Vinyl, droping the needle mid record

[letsavit2]

Just got back into vinyl and have a 20 year old collection that I really didn't look after. The only vinly I'm buying at the moment is albums I listen to start to finish without having to skip a track I don't like, these albums for me are far and few between. Now looking after my new stuff is it bad practice to lift the needle and drop to another track as required?

 

[Macspur]

Just got back into vinyl and have a 20 year old collection that I really didn't look after. The only vinly I'm buying at the moment is albums I listen to start to finish without having to skip a track I don't like, these albums for me are far and few between. Now looking after my new stuff is it bad practice to lift the needle and drop to another track as required?

Wouldn't think so, as long as you're careful.

Mac

 

[andyjm]

Playing a vinyl record is a destructive process. The pressure at the tip of the stylus is very high, vinyl is soft, and dropping the stylus into a musical section of the record will definitely damage it - most likely resulting in a 'pop' next time the record is played. If you aim for the lead-in between tracks, then any damage will be restricted to areas where there is no music - and if you are lucky you will land on a flat area of record rather than the track itself, limiting the audible impact.

Of minor interest is that because of the high stylus pressure (and resulting friction), the stylus runs at a temperature well above the melting point of the vinyl when playing a record. This causes 'micro melting', smoothing the bumps and ridges in the track as it passes over them - leading to deterioration every time the record is played. I guess if you play an LP enough, it will eventually be silent (apart from the dust of course).

From an engineering perspective, recording music onto vinyl is a barbaric business.

 

[chebby]