Well, my experience is the same as Michael Fremer's, and all the other big time experts. If you apply the Stylast correctly to the stylus end only, you don't have to worry about it creeping up into the motor. It never has with mine...there's just not enough of it on there to do something like that. It is completely dry from the cantilever on up. Wet playing might draw whatever is on the record surface up into the motor, but I don't do that, so I'm not worried about it. |
Mr. eber I was referring to the stylast product as it pertains to the cartridge any liquid introduced into the motor structure of the cartridge will not do the cartridge any good. Not as it pertains to playing a record wet. The Last preservative which is placed on the vinyl is dry before you play a record. What I was trying to convey was that besides being harmful to your vinyl playing a reford wet is also harmful to your cartridge, hence the reference to the stylast product which has also been found th wick up the cantilever into the motor structure (as would a liquid placed on the playing surface of a record) with adverse effects. |
I agree with Tommy_in_Sylmar, why don't you buy a Little Philips CDR880? It's cheap and it would give you the bang for the buck. We're talking about non-professional archive of LP's right? Using a PC (be it with NT or any other MS product) will not achieve the level of quality you (probably) are expecting. I have a HP8100 CD Writer with Adaptec software: it's fantastic to do an occasional backup copy to listen to in the car, but that's about it. If you are serious about archiving then you have to go through professional equipment (listen to Ramstl, he's right on every word he says, including wet LP playing which sound good but is not very practical. I use it for critical listening with my Ortofon MC3000 Mk2). Finally I suspect you may be tempted by the idea of archiving all your LP's and may not realize that you're going to spend huge bucks on CDR's an realize later on that it may have been a mistake. Remember 2 things: 1- LP playback is still the best on a good turntable (nothing compares to it, except maybe the SACD-I'm waiting to listen to it) 2- If you carry on with this project then make sure you use "for Music only" CDR's like the TDK CD-R XG for audio. So much said, good luck!!! PS: Home PC's are NOT Hi-Fi equiped, be it with Sound blaster or anything else (let alone Windows based software). Cheers |
I agree with Tommy_in_Sylmar, why don't you buy a Little Philips CDR880? It's cheap and it would give you the bang for the buck. We're talking about non-professional archive of LP's right? Using a PC (be it with NT or any other MS product) will not achieve the level of quality you (probably) are expecting. I have a HP8100 CD Writer with Adaptec software: it's fantastic to do an occasional backup copy to listen to in the car, but that's about it. If you are serious about archiving then you have to go through professional equipment (listen to Ramstl, he's right on every word he says, including wet LP playing which sound good but is not very practical. I use it for critical listening with my Ortofon MC3000 Mk2). Finally I suspect you may be tempted by the idea of archiving all your LP's and may not realize that you're going to spend huge bucks on CDR's an realize later on that it may have been a mistake. Remember 2 things: 1- LP playback is still the best on a good turntable (nothing compares to it, except maybe the SACD-I'm waiting to listen to it) 2- If you carry on with this project then make sure you use "for Music only" CDR's like the TDK CD-R XG for audio. So much said, good luck!!! PS: Home PC's are NOT Hi-Fi equiped, be it with Sound blaster or anything else (let alone Windows based software). Cheers |
Stylast treats the stylus, not the record, and it has lubricating oils that reduce friction, at least somewhat. |
For the gentlemen who stated that playing the records wet was the thing to do is dead wrong. Lenco was the European company that came out with a wet record playing system in the late 70's they had an arm with a small microfiber head that applied an alcohol and water solution onto the playing surface that followed the record along with the tonearm. You can find them on ebay occasionally. However in the early eighties it came to light via microscopic investigation that playing a record wet caused increased wear of the vinyl and actually the stylus actually acted as a cutter. Also the liquid would be drawn up the canteliver and into the cartridge motor assembly thereby reducing its life expectancy. That is why many audiophiles had steered away from the Stylast product. I hope this helps. |
If you have a good phono pre-amp, and a good computer sound card and software, the sound qualit cad surpass any cd you could buy. The first LP,s I copied to CD, I used a computer with a Yamaha pro sound card ($1200.00) using a program called Sound fordge to convert into wave files, and for editing out crackles and pops. Then I used adaptic easy creator to copy to CD. Now i have set my own computer to copy lp,s Hot wanting to spend $1200.00 on a sound card, I did some reaserch for about 3 months, and this is what I came up with. The sound card I used is by Echo. called DARLA. $300.00. see echo.com for info. I use Cooledit to record to wave files. (I tried sound fordge, but didn,t sound so great with this card.) Then I use Adaptis EASY CD Creator to burnCD. Good luck |
That's what I've found with Last preservative, but not with Gruv Glide. The goal is to reduce friction and heat on the stylus, and the vinyl it scrapes. |
CD-R is meant to be a temporary media. We've seen many discs easily damaged. Even DAT tape is better. The best of course is to just play the vinyl on a turntable. As far as cleaning records goes, using a special cleaner can help prevent damage to your records. The dirt can be abbrasive, and the process of moving a cloth over the record can cause the dirt to scratch the surface. See my post on surface noise. Using commercial vinyl cleaners and protectants is not wise either. They usually have substances to give vinyl a shiny finish that reduces resolution on the grooves and can gum up ypur stylus. |
I copied an LP onto DAT with my Super Bit Mapping ADC, and transferred that 48 kHz recording into Soundforge XP 4.0 on my computer. With it, it's easy (but time consuming) to EDIT OUT THE "POPS" of the old LP. I'll then downconvert the edited version to 44.1, and burn a CD with it. COOL, HUH? |
