Are tracks near the label all scrunched up?

[babycart]

If I buy an lp for one track I like that track to be track 2 or 3 on a side of five tracks.

That's because track 1 has probably been all handled and is most likely to crack. If it hasn´t. I'll probably remedy the situation soon.

However, I have the possibly illogical belief that track 5 is a bit more "scrunched up" than tracks that lie further out. The needle travels at the same speed over less distance, meaning that the little nobbles in the groove must be a bit more tightly arranged. I can´t say i've ever actually noticed this in terms of sound quality, but if i see a track I like is near the label I'll feel a tiny bit disappointed.

Is there any truth in my belief, and does it have any effect on sound quality?

[peretti]

If the song's the same length the needle travels the same distance whatever the track position, doesn't it? Just with more turns the closer it is to the label. I think...

[Rich Hero]

As I understand, the tracks nearer the label have less dynamic range. Yes, the needle should pass the nobbles at the same speed but the curve is tighter. I assume that a decent master would space the grooves out to compensate. Then again the edge is more susceptible to scuffing.

Of course, if the track you want is right at the middle you can convert it into a 7". Has this been done for anything other than the Chopped Herring release of Daydream?

[IAN]

The distance the needle travels each revolution decreases so the last track is normally quieter with less high frequency details like cymbals etc.

Mastering engineers usually advise you put your loudest tracks at the start of the LP and your quieter ones at the end.

[bongolia]

yes IAN is right - because rotation is at a constant speed the stylus travel speed decreases throughout the side, so inner tracks have poorer sound quality.

CDs are read at a constant data rate, so spin the disc faster nearer the centre (or maybe cheap players just spin at the fast speed the whole time and ignore the data they've already read?)

[Xann]

Cylinders are where it's at.

[bennyboy]

Is there any truth in my belief, and does it have any effect on sound quality?

Yes, it does.

[Ronnies-Pockets]

Inner groove distortion

Something to do with the cartridge you use

[eine]

Next level one-tracker record collecting here.

Just when you think you there, you got to up your game.

[RockerFrank]

You will notice it on K-tel's "Play it again" and the like but then again they do jam like 40 minutes of music on one side.

[treeboy]

What about 45s? Are they not scrunched up too? They tend to sound pretty good in my experience.

[Rich Hero]

What about 45s? Are they not scrunched up too? They tend to sound pretty good in my experience.

Well, if you think about the fact that 7"s generally play at a faster speed than LPs, the needle travels a greater distance in the same amount of time at 45rpm than at 33rpm, so each second of music on a 7" can be encoded by more of the groove than on an LP. Added to which the amount of music per side is usually less than the same area of plastic in a full size album, which means each turn of the spiral can be spaced out further than they are on an LP. Both of which more than compensate for the grooves being relatively nearer the center.

[bongolia]

some rough calculations of stylus speed that I've probably mucked up (I guessed at diameters):

Outer track on LP:
(((3.14159 * 11 * 2.54 * 33.33) / 100) / 60) ~ 0.48 m/s

Inner track on LP:
(((3.14159 * 6 * 2.54 * 33.33) / 100) / 60) ~ 0.27 m/s

Outer edge of track on 45:
(((3.14159 * 6.5 * 2.54 * 45) / 100) / 60) ~ 0.39 m/s

Inner edge of track of 45:
(((3.14159 * 3.5 * 2.54 * 45) / 100) / 60) ~ 0.21 m/s

[babycart]

These last two posts are fucking fantastic. My head's spinning right round like a record baby.

[treeboy]

Ah! I see. So if the groove were formed into a straight line, the noisy, bobbly bits would be further apart in relation to an lp. Gotcha! (tiny eureka moment there)