Fix a Scratched Record Using a Toothpick?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 พ.ย. 2022
- Can you really "fix" a scratched record using the humble household toothpick?
Scratched records can be a real pain, particularly if it causes your stylus to skip during playback.
As we find out, while it can SOMETIMES be possible to fix a scratched record that skips using this very cheap method, there are limits.
I'll demonstrate how, in many cases, you can make your damaged records playable again using just a simple toothpick and either a jeweler's loupe or a USB Microscope.
Links & Resources (Amazon Affiliate Links = AAL):
_______________________________________________________
USB Microscope (AAF):
geni.us/usb-microscope
Jeweler's Loupe (AAL)"
geni.us/jewelers-loupe
More info on fixing a scratched record:
www.yoursoundmatters.com/fix-...
#vinylrecords #vinylcommunity #recordcollection - เพลง
It sucks when theres one skip in an album. Makes me just want to buy a whole new one.
It's probably been at least 35 years since I've had to do this, but you've got nothing to lose in most cases. I've used both a toothpick and an X-Acto #11 blade. A toothpick is great for those scuff type issues, and the X-Acto works for when the scratch pushes the top wall in one direction, but doesn't necessarily cause a skip, rather a loud _pop._ Examine with a loupe and you can often see what's needed. With the blade, I've shaved off the portion that was going into the next groove, and completely eliminated pops. It's easy enough to locate the trouble area with the clean scratches, just watch the record, and when you've got the general area it's _really_ easy to see using a loupe. The toothpick can help to polish out those wide scuff type scratches, or embedded contaminants if a new toothbrush isn't up to the task.
I've been using a 60X-120X handheld microscope. I've had tremendous luck with a sharpened wooden toothpick, but dismal results with a metal needle. The scope presents the working area in a mirror, so everything is backward. The toothpick allows for controlled pressure and movement, whereas the metal gets caught and can pop out and cause unwanted damage. Are you working in the same manner? I've yet to have success with metal, but don't doubt it's potential to repair....
@@ricefieldrecords Like I said, it's been forever that I last did this - but what I was doing was using the x-acto #11 like a scalpel, and cutting/shaving the vinyl off that had cut a trench in the tops of the grooves in one direction. Once it was to stop a skip (easy), the other time it was a horrific pop, pop, pop which was entirely eliminated - although the scratch was still readily apparent. I only used an optical film loupe back when my eyes were good, I'd probably need something a lot more robust these days! I'd say that using a toothpick is the safest method, and I'd try that first before moving to more drastic measures.
I tried a similar method on a brand new LP I had bought recently. It has a small piece of vinyl adhered to the surface covering 1-2 grooves. I used a toothpick, but I first soaked the point of it in 50% water and alcohol mixture to soften the pick even further. Worked perfectly, played though without even a crackle afterwards.
Wow! Nice 👌 the one thing I would like is a more powerful microscope to see what I’m picking at better
I've found that a sliver of sharpened bamboo works the best, and no damage to the vinyl.
Cool: thanks for sharing
Thanks for the info! Great video.
Thanks for watching and happy spinning!
One thing of interest to me is what I call a record bugger. I know, sounds gross but what they are are little, usually white-ish, 3-dimensional spots that ALWAYS make a record skip. Sometimes they're a little hard to see but usually you can feel them. Anyway usually your fingernail can't remove them(they're really stuck on) but what I do is spray them with standard 70% isopropyl and rub with my finger until dissolved. Works like a charm!
Like a spot of paint perhaps? That sounds like a logical approach 👍🎶🎧
@@soundmatters Not paint, it's a bit uncanny. If it were paint splashed, you would see several spots on the same record. These are one or at the most 2 tiny spots on a record side, they're about the size of the head of a pin.Actually usually smaller. I've cleaned literally 1,000's of records and occasionally find them.
Wouldn't it make more sense to take a toothpick and sharpen the point with like 600 grit paper? Under magnification, the standard toothpick point looks pretty blunt......
