I caught one video where they were testing turntables by playing a record 100 times. Even the cheap turntable, even though it had a little wear, was still very listenable. It's more likely you'll get tired of listening to the record before actually wearing it out.
hi there im waiting for delivery on some dubplates which are cut onto some softer vinyl plate ? i hear different storys of playing time . some say no plays at all and others say 20 times . please can you give me some info .. thanx
I’ve watched this video a couple times. I love your down to earth approach! Records are meant to be played. Cars are meant to be driven! If you obsess over it you are robbing yourself of the pure joy of using it! I used to archive my records on tape. I still have working equipment which I could use for that purpose but I don’t even bother with that anymore. I just “play the damn things”! Best advice anyone could give. Just enjoy life! If they wear out or become too staticky, I simply use to money I saved from NOT buying an expensive high end system and buy more records. I think they sound pretty amazing on my modest Parasound Classic amp and preamp and my mint condition Technics SL1200 MKII with Ortofon 2M Blue! Anything more would exceed the acoustics of my very modest listening room!
Great video Craig and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it."Records are made to be played"...EXACTLY. I have an original 1977 pressing of the Stranglers"no more hero's" and to this day it still sounds fantastic,clear as a bell,no distortion and no surface noise.I would bet I've played that album over 100 times over the years!! If you look after them and your turntable then there's no reason why your records won't last you a lifetime. Keep up the good work
There is a reason why i buy from the 1 dollar records and dont care if they have some imperfections.. granted there is such thing as too messed up to listen to. However... a little static or minro scrateches dont bother me as long as it doesnt skip
My solutions to assuring my records last are: 1. All the recommendations Craig makes regarding turntable set up and stylus maintenance, 2. Clean every record before playing if only with a brush, 3. handle records only by the edge and label, 4. Put record back soon after playing, 5. If you are going to be listening many times over, either make a copy to listen to (as Craig suggests) or buy a Cd stream online or download -- especially useful for car, phone, and work, and finally my favorite, 6. Buy lots of records! Have so many stockpiled and coming in that you can't listen to one too many times because others are waiting to be heard.... (Added later) and 7. Never loan a record. It will either never return or be damaged.
I recently found a 1st pressing of "Sinatra and Strings", from about the same year. It was a Goodwill find, 73 cents after tax. Like so many older records I have found, a good wet cleaning brings them back to life, even with visible marks and debris. It's a case-by-case thing. Some will sound amazing, some will reveal their wear and tear. If you don't feel good listening to it, throw it away (sound-quality-wise). There's another one out there in better shape. But if you see something that speaks to you in some way, buy it - it could be a cheap, excellent find! And if you buy thrift-shop records that kinda smell like mildew, store them in a different place than your good records. Mildew travels...
dozens?? man I have records I guarantee I have played...probably 1000 times, and sound fine. keeping your records and stylus clean & your table setup correctly will keep your records sounding awesome for damn near a lifetime. if they started sounding shitty after a few dozen spins, or even a hundred, I would've worn some of my fav records out in the first month. keep em clean and they'll outlive you
ive had and played my vinyl collection for over 30 years , and they have been played alot , being im a dj ,, still playing them now 2022 ,, and they still sound fine ,,great video 😎👌😊
I have my father's records that he had played hundreds of times on many turntables 30 years ago and after a good clean they sound as good as my new ones. And tape will not wear out for a good few centuries.
I agree with your assessment of vinyl records, have hundreds myself that play perfectly even after 40 years. But you have to take good care of them, never put any type of chemical spray on the vinyl, over time this will leave a residue on the playing surface which will eventually eat into the grooves making them unplayable. As for tape: Tape does become oxidised over time and will be damaged and turn to crumpled brown dust when touched, again tape must be handled with care. The best for Reel-to-Reel tape is the store them with the playing surface not exposed to the elements: To store, run the tape backwards on the tape spool, then put it in the tape box it came in. But I am sure you knew all this sir, so my info is for those less acquainted with vinyl and tape. Go well.
Yes indeed. Just goes to show us many like to type and talk as if there's not a chance any of is still have vinyl. .. I'm sure when the majority of us purchase any vinyl it was one of those things we saw ourselves having for a very very long time.. Vinyl is final...
I’ve been doing it onto cassette since 1982 and to computer since 1999, always with good results. Use a good turntable, a receiver with a good phono preamp, and run the tape output to the line input on your PC. Before recording the whole song or side, play a loud passage and set the audio level conservatively, peaking only at 80%. After you’re done recording you can always increase the level of your file, but if the peaks clip, there’s no fixing that distortion.
I have a linear tracking turntable so a lot of the inner groove distortion issues are eliminated because it tracks the groove in a straight line in the same way records are cut on the cutting lathe. Mine is a Technics SL-3 and I love it. If you love vinyl, I say just play the damn things. Vinyl is meant to be enjoyed and listened to, not just sit on the shelf doing nothing. If you look after your records well and play them on a decent turntable they should last a very long time. Vinyl rules!
If you align your cartridge properly there is little difference between a linear tracker and a conventional turntable. Inner groove distortion is caused by the much lower groove velocity and the ability of the stylus to track it.
What you're describing is what I did in the late 60's, early 70s, except that my first play was a transfer to a real to real tape. Today most of my records have only had a single play and I have all of my original albums. They are in like new condition. If I had continued to purchase records after cd's arrived, I would have made my transfers to stereo vcrs, which had much better Signal-to-noise ratios then cassette decks or real to real decks. In fact, in the couple of years prior to the release of DAT recorders, some record studios had started using ED Beta machines rather than recording to reel to reel.
I record my lps to 💿 using a computer 💻 and audacity software (freeware) and fine tune my digital audio that I captured from my turntable with click removal tools 🛠 and eq software before I create an audio cd 💿
as long as ur extremely careful with your records by making sure the paper inner sleeve does not touch the record when removing it from the inner sleeve or buying other non paper inner sleeves to minimise chances of scratching ur records when removing from inner sleeves. also keeping your records clean and reguarly dust them with a record cloth/brush and put them back in their inner sleeves when you are done with them they will sound great for years and i mean years. i have some records that i have owned for years and have purchased new and i think they sound just as good as the day i bought them. i do not spend hundreds of dollars on vinyl to mistreat them and have them become scratched and noisy junk. the only reason a record would sound worn or damaged is because they are heavily scratched or very dirty. hell i have some 30 to 40 and up year old records in near mint condition that i think sound like they were hardly played if not played at all and were brand new. not all my records sound amazing. but like i said those records do have a few scuffs here and there and therefore have some background noise because of that. but generally 98% of my collection sounds great because i know to only buy vg to near mint condition records
I never think of wear when i play my records, as long as they are clean and the needle is not worn So far i havent noticed any wear on any of my lps, and some of them have probably played more than 100 times, maybe more i guess
So glad to be hearing that vinyl is meant to be played. I love my records, way too much. I own an AT-LP120, i've set it up just right, but i still feel a small slash in my heart whenever i drop the needle and i hear even the tiniest bit of crackle, because i just know that that piece of plastic isn't gonna last forever, but i'm glad an expert agrees on vinyl meant to being played.
