new copy of PJ20 Vinyl skipping/scratched

dpphoto · December 2014

Finally got a turntable, removed the plastic from the cover, put on a record.... aaaaaaand.... it skips. Two of the three records skip on one side on 3 songs total.

Anyone else have issue with brand new vinyl from 10C ? I know there was some issues with LB vinyl but I dont recall any widespread issues with PJ20 vinyl.

Assuming there is zero percent chance of getting this replaced... any recommendations on fixing the issues ? Took a quick look and I can see the lines causing the issues on the tracks in question. I did not touch them so not sure about depth. I don't know much about vinyl and if anything exists to remove/fix a scratch.

Again, brand new out of the plastic vinyl. Never been opened, touched, played, etc. Not sure how it could be scratched.

Given that I just got the turntable (LP120 configured per mfg instructions) is there a possibility that I can adjust something on the turntable to allow it to be less sensitive to those marks (assuming they are slight) ?

lolobugg · December 2014

Sorry to hear that. That really sucks man.
Unfortunately, if you have the proper weight set for your stylus then there isn't much else you can do other than to increase the weight which would damage the record even more and might not make a difference anyway.

A lot of manufacturing quality control issues at pressing plants now because of high demand and lack of production facilities. According to your description, it almost sounds like they were damaged while they were being inserted into the sleeve.

front spacer · December 2014

Even brand-new LPs out of the package should be cleaned before you spin them for the first time.

Nami · December 2014

front spacer wrote: »

Even brand-new LPs out of the package should be cleaned before you spin them for the first time.

Really? Wow I thought for sure they would be safe. I have an issue with my LB vinyl only played twice and now there is a continous skip right before infallible. The first run was ok, few pops and such, but the second spin the loop. Im buying one of those clean spin machines next month and hope that it fixes the problem. I also have the same problem with my TOTD and smashing pumpkin Siamese dream new vinyl. Im no longer hold off spinning my vinyl when I buy them, due to these issues. It sucks that sealed vinyl have these issues cause you don't always have the time to spin as soon as you buy. Diphoto, I have a similar issue on my PJ20 but it plays through, a wierd brush scratch looking mark on one

The price of vinyl Sucks too....

PJ_Soul · December 2014

I never clean my vinyl when it's brand new unless it is actually visually dirty, which it shouldn't be (and that has only happened to me once). Brand new records are normally clean and perfect. Anyway, you can't clean off a scratch, obviously. Sorry, there is no way to fix a scratched record. That sucks, and your story is one that reminds me that keeping new albums sealed is a bad idea. If this thing had been opened and played when it was actually new and the scratches had been discovered then, a replacement probably would have been provided.

RoleModelsinBlood31 · December 2014

Dude if you're having problems with several records it may be the weight of your stylus. Most tone arms have an adjustment capability to add a pinch more weight to the stylus, thus preventing skipping- you don't want too much, as it an wear your records.

I've heard of peeps even taping a dime or penny to the too of the stylus as a quick fix.

Good luck.

lotsalemon · December 2014

Not 100% true...not all vinyl comes squeaky clean when brand new. I've had fingerprints, smudges, and dusty stuff all over freshly opened vinyl. Not every pressing plant has the same QC apparently. Light, visible scratches are sometimes from the paper sleeves themselves. Those shouldn't cause skips.

Make sure the turntable is on a flat, level, non-resonating surface.

You really should give all new vinyl a once-over with a carbon brush, and make sure your needle is clean and everything is properly set up. An improperly set up turntable and tone arm can contribute to bad sounding, skipping vinyl.

jerparker20 · December 2014

A great example as to why vinyl should be opened and spun.

deadendp · December 2014

I just opened a brand new Fugazi 7 Songs vinyl and it was covered in all sorts of lint and had some fingerprints. Cleaned it before I played it. A fellow PJ friend taught me to clean before playing even brand new vinyl. I'm glad that he did!

Father Hubbard · January 2015

Mine skips too. I believe during Black, which is a bummer. I emailed the 10c not long after receiving it from them, and they said I could return it for a refund or keep it as is since they were sold out. Opted to keep it since it was already hard to come by at that point.

MedozK · January 2015

I clean everything before I play it.

PJ_Soul · January 2015

Yes, once in a while a record might be dirty when brand new. I can see and/or hear when a record is dirty and then I clean it. I'm just saying that out of all the new records I have purchased I only ever got 1 that needed cleaning before the first play. The rest were squeaky clean, so I don't normally wash my brand new albums before playing them, since it's totally unnecessary. If people like to clean their totally clean new records, great. I consider it a waste of my time.

