Off-center pressings

[mjzee]

Has anyone invented a solution to correct records that have been pressed off-center?

[jazzbo]

Buying a correct copy.

[Teasing the Korean]

The best I've done is widened the spindle hole with a pocket knife, and then made a small mark on the label indicating the direction the LP should be shifted. Hardly ideal and not an exact science, but it works.

[JSngry]

I recently got an LP that was centered on one side, off-center on the other. How did that happen?

[cih]

The best I've done is widened the spindle hole with a pocket knife, and then made a small mark on the label indicating the direction the LP should be shifted. Hardly ideal and not an exact science, but it works.

That's what I do - firstly I watch the arm wave forward and back while the record goes around.. when it reaches the position furthest from the spindle, just before it starts to swing back in I note where on the record label it's lined up with, and scrape a little from the edge of the hole at that point.. and keep doing it in small increments until it's right (this way you don't end up with a big round hole but a minimal oval one.

[clifford_thornton]

I recently got an LP that was centered on one side, off-center on the other. How did that happen?

That happens - it's drilled right, but the plating process was somehow off. That's my guess, anyway.

[Chuck Nessa]

Stamper on one side mounted improperly.

[Head Man]

This topic reminds me why CDs were invented

[Bill Nelson]

After re-coring the center, I end up holding the record down firmly and moving my hips from side-to-side.

[sidewinder]

One of the reasons why Japanese vinyl reissues were so great. Never had this problem with them.

Stuff issued by Muse, Inner City, Cadet on the other hand...

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Stamper on one side mounted improperly.

That's the type of off-centre pressing I've mostly seen. I used to have a turntable where you could take the centre spindle out; I'd made a mark on the label, like CIH does, so I'd know how to lay the disc on the mat, and play it. Unfortunately, my current turntable doesn't have a removable spindle, so I just don't play those sides any more.

MG

[Daniel A]

This annoying problem has occurred on too many blue label Blue Notes from the seventies so I'm avoiding those completely. A pity, since the sound is otherwise usually good.

Edited December 27, 2012 by Daniel A