Records get better everytime you play them, just keep them clean, dont scratch them, and never slide them on the inner sleeve, especially if it is paper, it i will make hairlines that will multiply everytime you take the record in-out and eventually will be readable by the needle.
@@horsey604 Agreed, most audiophiles never use paper inner sleeves, unless there is also a plastic inner sleeve. I never put any type of chemical spray on my vinyl. I keep mine in very good condition and NEVER let anyone else play them but me. I am not being horrible, its just that not many people know how to handle & treat vinyl. But I love vinyl, even though its the most labor intensive of all the musical formats. But then, that's the tactile beauty of vinyl.
@@TERRYMism I never let other people handle my records because it is what you said, most people are too clumsy to handle vinyl.People cannot even handle cds properly...
@@horsey604 Yes, its sad but true. Most people just do not care when it comes to others property. I had a first pressing of Dark Side of The Moon in 1973 when it came out in Quadrophonic. I stupidly let a person play it after them telling me they had hundred of records. I thought, well they know how to handle vinyl. I was wrong, not only were there finger prints all over the playing surface there was a deep scratch between the tracks "Breath" and "Time". Totally ruined a good British Harvest Labeled Record. That was back in 1973, since then, no one had had a hand on my vinyl except me. The youngsters today have no clue on vinyl and how to take care of it, unless one sits down with them for 20 minutes to explain to them...vinyl records are not CDs, plus vinyl has always been an expensive hobby to buy, so that's another reason to take care of it. But sir, I am telling you nothing new here. Thank you for your post. Go well
I have played a copy of an indie band album over 500 times before I noticed some sound deprivation. In my case, it was St. Paul and the broken bones on a Kenwood linear tracking turntable. I still play my worn copy most of the time, but I loved the album so much I bought another copy!
Absolutely in agreement with ALL you told us in this video. Nothing else to add. Thank yiu so much for the abdolute huge informations you explained. Congrats to you. Danilo
I really enjoy my turntable, I think my favorite band on record is Electric Light Orchestra . If anyone is looking for some amazing vinyl, and you liked ELO , you will be amazed with the overall quality of the sound the achieved back then.
Some records sound great no matter how many times you play em,I have an old 60’s vinyl by the Melbourne jazz group Big Red Onions,the album is called Big Band Memories,it’s a fantastic record.
Great , i really enjoyed it, vinyl records are the best and if you keep them by the all rules than you can play them lots of times...i have vinyls from the '50 -'60 ( most of my collection) and they sounds great ...Elvis, Beatles .....love the sound
Oh wow! I used to do the same thing (recording a new album onto cassette to listen to till the tape wore out) back in the 80's :) I did it because often I wanted to hear my music in my vehicle and I had a cassette deck in it, or when I was at a friend's that only had a cassette deck in their home and no turntable. It was great for that.
And there was another great video..thnx man...you've helped me out of several problems,in this video but also the one where you very specific explain how to setup the turn-table. Many thanks from the Netherlands..👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
When I was in the service , we would tape our own new records & those bought by our friends. I would copy most to my AIWA 3800 cassette deck (3 heads), or to my AKIA GX-77 (reel to reel). Sometimes doing both at the same time. Great info, thanks.
Great video as always (great personality)... And for all you lot that really new to vinyl but act like you're veterans, just for a few minutes take time to appreciate what vinyl is and for the time it came about too. There's audio embedded into some plastic which any really slim pointed object can be used to read the vibrations from the nanoscopic grooves, kmt. . Me personally, vinyl gives me that feel that the artist may have been present when the vinyl was being cut which is the truth for all artist especially on their first album or single, who wouldn't want to see that process in the flesh, sorry, what musician wouldn't want to see it, I'm sure a music fan wouldn't want to miss it either I'm sure. .
in I think 1963 I bought my very first Album - It was Meet The Beatles, (I was 6 years old) - I still have it and it still plays amazingly well. I realize I was a kid and had no clue about how to properly care for Vinyl Records - But here's what I did know - My family was dirt poor - My Dad more than anyone else taught me at a very young age (Many thumps and lumps on my head from small tools I never put back clean or( "Put it back where you got it / THUMP") - So yeah, even at that age I learned to take very good care of things. Yes, I cleaned them off with a T-Shirt, gently, but yeah, T-Shirt. Anyway, I still have my entire collection - except for about 100 Records I had stolen while in the Navy by a "Buddy" I let stay in my apartment who left in the middle of the night one night and took all my Vinyl with him - Thankfully, the vast majority of my collection was still at my parents home. I bought and still have the original Disc-washer system and a Zero-Stat Gun - I use them and my own DIY Cleaning solution with Water and Alcohol and a tiny bit of Jet-dry. No static, no dust , my TT is in an enclosure with glass doors so extremely low dust and it also has a dust cover. I love it. I don't agree with the vague term "Dozens of Times" though.
Subscribed. I refurbish vintage audio equipment. Mainly reel to reels and have several turntables that I've been bringing back to life. Your knowledge will help me a lot. Thanks.
14:53 Paraphrased: "Dozens of times [before friction wear becomes noticeable], but ticks and pops will occur before that point" (with everything properly aligned, tweaked, etc.).
My record collection runs from mid 60s to mid 90s, not played on high end equipment : i.e standard record player/ music center which did have anti skate tone arm weight Then an ordinary Philips rack system which lasted from 1986 to 2016, tracking weight for the styli for these went from 5 to 8 grams. I now have much better equipment and I can say that these records sound as good if not better than c.ds of the same records even after all these years of playing. So in answer to the question how many times can you play a record, look after your records and you can play them for many many years and they will sound as good as when you first bought them
Yes, this video was informative, and very helpful, and maintained what I believe about analogue playing. Myself, I have a Harmon Kardon TD302 (of 1988), and it still works fine. By the way, I forgot to thank you for getting me to explain my idea; my philosophy of the technology of analogue in comparison to digital reproduction; in this case the listening of music, from vinyl records, and music CD. Also, sorry, I did not get your real name, Graig; I called you "Mr. Vinyl TV". Thumb up, another great video. Thanks Graig. Furthermore, yes I agree, vinyl is final.
What a long winded unexplained phenomena. As an old AM station jock from the 1970s I played 45s thousands of times over & over again & the records lasted & sounded great. Turntable setup is important & if your playing ALOT of well used records go medium not light weight on the arm. It helps ALOT if you keep your records & turntables clean. So to answer the question records last as long as they are taken care of.
