corbet Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 What causes this? I noticed that some of my records have lots of background crackling. An example of this is my copy of mewithoutYou's Brother, Sister, by Burn Toast. Tons of crackling. My other mewithoutYou records (from Gilead) sound perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest genericinsight Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 I've always wondered this myself but didn't ask in fear of being yelled at. maybe it has to do with the mastering? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronniethebear Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 Dust is probably the biggest cause of this. Do you own a carbon fiber brush? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suicidemachine Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 Dust is probably the biggest cause of this. Do you own a carbon fiber brush? Yea, your best bet is to get a brush to clean off your records. Especially on really old records that weren't taken care of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmonaut Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 Just a guess, but I know that records can also build up a lot of static electricity, and it seems like this might be your problem. The carbon fiber brushes might help, as Ronnie suggested. I think there are also some anti-static products for records. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corbet Posted February 16, 2008 Author Share Posted February 16, 2008 Regarding cleaning products and brushes, I'm looking to put in a order from NeedleDoctor.com. What cleaning products should I pick up? Should I get the $20 Audioquest Brush or are the cheaper $10 ones just as good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riddle350 Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 Does anyone else like the crackle and pops that some records make? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronniethebear Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 Regarding cleaning products and brushes, I'm looking to put in a order from NeedleDoctor.com. What cleaning products should I pick up? http://www.needledoctor.com/Audioquest-Carbon-Fiber-Brush?sc=2&category=1177 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest genericinsight Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 I've always wondered this myself but didn't ask in fear of being yelled at. maybe it has to do with the mastering? well I'll be damned, and stupid. I never realized dust/static was a main cause of this. shows how much I know. my dust brush and cloth was mailed today according to the email I got from turntablebasics.com, so I should have it by next week. I'm ready for a whole new record listening experience that I've been missing out on all these years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronniethebear Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 Audio quality (or the lack thereof) can be attributed to a lot of different things, dust being just one of them. The thickness and purity of the vinyl also has a lot to do with it. I've also noticed at times, with new records, that they will be "pitted," meaning there are tiny dents on the surface, caused by god knows what. This is sure to effect the quality of playback. Also, if there's too much audio crammed onto a side, the grooves are closer together and cause a drop in quality, as well as skipping. Hopefully this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riddle350 Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 The quality of your turntable and needle can make a big difference as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest genericinsight Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Also, if there's too much audio crammed onto a side, the grooves are closer together and cause a drop in quality, as well as skipping. Hopefully this helps. this is a very good point. I have noticed some of my records where the grooves are more spaced out sound a LOT better than records where the ones where they're closer together. My Tim Barry LP's are perfect examples of this, as each only has a limited amount of audio and thus, spaced out grooves. could it also be maybe depending on whether the record plays at 45rpm vs. 33rpm? I've noticed some of the 33rpm records sound a little better than the 45rpm ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markalark17 Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Does anyone else like the crackle and pops that some records make? Yeah, I do a little actually. But one of my records has some serious static pretty much throughout the entire record. It's been like that since I took the shrink off. Can that really be dust? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riddle350 Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Does anyone else like the crackle and pops that some records make? Yeah, I do a little actually. But one of my records has some serious static pretty much throughout the entire record. It's been like that since I took the shrink off. Can that really be dust? my guess would be that the mastering or some other audio production on the record just isn't very good. I have a few records that just don't sound all that good and there isn't anything wrong with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronniethebear Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Also, if there's too much audio crammed onto a side, the grooves are closer together and cause a drop in quality, as well as skipping. Hopefully this helps. this is a very good point. I have noticed some of my records where the grooves are more spaced out sound a LOT better than records where the ones where they're closer together. My Tim Barry LP's are perfect examples of this, as each only has a limited amount of audio and thus, spaced out grooves. could it also be maybe depending on whether the record plays at 45rpm vs. 33rpm? I've noticed some of the 33rpm records sound a little better than the 45rpm ones. Actually 45rpm generally produces better sound quality than 33rpm, due to the amount of space it takes up on the record. Faster speed = more space. But all the other factors I mentioned come into play as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corbet Posted February 17, 2008 Author Share Posted February 17, 2008 I'm gonna order the brush from turntable basics. Is a "stylus cleaning solution" needed or is it basically soap + water? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronniethebear Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 I don't think it's soap and water. I'd go ahead and buy the cleaning solution because it's probably specially formulated with chemicals that won't deteriorate the rubber part of the needle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corbet Posted February 17, 2008 Author Share Posted February 17, 2008 Is a Cotton Chamois Record Cloth required if I'm already getting a Carbon Fiber Brush? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronniethebear Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 The cloth will take care of things like oils and residue from your hands, whereas the brush will only get the dust. So if you really want to take extra care, I'd say go for the cloth too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafter242 Posted April 13, 2008 Share Posted April 13, 2008 I also appreciate when they add the crackles to a cd press. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatlinemole Posted April 13, 2008 Share Posted April 13, 2008 What causes this? I noticed that some of my records have lots of background crackling. An example of this is my copy of mewithoutYou's Brother, Sister, by Burn Toast. Tons of crackling. My other mewithoutYou records (from Gilead) sound perfect. my brother, sister album has some parts on it that skip at the same place during 'messes of men'. i compared it to my friends lp, and it has the same skip at the exact same place in the song. i'm pretty sure gileads releases are a much better quality... but anyway, have you used the fiber brush/cloth yet? have they worked in the way you wanted them to? give us some feedback... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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