If this has already been noted sorry for the repeat. If you are buying an LP that had one or two blockbuster hits check those tracks to see if they look more worn than the rest. If you see this you are probably looking at a record that was purchased new by someone who knew little and cared less about record care and preservation. They probably also used a table/arm/cart combo that caused excessive wear and groove noise every play. This can the worst defect of some used records and one of the hardest to detect visually. So if you find a mostly pristine looking first edition Led Zep but Stairway to Heaven looks noticeably duller or different in any way from the remainder drop it fast. Sorry that this doesn't help online buyers.
Second hand vinyl surface damage.
Most analogue enthusiasts enjoy perusing and buying second hand vinyl. I was doing so this week, and picked out four LP`s that I wanted to add to my collection, but only after carefully inspecting their surfaces. Naturally a delicate item such as an LP undergoes `ageing`, a thirty plus year old desirable will not have escaped some surface damage. There are occasionally long and short deeper scratches, and more often clusters of light hairline scratches. If you want it you will have to put up with the result of said surface damage, so what do members consider damage enough to regretfully put the LP back on the shelf?
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Unfortunately and IME the only way to truly determine the condition of a record is to play it! I recently acquired what looked like a Mint copy of a little known Direct to Disc. This LP was graded Mint minus, and looking at the sleeve and the record, the grading was correct. The record was cleaned with a Ultra Sonic cleaner and played. Result..tremendous hash and noise, particularly between tracks. Very sad, as the record has great potential and is hard to source. Someone in the past had played the record with a worn stylus and not realized the damage caused. |
russashe ... Sometimes by cleaning and playing a used LP, especially something like a D2D, old ground in dirt gets loosened and more noticeable in the sound ...Huh? Why would the recording technique - which is all direct-to-disc is - make a difference as to how dirt is loosened from a groove? |
I have about 4500 albums now that I got back in the early 2000's. Generally cost me no more than a dollar apiece. Don't know the market today but I know a good album upon visual inspection. Learn the Goldmine standard. It will be accurate. No need to play an album. The only thing that gets past me is groove damage. I wouldn't deal with anyone online that doesn't adhere to it. Learn to see the damage if any Then I don't play anything less than VG+. This becomes very important as you upgrade to expensive cartridges. Plus it increases enjoyment. Say no to surface noise. |
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