Another way to ensure not only listening pleasure, but the longevity of your vinyl records is to clean them regularly. A brush is good for surface cleaning before play. I use a wet cleaning system to soak the grooves and saturate and remove the micro dust and debris. I also clean the stylus before it tracks another record.
Where are you, Craig??? What I have heard about tracking force, is the rule of thumb is in the middle of the lower and upper range for that particular cartridge.... Most cartridges I haver purchased come with little nylon washers, and I had always wondered "why", but I learned that the reason is exactly what you mentioned...to help level the cartridge.... Craig, there is ALWAYS going to be some tracking error, because, like you say, it tracks in an arc. You are going to have 2 points where the stylus lines up perfectly, but that is it. The inner grooves are a problem simply because the arc of the grooves are such a small diameter compared to the outer grooves, hence the greater problem with sibilance on the inner grooves.... I think cleaning should have been mentioned as it has a great deal to do with record longevity.....
Have to agree with Levi G , music is for listening to, enjoy it. I know that audiophiles spend ridiculous amounts of money, and then they spend most of their time looking at the equipment, and researching the next upgrade.
Hi I have lp,s that have thousands of hours of play time. With proper maintenance. Good turntable cartridge is s must, Most of my collection was played on a pioneer pl510 with Stanton cartridge, then when my 510a died I moth balled my vinyl probably 400 lp,s I just couldn't stand them sitting , so after Craig's review I got s fluance rt82, best 300 I ever spent I'm dropping the needle again. My albums play fantastic after a little cleaning
With good record care, a good deck/arm good catridge tracking at the right force, and a well maintained, frequently replaced stylus, a record will outlive you, even if you play it once a week.
Hi All, As long as you follow Craig's advice. Keep your records clean and a good cartridge, with a good stylus, not dull or dirty, you should get plenty times of play from your records, good luck and happy listening :)
Record wear begins immediately. It's the nature of the product. You cannot have your cake and eat it too; but, in common practice just following simple instructions on turntable set-up and record handling precludes the sort of wear which distracts from record playing pleasure. I digitize my records so I have no concern for record wear; plus, the digitized record is pop filtered, making it actually sound better than the LP from which it was made.
I was told that cd discs, since there wasn't any physical contact with heads carrying diamonds could last "forever" so as to say but in fact they do worn out too. As a testimony to this, a few years ago, I had to put a Deep Purple digital recording to the trash can because one could hear some scratchy noise in medium and high frequences, as a kind of veil shadow sound turning and turning... I tried to rip the songs and work them with Audacity but didn't succeed in removing those parasite noises so I fetched the same tunes on Deezer as new instead and am happy.
Take care of your damn albums and you’ll have them forever I have albums from the late 60’s and there gorgeous so it’s YOU who determines your records life
I have still to learn a lot (and drink a lot, too, I guess), to be satisfied with the sound of cassette-copies of my vinyls. 😂 But, again a great video by Craig ...
You can play your 'vinyl' till the cows come home. Just allow some time to elapse between repeat playings. The vinyl actually heats up (the pressure on those grooves is about 10,000PSI while playing! The grooves get deformed during play, but if the disk is allowed to "cool off" no permanent deformation will occur!
I think that on a properly collaborated setup 50 plays would peak in quality. Pressing plants are usually not clean and rushed off the lathe to market (coated in tiny particles sometimes new). I would argue that level of treading would form the groove to where the lp is broken in and sound stellar with given care. I have been respinng some of my prizes a couple times over and find the amount of background noise is at most given times down to air quality. Sibleance is not something i have experienced first hand but if it's a comp with 15 tracks per side, set up with bad alignment by previous owner i had 1 where the songs bleeded through eachother with echo, often times thin grooves on bargain k-tel lps if mistracked will burn through the compression. That was my finding when new to the ritual, these days, if it looks bad, it won't touch my AT-LP1240.
Goodness what a debate which is it vinyl or digital... so many factors ... they do mix the audio for the medium it will be final on ... and they are mixed differently from what I read about it anyway LOL... one website I was reading about put it in the absolute most poetic way that actually ended my own battle to determine what was the best ... it was summed up this way ... what sounds good to you (the listener) so whichever format that is that's the one that sounds the best ... same as one steakhouse compared to another... I'll sum it up like this to each his own ... JUST ENJOY YOUR TUNES ... NO MATTER WHAT EQUIPMENT OR FORMAT ... JUST ENJOY IT SIMPLE AS THAT
@@PenguinThrasherGames Mixing for the particular medium is what I meant, (that master made need slight adjustments for what it is being played on (say the studio master to copy house equipment). A master copy is made by mixing it for the intended medium tape, CD or vinyl.
@@PenguinThrasherGames All depends on the equipment involved such as lowering the bass a bit if the medium is vinyl or even for cassette in some circumstances CD that usually isn't necessary. As I understand for vinyl the sound is brought above the noise floor of the vinyl itself (softer parts increased and louder portions reduced) if memory serves compression or dynamic compression or something like that, they do the samething on CD to make it as LOUD as possible. In my opinion to point it distorts the sound IE loudness wars LOL
I play my records but not too often as i want them to last a life time since most I've spent a bit on or what i consider a good amount on. I have a turn table just like yours and its a darn good player with the right cartridge the cart i have is a Ortofon 2M Red. Great video.
Same here, have an Audio Technica AT-LP120 WITH A Shure Stylus, as you say, a darn good turntable. As long as you keep any chemical spray away from them, and give them care and respect, they will last a lifetime, no matter how many times played. Sir, I am glad you used Turntable. Most people get confused with turntable and record player. Record player's are invariably, cheap and nasty, would never put my vinyl anywhere near them. However, turntables are a specialised instrument for playing vinyl records if one wants to treasure them for ever.
Nice video man... When I record my old records, I actually like the crackle and pop captured. You still get the vinyl sound on tape or MP3. I guess people hate it, but I think that's part of the experience of listening to records. Love your work.
wow thanks a million times i have learn a lot today im new to vinyl its a new passion for me and my wife and we love it excellent video!! thanks thanks thanks!!:)
Hi Craig, Many years ago when I brought a brand new album and I didn't want to play it continuously. Back in the 70's I would archive my albums onto 15 IPS half track reel to reel recorder and Ok you might have to put up with a minor amount of tape hiss but you could at least play it loud if you wanted to. OK I was in the trade so the cost if 10" spools of tape was not a great concern. I also used to archive not cassette which was also good. Anyway we are now in the 21st century and we have SD cards and dedicated PCM recorders and Flack player. I do like digital and I now archive straight onto my Olympus digital PCM recorder. I have lots of options going right up to 96 KHz/24 bit down to MP3s which I don't use. I have never considered the audio stages of computers to be of a high enough quality for digital archiving. I have recorded an album ono an SD card in my Olympus recorder I will happily copy the card to my dedicated Audio Hard Drive on my computer once it has been digitised via my PCM recorder. Thanks for your very informative videos and I would like to see more on archiving. A long time ago I brought one of these Pono Hi Res players but I could never get my head round recording stuff and by passing Apples iTunes to get the files onto the Pono player. I do like my Olympus recorder which I call my iPanda. When I go out I can listen to music and swap SD cards if I need to. I just thought an alternative approach to digital rather than using an iPod or Apple iPhone 5s with only has a capacity of 64 gigs would be better.