So what was the technique? How hard did you press? Did you follow the grooves? How did you know where the skip was?
I would follow the grooves as closely as you can. The better your USB microscope, the easier it will be to see. Gentle and patient is the key. It's not a miracle fix but a technique worth trying to save an otherwise useless record that skips. It worked for me in the case of my Jethro Tull album as mentioned.
Have you got many records with this problem?
I did this a bunch of times, haha, it works if the scratch is perpendicular to the grooves, if it's parallel....is much more difficult to be done
Done this a few times and it does work… but not always!
Indeed. Worth a shot, but not a 100% success rate
Thank you for your advice....and nice Les Paul. Greetings from California.
Glad you enjoyed the video. Who doesn’t love a les Paul 🎸🎶🎄
@@soundmatters - I'm a strat guy myself so I don't want a les Paul but I do have a custom firebird.
@@TomTobin67 funny you should say that as my main guitar is a strat 👍🎶🎸
Great idea! I tried it, but the blockage in the groove was too solid, so I had to go at it with a fine cutting tool. That did the trick, but it was absolutely nerve-wrecking 😅
Sounds precarious! But also sounds like you won 🦾- happy spinning
I have a record with no scratches visible whatsoever, but on one side, near the end of it, I get a POP, the stylus skips and gets into a loop...
Could be something in the groove causing the stylus to jump. Worst case, a cutting or pressing error. Try a deep clean and see how you get on.
@@soundmatters I did deeply clean it, both using a Knosti record cleaner and using a brush dipped in propanol directly on the turning record. It worked out fine, no skips now.
@@ferrochinabisleri1587 Excellent! Glad to hear it
@@soundmatters Let's hope the vinyl doesn't get brittle with all that propanol used...
@@ferrochinabisleri1587 - Yes: rinse it well with distilled water. GrooveWasher super rinse is ideal as it has a very small amount of surfactant to stop it simply sitting on the surface and not going into the groove.
the magnifying glass is not necesary at all, I use this method all the time just with a toothpick, no record ever damaged further, except one Abbey Road, because that record has the grooves so tiny that I ended up literally sanding the record, but that's all
Hi Marc, I have used a toothpick, works sometimes. I have also used a fine sewing needle when the scratch was bad, that is risky because a slip and you do more damage but if it was not playable before then it does not matter. Another method I have used is gluing a sheet of 2000 grit sandpaper to a block with a hole for the spindle and run it around the record where the scratch is (best to have the record on an old TT. It works well especially when there are many scratches on the record. Anything you try must be considered a last hope and you need to accept that the record is pretty much stuffed anyway. I have used an old BSR TT with a conical diamond running about 1o grams weight to fix a few bad scratches on a rare record for a friend (was a record of his late father's 1960's Jazz band with no known other copies available and no master tapes). We ran the scratched area through with the heavy stylus, it did make it playable, which was better than before.
Just the thought of sandpaper against a vinyl lp is like fingers down a blackboard. It's something that I wouldn't attempt.
Video starts at 3:15
When you have done this,
transfer your vinyl recording to digital (using Audacity - or similar),
use the facility to remove "clicks" and "pops" ,
use the facility to remove "surface noise"
(transfer it to CD - if you wish)
and then listen to a much better sound than can be found on "recordings" produced on vinyl, shellac etc.
The technique in this video seems a little savage to me, and some of the comments even worse, I've found the best way is to just to use a Cartridge & Stylus that your not too bothered about. I use an old Audio Technica AT3600L that came on an old deck I had, Just set you old Cartridge & Stylus up on your deck then turn the Counterweight right up so there's loads of weight on the Stylus then just keep playing the record over & over again over the scratch and that will work if you scratch isn't too deep.
Mmmm.....
Umm ...not for me thanks.
NOPE.................. too wide to do it right
Bit too much waffle and not enough process and analysis.
How much analysis do you need? It's rubbing a toothpick over a record scratch in the hope of making the stylus play through 😆