced enough to make it playable at least. But by the same token, I recently bought a repress of Pink Floyd's Obscured by Clouds, the one with the rounded corners, and the shrinkwrap did a number on the vinyl, and no amount of weight or time has been able to change that. It's playable, at least, after the first few seconds of each side. When the warp is on the edge, I've never been able to fix that, either with heat or pressure. I've tried clamping the edge between pieces of wood, using a hairdryer and a dehydrating oven, but any time I've tried to fix an edge warp, it just seems to make it ripple out further along the edge. A few of my local record shops have platter-flatteners, and offer to fix used records for $5 a throw (or something like that), I may take them up on it sometime if I ever get an irreplaceable LP warped beyond playability.
@@TheJoyofVinylRecordsThat's the one that a couple of stores near me use (they also offer a cleaning service with an ultrasonic cleaner, for those who don't have the money or space for one, but have some rare gem they'd like to give the treatment). It probably would have been worth it to try and fix my OG Tom Waits LP that had an edgewarp, before I started messing with it, but I'm curious how effective that might be.
*New update. I think I'm done after this trying to prove/disprove the oven heat method for ridding vinyl of warps. I have a 1970 Cotillion copy of Lou Reed's "Velvet Underground/Loaded". It has what appears to be a 'crease' for lack of a better term, on the first track of both sides. It looks as if somebody took a heat gun near the edge and then tweaked a small portion. It plays, but not well. The rest of the album besides the first track on both sides, plays well. I did 15 minutes in the oven with the glass @170F, brought it out, put on a flat surface(still in the glass) and put 20lbs of weight on top.....let cool. This is a HUGE risk on my part. I looked at replacing an original pressing like this and I only have that kinda money lying around when I play Monopoly....insane. After the cool down which was about 30 minutes, took the record out and inspected. No heat dimples this time, so 15 minutes is 'safe' more of less. The 'crease' is less but not gone. Plays the first tracks MUCH better....decent now. I made a master R2R tape copy of this before, so I'll compare, but don't hear any new damage from the 'heat treatment'. SWEET JANE(pun intended)..........bit the bullet on this one! Just played the R2R master....where the bad crease was, the record itself plays better. The rest of the album sounds identical, so no damage done and some improvement on the 'crease' part. As I said before, if I had commercial lab ovens, good gauges, all kinds of time, a sponsor and a unlimited supply of varying warped records, I might be able to come up with an audible warp cure....or at least an aid. But if a warp is bad enough, just like steel, and you press it flat there will be crease damage. Heat is not going to 'fill in' something like that. But gentle, undulating warps can be addressed, methinks.
Another great update @kevin fetner . Let's get you those funds and a commercial lab! This all supports my thought that it's a losing battle when it comes to warps - but it does sound like there might be a sweet spot where minor warps might be remediated. Had a good laugh over the "monopoly" comment :)
@@TheJoyofVinylRecords It's tough for me to let this go.....I think there's some merit in here for certain records and certain warps. But it's also tough to make sweeping absolute statements about record warp. Most definitely a "sweep spot" in this whole endeavor. I'd like to be the 'Project Farm' guy of vinyl, but......
I honestly wouldn't trust that anything that could flatten a record wouldn't also affect the sound in some way. If you can make a record malleable enough to flatten it you're also making it malleable enough to affect the groove through which the stylus travels. I generally agree that it's better to just replace a record once it's warped.
Hi there, I'm from South Africa and learned the hard way, you cannot fix a warped record, new or vintage, damage will occur and it's better to buy a new or used in good condition, I've found that new vinyl formulations are inferior to the ones up to the early 2000s before the cash grab 180g became a thing.
Greeting Rodney! I completely agree with you. I tend to seek out OG pressings from the 80 before I ever consider reissues. Of course, I don't have a choice with new releases on vinyl, and it's painful to note I have more issues with new pressings than I ever had with older ones. That being said, I feel there will be some industry changes on the horizon (not immediate but within the next few years).
@@TheJoyofVinylRecords thank you!! given these potential future industry changes, I believe I will purchase new / used so I can enjoy the music but keep the warped with hopes the capabilities will come…👍🏻🎶 💿
I recently got a warped record. I put it in a sleeve and stacked a whole bunch of heavy boxes on it in my kitchen where the floor is flat. Left it there for 10 days and BOOM! Good as new. Played well (:
Love that! I hope others read what you did and try that out as well.