There was studies done on this question in the 70's. The experts empathically say the moment a record is played the stylus wears out the high frequency modulations (on the grooves). Most listeners will hardly notice the degradation due the high frequency harmonics from the music itself. In other words the losses are masked. BTW, record grooves are similar to nuts and bolts. Each time you tighten them and loosen them the threads wear out, but it still work until they are so worn out to the point they no longer serve their purpose.
The studies I read also revealed that the inner part of the groove of a record suffered the most loss because the high frequencies articulations in the vinyl are closer together so they can shear off easier. This is due, of course to the fact that the stylus is covering less linear distance as it gets closer to the center, RPM being the same for the whole groove. I had several LPs at that time that showed the most distortion on that final song on each side. This was also due in part to my continued playing of those LPs with less than high quality equipment. Those studies also suggested that the vinyl that isn't sheared off becomes distorted and can likely revert to most of it's original shape if the record is allowed to recover over a period of time before being played again. This is referred to as a memory effect of the material that occurs during manufacturing. The recommended time I remember reading was 24 hours, but recovery of the vinyl is directly related to the time allowed for recovery, and I imagine the relationship is not linear with the last little bit of recovery taking much more time.
but in reality Vinyl Record last like forever if no problem from your Turntable, I have a record that I've always use from decades and i don't even balance centered my table, I just adjust the tonearm and set the needle properly, so by this it means i'm playing my record even the left or right side of the table is not balanced and still I have the same clarity music whenever I played it until now.
I had a seesaw type scale, so I could figure out the pressure. 5 pond is the value, that initially was used on microgroove records, especially when piezoelectric cartridges were introduced, initially with salt crystals, cheap but not stable. Later came ceramic and today, that's the only kind of piezoelectric transducers, you can buy. It's important, when you restore old record players or phono tape players (so called Tefifon) and doesn't want to convert them to magnetic cartridge.
Hey Craig really really like your vinyl videos I’ve learned a lot from you and I thought I knew a lot lol. Can you please make a video on how to properly print the protracter from vinyl engine the proper size and exactly how to use it? I have a vintage Pioneer PL-50 turntable that has been completely refurbished and still OEM. I love the vintage stuff. Thanks Craig your the best man. Take care and keep producing
I use a stand alone professional cd recorder. It does better than a 3 head cassette deck. From there, it could be transferred to your mobile devices to use out in a vehicle.
I have reached a conclusion that even DJ cartridge and stylus won't wear record significantly faster than hifi stylus. I'm running an Ortofon Arkiv just for interest, VTF set to 3.25 grams. I recorded a runout loop groove about 50 revolutions and compared the first and last revolution. There wasn't any audible increase of surface noise even at very loud volume levels (or very-very slight increase). Then I did same experiment with soviet era Melodya-labeled record (their quality was very variable). This record then had some more increased surface noise. BUT... this record also had increased surface noise after doing same experiment using hifi AT91 cartridge at 2 grams VTF. This test however might not be very conclusive because only the silent groove was used, while in modulated grooves there are much bigger forces involved regarding stylus tip mass and VTF.
I'm looking forward to the lining up the cartridge video as I have a Rega Planar 3 that sounds great except for INNER GROOVE DISTORTION. In fact a video on how to minimise inner groove distortion would be great too!
I find the older better pressings seem to hold up better over time. Old Columbia six eye, Riverside, Prestige play great after 100 or so plays. Some of the new 180 gram stuff is horrible after 30-40 plays.
Because they are not 100% virgin vinyl Back in the day, most records were 180g virgin vinyl. The cheap 180g vinyl these days has crackles, pops, and a lot of static. Have we forgotten how to produce good vinyl? Vinyl records have always been an expensive hobby, however, these days most new vinyl will be worthless in 20 years because of the cheap way they are made. The playing surface will become unplayable due to the cheap polyvinyl chloride PVC. And then, the argument becomes... is it Vinyl or is it Styrene. ?
Enjoy your videos. Playing records. I'm a huge believer in ''LAST'' record treatment. Better sound, keeps the dirt out and helps reduce wear. What are your thoughts ?
"Records are made to be played. Play them. Play the damn things."
Beautiful :) and awesome video!
Play your records and enjoy them. Life is too short to let them sit.
I caught one video where they were testing turntables by playing a record 100 times. Even the cheap turntable, even though it had a little wear, was still very listenable. It's more likely you'll get tired of listening to the record before actually wearing it out.
hi there im waiting for delivery on some dubplates which are cut onto some softer vinyl plate ? i hear different storys of playing time . some say no plays at all and others say 20 times . please can you give me some info .. thanx
I’ve watched this video a couple times. I love your down to earth approach! Records are meant to be played. Cars are meant to be driven! If you obsess over it you are robbing yourself of the pure joy of using it! I used to archive my records on tape. I still have working equipment which I could use for that purpose but I don’t even bother with that anymore. I just “play the damn things”! Best advice anyone could give. Just enjoy life! If they wear out or become too staticky, I simply use to money I saved from NOT buying an expensive high end system and buy more records. I think they sound pretty amazing on my modest Parasound Classic amp and preamp and my mint condition Technics SL1200 MKII with Ortofon 2M Blue! Anything more would exceed the acoustics of my very modest listening room!
Great video Craig and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it."Records are made to be played"...EXACTLY.
I have an original 1977 pressing of the Stranglers"no more hero's" and to this day it still sounds fantastic,clear as a bell,no distortion and no surface noise.I would bet I've played that album over 100 times over the years!!
If you look after them and your turntable then there's no reason why your records won't last you a lifetime.
Keep up the good work
*heroes
There is a reason why i buy from the 1 dollar records and dont care if they have some imperfections.. granted there is such thing as too messed up to listen to. However... a little static or minro scrateches dont bother me as long as it doesnt skip
My solutions to assuring my records last are: 1. All the recommendations Craig makes regarding turntable set up and stylus maintenance, 2. Clean every record before playing if only with a brush, 3. handle records only by the edge and label, 4. Put record back soon after playing, 5. If you are going to be listening many times over, either make a copy to listen to (as Craig suggests) or buy a Cd stream online or download -- especially useful for car, phone, and work, and finally my favorite, 6. Buy lots of records! Have so many stockpiled and coming in that you can't listen to one too many times because others are waiting to be heard.... (Added later) and 7. Never loan a record. It will either never return or be damaged.
after more than 25 years of cutting records for the industry: This video is to the point! Well done!!!