But anyway, the OP is talking about visible scratches that are causing the skipping. That has nothing to do with cleaning.

AndySlash · January 2015

PJ_Soul wrote: »

Yes, once in a while a record might be dirty when brand new. I can see and/or hear when a record is dirty and then I clean it. I'm just saying that out of all the new records I have purchased I only ever got 1 that needed cleaning before the first play.

you must be lucky because i have to clean the majority of new records i buy before i feel comfortable playing them. like, 2/3 of new vinyl. most usually have some sort of packaging or other debris that i refuse to leave on the record.

really, it's just smart care to at least give a new lp a cursory wipedown with a record brush/microfiber towel before playing it.

hrd2imgn · January 2015

Check the tracking weight of your needle and the setting on the counterweight on the tone arm, sometimes it jitters to the wrong weight and could make the arm too light causing it to skip with almost no reason. Call the people who sold it to you if you cannot find it. Basically the needle has a weight the counter balance on the tone arm is set at called the tracking weight.

Does the tone arm almost float over the record, or does it drop down a little and stay in place no problem? If it contacts then bounces off it is probably that. It does not take a lot to make the weight wrong.

Leezestarr313 · January 2015

I spun mine last night and I have a skip on one side too. Bummer, but I checked and cleaned it and there is no way out. Luckily, it is only on one song. It sucks when brand new stuff is like this. But I agree with one other poster said - just one more reason to unseal and spin the stuff right away!

2-feign-reluctance · January 2015

Clean before you play.

PJ_Soul · January 2015

I still don't understand why people advise to clean spotless records or what it has to do with scratches.

Tim Simmons · January 2015

Because they have an agent on the vinyl to help remove it from the pressing mold (think Pam cooking spray for vinyl) Also, sometimes there is fine dust from the new paper sleeves or from the plant. Again, some plants have better QC (RTI and Pallas) but most don't.

hrd2imgn · January 2015

it is obvious with the quality of recent PJ pressings quality control is a matter of hindsight. See Vault 4 packaging, See LB first Press, PJ20 now??? I am not saying this is anything done for any reason, just saying there have been several issues in the last few batches, tells me it is time to find a better place to press you wax

Tim Simmons · January 2015

Except all 3 were pressed at different plants.

Tim Simmons · January 2015

I wouldn't put the PJ camp on the hook for this one. The reality is all vinyl plants are at capacity (URP the biggest plant in the US, and manufacturer of LB, just stopped taking new customers until the spring) and things are gonna slip through the cracks. The PJ camp isn't gonna know until people start getting their vinyl and they have seemed to address the issues properly and in a timely manner.

ikiT · January 2015

RoleModelsinBlood31 wrote: »

I've heard of peeps even taping a dime or penny to the too of the stylus as a quick fix.

Yeah... Don't do this. Adding a brand new penny to the top of your cartridge adds 2.5 grams of uncontrolled weight to the downforce. An uncirculated dime adds just over 2.25 grams.

A $250 Grado gold cart has a recommended tracking force of 1.5g.
A $6000 Lyra Titan has a recommended tracking force between 1.65 and 1.75g
A $29 Audio-Technica 90CD has a recommended tracking force between 1.0 and 1.5g

Try that with change taped to your tonearm, and you'll have a stylus that will potentially be damaged, and records that will for sure sound terrible, and perhaps damaged as well.

Read the instructions or check out a you tube vid and use the adjuster at the end of the tonearm, or buy a tt with a tonearm that you can control.

http://www.audiophilia.com/features/cartridge_setup.htm

Sarava · January 2015

dpphoto wrote: »

Finally got a turntable, removed the plastic from the cover, put on a record.... aaaaaaand.... it skips. Two of the three records skip on one side on 3 songs total.

Anyone else have issue with brand new vinyl from 10C ? I know there was some issues with LB vinyl but I dont recall any widespread issues with PJ20 vinyl.

Assuming there is zero percent chance of getting this replaced... any recommendations on fixing the issues ? Took a quick look and I can see the lines causing the issues on the tracks in question. I did not touch them so not sure about depth. I don't know much about vinyl and if anything exists to remove/fix a scratch.

Again, brand new out of the plastic vinyl. Never been opened, touched, played, etc. Not sure how it could be scratched.

Given that I just got the turntable (LP120 configured per mfg instructions) is there a possibility that I can adjust something on the turntable to allow it to be less sensitive to those marks (assuming they are slight) ?

I just got the LP120 as well. Mine arrived Tuesday. I did not get the PJ 20 album, but Backspacer did sound good and other albums I played sounded great as well.

