I’ve been fairly lucky on warped Records. I’ve used a clamp for years, it seems to tighten the bass ever so slightly. But the few warped records I’ve got, the clamp doesn’t help at all, most records are warped worse at the outside edge.
But a trick that I’ve seen work, is to get two sheets of glass from a window shop, larger than the record, slightly. Place the record between the sheets of glass in the oven at 150 degrees F for just 15 seconds. Watch through the window, if possible, and the second the glass lays flat, take it out and let it cool slowly. Surprisingly it will not affect the music in the grooves, and no more jumping needles. I hesitated to try it, but I had one record that was nearly unplayable, so I figured I had nothing to loose? And it worked wonders.
Russell
The Michell clamp only works well with a hard mat or platter ie acrylic. It should be used with the supplied felt washer to raise the record centre slightly. Here’s a guy showing you how it’s done.
https://youtu.be/cT_4oSL4VgQ
It doesn’t really work with the Rega because of the oversized hole in the glass platter plus the softness of the wool mat, it gives a little help to records that are dished upwards in the middle though.
The main reason I use one on my P3 is so I can easily spin up the platter before I flick on the power switch to save belt wear. Just as an aside for any other Rega owners I’ve just swapped my well used standard belt for an Edwards Audio Little Belter Blue belt and it has effectively corrected the previously slightly fast turntable speed (33.58RPM), it now registers exactly 33.33RPM when checked with the RPM iPhone app.
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Last edited by steve-z; 19-04-2018 at 13:51.
The Michell clamp looks very nicely machined....It would be a shame not to try it
I hear what you are all saying though and a clamp probably would not deal with any bad warps. I've seen ski jump warps at the outer edge.
I have rubber mats with a centre indent about the size of the label. It would seem a good idea to weigh or clamp the record down but I have no idea of the physics behind it. I just like the idea of a nice looking clamp to show Im a hi fi buff
I had a Townshend Rock turntable for almost 30 years (should never have sold it ☹️) and the record clamp was an integral part of the design, the spindle was internally threaded and there was also a raised washer over the spindle so the outer edge of the record was pressed into the platter, most unusual part of the design was the headshell outrigger and silicone damping trough, utterly brilliant
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My VPI is the same way, the clamp screws onto the threaded spindle. I bought my first record clamp in 1987, it was a Monster Cable brand, with a spring loaded collet in it, you press the big button on top and it would pull down on the record. Worked very well on standard spindles. I paid $35. I saw some a few years ago for $285! But have seen used ones on eBay randomly. Since my VPI can’t use it, I gave it to my son in law. You’d have thought I had given him a 10 carrot diamond!
Russell
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Thanks for the input guys.
I wasn't expecting to fix bad lp's just improve them a bit. But it looks like nothing will really work on a rega. So I think I'll experiment with GT's glass idea and see what happens on some I care little for.
Re Steve's use of the Edwards Audio Little Belter Blue belt I did post about this a while back about my RP3 running too fast. I ended up with that belt and it did the trick for me. At the time I failed to be convinced that the new rega psu (Neo) would be an improvement in sound quality AND fix my speed ISSUE.
When I bought my P3 (2nd hand) it came with the TTPSU, I auditioned both with and without it and concluded it made no difference to the SQ so I sold it on, I think it only really worthwhile for people who have lots of 45s, I only have 3 so it’s very little hardship to flip the belt when I want to play them.
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The only kind of clamps that really flatten warped records are those that come with matching turntables thathave threaded centre spindles (like SME for example), otherwise the amount of force required to flatten the record is too great. In addition, they need to be used with a hard mat - not felt for example. Finally, it is very questionable as to whether you even want to apply that amount of force to your records in the first place. It’s not uncommon for micro-cracking to appear around the record centre hole and many who own such decks subjectively prefer the sound with the clamp done up finger tight, rather than clamped down firmly.
As to whether the effect of clamps and weights is a subtle one very much depends on the system and it’s transparency to the front end. Certainly record mats and clamps can make an obvious and immediate difference - where for the better, or not, is a different matter.
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My VPI ‘table has a screw down clamp on a threaded spindle, and it’s easy to screw it down very tight. But, most records are warped at the outside edge. Of the very few warped Records I have, the clamp does nothing to flatten the record.
If it is really warped enough to cause playback trouble, what have you got to loose? Do the flattening process, if it ruins the record so what? But it is very easy to have success flattening a record, it’s very easy in fact. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, place the record between two pieces of standard window glass. Heat it in the oven, or with a good hair dryer, as long as you stop as soon as the glass flattens out, let cool slowly. I’ve done this about 3 times and it worked great each time, no reason to have warped Records. And as a previous poster mentioned, trying to flatten a warped record while cold could crack it.
If a record is warped to the point that it interferes with playback, chances are you will avoid playing it, so what do you have to loose?
Russell