Restoring old records.. the HARD way!

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LFSDoc
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Re: Restoring old records.. the HARD way!

Post by LFSDoc »

very interesting... I recall watching something similar on Italian TV in the late 70's, it was a feature on some label restoring old 78's. This is more fascinating though!
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Re: Restoring old records.. the HARD way!

Post by RunoutGroove »

There was a feature on 'Tomorrows World' BBC show years ago about a machine that was a cross between a Laserdisc player and a vinyl Turntable.
They put in a battered record (78rpm?) of Frank Sinatra and closed the lid. Then the magic happened as a laser read the grooves on the vinyl and played it back. Everyone in the studio was enthusing about it, saying things like "It's the best I've ever heard that song!"

Whatever happened to that?
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Re: Restoring old records.. the HARD way!

Post by mojofilter »

That turntable you're referring to is the Japanese-made ELP turntable. It read records with a laser beam. It had an internal mechanism that read the rotation of the album with laser beams. If the record was pressed off-center, it would adjust the turntable until the record went back and forth but the grooves appeared stationary. The problem was, it also picked up groove wear and distortion, and clicks and pops and would reproduce them in unmatched quality. This machine was so expensive that buying one entitled you to delivery by a person from the Japanese factory, who would set it up in your system and teach you how to use it. The ELP machine fell out of favor largely because in addition to reading the record grooves with a laser beam, it also read the scratches and other noises present on the vinyl.
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20YearsAgo
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Re: Restoring old records.. the HARD way!

Post by 20YearsAgo »

mojofilter wrote: Sat Oct 02, 2021 11:10 am That turntable you're referring to is the Japanese-made ELP turntable. It read records with a laser beam. It had an internal mechanism that read the rotation of the album with laser beams. If the record was pressed off-center, it would adjust the turntable until the record went back and forth but the grooves appeared stationary. The problem was, it also picked up groove wear and distortion, and clicks and pops and would reproduce them in unmatched quality. This machine was so expensive that buying one entitled you to delivery by a person from the Japanese factory, who would set it up in your system and teach you how to use it. The ELP machine fell out of favor largely because in addition to reading the record grooves with a laser beam, it also read the scratches and other noises present on the vinyl.
I'd heard about that laser turntable too and was always wondering what ever became of this. Thanks for filling us in. I wonder if, given today's AI technology, the software within the laser turntable might be enhanced so that it would "understand" what was a scratch etc so that such surface wear etc would not affect playback?
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Re: Restoring old records.. the HARD way!

Post by mitchellmichael »

That’s hardcore man!!! Building tape heads into the splicing block?? Dang. I know how hard it is just doing minor splices but this is beyond next level. Really cool.
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Re: Restoring old records.. the HARD way!

Post by Megazeti »

Centring records, I found a site with some rare high end players and found this one pre-sets the record in an attempt to play off-centre pressings
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Re: Restoring old records.. the HARD way!

Post by Lord Reith »

ianbuckers wrote: Sat Oct 02, 2021 8:52 am There was another approach that sort of fits between manual splicing and digital manipulation.

An electronics magazine had a project for a self build solid state in-line device to declick on the fly. I photocopied it at the local ibrary with the intention of buying all the bits to build it...suffice to say I never did. Bet I've still got the copied article somewhere...
I was going to make one too. It stored the audio on the fly in an analogue delay and if it detected a click in the live audio it would replace it with a bit of the delayed audio. However after reading about them I realised that: (1) detecting a click on the fly is a task in itself. What defines a click and what defines a transient? A dumb analogue sensor had great difficulty telling the difference between the two; (2) even when it worked properly, people said it sounded more annoying than the click.

I knew someone with one of those laser turntables. The only advantage I could see was that they don't wear out the records.
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ianbuckers
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Re: Restoring old records.. the HARD way!

Post by ianbuckers »

Lord Reith wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 1:14 am
ianbuckers wrote: Sat Oct 02, 2021 8:52 am There was another approach that sort of fits between manual splicing and digital manipulation.

An electronics magazine had a project for a self build solid state in-line device to declick on the fly. I photocopied it at the local ibrary with the intention of buying all the bits to build it...suffice to say I never did. Bet I've still got the copied article somewhere...
I was going to make one too. It stored the audio on the fly in an analogue delay and if it detected a click in the live audio it would replace it with a bit of the delayed audio. However after reading about them I realised that: (1) detecting a click on the fly is a task in itself. What defines a click and what defines a transient? A dumb analogue sensor had great difficulty telling the difference between the two; (2) even when it worked properly, people said it sounded more annoying than the click.

I knew someone with one of those laser turntables. The only advantage I could see was that they don't wear out the records.
Yes knowing what we know today about click dection I wouldn't have comtemplated building one.

"...laser turntables. The only advantage I could see was that they don't wear out the records.". Yes I would have thought that was the main point. As more people are careful about clean vinyl now I wonder if it would be a go-er if revived today...?
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Megazeti
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Re: Restoring old records.. the HARD way!

Post by Megazeti »

...but if you've got a record thats not cleaned and dried property what is read is translated into sound as opposed to a physical stylus
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paul62
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Re: Restoring old records.. the HARD way!

Post by paul62 »

A stylus can move dust and other shit in the grooves: next time the record is played, there is a chance that the muck has been dislodged enough to be cleaned out better. With a laser turntable, the laser beam will read the crap without moving it aside.

True story: about forty years ago I'd found mono LPs of "Their Satanic Majesties Request" and "Axis: Bold As Love" being sold for $1 (or something like that) in a second-hand store. "TSMR" was covered with muck and so I had a mad idea of painting each side with PVA glue (except for the label!) and then peeling the film off. That worked very well, as it turned out. A few years ago, I read a few posts at SH Music Forums where people reported doing the same thing to their records!!
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