In an inside sleeve only?
I ended up with two LPs that have an uncommon manufacturing defect. When the machine pressed the discs, one small section on the edge stuck to the mold for a fraction of a second. This stretched the still-hot vinyl in that specific area, which pulled the grooves out of alignment. It sounds super freaky, and it is not repairable at all. As far as I know, this defect happens at random, so difficult to catch during large scale production. If you buy a brand new record, and it has this defect, return it to the store or contact the publisher for a replacement.
The albums I have with this defect are Frijid Pink, "Frijid Pink" (1970) and The Thompson Twins, "Into the Gap" (1984).
So not fair to you or the Thompson Twins - I remember that album very well!
@@TheJoyofVinylRecords It was all good, I got another one in a different lot I purchased.
My Vinyl Flat device has been and continues to be a real record saver. I went through a learning curve but it has paid off big time. If you ever get one (along with the warming pouch that's made for it), let me know and I can give you some valuable advice about using it successfully. Love your channel!!
Thanks Russel! I will take you up in that offer. I have a couple that would be great test records in it while I learn the dos and donts.
Hi from England! I have had great results with my vinyl flat and groovy pouch. You just need a lot of patience. No noticeable increase in background noise, to my ears anyway!
Thanks @TraxFour! New England here. Cheers!
One solution that I've used is simply placing the LP between two plates of plate glass (not sheet glass), and leaving the "sandwich" in the sun for about 30 minutes, laying flat. It works more quickly on warm sunny days. After 30 minute, bring everything back indoors and let it come back to room temperature, then test the LP to see if the warp has been reduced (or removed). If it needs more time, put it back between the plates and repeat. You can do this as often as needed, without the risk of damaging your LP.
This was the method I was always told about that would work
With the oven method I slightly fixed one warp. It's still warped but a little bit playable. Another one did what you presented; the grooves were out of sync. So you're probably right. Throw them out.
This has me wondering & thinking if some record stores have the expensive machines that fix wrapped records. They flatten the record then put them out for sale in the used record bins.
I own a Clearaudio turntable, and I sprung for their "Outer Limit" weighted ring (I tried putting in a link to the item, but youtube refuses to post my comment when it has a link).
It is super simple to use. You drop it on the record, and it weighs down the outer perimeter of the record. The ring's weight is 3.3 LBs.
It will not help records like the super bent ones in your video. But for any record where you see your cartridge holding on like an amusement ride, the ring will nearly flatten out that record, and you will no longer have to hold your breath while playing that warped record (it will have nearly no warp under the weight of the ring).
I have only one record which my cartridge cannot track, due to the level of warping -- the stylus skips. So that record is unplayable without the outer ring weight.
But with the ring, that record plays with nearly no warp.
The extra weight helps, sonically, the same as the weight (or clamp) that you drop over the spindle -- it adds mass to the record, which is desirable.
But honestly, I cannot say that I hear any sonic improvement with the outer ring weight, except for warped records that it flattens during playback.
I never checked if such out ring weights are available for other turntables. If they are precision made, and have heft, they will help with warped records. Just make sure that your motor can handle the additional mass, as well as your turntable's bearings.
Cheers!
I looked that up based on this comment and holy shit.
@@drwatson32bit There is an older model that some sites are still selling, and are probably available on eBay from time-to-time.
Although they probably get the job done, I remember reading that they are a pain to line up and use, and you have to line it up for every record change. I would steer clear of them, because it should not be a chore to change records.
The one I own was released after the aforementioned one.
You simply attach a plastic guide around your turntable (easy to do). That guide stays there.
Then, the heavy ring is simply placed over the lip of your record.
There is one downside, which is that you have less of a record lip to aim for, when you want to hear the first song on a side. You do not want to drop the stylus onto the metal ring (I never did -- but I am careful).
So you have to lower your stylus, and rush back to your seat if you want to catch the first notes of the first song.
Here’s some great tips to fix a warped record. It’s one of a series of helpful videos about vinyl.
th-cam.com/video/wCednFoVBG4/w-d-xo.html
That was hilarious @Nick V.
