I'm a Vinyl newb - help me!

[Raphph]

Fellow muso's

I'm a convert to vinyl - been recording lots of classic sixties and seventies albums to vinul that aren't on CD and using Soundforge and Waves X-Crackle / X-Click etc to touch up recordings. All fine, except,

I've noticed most records sound more distorted the closer to the inner ring you get - any reason for this? Am I doing anything wrong? Most records scratched as hell or very clean seem to do this - what could be causing it? Most often the stylus doesn't have dirt by the end of playing the side?? Please help!

[LouBarlow]

It's common for sound quality to deteriorate the nearer to the inner ring the record gets, especially on older set-ups, or systems that aren't set-up *just* right.

Is your stylus and tone-arm all set-up correctly? Bias? Your tracking force could also be out.

Be prepared for a headache trying to get it right :D

It's why I've eased up on my vinyl buying - life's just too short.

http://www.soundfountain.com/amb/ttadjust.html#LEV

[TheoGB]

It's why I've eased up on my vinyl buying - life's just too short.

Don't worry people. I'm sure he's only referring to vinyl records. :suspect:

[Raphph]

Thanks Lou - I take it there isn't any software that can reduce the effect of Inner Groove Distortion?

[SimonI]

Here's a historical note: the very first music disk was actually called the grafophone and tracked from the inside out (just like CDs and DVDs), for the two very good reasons that a) you can play any size record since it always starts in the centre and b) most music in those days that was recorded, ie., classical, was louder at the end and the best sound quality is in the outer grooves.

Unfortunately, someone else didn't want to pay the licence fee to the inventor and so patented a record that started on the outside, called the gramophone, and as with so many competing formats, the superior one lost the format war. Hmmm... sound familiar, blues and reds :suspect:

[KRW]

I had no idea there was a machine called a Grafaphone, but now I want one for proper vinyl snobbery to commence. ("Oh dear, you mean you don't stock this title on Grafaphone? The sound is far superior because the grooves get bigger as it goes on..etc.etc")

[DeadYankee]

Don't worry people. I'm sure he's only referring to vinyl records. :suspect:

I'm not so sure. I don't like to think how badly his inner ring might have deteriorated

[Anorakus]

To answer the OP's question, it's because the needle has more difficulty in tracking the groove modulations, which of course become more tightly spaced the closer to the centre you go. This shows up as sibilance in vocals and a general ragged quality to the sound - the needle tip is being flung around the groove and not following the groove walls as it's supposed to.

The answer, assuming you have a decent turntable (about £200 worth, say a Rega Planar 2 (http://www.rega.co.uk/html/p2.htm) or Project Debut III (http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/2603)) is to spend some more cash on a decent cartridge with a lightweight cantilever and line profile tip.

Having used Ortofons and Rega's own Bias cartridge for years, and experienced deteriorating sound towards the inner grooves on many of my LPs, I finally invested in an Audio Technica 440MLa (http://www.needledoctor.com/Audio-Technica-440MLa-Cartridge?sc=7&category=909). The difference was absolutely incredible - like listening to a CD, in terms of the stability and accuracy of the sound. You sometimes get crackling, particularly towards the centre, if the grooves are worn (the LPs fault, not the cartridge), but the quality of the sound rises above it - expansive sound, clear vocals and no sibilance.

The above cartridge is probably the cheapest available that uses a line profile tip. The more exotic moving coil designs are nearly all made like this, but you'd be looking in excess of £100-£150.

Don't bother with one of those plasticky USB turntables you can buy through The Guardian etc. - they will sound horrible. Quality sound means quality engineering, and that doesn't come cheap :(

The link I provided goes to an American site, and you'd be well advised to check out prices in the US compared to the UK. Even if you get stung for import duty and Royal Mail's £8 charge, you'll probably still be saving money.

Collecting vinyl is a great hobby. You can pick up classic 60's, 70's and 80's stuff for around £2 a pop at a decent collector's shop (the more popular artists, Led Zep, Beatles etc. go for a bit more, but I don't mind spending £10 on a mint LP - still cheap compared to new CDs).

My latest find is a nearly-mint copy of UB40 "Signing Off". Sounds lovely on the turntable late at night after a couple of drinks :)

A.

[seventy3]

Nice response Anorakus. I too love a bit of UB40 in the wee small hours (although that tends to be around 10.30 now I have small children to wake me at 6am!).

I have an AT cartridge in my Planar 3 which is now just beginning to show it's age so I'll be following your link too.

The warmth I get from vinyl is my favourite feature. Even relatively battered charity shop finds gain an extra dimension. I picked up a bunch of Donna Summer LPs (Bad Girls, Once Upon A Time, Live And More) for £1 each and they sound superb. As does the new Hot Chip which was well worth paying £3 more or the vinyl version.