LP Crackle

[Adapted from material originally posted by Graeme, SteveG]

Where does the crackle come from? How do I differentiate groove damage from crackle?

Actually, they sound totally different - once you know what you are listening for.

Crackle is primarily a mechanical thing. Generally, it will be random and remain at a constant level throughout the disc. Whereas groove distortion will track the modulation and the level will vary, particularly when the modulation is highest.

Some instruments tend to promote groove distortion more than others, brass is particularly bad in this respect.

Assuming the distortion is not it the original pressing, then what you hear is the result of the record being played on poor or incorrectly set up equipment at some time in its life. Unfortunately, this only needs to happen once for the damage to be done.

A good few years back there was a vinyl shortage, and a lot of vinyl was 'recycled'. Records released on the recycled stuff were noticeably noisier than first-time-around vinyl. There was even a record released that rather waggishly suggested that you could hear some of the original music in the background!

So not all vinyl sounds the same.

Adapted from material originally posted by Graeme, SteveG