Tips for handling vinyl records:

By Jonathan Maier, created 12/4/96, last edit: 12/4/96

Always store the actual record in a paper sleeve. Insert the record in its paper sleeve into the jacket for storage.

Inserting a record straight into the jacket can cause scuff marks on the record surface. Paper sleeves are much gentler.

Make sure the opening of the paper sleeve is pointed up, while the opening of the jacket should be pointed to the right.

This helps insure that if you do something stupid and drop the jacket, or allow the record in the sleeve to slide out of the jacket, then just the record in the jacket will fall out, i.e. the record itself WON'T fall out. If it did, the record would almost certainly be damaged.

NEVER touch the playing surface of the record.

Always handle a record by either,

grasping firmly the outer edge of the record, as when removing from sleeve, or

cupping the record in your hand, your fingers supporting the center of the record, where track info, etc. is printed, and have edge of the record braced against your hand and thumb

Clean off the surface of the record EACH TIME before playing it

Either with the special record cleaning brush,

Or by blowing the dust off

try not to spit on the record while doing this!

NEVER brush off dust with your fingers or anything other than the special record cleaning brush.

When positioning the needle on the record, always raise and lower it EXACTLY VERTICALLY

lower and lift the needle SLOWLY

being careful not to "skate" the needle in the process

this could cause bad scratches

brace your hand against the base of the turn-table, and manipulate the arm/cartridge using your thumb, or

delicately lift the arm/cartridge directly using your index finger

When finished playing the record, raise it EXACTLY VERTICALLY off of the turntable

grasp both edges of the record to do this (that means use BOTH hands) then once lifted off the table, switch the record to one hand, and use the other hand to open the sleeve to place the record in

Do not leave the record on the turntable for longer than necessary

otherwise dust will quickly accumulate on the surface

If you do something stupid and scratch the record, or merely notice that the record has already been scratched…

please mark somewhere on the jacket which tracks are scratched for future DJ reference

If you're going to "scratch" a record intentionally (i.e. for a hip-hop show)…

make damn sure you have the stations permission if the record belongs to the station

once you have permission, or if it's your record to begin with,

lay a bunch of scrap paper over the surface of the turntable

decreases friction dramatically between record surface and the turntable, making scratching MUCH easier

protects the other side of the record from Unintentional scratching

NEVER put the record anywhere but in its sleeve or on the turntable.

Never leave a record lying on a table, or the floor, etc.

Most bad scratches occur when the record comes into contact with a foreign object

i.e. not the needle on the player, not the sleeve, and not your hand

stuff like the edge of the turntable, the center pole on the turntable, the corner of the cartridge, the 45-adapter, your watch, loose change, etc. are what usually damage records.

Keep the record away from these objects by following all the above guidelines!

Other vinyl records tips and tricks:

Cueing

First things first, determine whether the record is 33 or 45 rpm. Make sure the turntable is set accordingly.

Check the record visually for scratches. Do not play a song with a scratch through it unless you know absolutely for sure 100 percent that the scratch does not screw up the song play.

Remove dust on the record by blowing it off or by using the special record brush.

To cue a song on a record, place the needle in the groove preceding the song you want to play, or if its the first track, on the outer edge of the record

Then start the record in CUE or Audition mode

Wait till you here the song start, or if you started in the intro already,

Stop the record, and back it up by hand until you reach the very begininning of the song (you hear silence)

turn the turntable counter-clockwise

do NOT turn the record itself on the turntable

this can cause scratches on the other side of the record

When you have it exactly at the beginning of the song, turn it back another 100 degrees or so if its 33 rpm, more (maybe 120 or so) if it's a 45 rpm record

This is for the turntable to accelerate to full speed before the song starts

Otherwise you'll hear the song start at a crawl and speed up, which sounds REALLY BAD

Take the turntable out of CUE or Audition and make sure it's in Program mode (Pgm)

When you start the turntable from the board, you should hear the song start almost instantaneously (it only takes a fraction of a second for the turntable to accelerate through the blank space you gave it before the song.)

Help! The song sounds really fast / really slow!

You screwed up the rpm. If it sounds really fast, the turntable is set for 45 and it should be at 33, and vice versa.

The thing to do is NOT, I repeat NEVER switch the turntable speed mid-song while its playing on the air. It sounds horrible!!!

Immediately pot down the turntable on the board and either go on the mic or start a different song from a different source

If you go on the mic, DON'T say you put the turntable on the wrong speed.

That's like telling the whole city that you suck

You can say something like, sorry for the technical difficulties, but

It's okay (and indeed preferable) to just pretend that nothing happened and calmly proceed with your show.

Help! I need to play a song on a record NOW and I don't have time to cue it!

No problem. Just drop the needle as close as you can to the beginning of the song

Remember to make damn sure you have the rpm set correctly!

Pot the turntable down ALL THE WAY before starting the turntable.

After starting the turntable, pot up the turntable like you were fading in any thing else. The result will sound smooth to the listener.

You'll miss the first few seconds of the song, but it's better than sounding like crap by starting it obviously in the middle.

The thing to remember is NOT to pot it up before the turntable has accelerated sufficiently, i.e. wait about a half a second before potting it up.

Oops! I played the last song on the album but forgot to turn the turntable off. The needle has been skating around the inside of the album for an hour! Is this bad?

No, not really. It won't damage the record at all, but if the paper in the center of record is damaged, it could theoretically damage the needle.

Avoid doing this, of course, but don't worry about it if you do. Just stop the stupid turntable and put the record back into the sleeve and jacket as normal.

Oh no! I'm playing a song on a record and the needle keeps skipping! There's a big scratch! What do I do?

OK, calm down. Pot the song down, go on the mic or play something else from a different source, just like you would do if a CD player were skipping.

If you do go on the mic, do not say records suck because the get scratches. Vinyl is cool, besides, CDs get scratches too.

Do NOT attempt to reposition the needle while the song is playing. There will be a LOUD pop when you set the needle back down and it will sound like crap.

DO pot the song down as soon as possible.

Do NOT confuse repetition with-in the song structure for scratches. Please.

Do check for scratches BEFORE playing the record.

When I pick-up the record from the turntable I hear it popping and notice a lot of dust on it. What just happened?

Simple, while the record was playing, it gathered some static electricity. When you take the record off of the turntable, this static-electric charge attracts oppositely charged dust particles in the air.

Don't worry about this. Just put the record back in its sleeve and jacket.

If you want, you can try to blow this dust off or wipe it off with the special record brush, but generally, don't worry about it.

Will it sound OK if I mix between CDs and records?

Yes, the listener won't be able to hear much of a difference in fidelity (if the record is in good shape.)

Do NOT assume, however, that you should pot the turntables and the CD players to the same position on the board.

In fact, this will almost never happen.

Pot each source so that the VU meters tack to 0, regardless of the physical position of each potentiometer on the board.