I have a record I bought in 1962 which still sounds great.
I recently found a 1st pressing of "Sinatra and Strings", from about the same year. It was a Goodwill find, 73 cents after tax. Like so many older records I have found, a good wet cleaning brings them back to life, even with visible marks and debris. It's a case-by-case thing. Some will sound amazing, some will reveal their wear and tear. If you don't feel good listening to it, throw it away (sound-quality-wise). There's another one out there in better shape. But if you see something that speaks to you in some way, buy it - it could be a cheap, excellent find! And if you buy thrift-shop records that kinda smell like mildew, store them in a different place than your good records. Mildew travels...
I have a Benny Goodman LP that was pressed in 1952. I do get the feeling that it hasn’t been played much, but it sounds absolutely amazing.
Take care of it and it will sound great. Rule of thumb: Never lend records to a slob and someone who who doesn't take care of their lps.
dozens?? man I have records I guarantee I have played...probably 1000 times, and sound fine. keeping your records and stylus clean & your table setup correctly will keep your records sounding awesome for damn near a lifetime. if they started sounding shitty after a few dozen spins, or even a hundred, I would've worn some of my fav records out in the first month. keep em clean and they'll outlive you
ive had and played my vinyl collection for over 30 years , and they have been played alot , being im a dj ,, still playing them now 2022 ,, and they still sound fine ,,great video 😎👌😊
I have my father's records that he had played hundreds of times on many turntables 30 years ago and after a good clean they sound as good as my new ones. And tape will not wear out for a good few centuries.
Me too but most of the records are more than 40 years old and still sounding sick
I agree with your assessment of vinyl records, have hundreds myself that play perfectly even after 40 years. But you have to take good care of them, never put any type of chemical spray on the vinyl, over time this will leave a residue on the playing surface which will eventually eat into the grooves making them unplayable. As for tape: Tape does become oxidised over time and will be damaged and turn to crumpled brown dust when touched, again tape must be handled with care. The best for Reel-to-Reel tape is the store them with the playing surface not exposed to the elements: To store, run the tape backwards on the tape spool, then put it in the tape box it came in. But I am sure you knew all this sir, so my info is for those less acquainted with vinyl and tape. Go well.
Finally someone who doesnt completely dismiss digital. I see all mediums as far surpassed the human hearing comprehension if done properly.
Subbed. Great channel with straightforward and insightful commentary and none of the useless digital vs. analog fanaticism.
Wow right off the bat. I learned something. Level the turntable with the level on the platter. I have been doing it all wrong.
I'm still playin records that came out in 1955
Me too..."Rock Around The Clock", Decca Records, original pressing.
bill haley was a comet pimp. knowledge is power.
same here, so the answer is , a god damn lot of times
same here
Yes indeed. Just goes to show us many like to type and talk as if there's not a chance any of is still have vinyl. ..
I'm sure when the majority of us purchase any vinyl it was one of those things we saw ourselves having for a very very long time..
Vinyl is final...
I would love to see a video on Vinyl archiving. I've done a bit of this recently but never been that impressed with the results. Great video.
I second this idea.
Does anyone know if he has done a video? Would greatly love to see it!
I’ve been doing it onto cassette since 1982 and to computer since 1999, always with good results. Use a good turntable, a receiver with a good phono preamp, and run the tape output to the line input on your PC. Before recording the whole song or side, play a loud passage and set the audio level conservatively, peaking only at 80%. After you’re done recording you can always increase the level of your file, but if the peaks clip, there’s no fixing that distortion.
I love your parting words, "Play the damn thing"
Ha! Every time I start a new hobby there Craig is! I've been watching his homebrew videos for years. Subscribed...
I have a linear tracking turntable so a lot of the inner groove distortion issues are eliminated because it tracks the groove in a straight line in the same way records are cut on the cutting lathe. Mine is a Technics SL-3 and I love it. If you love vinyl, I say just play the damn things. Vinyl is meant to be enjoyed and listened to, not just sit on the shelf doing nothing. If you look after your records well and play them on a decent turntable they should last a very long time. Vinyl rules!
If you align your cartridge properly there is little difference between a linear tracker and a conventional turntable. Inner groove distortion is caused by the much lower groove velocity and the ability of the stylus to track it.
What you're describing is what I did in the late 60's, early 70s, except that my first play was a transfer to a real to real tape. Today most of my records have only had a single play and I have all of my original albums. They are in like new condition. If I had continued to purchase records after cd's arrived, I would have made my transfers to stereo vcrs, which had much better Signal-to-noise ratios then cassette decks or real to real decks. In fact, in the couple of years prior to the release of DAT recorders, some record studios had started using ED Beta machines rather than recording to reel to reel.
I record my lps to 💿 using a computer 💻 and audacity software (freeware) and fine tune my digital audio that I captured from my turntable with click removal tools 🛠 and eq software before I create an audio cd 💿
as long as ur extremely careful with your records by making sure the paper inner sleeve does not touch the record when removing it from the inner sleeve or buying other non paper inner sleeves to minimise chances of scratching ur records when removing from inner sleeves. also keeping your records clean and reguarly dust them with a record cloth/brush and put them back in their inner sleeves when you are done with them they will sound great for years and i mean years. i have some records that i have owned for years and have purchased new and i think they sound just as good as the day i bought them. i do not spend hundreds of dollars on vinyl to mistreat them and have them become scratched and noisy junk. the only reason a record would sound worn or damaged is because they are heavily scratched or very dirty. hell i have some 30 to 40 and up year old records in near mint condition that i think sound like they were hardly played if not played at all and were brand new. not all my records sound amazing. but like i said those records do have a few scuffs here and there and therefore have some background noise because of that. but generally 98% of my collection sounds great because i know to only buy vg to near mint condition records
I never think of wear when i play my records, as long as they are clean and the needle is not worn
So far i havent noticed any wear on any of my lps, and some of them have probably played more than 100 times, maybe more i guess
Thank you for taking the time to do this!
So glad to be hearing that vinyl is meant to be played. I love my records, way too much. I own an AT-LP120, i've set it up just right, but i still feel a small slash in my heart whenever i drop the needle and i hear even the tiniest bit of crackle, because i just know that that piece of plastic isn't gonna last forever, but i'm glad an expert agrees on vinyl meant to being played.
Records get better everytime you play them, just keep them clean, dont scratch them, and never slide them on the inner sleeve, especially if it is paper, it i will make hairlines that will multiply everytime you take the record in-out and eventually will be readable by the needle.
