My Misadventures In The World Of Vinyl!

Do you have any wooden toothpicks? I had to gently extract some record dandruff recently and that worked.

 

Non-fill on records and paper and gunk in the grooves can cause skipping but if you see scratches on a brand new record they are probably just cosmetic and would not cause a needle to jump like that. Sounds more like an issue with your cartridge, tracking force or turntable.

 

Oh crap, I feel for you. After a few similar experiences, I avoid new vinyl, expecially buying from sites. In stores you can at least check the vinyl for scratches; I bought all my "new" Hendrix vinyl is local stores, most of them mint second-hand, which kind of guarantees there's no quality issues, or the store wouldn't have stocked them.

 

Yep tried that but this SoaB will not move at all. I suspect it got there when pressing and has well and truly adhered itself in the grooves when the vinyl cooled down. There were a couple on the other side but gentle rubbing got this out. To remove this, I think a pick axe might be required. At least they are doing a refund without question.

 

Thanks again to everyone who participated in this thread so far.
I actually feel better about the situation than I did yesterday.
I would rather need a better system than to think buying vinyl is like throwing darts at a dartboard, blindfolded and in a hurricane....
Or like playing pinball against Tommy.

Well...
Having read all of the posts, I think I'm going to look for a better turntable.
While I know a couple of those records skipped due to poor manufacture or mishandled at the plant and weren't going to play, the others might have played on a better turntable.
I will have to save some money to get one, but I can play what I already have on this table.
I feel comfortable buying old vinyl that's cheap.
I can spend a few bucks here and there for what I consider bargains and hold back some cash for the new system.
I'm not sure why the old discs play fine and new ones don't, but that's one of those mysteries of the universe....like where does the missing sock go in the laundry...

And here's a question.....
I know there's a lot of people who take cheap portable record players to shops to test out vinyl...
Now, if the cheap player can cause bad skipping, how do they know it's the player and not the record.
Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of taking the player in the first place?

 

Back in the mid 60s, I had a small portable Philips player that ran off batteries. It was so small that an LP used to hang over the edge. But I never had problem with skipping or jumping unless the album had a nasty scratch. I'd like to have it now when I go to record fairs but I would need a headphone connection to really check out the sound quality.

 

I have never been to a shop that didn't either have demo decks for you to use, or the willingness to spin something on their house deck for you to hear.

Good luck, and fwiw - I buy TONS of vinyl, new and used. I have only encountered a handful of issues over the last 20 years with New Vinyl. Usually warping or dishing...but, the occasional scratch or pressing imperfection.

 

Yes. Such a bizarre practice. Saw a guy doing this once at a store and he was playing valuable Impulse releases from the '60s. Made me want to cry every time he put another one onto that portable groove wrecker.

 

Screw vinyl! It's a mugs game.
CDs rule!

 

Thanks for the info. You're right, ain't nothing adjustable about that turntable. But hey, it was a gift, and it's good that you can play your old LP's on it. If I were you, I'd look into getting a U-Turn Orbit, or maybe start a thread asking about recommendations for used vintage TT's. But you definitely don't want to spend $25 a pop for new LP's if your turntable skips. This is pure speculation on my part, but perhaps the tonearm on your turntable isn't heavy enough or well-balanced enough to track the new LPs.

I have a Pro-Ject Debut III which at the time I bought it was the cheapest good turntable out there. I've had it for over 10 years and it still satisfies. Save up for a good table - the U-Turn is actually less expensive than my Pro-Ject, and probably better in some ways - you won't regret it.

 

It does seem pretty light.

 

My view is the cheap Projects aren't well enough built. Don't know about the U turn but a DJ type deck is likely to be the most solid and reliable at lower prices. Check out the AT Lp120 and the Pioneer PLX500. Think later will have a better arm if it's anything like the PLX1000 I have. Belt drives really have quality at Rega P3 level and up ( but you need phono stage added to the budget (as you do for U turn and most Projects).

 

I had this happen a few weeks ago. Had a sony legacy pressing with some thing pressed into it that protruded from the surface. Plus it was warped. Got a clean replacement.

Also, if you get are ask for vinyl as gifts, make sure the receipt is saved so you can exchange it if its defective.

 

I have to agree with the frustration. I love vinyl as a format, but I have run into WAY too many new vinyl with poor quality-control. Main issue has been just filthy, dirty records. These are NEW, shrink-wrapped records, but they're still filthy as hell, with a layer of soot on them as if they've been sitting exposed during a sandstorm. How does this even happen?
New records should not be this noisy - I shouldn't have to run brand new records through one of those expensive record-washing machines. I with I had one, as almost every new record seems to need a thorough washing.