😂😂😂 Thank you!
get along bolt 7mm diameter and nut placing it in a drill on high speed heat it with a hairdryer on both sides for about 2 to 4 minutes depending on heat and hairdryer. make sure the record is level and the drill is clampdown
Thinking through the oven method....with 50yrs+ of playing records. You do NOT want hot vinyl touching hot glass, metal etc directly..... you're inviting groove deformation. You need a buffer of some kind and I'm thinking parchment paper. It can take the heat and well, it's paper so there's some cushioning, yet it's still thin enough not to interfere with the process(PP on both sides of the record). 170F for five minutes after the oven is preheated, take out, put on a flat surface(still inside the glass sandwich), add a book big enough to cover the area(weight is not important) and then put 20lbs on top of the book. Let sit until cool. I have a badly warped "Butterfield Blues Band Live" double album set....both records warped. Someone stored them horizontally in a garage is my bet.
As soon as I get the glass, I'll come back in and give my results.
Can't wait to hear how it goes @kevin fetner ! I have a couple I wouldn't mind trying this with pending your results. (with a lot of trepidation). Keep me posted :)
@@TheJoyofVinylRecords I will! Going to the glass place tomorrow to see if they have or can make me a similar glass plate to one I found in the garage.
I actually just bought a record PI i’ve had it for two days and have flattened four albums so far and have a copy of Zeppelin IV flattening right now
Any cons? Did they come out flat and without flaws?
OK as promised I'm reporting back on this process. I had two glass squares about 17"....good size for the oven and plenty of extra glass around the record. Got some parchment paper folded it like a record sleeve....with a little extra. Set my oven to 170F. Really warped record as I said previously. 5 minutes in the oven and then took it out, put on a nice hard surface, put a big coffee table book on top and then added 20 lbs of flat weights....waited until cool(about a half hr). Nada. Tried 10 minutes, same routine ...nada. 30 minutes in the oven, same routine. This time it worked on all the warping...BUT....I have a dimpled surface throughout on both sides. I haven't played it yet, but it looks bad. I sure wouldn't do this to a good copy unless you're going to replace it. I have no idea what caused this, but it certainly wasn't the paper and/or the glass. Gotta be a factor of temperature, the vinyl, the weight......I'd say this myth is 'busted'. I'm gonna go -play the record right now. If I don't comment back, it suffered sonic degradation.
Thanks for the update @kevin fetner ! Strange about the dimpling. Good experiment. It reinforces my fear of ever trying it out unless, to your point, I was replacing it anyway. I certainly wouldn't think of trying it with one of my more expensive records with a slight warp that bugs me every time I put it on the TT. I have to not look at it as it spins, but it sounds fine.
Well...not only was this record warped, but it was out of round. So while initially, it had a warp that was untrackable, it was also throwing my stylus side to side(laterally). So I can't really determine if there's sonic degradation from the process. If I had all kinds of time and some sponsorship, I could maybe find a time interval short of 30 minutes that wouldn't cause the dimpling. Or maybe even a temperature/oven less destructive.
@@TheReal1953 Holy cow! 170 DEGREES??? IMHO, that's WAY too hot. I've had great success with a method I confess isn't available to most people, but could be duplicated using the basic physical principles. First, LOW heat. In fact, more "warmth" than heat. For that, I found our 116 year old trusty radiator enclosure works beautifully. First, let me say we have a passive radiant heat system, not active (hissing radiator with steam coming out). The exceedingly flat surface of the metal enclosure is 12" wide - perfect for an LP. I measured the surface temperature of the top (directly over the radiator) and it in the dead of winter with our heat on, it measures 92F. Nice and toasty to place your flat palm on. I can't imagine risking anything hotter than that. At any rate, the temperature was very even across the entire surface, so I placed a badly warped record in its poly-vinyl sleeve directly on the top of the radiator enclosure and a 12 X 12" piece of sheet glass on top of it, with about 40 lbs worth of large coffee table books on top of that. I left it there for 24 hours and voila! A *perfectly* flat vinyl record. I looked at the grooves using a 10X magnifier and didn't see any signs of damage at all, but just to be safe, I swapped out my expensive Ortofon Blue cartridge with a less expensive Red. It played beautifully and sounded great. So the takeway here is: WARMTH (92F) not HEAT. And TIME. 24 hours minimum. You can approximate these conditions without having an old passive radiant heat system with a metal radiator enclosure like mine.
