It depends on a lot of things really, none of these are to do with actual physical age.

The more a record is played, the more it is worn down. Records these days tend to last for 100+ plays before they need replacing. It also depends on how the record is stored - records need to be stored upright and in a cool dark place.

Records can certainly be played a lot more than 100 times if you handle them correctly. There are a lot of things you can do to make them last longer without losing sound quality.

1. Get a really good vinyl cleaning brush, one that manages to get the dust out of the grooves in the record.
2. Make sure that your styli is clean at all times.
3. Like DJTJ said, store your vinyls upright in a cool place

Of course it also matters a lot how you handle the vinyl, if you are a scratching maniac or just doing gentle back-cuing, and how much pressure the vinyl gets from the cartridge (this is a very important factor).

quote:

Originally posted by DJTJ records need to be stored upright and in a cool dark place.

I can understand cool, DJTJ, but dark? Please enlighten us.

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Melodic Progressive.

Better than sex.

If half of your record is getting sun then that area will warm up (expand). That doesn't sound like much but repeated heat/cold changes will start to warp the record.

just a quick question :
could someone give me an example of a good record
cleaning brush?

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ive got a stanton brush......works great

it came with my vinyl cleaning kit

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also if you have your counter weights set lightly they'll help your records from wearing out as fast

hear that people? learn how to set the weight instead of just twisting it as hard as you can...

i'd rather my needle jump once or twice while implaying @ home, rather than my records going to shit in half the time because i dunno how to set the weights

quote:

Originally posted by Kid_Lax also if you have your counter weights set lightly they'll help your records from wearing out as fast hear that people? learn how to set the weight instead of just twisting it as hard as you can... i'd rather my needle jump once or twice while implaying @ home, rather than my records going to shit in half the time because i dunno how to set the weights

ehh i have my weights on backwards for extra push...doesnt bother my records a bit

There's no way you should need your weights reversed. Something wrong with your set up if you need that much.

I have 3g and anti-skate set to 2, 500AL's and it's good as gold. Make sure the tonarm height is set perfectly and the cart is aligned in the headshell ok.

If you've not got Technics ignore everything I just said 'cos I found that my belt drives needed loads of weight due to the platter being unstable.

I've got 2 copies of the tracks I like the most, usually a promo and a commercial copy. The commercial has been played to death and the promo is unplayed (worth more).

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Wanted! - Money or consider swaps:
BT Mercury & Solace (Black Hole 12" - BLH112) - got it! c/o discogs marketplace
DJ Tiesto Sparkles Remix (Transa / Airscape / Starecase) (Black Hole 12" - BLH118) - mine at last! Thanks to Gemm
San Feel My Love / Stroke (In Trance We Trust 12" - ITWT302) - in my collection finally! discogs marketplace again
Nunca House Of Doom (In Trance We Trust 12" - ITWT300) - if you have this in an ITWT sleeve with the promo sheet let me know!

quote:

Originally posted by MClarke im just worried that in a few years my collection that ive spent so much time and money on will be unplayable?... cos my mums old LP's sound shit if i play em now, all crackelly and low levs

eventually they will become fucked. But this wont happen for years and years to come, and ud have to play them shit loads everyday for it to happen. Best thing to do, is keep the weight of the needle on the vinyl to as little as possible (if ur in a club or at a party obviously u wanna apply more weight so some jack ass dont knock ur TTs and the needle go flying)

just make sure u keep ur vinyls in good condition. Keep them standing upstraight at all times, keep them dust free, make sure theres no hairs and other shit on them which mite cause scrathes, keep them out of sunlight to prevent warping. All common sense really, but there easy steps to follow to making sure ur vinyls last longer.

hmm... about sunlight, what if the records are in a cool room sitting on a shelf, and the morning sun comes through the window and shines on them for a while? will that eventually warp them? only the edges of the records end up getting direct sunlight tho

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NEW MIX [Feb/March 2008]