of course wd40 is out. tap water and a watts parastat brush if you can find one or a vpi record washing brush + a small drop of dawn detergent. the biggest danger is water damaging the label, which hasnt happened to me. you can really scrub back and forth and do repeated washings when necessary. dry with paper towels, believe it or not, they leave nearly nothing on the disc. cloth always does. i have to use a carbon fiber brush (AQ will do fine) to take the cloth fibers off when using a cloth to dry with. avoid the nitty gritty and go with the vpi machine if you opt to spend real money. even the cheapest nitty which is the same mechanically as the AA record dr.II is a waste of your bux. and why not get a stand alone cdr? the little phillips is only about $300. and you dont have to have a computer near your phono section or run long cabling. |
of course wd40 is out. tap water and a watts parastat brush if you can find one or a vpi record washing brush + a small drop fodawn detergent. the biggest danger is water damaging the label, which hasnt happened to me. you can really scrub back and forth and do repeated washings when necessary. dry with paper towels, believe it or not, they leave nearly nothing on the disc. cloth always does. i have to use a carbon fiber brush (AQ will do fine) to take the cloth fibers off when using a cloth to dry with. avoid the nitty gritty and go with the vpi machine if you opt to spend real money. even the cheapest nitty which is the smae mechanically as the AA record dr.II is a waste of your bux. and why not get a stand alone cdr? the little phillips is only about $300. and you dont have to have a computer near your phono section or run long cabling. |
I use WINoN CD 3.6.421 Power edition(CeQuadrat) with Windows NT. All my hardware is scsi. I have had great sucsess with 650 and 700mb audio cds. WinONCD offers a 5-band eq. ,declick, dehiss and depop filters in real time. Many other features, soon out 3.7 version...Cool Edit 2000 is GREAT!! premastering software. It offers the same but in greater depth and is upgradible w/plugins. Full product w/plugins-$150.00//w/out just basic program $69.99..check it out. -Jeff |
I hope you were kidding about the wd-40. It would be disasterous to use such a product, for both your front end and your albums. However, there is a product that I have used that does work as a semi-like lubracant that decreases record wear and removes static. It is called "Groove Glide". It is a good product for albums that are in good condition, but is no answer for albums that are slightly damaged or noisy. These type of problems are best served with a good scrubing or record vacuuming, ie., VPI, Nitty Gritty, ect. You can hand scrub, however a good vacuuming is best. Afterwards if the album is still noisy, as stated before, wet playing is best. FYI,I heard about this method during the late eighties and I believe is fashionable in Europe. ENJOY! |
I hope you were kidding about the wd-40. It would be disasterous to use such product, for both your front end and your albums. However, there is a product that I have used that does work as a semi-like lubracant that decreases record wear and removes static. It is called "Groove Glide". It is a good product for albums that are in good condition, but is no answer for albums that are slightly damaged or noisy. These type of problems are best served with a good scrubing or record vacuuming, ie., VPI, Nitty Gritty, ect. You can hand scrub, however a good vacuuming is best. Afterwards if the album is still noisy, as stated before, wet playing is best. FYI,I heard about this method during the late eighties and I believe is fashionable in Europe. ENJOY! |
To Ramstl - Thanks for the in-depth response. I'm intrigued by the idea of running LPs wet. Have you ever tried giving them a light spray of WD-40 or something like that? The down side of course if that the coating would attract dust. But it would be interesting to try. Just put the LPs back in their sleeves when through. |
Why is it you want to use your computer to store or burn your albums. The jury is still out on the archival life of recordable cd's. Vinyl is still, by far, the standard for archiving. However, a case could be made for commercial high resolution stamped cd's. If it is for portable play back, then a case could be made. If it is for home enjoyment then investing in a good analog playback unit is your best bet. Don't worry about wear. A well set up and maintained turntable with moderate care is a fantastic way to enjoy your collection. Plus it sounds better. If your having problems with ticks a pops there are two suggetions I have. The first is, unless it is a rare and expensive album, buy a used one at a used record store. Most albums, especially, rock are available for $2.00-$4.00. Jazz and classical can ranged about the same, however, for early pressings, ie.,1950-1960 they can run slightly higher. The more creative you are with your search the better luck and the more fun you will have. I have, on more than a number of occassions picked up primo copies of rare and high priced albums for cheap. I mean .50 to $2.00. Secondly, if the album is rare and irreplacable, a method I have used, that immediately improves the playback is by playing the album wet. You can do this by either spritzing the album with distilled water or by directly applying the water with a "discwasher" like brush. This will take care of all but the most difficult ticks and pops. However, you will need to reapply the water about half way through the album. Anyway, I don't mean to get on a grandstand, but again enjoying your albums through a good turntable can't be beat. I have been recording live music for the past 17 years and currently own 2 DAT's, one portable and one home unit as well as owning a CD burner. If my budget would allow me, or tech. would afford me the opportunity to own a record cutting lathe I would die for its archival ability. However, it doesn't and I must therefore back up data with data of data to insure longevity. But for those well mastered classics all I need to do is kick back and enjoy the ride down the vinyl high way. I hope that was helpful. Here's what I use to archive to cd. Source-Sony SBM processor, ie., PCM2600-Marantz CDR630 pro cd burner. This works well for me and is the best I can afford until I pick up a lathe that someone left for dead on the side of the road. |
Try NERO. This software burns audio very well. Here is their site: http://www.ahead.de/en/Index2.htm |
Try NERO. This is very good to burn Audio: http://www.ahead.de/en/Index2.htm |
The best software that I have found is Adaptec's Easy CD Creator version 4. It does have a tick and pop filter which you can adjust for best possible results. |
You must have a high quality sound card with A/D converters. Then you will be able to store your LPs as .wav files on the hard disk and then burn the CD-R. The software is usually provided with the card, or you can get shareware. But the quality of the A/D stage is crucial. Not many sound cards have hi-fi quality; I suggest you look at the $500 range. |
