[bigshot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zanth /img/forum/go_quote.gif Dude, I have plucked NEW virgin vinyl straight outta the package that looked more like a twirling skirt than flat vinyl. Hills and valleys, hills and valleys. So depressing.

That is a manufacturing defect. The person who puts the puck in the stamper has to take it out carefully after it's stamped. The vinyl is still soft as it comes out and can be deformed if it is taken out roughly. Send it back for an exchange.

I used to be a stickler about that back in the LP era. There's no excuse for warped brand new records.

See ya
Steve

 

[Zanth]

I have lucked out with a local dealer who will take back warped lps and exchange for a new one. However, some online folks enforce paying shipping back and forth which often times amounts to more than I paid for the LP (at least when dealing with the US and Canada) so I usually just suck it up.

 

[bigshot]

I wouldn't deal with any company that doen't cover all the costs to replace defective merchandise. That is a cost of doing business, and the customer shouldn't have to pay it. Stick with the local dealer.

But that said, you have to be realistic about what is a warp and what isn't. Every record has a little bit of uneveness. None are stone flat. But if your tonearm is riding like a roller coaster, the disk is defective.

See ya
Steve

 

[Zanth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigshot /img/forum/go_quote.gif But that said, you have to be realistic about what is a warp and what isn't. Every record has a little bit of uneveness. None are stone flat. But if your tonearm is riding like a roller coaster, the disk is defective. See ya Steve

Oh most definitely. I'm talking MASSIVE defects. Small warps are fine on my table, but those massive ones, I just don't bother just in case they could damage something.

 

[drk]

you're very helpful, people. very informative discussion. i've also found that it's extremely difficult to find an LP that is stone flat, like steve has said. all of them have some little kind of unevenness. i suppose that's fine and can't damage anything.

regarding cleaning of records, i've bought some german liquid for that purpose called "audioclean, hi-fi tuning: vinyl cleaner". it should be sprayed on a vinyl, you should let it work for about a minute and then wipe it off with a clean cloth. no distilled water after that or anything necessary. it works very well so far.

what i was wondering about is: how do you guys store your vinyls so you don't warp them/damage them in time? should they stand horizontally, vertically, 90 degrees vertically, away from sunlight, away from higher temperatures (which temps would be considered higher), what kind of sleeves do you use?

 

[memepool]

You should always store records vertically, never horizontally as the weight will grind any detritis in the sleeve into the playing surface.

Ideally put them in Goldring or Nagaoka style antistatic sleeves after cleaning and keep them on a shelf which keeps the dust off them.

Ikea make several ranges of shelves which are fine for records although you can of course buy more expensive ones with glass doors etc. You want something divided into 13" or 14" square compartments ( to accomodate box sets etc) so that you don't have more than 150-200 records leaning on each other.

The environment should ideally be temperate all year round avoiding swift changes in climate, not excessively humid, away from direct sunlight and heat sources like radiators and of course regularly dusted.

 

[drk]

a beautiful post! thank you for your effort, much obliged

 

[drk]

ok, one more thing:

recently i have bought quite a few NEW vinyls (really high quality releases), but they're warped even new. and i don't mean "warped as in not stone flat", i mean very visibly warped when you give it a spin. so, basically, one has to play warped records.

i know it's impossible to say which level of a record being warped is acceptable, but since i have very little experience in this, it's difficult for me to really say what's slightly warped, warped, or very warped and how this level of a record being warped affects the stylus and/or cartridge. is there any way someone with more experience in TTs could provide some kind of descriptions of what's regarded as "acceptably warped", or links from where we could learn about these things?

 

[bigshot]

Gradual slopes are ok. Up and down drops are not. If a new record is warped, that is a manufacturing defect. Exchange it.

See ya
Steve

 

[drk]

excuse me for ignorance once again, but what is a "gradual slope", as opposed to "up and down drop"?

thanks

 

[bigshot]

Gradual slope is a rise and fall that goes all the way around the record. Up and down drop is a large warp in a short space. If you see the tonearm bounce at all or the cantilver squash down, the record is defective.

See ya
Steve