Off center vinyl pressing

I've just bought the AP Pet Sounds 200g vinyl and I noticed that the record label at the centre is slightly off centre. Watching the cartridge there's a slight side-to-side movement as it tracks the record. The record sounds fine but I'm the kind of person who gets annoyed by the little things Is a little side-to-side movement normal when tracking a record (I'm pretty new to vinyl)? I've contacted the store I bought it from and they are willing to give me another copy I'm just a bit worried that I'm overthinking it and the record is in fact fine...

 

"The record sounds fine".

I think you answered your own question. Some people are very OCD about off-center records, but imo if it's sounds OK then that's all I would personally care about.

 

Yeah its just a bit annoying paying £35 for a brand new record that isn't perfect, I want to return it to hopefully get a perfect copy but the more I think about it, as the store I bought it from is a local record shop the pressings they have surely are all from the same pressing cycle, so is probable that all their copies will be the same as mine (slightly off centre)?

 

Some useless trivia. When the soundtrack from Quadrophenia was first released I purchased one at Preston Records in Dallas. The holes were punched off-center. I took it back and got another copy. Same thing. I bought another copy at Discount Records. Same thing. Apparently all the record stores in Dallas had received their from the same faulty shipment. As I understand it all the stores returned them. Finally got a good copy two weeks later.

 

I haven't bought an LP in about a hundred years but it was rare when one *didn't* move the needle slightly side to side.

 

This is what I'm worried about. Don't mind constantly returning faulty vinyl to Amazon but feel a bit guilty doing it to a local record store.. Plan to get a refund tomorrow, if it has the same problem I'll probably bite the bullet and keep it

 

Most of the time when I've tried to exchange an off-center record from a new pressing, the replacement is off center too. The entire pressing (run?) is affected. If I don't hear any flaws, I move on.

 

It happens sometimes but usually it doesn't affect sound quality. I never felt the need to return a record because of that.

 

I agree, if a record plays fine then a slightly off-center record isn't a big deal... but the quality control departments at these vinyl pressing plants shouldn't really be letting off-center records out of the factory in this day and age.

 

It WILL wear out much quicker with an off center hole. Just an FYI.

 

First of all, why does this seem to be more common with current pressings than with older pressings? Seems lots (most?) of my old records have little to no movement from off-center pressings. But with new purchases it seems a common occurrence. For the most part, if it's not audible, I don't care. But some--especially with longer sustained notes and in grooves further toward the center--have an unmistakable warble that's just unacceptable.
Is there some change in newer pressing methods that makes this more common these days?

 

For me, off-centered records are my biggest qualms with buying vinyl these days. I am very sensitive to the wow and flutter effect. And it always seems like a crapshoot if my latest purchase is going to have this defect or not.

However, there are those rare times when an off-centered doesn't have any audible effects. If this is the case, I would count yourself lucky and enjoy the music.

If this isn't the case, by all means, exchange it. I have returned many off centered records to my local stores. Sometimes they are well aware of the issue. Numero Group was fantastic in helping me find perfectly centered copies of the Bedhead box set after the first pressings were all off centered. Sufjan Steven's Carrie and Lowell was another with off centered issues. I made an exchange at my local record store and the new copy was centered correctly.

 

I hate off centre records! I am sensitive to pitch and if the sound is even very slightly affected by an off centre pressing I will notice it and it will annoy me to the extent I don't play the record much.

Luckily I don't get many off centre records at all.

 

If an exchange doesn't do the trick, I either sell the record or use the X-acto knife trick. While cutting out the center hole does work, it makes playback a bit of a pain. And also, I would feel bad if I ever wanted to sell a record that I've taken under the knife. Though, I have unknowingly bought records that have been "fixed".

 

That doesn't sound as bad as the off centre MFSL Nirvana Nevermind that I had and returned that was close to Jamaican Tuff Gong's finest.

 

Friends don't let friends buy dodgy digital nu-vinyl.

 

I have some recent MFSL records that are off-center. I can't hear any warbling, but it still upsets me. They weren't cheap!

 

I can hear minor variations in pitch like an eagle can spot a mouse at 100 yards. That's not bragging - it's a real pain in the vinyl world. I've had to give up some very fine belt-drive tables (Rega, Heybrook, Thorens) in favor of a plain-Jane Technics 1200 due to this problem. I tried everything with belt drives: tighter belt, looser belt, talc on the belt, motor upgrades, polished pulleys and bearings, changing oil viscosities, etc. to no avail. Well-serviced, idler-wheel tables (Lenco, Rek-O-Kut) sound pretty solid to me, but I've never had the time to build a heavy plinth to sufficiently address the dreaded idler rumble.

If the center hole is off, it's like nails on a chalkboard, and it gets worse near the end of a side. For some reason, it's really common on reggae records, old and new. Some musical content makes it more audible than others, for example chimey guitars as on the Rhino pressing of the Smiths' first LP, or solo piano on classical records. Despite the fact that I'm a (good) drummer, I don't notice it as much on the beat as on pitch.

 

I've noticed a few of the AP Beach Boy titles are pressed off center. Some play out of tune which drives me nuts.

 

Just to be clear, the label being off-center doesn't necessarily mean that the record was pressed off-center. The label could have been slapped on there off-center.

With the tonearm placed at the lead-in groove, do you see the cartridge swaying back and forth? If not, then it was just a misplaced label.

 

"Watching the cartridge there's a slight side-to-side movement as it tracks the record.", dixit the OP.

 

Wouldn't care about the label being off centre. If the hole is off centre on a new record I would return it. Even the slightest sway in pitch makes me crazy.
Thanks to info on this forum I learnt how to "correct" off centre holes, works like a charm.

 

Lp's don't bother me as much as 45's, gosh I have a heap of 'shotty' 45's!
They're terrible! Being 'pitch sensitive' myself also, it becomes basically
unplayable for.

 

Does anyone know if there is a good video online of this process. I've read about how to do it many times, but I'm more of a visual learner.

 

Yes, and I wanted to make sure he wasn't just looking at it in relationship to the label. That can throw off perception.