bad vinyl traction on certain records
Hi there,
I’ve been searching the web for ages but can’t seem to accurately describe my problem - so any seasoned vinyl heads out there, please help!
I noticed a while ago that the flip-side of the traktor timecode vinyl takes ages to pick back up when you stop it, and also if you spin back it keeps going for a while after. I also just bought a s/side 12" which is doing the same.. very weird, as i’ve never come across this problem and i’ve been dealing with wax since day..
I guess it’s a traction issue, but can anyone enlighten me?
cheers!
My timecode does the same thing, I think it may deliberate. “Real” wax however, may vary quite a bit in weight, or it may be slightly warped or jut extra slippery (due to static electricity or w/e).
Vinyl here since 96’, Sounds like record warp, I have a few records that slide like crazy on one side, and grip hard on the flip side.
Your vinyl is warped. A couple of my traktor timecodes are too. Also thanks for reminding me I had a bunch of records sitting stacked in a pile for a while that I needed to put away properly.
shakes head
Your vinyl isn’t warped, it’s bowled.
- When you place the bung side face-down, go eye level to the top of the platter, then press down on the label, then let go. You’ll see it bounce back
- When you place the bung side face-up, repeating the above will have little effect, though you’ll note that the edges of the vinyl will be a couple of millimetres up off your slip mat, all the way around
To resolve this - non-destructively - you can use a record clamp. I run three of these on my decks, vinyl or timecode.
http://www.project-audio.com/main.php?prod=recordpuck&cat=accessories&lang=en
http://www.juno.co.uk/products/project-platter-puck-record-clamp/428824-01/
^ +1
but £50 for a bloody record puck! My lord!
The usual way I deal with this is to send back the vinyl to the distributor and get a replacement.
Nogobro.
- I bought a stack of limited Eric Orr picture discs & Grey Smoke Shibuya Breaks control vinyl from Stokyo and the way they packed them bowled them
- have a stack of old disco records that were near-unplayable (which I can now back cue again)
- have been buying up the last of out-of-print releases over the last year
- generally they add a nice weight when cueing and nudging to even the flattest plate (I prefer a 180g record than the tracing paper they press these days).
Decided to go these pucks as they where some of the slickest, weightiest ones I could find.
Best accessory purchase ever (equal to my S-120 OM).
ah sick! that’s what a puck’s for! dude, i’ve been fiddling around with vinyl since day and never worked that out. The one in question is a s/sided 12" too so fairly flimsy, thought it might have something to do with that.
but cheers you lovely wise people! really appreciate it, and will sort my self out with a puck soon. temporary fix was to get a small doubled strip of paper to narrow the centre hole, which worked fine.
on the subject of pucks - what will i gain from spending 50 quid on a puck rather than 25?
One instead of two?
Pro-ject is a reputable brand and the only one that stocked a puck or clamp that suited my eye. I could be assured it was milled from a single block of alloy, that the powdercoat wouldn’t flake and that it would be balanced (rather than weighted off-axis which could ruin my wax and possibly destroy my platter).
(Also came with a pretty wooden box)
Weight is sufficient. Up to you if you want a spirit level built in, but are you gonna spend your time outside your home setup faffing about with raising legs on a deck?
I’m no expert and can’t provide professional advice, but post up some of your options and I can at least offer a personal opinoon, if that suits.
Nah that’s cool man, cheers for the advice! I guess when you’re putting a hefty weight onto your vinyl you don’t want to do any more damage than has already been done!
http://www.theaudioanalyst.com/unwarp.htm
Never tried it but people say it works; many variations on this, just don’t heat the record for too long.
Does the puck fit on a Technics 1200? It says those are made for Pro-Jects; I always thought they had a threaded spindle to tighten the puck. Does it just rest on or does it actually clamp? Doesn’t it interfere when you manipulate the records, scratching and whatnot? Or get in the way when you’re changing them?
Mmm…
- The pucks fit Technics, Stanton, Vestax, Numark
- They’re not threaded
- They slot, not clamp
- I can back-cue easily, don’t do backspins and don’t use butterrugs
- I’m not unco…I mean…they don’t cause an issue switching records
Don’t have any tunes so warped or bowled that they aren’t fixed by the pucks.
If anyone’s brave enough to use the glass plate method above feel free, but I don’t consider any of my wax worthless enough to take that risk.
If you were going to do anything like this, I can only suggest trying this (not had the opportunity to buy or try just yet. Hopefully before the end of the year):