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Affects of Badly Centered Hole

Recently I bought a new LP record and while listening to it I noticed that the speed seemed to waver, especially on the last two tracks of the record.  The sound of the music sounded like the tape was slowing down.  I remember this sensation with tape decks in the 80's when the motor would wear out or tension wasn't correct in the mechanism.  
Anyway, I wasn't sure if this was part of the music or not so I kept listening until I realized that there was definitely something wrong.  When I looked at the spinning LP I saw the cartridge undulating back and forth at least 1/4 of an inch.  This is the worst out of center I have ever seen a record cut.  I guess I had never realized how much this affects the pitch of the music.  I've noticed that out of center holes are not uncommon, but I have never noticed the pitch affected by it.  


128x128snackeyp
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
Yeah that is a bad one. Sometimes the hole is centered on the record but the pressing isn't. So it looks good- until you notice the arm swinging back and forth.
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
It's pretty common issue, return the record and ask for refund, get a perfect copy. 

I have some 45s and LPs with this problem, sometimes it's only on one side of the vinyl. Anyway, I hate off centered pressings as it cause terrible issue with pitch, sometimes impossible to listen to. 
edcyn
1,876 posts
 
Wow from warps, off-center pressings and misplaced center holes has driven me nuts since I was twelve...which was perhaps about one or two years ago(!).  Flutter and wow from Four Tracks, Eight Tracks, cassettes and reel-to-reals at anything slower than Seven and a Half IPS did the same.  It's one of the reasons I looked so forward to the compact disc. And back then, when you traded in a defective LP for a new one, chances were only about fifty-fifty it'd be better.  And oh yeah, don't attempt the exchange in the summer.  The vinyl would warp while wending its way across the continent.
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