Noisy Vinyl Even After Cleaning

[TimeToMoveOn]

Hello all, just got into vinyl and am pretty frustrated.  i have some vinyl that sound mint with very little noise at all and some that are pretty staticky.  some of the static is pretty audible while the music is playing also, which is the really frustrating part.    The records actually look mint too, cant see any visible markings or anything so i thought they would of sounded pristine.  i was thinking maybe its my stylus or something but im not sure thats the case as some records sound perfect and others don't.

 

bought the record doctor iv and i thought it  would of solved it but nope, they sound the same.  all the reviews on it made it sound like people were discovering a whole new record as the sound difference was drastically different.  im not sure if im doing something wrong but as far as i know, when your done vacuuming the records, they are supposed to be dry.  am i not vacuuming long enough?  putting enough cleaning fluid down?  

 

pretty frustrating because i just bought my first original pressing on discogs of guns n roses use your illusions 1 and 2.  they look mint and the seller listed as vg+ but the static just ruins it.  not sure if i should send him a message or if im just not doing something properly.

 

running a pioneer pl 518 with a shure m97 era iv.  it came with the table when i bought it and the seller was the original owner and said it didnt have many hours with that stylus.  i took my jewelers loop to it and it looks ok from what i can tell.  but i just don't see how it could be cartridge/stylus related when some records sound mint.

 

please help, im ready to send this record doctor back to amazon tomorrow because it has literally had zero effect on my records that are staticky.

 

 

Edited February 15, 2023 by TimeToMoveOn

[scottheisel]

Sounds to me like it's...

...time to move on.

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

1 hour ago, TimeToMoveOn said:

Hello all, just got into vinyl and am pretty frustrated.  i have some vinyl that sound mint with very little noise at all and some that are pretty staticky.  some of the static is pretty audible while the music is playing also, which is the really frustrating part.    The records actually look mint too, cant see any visible markings or anything so i thought they would of sounded pristine.  i was thinking maybe its my stylus or something but im not sure thats the case as some records sound perfect and others don't.

 

bought the record doctor iv and i thought it  would of solved it but nope, they sound the same.  all the reviews on it made it sound like people were discovering a whole new record as the sound difference was drastically different.  im not sure if im doing something wrong but as far as i know, when your done vacuuming the records, they are supposed to be dry.  am i not vacuuming long enough?  putting enough cleaning fluid down?  

 

pretty frustrating because i just bought my first original pressing on discogs of guns n roses use your illusions 1 and 2.  they look mint and the seller listed as vg+ but the static just ruins it.  not sure if i should send him a message or if im just not doing something properly.

 

running a pioneer pl 518 with a shure m97 era iv.  it came with the table when i bought it and the seller was the original owner and said it didnt have many hours with that stylus.  i took my jewelers loop to it and it looks ok from what i can tell.  but i just don't see how it could be cartridge/stylus related when some records sound mint.

 

please help, im ready to send this record doctor back to amazon tomorrow because it has literally had zero effect on my records that are staticky.

 

 

If you want, I'll inspect your vinyl for you to see if I can find anything. Just let me know, I'll keep em for ya, too

 

[Billich0986]

Pretty sure what you're referring to is surface noise, and it sounds like a pressing fault in this instance. I recently purchased a copy of Disillusion's Ayam, and even after cleaning with my record doctor v, it still had surface noise throughout. I reached out to the vendor who I bought the record from and they sent me a new copy, which has almost no surface noise. If yours is unbearable, I would reach out to seller, request a refund and send it back. You could try giving it a run through at 45rpm or even 78rpm, as that's supposedly a trick that can sometimes alleviate surface noise. Didn't work for me with Ayam, however. 

Regarding returning the record doctor, I wouldn't. I buy plenty of brand new records that come out of the sleeve looking pretty dirty. It's not going to be a magic cure all that fixes a beat up record, or one that has a pressing defect from the plant, but with help with normal records with some debris, and help with the longevity of your needle. 

[bjorn]

If anyone is going to get into collecting (and hopefully listening to) records, they need to know that a relatively high percentage of records will sound noisy even if they are brand new. It depends on a variety of factors in the production process, and no record label or pressing plant is immune to this. In my experience, records pressed in Europe are slightly less likely to have these kinds of defects, but as in the Ayam example which I also own, they're definitely not perfect either. Record cleaning machines are nice to have, but can't do anything about crappy pressings. It's frustrating, because some records are practically perfect (like the recent My Bloody Valentine reissues), so if proper care is taken in production it can obviously be done, but so many are sloppily produced and have glaring flaws. Until you buy a copy, it's hard to know what you'll end up with. You can check Discogs listings for certain albums, as people will usually report if a pressing has issues, but that's not always reliable either. The bottom line is that you either have to make peace with this reality, or just stick with digital. If I get frustrated by the vinyl version of an album that I otherwise like, I'll usually track down a CD instead.