Most of the time brand new LP sounds fine, but when I listen to it several times after, it seems to sound better. I guess it could be psychological. What is your experience?
A little background: I was the original Quality Manager at Record Technolgy, Inc., still one of the finest pressing plants out there. I started in 1973, and was their 2nd employee. For the 15 years I worked in that industry, NO-ONE ever knew anything about the "mold-release agent" I now see blogged about every few years. Even our PVC suppliers knew nothing about it. We never applied anything other than a vinyl biscuit & labels to the stampers.
@gasbag, you should have been better at your job and scraped runs that have too much of the stuff in the mix. I'm sick of cleaning it off my purchases
Gaslover, please google vinyl record mold release and you will get numerous hits that discuss this topic with more authority. From my understanding, the mold release agent is a stearate compound which is mixed with the vinyl before pressing. Stearate compound cools at a slower rate than vinyl, therefore, it acts as a lubricant allowing the vinyl to be released from the stamper.
I use shoe-shine flannel cloth to wipe a record with a-bit pressure before playing weather it's out of sealed box or already played. It worms up record and makes sound incredibly smooth. Obviously no shoe shine compound is being placed on the cloth:-)
05-08-13: Brf Mold release is applied to album stampers to prevent the vinyl from sticking to the stamper. Some of the mold release will be transferred to the new album; therefore, new albums should be cleaned prior to play. What you are hearing is the phono cartridge needle cleaning the mold release from the grooves of the album after each subsequent play.
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Do you know this to be factual? A little background: I was the original Quality Manager at Record Technolgy, Inc., still one of the finest pressing plants out there. I started in 1973, and was their 2nd employee. For the 15 years I worked in that industry, NO-ONE ever knew anything about the "mold-release agent" I now see blogged about every few years. Even our PVC suppliers knew nothing about it. We never applied anything other than a vinyl biscuit & labels to the stampers.
Audiolui..you must be a budding Audiophile and there is nothing wrong with that. Audiophiles are well aware that there is slight residue in the record grooves from the cutting stylus in a record factory that will clear out after several plays. Thats about it.
I thought I asked a serious question and expected people would answer if they have something to contribute. Apparently, some folks didn't take my question seriously. What can I say? I guess some folks here love to have fun.
Audiozen, did you mention the tolerable temperature? The light vinyl will have a great chance to have unplayable warps that would look even more like bumps. Other than that store all of your vinyls in the dark place in upright position.
I ship all my new vinyl to Jordan so they can be washed in the River Jordan. Better than holy water. I understand that a new firm is forming that will sell Kosher records. I will be the first to buy. Crazy hobby.
To greatly improve the sound quality of your new vinyl records, go outside into your driveway on a warm sunny day with your new records, thusly remove from the sleeves and place the records on the hood of your car for exactly forty three minutes, no more, no less. The warmth of the sun will slightly widen and deepen the grooves resulting in the stylus sinking deeper and tighter into the groove producing far superior music playback. Wagner will never sound better!
Depends. A very few new LPs have surface noise that is the result of poor flow or fill in the stamper, or poor quality non-virgin vinyl to begin with, and nothing will help. An example of this was Peter Gabriel II on Classic where the outer lead in and first few minutes of "On The Air" are ridden with crackles and pops and, after several deep cleanings and plays, the noise doesn't change. I too clean before each first play of a new record, and if the pressing is a quiet one to begin with, subsequent plays usually reveal even more depth and detail. But not always...as I said, it depends.
Having knowledge of industry vinyl record production years ago, most producers did clean the mold release compound as a separate step. Those that did not suffered a significant increase in returns, which were very costly.
You guys/gals might be right although not sure I have heard a difference. My wife bought me a couple of Stones remasters, beggars banquet and exile and I was supremely disappointed - prefer my pressings from the 70's. The guy who sold them said the vinyl needs to burn in and I thought she was taken advantage of and it was a crock of sh$#t. I have not listened to them a second time - maybe I will give them a chance.
I do clean all new LPs I buy before playing. I am with Elizabeth that the first time listening the sound is just all right. It just sounds better after several plays.
Brf's explanation also makes senses. I don't have the same experience with CD though.
Mold release is applied to album stampers to prevent the vinyl from sticking to the stamper. Some of the mold release will be transferred to the new album; therefore, new albums should be cleaned prior to play. What you are hearing is the phono cartridge needle cleaning the mold release from the grooves of the album after each subsequent play.
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