@@BrentWatkins-creative-services As I said, I don't have access to anything but a newer oven that at its MINIMUM is 170F. Stove ovens used to go down to around 120-130F. I would have been a lot more comfortable with that range.
Great video! I love your channel, its so well produced. Don't change, even when you have 1M subscribers!
Thank you @thecowwarrior3 ! No changes planned except more discussion about records I love.
Yes. I've successfully done it several times with the Vinyl Flat and it's heat pouch. 👍 One I'm currently trying to fix as we speak is one of the infamous German, HörZu - Die Beatles (Please Please Me). NM record, but both warped & dished to hell and back! Really unfortunate, but hopefully I can work my magic. Wish me luck! 😜
Good luck!
SO did it work??
Yeah, somewhat.. It took most of the warping & dishing out, and is actually playable now, but it's not perfectly flat. I may try again to see if I can get it flatter.
So you tried the oven method "low" with one record one time?
I think the exact temperature really matters. The temperature that I have seen recommended is about 220°F What temperature did you try and for how long? And, if your oven is anything like mine, you should probably watch it carefully and put a meat thermometer with an alarm inside of it to tell you if it goes over a certain temperature.
It really doesn't seem like very useful advice to say you try something one time and then that means that it can't be done and you should just buy another record.
I buy a lot of oddball stuff for a dollar. A couple of them are warped. I'm not going to hunt down another copy for 10 or more dollars just to see if I like it.
@0:56 "180 gram" records.
I have never heard one that sounded right. I gave up on heavy vinyl years ago.
Do you have any that have outstanding sound quality?
Which ones?
Hi @Perhaps . I can't say "outstanding". Nirvana's 'Nevermind' was acceptable, as was one of my Coltrane discs - just can't remember which one at the moment. I'll have to check.
@@TheJoyofVinylRecords That is my point. If there are no reports of anyone having an outstanding sounding 180 gram pressing, then why purchase them?
The right standard pressing will at least give you a shot at outstanding sound quality.
I am focusing on sound quality. I understand that there are other reasons to purchase records of all types. But if sound quality is the #1 priority (it is for me), then purchasing heavy vinyl is like purchasing lottery tickets that have no winners.
A few years ago i tried to get into vinyl but was scared off of it, i had bought a 120$ victrola 5 in 1 and a album (daft punk discovery). Later i saw a lot of videos saying to never use those as after just a few uses they damage the grooves and start to sound terrible, then i saw other videos saying that the cheaper players don't cause any real damage as long as it works as intended, maybe just not sound as good as a more expensive one. So i instead got into cassettes for my analog sound and started collecting walkman units. I was wanting to get into vinyl again since my local wallart has hundreds of new on sale.
Ps, my original us release of the white album is the warped one
Never too late to hop into vinyl! You can find a really decent turntable for not much more than the Victrola you bought, as well a good pair of speakers. For a little less than $250 you can have a very good to listen to your "unwarped" records :)
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!
What brand do you recommend?
@@JacMac9608 There are a couple in that price range. To stay at $250 or less there's the Audio Technica AT-LP60x or the U-Turn Orbit. They are safe and of good quality. I have purchased both for friends and family first getting into vinyl.
I have three of those cheapies. They aren't going to ruin your records. Now I wouldn't play something really valuable on it, but general items or stuff you buy at the thrift store is totally okay. Plus I would recommend an upgrade in the needles. The red stylus I replace with a beige stylus which is a diamond tipped needle with steel reinforcement. They are like $15 for a pack a of three.
There are a few different kinds of warps, they're not all created equal. So a simple dish-shaped warp from too-tight shrinkwrap might be fixed to some degree by a flat surface and a stack of encyclopedias over a week or two. I had a rare Third Man Vault LP that had this issue, and while the warp isn't gone, it went from needle jumping to needle surfing, the warp was reduced enough to make it playable at least. But by the same token, I recently bought a repress of Pink Floyd's Obscured by Clouds, the one with the rounded corners, and the shrinkwrap did a number on the vinyl, and no amount of weight or time has been able to change that. It's playable, at least, after the first few seconds of each side.
When the warp is on the edge, I've never been able to fix that, either with heat or pressure. I've tried clamping the edge between pieces of wood, using a hairdryer and a dehydrating oven, but any time I've tried to fix an edge warp, it just seems to make it ripple out further along the edge. A few of my local record shops have platter-flatteners, and offer to fix used records for $5 a throw (or something like that), I may take them up on it sometime if I ever get an irreplaceable LP warped beyond playability.