@@horsey604 Agreed, most audiophiles never use paper inner sleeves, unless there is also a plastic inner sleeve. I never put any type of chemical spray on my vinyl. I keep mine in very good condition and NEVER let anyone else play them but me. I am not being horrible, its just that not many people know how to handle & treat vinyl. But I love vinyl, even though its the most labor intensive of all the musical formats. But then, that's the tactile beauty of vinyl.
@@TERRYMism I never let other people handle my records because it is what you said, most people are too clumsy to handle vinyl.People cannot even handle cds properly...
@@horsey604 Yes, its sad but true. Most people just do not care when it comes to others property. I had a first pressing of Dark Side of The Moon in 1973 when it came out in Quadrophonic. I stupidly let a person play it after them telling me they had hundred of records. I thought, well they know how to handle vinyl. I was wrong, not only were there finger prints all over the playing surface there was a deep scratch between the tracks "Breath" and "Time". Totally ruined a good British Harvest Labeled Record.
That was back in 1973, since then, no one had had a hand on my vinyl except me. The youngsters today have no clue on vinyl and how to take care of it, unless one sits down with them for 20 minutes to explain to them...vinyl records are not CDs, plus vinyl has always been an expensive hobby to buy, so that's another reason to take care of it. But sir, I am telling you nothing new here. Thank you for your post. Go well
I have played a copy of an indie band album over 500 times before I noticed some sound deprivation. In my case, it was St. Paul and the broken bones on a Kenwood linear tracking turntable. I still play my worn copy most of the time, but I loved the album so much I bought another copy!
Absolutely in agreement with ALL you told us in this video.
Nothing else to add.
Thank yiu so much for the abdolute huge informations you explained.
Congrats to you.
Danilo
I really enjoy my turntable, I think my favorite band on record is Electric Light Orchestra . If anyone is looking for some amazing vinyl, and you liked ELO , you will be amazed with the overall quality of the sound the achieved back then.
I would love a video on archiving!!!!
Some records sound great no matter how many times you play em,I have an old 60’s vinyl by the Melbourne jazz group Big Red Onions,the album is called Big Band Memories,it’s a fantastic record.
Great , i really enjoyed it, vinyl records are the best and if you keep them by the all rules than you can play them lots of times...i have vinyls from the '50 -'60 ( most of my collection) and they sounds great ...Elvis, Beatles .....love the sound
Oh wow! I used to do the same thing (recording a new album onto cassette to listen to till the tape wore out) back in the 80's :) I did it because often I wanted to hear my music in my vehicle and I had a cassette deck in it, or when I was at a friend's that only had a cassette deck in their home and no turntable. It was great for that.
ultimately play it listen to it smile and enjoy it then play it again, job done.
Awesome video Craig, I would like to see a video on recording records and the computer and tape decks and how to wire in a reverbbb, cheers (17)
And there was another great video..thnx man...you've helped me out of several problems,in this video but also the one where you very specific explain how to setup the turn-table. Many thanks from the Netherlands..👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
When I was in the service , we would tape our own new records & those bought by our friends. I would copy most to my AIWA 3800 cassette deck (3 heads), or to my AKIA GX-77 (reel to reel). Sometimes doing both at the same time. Great info, thanks.
Great video as always (great personality)... And for all you lot that really new to vinyl but act like you're veterans, just for a few minutes take time to appreciate what vinyl is and for the time it came about too. There's audio embedded into some plastic which any really slim pointed object can be used to read the vibrations from the nanoscopic grooves, kmt. .
Me personally, vinyl gives me that feel that the artist may have been present when the vinyl was being cut which is the truth for all artist especially on their first album or single, who wouldn't want to see that process in the flesh, sorry, what musician wouldn't want to see it, I'm sure a music fan wouldn't want to miss it either I'm sure. .
in I think 1963 I bought my very first Album - It was Meet The Beatles, (I was 6 years old) - I still have it and it still plays amazingly well. I realize I was a kid and had no clue about how to properly care for Vinyl Records - But here's what I did know - My family was dirt poor - My Dad more than anyone else taught me at a very young age (Many thumps and lumps on my head from small tools I never put back clean or( "Put it back where you got it / THUMP") - So yeah, even at that age I learned to take very good care of things. Yes, I cleaned them off with a T-Shirt, gently, but yeah, T-Shirt. Anyway, I still have my entire collection - except for about 100 Records I had stolen while in the Navy by a "Buddy" I let stay in my apartment who left in the middle of the night one night and took all my Vinyl with him - Thankfully, the vast majority of my collection was still at my parents home. I bought and still have the original Disc-washer system and a Zero-Stat Gun - I use them and my own DIY Cleaning solution with Water and Alcohol and a tiny bit of Jet-dry. No static, no dust , my TT is in an enclosure with glass doors so extremely low dust and it also has a dust cover. I love it. I don't agree with the vague term "Dozens of Times" though.
Please make more videos and more often. They're really great.
Subscribed. I refurbish vintage audio equipment. Mainly reel to reels and have several turntables that I've been bringing back to life. Your knowledge will help me a lot. Thanks.
14:53 Paraphrased: "Dozens of times [before friction wear becomes noticeable], but ticks and pops will occur before that point" (with everything properly aligned, tweaked, etc.).
OMG. i have 45s and 78s from my mom. that are 60 years old. still sound great today
That's the problem with CD's: when they first begin to give up, they give up completely. There is no middleground. Vinyls last much much longer.
@Michael H. Great for you.
I'm so happy to have found you on here. I can tell you are speaking to my type of $$$ range vinyl lovers.
My record collection runs from mid 60s to mid 90s, not played on high end equipment : i.e standard record player/ music center which did have anti skate tone arm weight
Then an ordinary Philips rack system which lasted from 1986 to 2016, tracking weight for the styli for these went from 5 to 8 grams.
I now have much better equipment and I can say that these records sound as good if not better than c.ds of the same records even after all these years of playing.
So in answer to the question how many times can you play a record, look after your records and you can play them for many many years and they will sound as good as when you first bought them
soothing and captivating voice, i really enjoyed this. thanks for the upload.
Your videos are so informative. I've learned so much from watching thanks for uploading
Great information and video. Learned a lot of useful info to start with.
Yes, this video was informative, and very helpful, and maintained what I believe about analogue playing. Myself, I have a Harmon Kardon TD302 (of 1988), and it still works fine. By the way, I forgot to thank you for getting me to explain my idea; my philosophy of the technology of analogue in comparison to digital reproduction; in this case the listening of music, from vinyl records, and music CD. Also, sorry, I did not get your real name, Graig; I called you "Mr. Vinyl TV". Thumb up, another great video. Thanks Graig. Furthermore, yes I agree, vinyl is final.
your records should last your life time if they dont you have cheap table or its setup wrong get a cleaning machine even a spin clean is good
What a long winded unexplained phenomena. As an old AM station jock from the 1970s I played 45s thousands of times over & over again & the records lasted & sounded great. Turntable setup is important & if your playing ALOT of well used records go medium not light weight on the arm. It helps ALOT if you keep your records & turntables clean.
