If you ever buy used records, you’ve learned that however clean they looked in the store, they sometimes skip or have a little scratch as loud as a gunshot, usually on your favorite song. I’ve used this fix at least five times, and it worked every time, both on skips and loud scratches that run across grooves. (If the scratch runs with the groove, you’re pretty much fucked, as the gentleman in the video points out. ) Using a toothpick is a brililant solution. It can get into a groove just enough to smooth out the edges, but it’s not sharp enough to go deep into the groove and ruin the record. I guess you could ruin it if you pushed hard enough, but gentle pressure fixes the problem.
Tales of True Adventure for Rugged Men Not Unlike Yourself
If one doesn’t own any
SKRAAATCHvinyl, may one still be a member inGRIINDDgood standing on this blog?(asking for a friend)
I’m too new here to call that one, but I’m no vinyl snob, so I care not. I love records, but it’s mostly a nostalgia thing. I don’t think they inherently sound better than streaming or CD’s; they’re just more fun. The best recordings I’ve ever heard were analogue delivered via reel-to-reel tape, but they could have simply been better-engineered than any digital I’ve heard. Some of that analogue fidelity is lost in pressing an LP, so I don’t think any record can match the original tapes.
But when it comes to vinyl vs. streaming or CD’s, it’s a moot point because most vinyl is cut from digital masters anyway. The transistion to vinyl playback would by definition add some frequecy limitations, but some people perceive that as better sound. . . which is fine, to each his own. Music is music, and great music is great in any format. I have a few records that, last time I checked, aren’t available anywhere digitally, so I won’t be ditching my record player any time soon. But I mostly stream music for the convenience, and it sounds good enough.
I’ll try that. I tend to stick to used, originalish presses when I buy records, and they’ve always got issues. New records are overpriced and overpackaged, but they’re a good way to support the artist, so I’ve been buying a few here and there. And it’s pure nostalgia / collector’s obsession.