Topic: Noise at quiet section during transfer of vinyl

[Jonas Karlsson]

Hello, been busy playing my old vinyl collection lately, but at the quiet parts of a record (before, after and in between songs) I hear a noise that sounds like from the tonearm.

I use a Pro-ject essential, and have included an mp3 of the sound (listen before the song starts at about 8 seconds!).

http://snd.sc/QHmd4J

/Jonas, Gothenburg, Sweden

[bugg100]

Your sample isn't working in either opera or firefox.  It says the sample is being transcoded...

[Jonas Karlsson]

sorry - here we go

http://snd.sc/115hfzE

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

I don't hear anything unusual.Just basic surface noise. Actually sounds pretty good to me. I have some records that have more surface noise, and some that have less. I'd say that is better than average.

If that really bothers you you can run your finished recording through a few iZotope RX Advanced plugins. I'll usually run my vinyl rips through the Declicker. Ocasionally I'll also run them through the Denoiser plugin. Rarely I'll use the Hum Remover plugin.

Ideally you don't use any of those, but ideally every pressing would be perfect and they are not.

[Jonas Karlsson]

I don't really mean the "static"-noise, but the.... how to describe in english.... scraping noise in the background. I've removed the static so you can hear it better here:

http://snd.sc/QJhdMU

This might be different from record to record of course, I haven't tried another one yet.

[dallman]

It just sounds like the noise of the needle in the groove. Part oif the vinyl experience. You could take that section and kill the volume in any editing software if it bothers you. To me it is just a signal tyhat the music is on its way, but I grew up on vinyl and still listen to it frequently. The noise is unavoidable though in my experience.

[Jonas Karlsson]

Aight, I'm cool with that - it's been a long time since I had a recordplayer and all is probably just getting used to it 

[acidjack]

Agree, sounds like standard surface noise.

What you do want to watch for is the problem I had with a (brand new) deck at first, which is the vertical tracking angle being off.  On my player, the cartridge was ever so lightly actually touching the record, so you'd hear a light "thunk" on every revolution. You could not hear it while music was playing, but during silence, it could be heard.

If you have that problem, you need someone to fix your player or learn how to do it yourself...

[Jonas Karlsson]

SO... what would be the most effective way of cleaning the surface of the LP itself? To make sure it's not static and to get rid of the dust that have settled in the lines over the years... ?

Tips?

[ilduclo]

there's some real good descriptions as to how to wash vinyl.  google is your friend here. I use one of these, which I think has done well.

http://www.amazon.com/DISCWASHER-D4-Record-Cleaning-System/dp/B000000X4N/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1354139754&sr=1-1

[acidjack]

I like this one: http://www.spincleanrecordwasher.com   Now if you ask the real experts here like m0k3 he will tell you that is totally insufficient because a good washer can also vacuum the surface.  I won't disagree with him on anything to do with vinyl, but a vacuum-based machine will cost a lot more than the Spin Clean.

A soft cloth with some cleaning fluid also probably will do the trick.  I do like the Spin Clean though for cleaning used vinyl I buy at the store.  For wiping down a new record, I think it's probably overkill. 

[Jonas Karlsson]

Thanks, I have actually looked at the spin-clean (which even looked fun) but settled for a more manual version including destilled water. Using/bying a cleaner with vacuum is not an option, it's too expensive.

/Jonas