So to answer the question records last as long as they are taken care of.
Good tips Craig , I have never got rid of my Vinyl for over 40 years and have some records that have been played only once because I taped it Cheers
Another way to ensure not only listening pleasure, but the longevity of your vinyl records is to clean them regularly. A brush is good for surface cleaning before play. I use a wet cleaning system to soak the grooves and saturate and remove the micro dust and debris. I also clean the stylus before it tracks another record.
Where are you, Craig???
What I have heard about tracking force, is the rule of thumb is in the middle of the lower and upper range for that particular cartridge....
Most cartridges I haver purchased come with little nylon washers, and I had always wondered "why", but I learned that the reason is exactly what you mentioned...to help level the cartridge....
Craig, there is ALWAYS going to be some tracking error, because, like you say, it tracks in an arc. You are going to have 2 points where the stylus lines up perfectly, but that is it. The inner grooves are a problem simply because the arc of the grooves are such a small diameter compared to the outer grooves, hence the greater problem with sibilance on the inner grooves....
I think cleaning should have been mentioned as it has a great deal to do with record longevity.....
Have to agree with Levi G , music is for listening to, enjoy it. I know that audiophiles spend ridiculous amounts of money, and then they spend most of their time looking at the equipment, and researching the next upgrade.
Fantastic video... Fascinating... Thanks very much all the way from the UK....
Hi I have lp,s that have thousands of hours of play time. With proper maintenance. Good turntable cartridge is s must, Most of my collection was played on a pioneer pl510 with Stanton cartridge, then when my 510a died I moth balled my vinyl probably 400 lp,s I just couldn't stand them sitting , so after Craig's review I got s fluance rt82, best 300 I ever spent I'm dropping the needle again. My albums play fantastic after a little cleaning
You simply the best 😇😇😇😇😇 you pour lot of information , once again thank you very much , keep going - Adios Amigo 🙂 riaz from Kerala : india
watching this from mexico, thanks for the info !!!!
With good record care, a good deck/arm good catridge tracking at the right force, and a well maintained, frequently replaced stylus, a record will outlive you, even if you play it once a week.
Hi All, As long as you follow Craig's advice. Keep your records clean and a good cartridge, with a good stylus, not dull or dirty, you should get plenty times of play from your records, good luck and happy listening :)
Record wear begins immediately. It's the nature of the product. You cannot have your cake and eat it too; but, in common practice just following simple instructions on turntable set-up and record handling precludes the sort of wear which distracts from record playing pleasure. I digitize my records so I have no concern for record wear; plus, the digitized record is pop filtered, making it actually sound better than the LP from which it was made.
I was told that cd discs, since there wasn't any physical contact with heads carrying diamonds could last "forever" so as to say but in fact they do worn out too. As a testimony to this, a few years ago, I had to put a Deep Purple digital recording to the trash can because one could hear some scratchy noise in medium and high frequences, as a kind of veil shadow sound turning and turning... I tried to rip the songs and work them with Audacity but didn't succeed in removing those parasite noises so I fetched the same tunes on Deezer as new instead and am happy.
Take care of your damn albums and you’ll have them forever I have albums from the late 60’s and there gorgeous so it’s YOU who determines your records life
miss you craig.i moved back south and only have this smart phone to work with for now.no computer for a while.
miss Friday nights.god bless
Great video!!! please do on archive. I'm learning more today than I ever have had in the vinyl day so of my life.
Linear tracking turntable baby. I love my PS-LX520.
I have still to learn a lot (and drink a lot, too, I guess), to be satisfied with the sound of cassette-copies of my vinyls. 😂 But, again a great video by Craig ...
Love your videos! keep on homebrewing and listening to vinyl!
You can play your 'vinyl' till the cows come home. Just allow some time to elapse between repeat playings. The vinyl actually heats up (the pressure on those grooves is about 10,000PSI while playing! The grooves get deformed during play, but if the disk is allowed to "cool off" no permanent deformation will occur!
I think that on a properly collaborated setup 50 plays would peak in quality. Pressing plants are usually not clean and rushed off the lathe to market (coated in tiny particles sometimes new). I would argue that level of treading would form the groove to where the lp is broken in and sound stellar with given care. I have been respinng some of my prizes a couple times over and find the amount of background noise is at most given times down to air quality. Sibleance is not something i have experienced first hand but if it's a comp with 15 tracks per side, set up with bad alignment by previous owner i had 1 where the songs bleeded through eachother with echo, often times thin grooves on bargain k-tel lps if mistracked will burn through the compression. That was my finding when new to the ritual, these days, if it looks bad, it won't touch my AT-LP1240.
Thanks for posting! Love your sensible, down to earth attitude! Play on, bro! :-))
Goodness what a debate which is it vinyl or digital... so many factors ... they do mix the audio for the medium it will be final on ... and they are mixed differently from what I read about it anyway LOL... one website I was reading about put it in the absolute most poetic way that actually ended my own battle to determine what was the best ... it was summed up this way ... what sounds good to you (the listener) so whichever format that is that's the one that sounds the best ... same as one steakhouse compared to another... I'll sum it up like this to each his own ... JUST ENJOY YOUR TUNES ... NO MATTER WHAT EQUIPMENT OR FORMAT ... JUST ENJOY IT SIMPLE AS THAT
Mixing is the same, mastering is different. DON'T misuse terms "mix" and "master".
@@PenguinThrasherGames Mixing for the particular medium is what I meant, (that master made need slight adjustments for what it is being played on (say the studio master to copy house equipment). A master copy is made by mixing it for the intended medium tape, CD or vinyl.
@@darinb.3273 Exactly what I meant. You are talking about mastering, not mixing.
@@PenguinThrasherGames All depends on the equipment involved such as lowering the bass a bit if the medium is vinyl or even for cassette in some circumstances CD that usually isn't necessary. As I understand for vinyl the sound is brought above the noise floor of the vinyl itself (softer parts increased and louder portions reduced) if memory serves compression or dynamic compression or something like that, they do the samething on CD to make it as LOUD as possible. In my opinion to point it distorts the sound IE loudness wars LOL
I play my records but not too often as i want them to last a life time since most I've spent a bit on or what i consider a good amount on. I have a turn table just like yours and its a darn good player with the right cartridge the cart i have is a Ortofon 2M Red. Great video.
Same here, have an Audio Technica AT-LP120 WITH A Shure Stylus, as you say, a darn good turntable. As long as you keep any chemical spray away from them, and give them care and respect, they will last a lifetime, no matter how many times played. Sir, I am glad you used Turntable. Most people get confused with turntable and record player. Record player's are invariably, cheap and nasty, would never put my vinyl anywhere near them. However, turntables are a specialised instrument for playing vinyl records if one wants to treasure them for ever.
