Steve Gutenberg says he still plays some records that are his favorites, that he bought 50 years ago! That should be long enough.
Then there is this:
https://www.instructables.com/Bring-Ruined-Records-Back-to-Life/
Then there is this:
https://www.instructables.com/Bring-Ruined-Records-Back-to-Life/
Yikes! Don't do that. Notice that he's wet washing the LP... huh? But he's also ruining the label... yikes...
Most records that have had hard lives were owned by people that mistreated them and had crappy audio setups. Typically with cheap large "needles" that wrecked the top of the groove "valley".
A typical High End cartridge has a finer stylus and it plays on a different, lower, part of the valley.
So, do a good wet and/or ultrasonic wash to get rid of the gunk and play those LPs with a modern, high quality set up and you will be astonished at how good the LP can sound.
Sure, big ticks and pops may not go away... but the vast majority of noise, pops, ticks, wear and tear dissappear.
Most records that have had hard lives were owned by people that mistreated them and had crappy audio setups. Typically with cheap large "needles" that wrecked the top of the groove "valley".
A typical High End cartridge has a finer stylus and it plays on a different, lower, part of the valley.
So, do a good wet and/or ultrasonic wash to get rid of the gunk and play those LPs with a modern, high quality set up and you will be astonished at how good the LP can sound.
Sure, big ticks and pops may not go away... but the vast majority of noise, pops, ticks, wear and tear dissappear.
Tony, the OP is in the Maldives currently, having moved there from Sri Lanka.
The place is a small group of islands, mostly a tourist destination. Quite distant from the mainland, in the Indian Ocean. High cost of living.
There is little chance of obtaining records locally, unless it was a well preserved estate find, given the hot and humid climate in both locations.
You seem to have bought yours new, and they have been handled by a very small group of informed people, and played on proper machines.
Compare that to a flea market find, or any other sale for that matter, which is taking a chance.
Hence my opinion that this is a strange quest.
The place is a small group of islands, mostly a tourist destination. Quite distant from the mainland, in the Indian Ocean. High cost of living.
There is little chance of obtaining records locally, unless it was a well preserved estate find, given the hot and humid climate in both locations.
You seem to have bought yours new, and they have been handled by a very small group of informed people, and played on proper machines.
Compare that to a flea market find, or any other sale for that matter, which is taking a chance.
Hence my opinion that this is a strange quest.
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Wow. Didn't spot that. Probably makes everything considerably more difficult.
Can't the OP get his stuff online?
I've got about 75% of mine new, the rest used. I bought a couple of collections and I used to buy quite a few used LPs from the late 80s to the 00's when people were "dumping" their records. There used to be quite a few used record stores in SoCal then.
Yes, I did notice the Maldives...
A short taxi ride in the Maldives costs almost as much as Dubai, and everything, including fuel, is shipped in.
The cost of living in Dubai is less than London but more than Spain...
The OP has posted about cardboard enclosures for speakers, the cost of shipping in records will be far too much for the average person.
I am quoted 960 Rupees (Almost $12) for a 2 kilo parcel, 30 x 20 x 10 cm, without any additional services, by the Indian Post Office.
So the price will be $6 a kilo, or say a 25 kilo parcel with a few records, nicely packed, will cost about $300 just in shipping, the records or whatever merchandise will be extra.
Documents may be costlier.
Your call.
The cost of living in Dubai is less than London but more than Spain...
The OP has posted about cardboard enclosures for speakers, the cost of shipping in records will be far too much for the average person.
I am quoted 960 Rupees (Almost $12) for a 2 kilo parcel, 30 x 20 x 10 cm, without any additional services, by the Indian Post Office.
So the price will be $6 a kilo, or say a 25 kilo parcel with a few records, nicely packed, will cost about $300 just in shipping, the records or whatever merchandise will be extra.
Documents may be costlier.
Your call.
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A lending library (they rented out records, and transferred them to cassette) sold their entire collection of records, about 1000, some were USA box packs, along with the music system, for just 10,000 Rupees in 1985, in Bangalore, I had thought of a much higher figure, so did not ask their price.
But those records had been played many times on different systems, so the condition would not have been good.
And in India the on line sellers of used items do not have an attractive reputation. People prefer to see the goods in person before paying for the stuff.
But those records had been played many times on different systems, so the condition would not have been good.
And in India the on line sellers of used items do not have an attractive reputation. People prefer to see the goods in person before paying for the stuff.
I'll bet there is a way to do that, but at that stage, why not just acquire a completely digital setup and get it over with?
Yes I am, but our family does travel hack home. In fact, last December I was in Sri Lanka, but did not even take a glance at my 20 or so records I have there, from review records given to me, some garage sale records, and an LP I ordered online but that turned out to have damage - skipping and so on, which my audio professional down the road had a tough time converting to digital. At that time each record conversion cost about $2. The other records converted fine, so it was not his equipment. He had about 10 turntables, cassette decks the whole lot.
I hope to be traveling to Sri Lanka and Bangkok later this year, and I hope to pick up my old records and purchase some in Bangkok, having located via web search used records stores there. I could buy online, and have already done so, with my cheap record player to test out vinyl again. I may be getting a used turntable from a relative in August, and can pick it up in December. There are no record stores here, nor are there any Hi-Fi stores, but powered speakers, Bluetooth ovals and so on are available at a price.
I did get two Wharfedale speakers shipped over here from Sri Lanka in February 2022, cost with shipping was about $80. I could have got a pair for half that, however, there were some aesthetic considerations let me say, involved.
To the other points.
I was on my way to a fully digital setup. In fact I plan to convert all my records to digital since it seems to retain much of the quality, again I will have to see what a DIY setup will get me. I cannot purchase Amazon mp3s and many of the streaming services are not available here. I also dislike paying a fee for the rest of my life to listen to music. I would rather own the material. Streaming means internet costs and internet outages.
I think I have covered everything.
By the way, this thread is no longer about error correction, so I will have to start a new thread about 'journeying into vinyl' to describe my past and future experiences. It will be article, or a book, from an amateur point of view.