If you are unsure of how you put the turntable together or want to double check everything, this is a youtube video from audio technica showing the assembly:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCv72S6K4MQ

hrd2imgn · January 2015

I remember the old days when you put the record on the table, turned it on, dropped the needle and listened....ahh audiophilia you are a blessed curse!

deadendp · January 2015

hrd2imgn wrote: »

I remember the old days when you put the record on the table, turned it on, dropped the needle and listened....ahh audiophilia you are a blessed curse!

I told Derby Dave exactly that just the other day. I recall just tossing them on and not cleaning them or anything. God, I think that after all of us, those records had to be filthy, but they played just fine! I don't know that we knew that you were supposed to clean them. :-??

derbydave · January 2015

deadendp wrote: »

hrd2imgn wrote: »

I remember the old days when you put the record on the table, turned it on, dropped the needle and listened....ahh audiophilia you are a blessed curse!

I told Derby Dave exactly that just the other day. I recall just tossing them on and not cleaning them or anything. God, I think that after all of us, those records had to be filthy, but they played just fine! I don't know that we knew that you were supposed to clean them. :-??

It didn't matter to us much back in the OLD DAYS!!!
Who had a "Close-N-Play" record player as a kid???
OR
Who had a Columbia House record club membership, where you could get 12 albums for a penny??
We used to join the club, buy up our membership requirements, quit the club &
then join again to get 12 more albums!!
I don't think I ever cleaned an album, until I went to college & started trading records with other buddies in the dorm!!
Those were the GOOD OLD DAYS!!
:-bd

deadendp · January 2015

derbydave wrote: »

deadendp wrote: »

hrd2imgn wrote: »

I remember the old days when you put the record on the table, turned it on, dropped the needle and listened....ahh audiophilia you are a blessed curse!

I told Derby Dave exactly that just the other day. I recall just tossing them on and not cleaning them or anything. God, I think that after all of us, those records had to be filthy, but they played just fine! I don't know that we knew that you were supposed to clean them. :-??

It didn't matter to us much back in the OLD DAYS!!!
Who had a "Close-N-Play" record player as a kid???
OR
Who had a Columbia House record club membership, where you could get 12 albums for a penny??
We used to join the club, buy up our membership requirements, quit the club &
then join again to get 12 more albums!!
I don't think I ever cleaned an album, until I went to college & started trading records with other buddies in the dorm!!
Those were the GOOD OLD DAYS!!
:-bd

Mark got screwed on the Columbia House membership thing. Oh, I don't recall what he did but his parents mentioned it recently. They did not mention it with the fondness that you speak of. I do recall, though. In fact, am I remembering that they actually sent a penny stuck to the inside?

This one is for you, Dave.

http://youtu.be/AAKZ-O70wNg

derbydave · January 2015

Thanks for the BLAST FROM THE PAST Amy!!!!
I had one of those & used to play my 45's on it all the time,
the little white button on the front was the volume control.
AND YES...I do remember taping my penny to the Columbia House order form.
I'll bet Mark forgot to mail back his "Selection of the Month" order card...
if you didn't send your card back in time,
you got stuck with records you didn't want.
That's why I always bought the required albums right away,
and then quit the club.
I didn't want to deal with returning the selection cards!!
In other news...MAN AM I OLD!!!

)

deadendp · January 2015

derbydave wrote: »

Thanks for the BLAST FROM THE PAST Amy!!!!
I had one of those & used to play my 45's on it all the time,
the little white button on the front was the volume control.
AND YES...I do remember taping my penny to the Columbia House order form.
I'll bet Mark forgot to mail back his "Selection of the Month" order card...
if you didn't send your card back in time,
you got stuck with records you didn't want.
That's why I always bought the required albums right away,
and then quit the club.
I didn't want to deal with returning the selection cards!!
In other news...MAN AM I OLD!!!
)

Yup. He said that they kept sending them and sending them. He got in trouble with his parents over it.

Tell us, Dave-- what did you order? (This one is a dollar for 12, but I figured that it would work just fine.)

http://youtu.be/5xpwPyL1jb0

deadendp · January 2015

And to the OP, I'm sorry that we took this walk down memory lane. We didn't mean to hijack your thread.

derbydave · January 2015

I never ordered the 8-tracks, preferred vinyl even back then!!
I remember ordering The Mama's & The Papa's Greatest Hits, Three Dog Night, The Eagles, Boston, Bob Seger and even a couple of Rush albums from Columbia House!!
I definitely remember the penny thing you mentioned earlier too.

)

new copy of PJ20 Vinyl skipping/scratched

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