2. analog
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Is that record dead yet?

I'm just curious to know if there is some point where folks decide 'this record is too beat to play'? I picked up two potentially really great finds this week that are in less than primo condition. However, some of these deep grooves from the fifties will track fine after having been run over by a truck and such is the case here. The two records in question are Lou Donaldson - Swing and Soul (BN West 63rd) and Red Garland w/Trane - High Pressure (Prestige White Label Promo). On the later, I've seen sandpaper with less gloss, but it plays through and aside from a lot of pops it actually sounds OK.

I tend to lean more towards listening to music rather than my system, but I'm also met guys who won't put a scratched record on the TT. Just curious to see how people feel about this.
grimace
elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
It's the groove. Old Lps have big 'ol grooves. They can be thrashed a lot and still have a lot of fine groove left. (especially if your diamond sits at a different level than the one that trashed the record in the first place... then you basically have a brand new groove in a rotten looking record!)
Later Lps have much smaller, shallower grooves and do not fair as well after being trashed.
Also,
The guy worried about destroying his expensive ($$$$) MC cart has a point! A bad nick can rip that delicate Moving Coil stylus diamond right off. Most MM carts are study enough to handle a hard pull from a gash in the LP (I am sort of making this up, so if your experience is different, please go ahead and diss' me plenty!)
grimace OP
624 posts
 
Well, I'm using a Shure M97xe that only cost about $50, so replacement wouldn't break the bank. Even so, I haven't encountered a scratch on either of these two discs that actually registers anything violent sounding, and no skips. The resiliancy of this old vinyl really is pretty amazing.
pryso
1,501 posts
 
Grimace, do you have a record cleaner? No help for wear, but a lot of your "pops" might be dirt and grundge in the groove which could be washed out. I believe every vinyl enthusiast should have a record cleaning machine. Even an inexpensive manual model will work. One friend has over 8K LPs and still uses a manual RCM.
chadnliz's avatar
chadnliz
3,736 posts
 
If you dont have a cleaner you should ignore any other investment until you get a unit for deep cleaning and suction removal of dirt.
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
5,112 posts
 
For 30 dollars or so you can get a steamer which is better than a RCM
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