Nice video man... When I record my old records, I actually like the crackle and pop captured. You still get the vinyl sound on tape or MP3. I guess people hate it, but I think that's part of the experience of listening to records. Love your work.
wow thanks a million times i have learn a lot today im new to vinyl its a new passion for me and my wife and we love it excellent video!! thanks thanks thanks!!:)
Hi Craig, Many years ago when I brought a brand new album and I didn't want to play it continuously. Back in the 70's I would archive my albums onto 15 IPS half track reel to reel recorder and Ok you might have to put up with a minor amount of tape hiss but you could at least play it loud if you wanted to. OK I was in the trade so the cost if 10" spools of tape was not a great concern. I also used to archive not cassette which was also good.
Anyway we are now in the 21st century and we have SD cards and dedicated PCM recorders and Flack player.
I do like digital and I now archive straight onto my Olympus digital PCM recorder.
I have lots of options going right up to 96 KHz/24 bit down to MP3s which I don't use. I have never considered the audio stages of computers to be of a high enough quality for digital archiving.
I have recorded an album ono an SD card in my Olympus recorder I will happily copy the card to my dedicated Audio Hard Drive on my computer once it has been digitised via my PCM recorder.
Thanks for your very informative videos and I would like to see more on archiving.
A long time ago I brought one of these Pono Hi Res players but I could never get my head round recording stuff and by passing Apples iTunes to get the files onto the Pono player.
I do like my Olympus recorder which I call my iPanda. When I go out I can listen to music and swap SD cards if I need to. I just thought an alternative approach to digital rather than using an iPod or Apple iPhone 5s with only has a capacity of 64 gigs would be better.
There was studies done on this question in the 70's. The experts empathically say the moment a record is played the stylus wears out the high frequency modulations (on the grooves). Most listeners will hardly notice the degradation due the high frequency harmonics from the music itself. In other words the losses are masked. BTW, record grooves are similar to nuts and bolts. Each time you tighten them and loosen them the threads wear out, but it still work until they are so worn out to the point they no longer serve their purpose.
The studies I read also revealed that the inner part of the groove of a record suffered the most loss because the high frequencies articulations in the vinyl are closer together so they can shear off easier. This is due, of course to the fact that the stylus is covering less linear distance as it gets closer to the center, RPM being the same for the whole groove. I had several LPs at that time that showed the most distortion on that final song on each side. This was also due in part to my continued playing of those LPs with less than high quality equipment. Those studies also suggested that the vinyl that isn't sheared off becomes distorted and can likely revert to most of it's original shape if the record is allowed to recover over a period of time before being played again. This is referred to as a memory effect of the material that occurs during manufacturing. The recommended time I remember reading was 24 hours, but recovery of the vinyl is directly related to the time allowed for recovery, and I imagine the relationship is not linear with the last little bit of recovery taking much more time.
but in reality Vinyl Record last like forever if no problem from your Turntable, I have a record that I've always use from decades and i don't even balance centered my table, I just adjust the tonearm and set the needle properly, so by this it means i'm playing my record even the left or right side of the table is not balanced and still I have the same clarity music whenever I played it until now.
I had a seesaw type scale, so I could figure out the pressure. 5 pond is the value, that initially was used on microgroove records, especially when piezoelectric cartridges were introduced, initially with salt crystals, cheap but not stable. Later came ceramic and today, that's the only kind of piezoelectric transducers, you can buy.
It's important, when you restore old record players or phono tape players (so called Tefifon) and doesn't want to convert them to magnetic cartridge.
Hey Craig really really like your vinyl videos I’ve learned a lot from you and I thought I knew a lot lol. Can you please make a video on how to properly print the protracter from vinyl engine the proper size and exactly how to use it? I have a vintage Pioneer PL-50 turntable that has been completely refurbished and still OEM. I love the vintage stuff. Thanks Craig your the best man. Take care and keep producing
I have mono LPs made in the 1950s that sound amazing and I have now clue how many times they were played as I got them used
great channel and great info...love it thanks man
Great advices, awesome video! You are like a very wise guy. Cheers!
Good information, usefull video thanks, Jacques
You're the best ! Thank you very much .
YOUR VIDEOS ARE EXTREMELY INFORMATIVE!!!! THANK YOU!!!!
thanks for the great video:Happy new year from Hungary!
Thank you so much for sharing the knowledge.
I use a stand alone professional cd recorder. It does better than a 3 head cassette deck. From there, it could be transferred to your mobile devices to use out in a vehicle.
Absolutely agree! "Just play the damn thing."
I have reached a conclusion that even DJ cartridge and stylus won't wear record significantly faster than hifi stylus. I'm running an Ortofon Arkiv just for interest, VTF set to 3.25 grams. I recorded a runout loop groove about 50 revolutions and compared the first and last revolution. There wasn't any audible increase of surface noise even at very loud volume levels (or very-very slight increase). Then I did same experiment with soviet era Melodya-labeled record (their quality was very variable). This record then had some more increased surface noise. BUT... this record also had increased surface noise after doing same experiment using hifi AT91 cartridge at 2 grams VTF.
This test however might not be very conclusive because only the silent groove was used, while in modulated grooves there are much bigger forces involved regarding stylus tip mass and VTF.
You're a guru, mate. Thanks for your videos. They are incredibly helpful.
I've got records that I bought 45 years ago and sound mint. I did have good equipment back then...
Great advice Craig.. Thankyou
Rockin' the hair Craig!!
I'm looking forward to the lining up the cartridge video as I have a Rega Planar 3 that sounds great except for INNER GROOVE DISTORTION. In fact a video on how to minimise inner groove distortion would be great too!
+John Matthews I will certainly talk about that in the video. Thanks!
+John Matthews Actually, what cartridge are you running?
A Rega Elys cartridge, the one that has three screws that is designed for the Rega RB arm.
absolutely fantastic video. your the man! keep it up. alot of need to know information . thank you.
I find the older better pressings seem to hold up better over time. Old Columbia six eye, Riverside, Prestige play great after 100 or so plays. Some of the new 180 gram stuff is horrible after 30-40 plays.
Because they are not 100% virgin vinyl Back in the day, most records were 180g virgin vinyl. The cheap 180g vinyl these days has crackles, pops, and a lot of static. Have we forgotten how to produce good vinyl? Vinyl records have always been an expensive hobby, however, these days most new vinyl will be worthless in 20 years because of the cheap way they are made. The playing surface will become unplayable due to the cheap polyvinyl chloride PVC. And then, the argument becomes... is it Vinyl or is it Styrene. ?
Enjoy your videos. Playing records. I'm a huge believer in ''LAST'' record treatment. Better sound, keeps the dirt out and helps reduce wear. What are your thoughts ?
Congrats on your channel milestone. Keep up the awesome work.