I've had a good number come warped, but on one was bad enough to return.

I've had a few mislabeled (side A label on both sides), a few with the inner sleeve bent to hell when they crammed it into the outer sleeve. Just all kinds of manufacturing/assembly/packaging errors that should not happen on items this expensive.

I've even run into new records with a glob of gunk that looked like an insect pressed INTO the vinyl. WTF!

 

If I were a shop owner, I would never let people bring a portable TT into the store and 'test' the records. That's a sure way to damage the grooves.

 

I had a similar problem with returning items to Amazon recently.

I ordered a copy of Rush's Permanent Waves that arrived with serious seam splitting and a copy of George Harrison's Live in Japan that was improperly boxed and caused severe jacket damage. I'm just not accepting that with new vinyl.

Amazon would not accept the Rush for return, despite NOTHING on the listing saying that. The George Harrison LP would only give me a refund. So, I called and argued with them. I'm a Prime Member, have an Amazon VISA, and have been on Amazon for almost 18 years. I'm not taking no for an answer or I'll be talking to a few managers. After a few minutes, the customer service rep offered to send me a new copy of Rush and refunded me for the George Harrison (since they didn't have anymore and STILL haven't gotten any more in after about 3 weeks). He told me to keep the damaged items and not bother to send them back.

The second Rush LP has some minor seam splitting and I decided to keep it this time instead of arguing with them again.

I'm willing to bet that they are either getting nitpicky with certain vinyl returns.. or.. if the record comes in a loose baggy type, they can't prevent seam splits with any of their packing so they just don't take them back. I haven't ordered any more LPs since this incident. But anything that I know comes in a loose baggy... will be now coming from Music Direct because they will remove the LP from the jacket if you ask.

 

Amazon refunded me for the CCR record and are going to replace the Jimi records.
Maybe I'll get better results when the new copies come in.
When I was younger, playing records on a Symphonic turntable stereo (with an 8-Track Player!) I only remember getting one record that was scratched brand new, right out of the sleeve.
It was The J. Geils Band Freeze Frame. It skipped at the beginning of the title track.
I can only remember one record that started skipping after I had it. It was Kiss Destroyer. It skipped on Flaming Youth, first song on side two.
Most of the records in my collection haven't been played in years. I'm taking care of that right now.
I do believe the quality of record pressing is not what it used to be, but when done right, I think vinyl offers the best sound.
Others have certainly talked about getting bad copies and filthy records brand new.
Do people have pride in their work anymore?

 

I had a turntable that cost £100 some of my records skipped tracks. Bought another turntable that cost £300 no problems now.

 

The other day I was playing a record with no visual problems at all but halfway thru the second song the track started to sound fuzzy then it started skipping in the same place. I wonder why is this happening? Then I realized I didn't let the tonearm lowering lever go down all the way.

 

I recently had a new album of mine - which had been playing perfectly for its first 5 plays or so - start skipping all of a sudden. Tried brushing it as usual, didn't help.

I broke out my scope - grabbed a really bright light - and could see why much easier

 

OP - careful if you try that - here are some photos I took recently to show what it would look like trying to clean a LP with a sewing pin - which is much smaller point than a toothpick...

How can I repair deep scratches in older records?

 

my copy of AYE? is severely dished as well.

 

Today, I got a copy of the 2 LP version of Are You Experienced (disc 1 is the original UK version and disc 2 is the singles). I ordered it before my previous order arrived.
I played it and....
NO SKIPS! Maybe my luck is changing.......nah!
Not only did it not skip, but it sounded amazing!
This is the best sounding version of this album I have heard (including 8-track!, okay, I've never heard it on 8-track)!
I need to check the pressing info and post it here......

 

Not to derail my own thread, but, I do want to say it's not all bad.
Don't get me wrong, I can complain with the best of them!
I take great pride in my ability to complain.

Never mind all that....
If anyone is interested in the 2 LP version of AYE that I got today and sounds awesome...
Here is a link to the Discogs page:

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced

 

LPs for me just became too much of a hassle. It's sad because I prefer the sound quality overall ;however, issues like what the op stated, as well as price, storage space, and the extra attention it takes, is why I stopped. CDs may not sound as good, but they don't sound bad.

I personally think that LPs were not designed to be shipped across the country. I think that perhaps traveling in a mail truck and being exposed to certain climates for long periods of time may also be a factor. I had received more records that were warped through Amazon, then from a store.

This is just my opinion.