Scuff At Beginning Of Track One

[sus4chord]

I've got a Michael McDonald album, "If That's What It Takes" that is a little warped on the first track (on both sides). On the first song on side B, however, there is a definite "scuff" sound for the first couple of minutes, but then it goes away. I was able to record both sides (using the trick of holding a small paintbrush against the turntable cartridge to keep it from skipping). Side A plays fine, but side B has that definite scuff at the beginning.

I'm attaching a link to a snippet of the sound and would appreciate any help if there is a filter setting that could remove, or at least minimize the scuff, while still preserving some of the fidelity.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/a45tscbk9e...Scuff.wav?dl=0

(NOTE: If dropbox asks you to create an account, it will let you bypass and just download the file).

Thanks in advance!

[Craig Maier]

My first recommendation is to transfer the record at 16.6 rpm and track the cartridge a little lighter than you would at 33.3 rpm. Transfer it flat, if possible so that the EQ curve does not get shifted. Let us know if that works, before we proceed down other avenues.

Craig

[Marc Hildebrant]

sus4chord,

I have heard that distortion on 78 RPM records also. For small lengths I have removed it by highlighting the area and then using the "I" key. Long passages may not work.

Marc

[Craig Maier]

In general, another alternative is selective use of the averaging filter on only the areas impacted.

Craig

[sus4chord]

I don't have the flat pre-amp, unfortunately. But I will try the averaging filter and let you know how it goes.

[Craig Maier]

Be sure to only use the averaging filter only on the effected areas. If you use it globally, it will not produce a reasonable result.

Craig

[Craig Maier]

btw - you can still re-transfer it at 16 rpm. The EQ will be off, but that can be corrected to some degree by ear with the paragraphic EQ.

Craig

[sus4chord]

Unfortunately, my Audio-Technica turntable only has 33, 45, and 78. When I bought it, I never considered the need for 16 RPM.

[Craig Maier]

I see. That's too bad because there are situations where half speed transfers at 16.6 rpm provide the best, non-skipping transfers of warped LPs. Keep an eye out for one - - - I often see old turntables in the junk heap at the electronics section of our recycling center. Many of them used idler-wheel drive and had the slower speed from back in the day.

Craig

[Lord Theo]

There's a boatload of vintage 4-speed ( including 16 rpm) record players available on ebay

[Craig Maier]

Even if the old 4 speed is not your everyday turntable/record player, it is good to have one for special circumstances like this one.

Craig

[sus4chord]

I tried the suggestions I could, and while I could see some level of result, in the end it wasn't satisfying. I found someone else with the album and got the song that way (replacing that first song with the rest of my album, which recorded just fine). I think if I had more time and a much more surgical approach, I could have gotten better results. Interpolation had possibilities, but the scuff sound was too long and as such made it sound more like a "gulp" than the scuff. The averaging filter did show some promise, but again, just replaced the sound with a different kind of artifact. Thanks everyone for the help. I will look into getting a 16 rpm turntable for situations like these (as long as the "boss" lets me). LOL

[Craig Maier]

There are limitations to how much you can interpolate with the various filters, etc. At some point in the length of the anamolie, they computer algorithms can not figure out the correct replacement. To take it to an extreme and to make the point, imagine if an entire track was skipped during the transfer. What algorithm could possible figure out a good replacement for that sort of situation based on no good information to work with.

Craig

[mikeebb]

I don't have the flat preamp (yet) either. But I've had fair results with 78s (I don't have a TT with 78) by recording at 45, then immediately applying the paragraphic preset to remove RIAA. Before changing speed or doing anything else. Approximates (though not perfectly) using the flat preamp. Assuming one has a TT that would do 16, the same workaround should apply, since whatever we're using as a preamp applies RIAA blindly to everything that goes through it.

As for the scuff, I know that sound. Several records where there were unplayable sections (at normal tracking forces) so the "add a penny on top" (or add a small paintbrush) was used to get through them. The result, of course, was grinding off pieces of the groove. Hadn't thought of the averaging filter for those spots - will try that on a couple of old transfers.

[Craig Maier]

Mike,

We recommend the use of the Virtual Phono Preamplifier for the conversion. It is more accurate than the paragraphic EQ.

Craig