There's this thing called the Record PI I'm intrigued by, but not enough to buy it yet. I may see if I can review it.
@@TheJoyofVinylRecordsThat's the one that a couple of stores near me use (they also offer a cleaning service with an ultrasonic cleaner, for those who don't have the money or space for one, but have some rare gem they'd like to give the treatment). It probably would have been worth it to try and fix my OG Tom Waits LP that had an edgewarp, before I started messing with it, but I'm curious how effective that might be.
*New update. I think I'm done after this trying to prove/disprove the oven heat method for ridding vinyl of warps. I have a 1970 Cotillion copy of Lou Reed's "Velvet Underground/Loaded". It has what appears to be a 'crease' for lack of a better term, on the first track of both sides. It looks as if somebody took a heat gun near the edge and then tweaked a small portion. It plays, but not well. The rest of the album besides the first track on both sides, plays well.
I did 15 minutes in the oven with the glass @170F, brought it out, put on a flat surface(still in the glass) and put 20lbs of weight on top.....let cool. This is a HUGE risk on my part. I looked at replacing an original pressing like this and I only have that kinda money lying around when I play Monopoly....insane. After the cool down which was about 30 minutes, took the record out and inspected. No heat dimples this time, so 15 minutes is 'safe' more of less. The 'crease' is less but not gone. Plays the first tracks MUCH better....decent now. I made a master R2R tape copy of this before, so I'll compare, but don't hear any new damage from the 'heat treatment'. SWEET JANE(pun intended)..........bit the bullet on this one!
Just played the R2R master....where the bad crease was, the record itself plays better. The rest of the album sounds identical, so no damage done and some improvement on the 'crease' part. As I said before, if I had commercial lab ovens, good gauges, all kinds of time, a sponsor and a unlimited supply of varying warped records, I might be able to come up with an audible warp cure....or at least an aid. But if a warp is bad enough, just like steel, and you press it flat there will be crease damage. Heat is not going to 'fill in' something like that. But gentle, undulating warps can be addressed, methinks.
Another great update @kevin fetner . Let's get you those funds and a commercial lab! This all supports my thought that it's a losing battle when it comes to warps - but it does sound like there might be a sweet spot where minor warps might be remediated.
Had a good laugh over the "monopoly" comment :)
@@TheJoyofVinylRecords It's tough for me to let this go.....I think there's some merit in here for certain records and certain warps. But it's also tough to make sweeping absolute statements about record warp. Most definitely a "sweep spot" in this whole endeavor. I'd like to be the 'Project Farm' guy of vinyl, but......
I honestly wouldn't trust that anything that could flatten a record wouldn't also affect the sound in some way. If you can make a record malleable enough to flatten it you're also making it malleable enough to affect the groove through which the stylus travels. I generally agree that it's better to just replace a record once it's warped.
Yes you can but be prepared for an increased noise floor if you use heat
At least you replaced the zz album. Classic and have bout that album several times. Good info.
Thanks! Love that album - always have.
Warped record - yes, but one the groove was warped as well - no flatter can fix chewd groove.
So true!
I hope this channel succeeds!
Thank you @MTaxiSheep ! Me too :)
Hi there, I'm from South Africa and learned the hard way, you cannot fix a warped record, new or vintage, damage will occur and it's better to buy a new or used in good condition, I've found that new vinyl formulations are inferior to the ones up to the early 2000s before the cash grab 180g became a thing.
Greeting Rodney! I completely agree with you. I tend to seek out OG pressings from the 80 before I ever consider reissues. Of course, I don't have a choice with new releases on vinyl, and it's painful to note I have more issues with new pressings than I ever had with older ones. That being said, I feel there will be some industry changes on the horizon (not immediate but within the next few years).
@@TheJoyofVinylRecords thank you!! given these potential future industry changes, I believe I will purchase new / used so I can enjoy the music but keep the warped with hopes the capabilities will come…👍🏻🎶 💿
Hi from the UK. Vinyl waffle press made me chuckle. Yep that's a no go for sure . Funny and informative video thks and best from planet Mack uk
Thanks @Simon MC-UK !
= Yes.
*NEXT.*
so the long and short of it is... you have a warped record... buy another unwraped record. SIMPLE.