Vinyl Restoration

Vinyl restoration in a digital world
By Ed Primeau

In the old days, there were these large round black disc-like things that were called ‘records’. You could buy one-selection records that were called ‘singles (go figure) or big ones that were called ‘albums’. That’s where the term ‘record album‘ came from.
You would play these records on a record player. A needle would actually touch the vinyl groove (yep, that’s where that word came from, too) as it turned or spun on a record player, reproducing sound as it rotated.

If you are under 21 years old you may never have seen a record and may not understand my humor. Chances are, though, that you have seen a record and more than likely have heard one. In the following article I promise to get serious and let you in on several secrets and techniques I use to restore vinyl into our digital world, what this article is really about.

(Throughout our company’s 22 year history, on an average of once a month, we have customers come to our studios with dirty old, scratched (poorly recorded in the first place) vinyl they would like ‘cleaned up’ and transferred to a more current media – long ago and far away it was cassette tapes, now it’s digital recording to CDs – so they can listen to it and share it with friends and family.)
As owner of a very successful production company, on average of once a month we have customers come to our studios with dirty old, scratched (poorly recorded in the first place) vinyl they would like transferred to CD while making it sound like a digital or current era recording- so they can listen to it and share it with friends and family.

I remember reading a great article somewhere along the way about restoring old Elvis songs. Audio recording tape has an average life expentacy of twenty five years. When the record lable went back to re-release the recordings, the tape was so bad it could not be used. They actually tracked down the best condition original pressing they could find and restored it for re-release. They would play the record into a computer and apply processing and perform edits to remove the large clicks and pops.

Today these same software programs have been upgraded to versions that have fairly good pop and click removal processes. Still, to do a good job restoring, it’s best to remove some of the big pops and clicks by editing. When doing so, enlarge the timeline to it’s largest zoom in so you can see small fractions of sound wave for precise editing. If you make the edit too fat, you will hear the edit like a glitch. With practice, you can edit a lot of clicks in a short amount of time which will really make a difference.

Record players have become virtually extinct and impractical. When I was younger, we would borrow records from each other just like we do with CDs today. Now, since most people don’t own a record player, the only way to listen to old recordings is on CD or Mp3. Vinyl has to be converted from analog record surface to digital file. Of course you want to make it sound better than it did originally, and you can.

Primeau Productions is very good at vinyl restoration because it is one of our passions. More often than not these records are rare. More often than not, the masters were destroyed, lost or stolen. They may be old recordings of a now-deceased family member.
When a vinyl record walks into our studio to be restored, the first step is to discover the customer’s expectations. Do they want to hear some of the pops, clicks and skips? Or do they want a pristine digital copy with no errors? They may want something in between? Of course when I take on a restoration project, I tend to overdo it. It’s easy to become obsessed with the project and go way above and beyond what you are being compensated for. There is nothing wrong with great service. It puts out good business karma.

Studio owners reading this article, going above and beyond is very important in our industry. You will never regret going the extra mile for your clients.

On the other hand, you have to meet expenses that all businesses have and make a profit too! When I quote a restoration project, I create three options: good, better and best. Below is a sample of one of my recent quotes for your review and reference.

February 13, 2006

Ms. Jane Doe
P.O. Box 4321
Clawson, MI 48038-0068

Dear Ms. Doe:
After listening to the album of your father I now know what options I can recommend for restoration. Below are three options for your review.

Option One
Load entire record into computer and restore sound
Enhance volume and tone
4 hours$ 360.00

Option Two
Everything from Option one plus additional restoration and click removal.
Create song identification (each song a separate track)
6 hours$ 480.00

Option Three
Everything from Option Two plus (1) additional studio hour to further restore and add computer generated simulated stereo fidelity.
7 hours$ 600.00

The bottom line is whichever option you select that is comfortable we will make sure you are 100% satisfied with your result. I look forward to speaking with you once you have had a chance to review the above information. Please call me at your convenience.

Respectfully,

As you can see, I gave this restoration customer three options. How foolish is the business owner that assumes they know what their prospect wants? Doesn’t it make sense to give them three options or choices?

I suggest you always make option one your best guess and best foot forward. Then make option two and three the big kahuna – offer the Cadillac, the best of the best restoration jobs ever! How long will it take you to do? How much will you clean the vinyl? Unless you try it, you never know. I can tell you from experience, most always the customer will pick option two or three. In this case, the prospect chose option two and I delivered option three (because I had some extra time and fun doing it).

Here are some basic steps on how Primeau Productions restores vinyl records:

First, we determine if the record is vinyl or acetate. After awhile, you will develop a sense of which is which because of feel. Acetate is heavier than vinyl because it is made with a metal plate. Acetate is more solid and sturdy while vinyl has flexibility and can bend easily. If you slightly bend a record, it resumes it’s original position before it was bent. Acetate will remain bent.
(Once the recording has been identified as vinyl or acetate, you have to clean it.)
Once the vinyl or acetate have been identified, you have to clean it. Years bring on dirt, dust and grime to both vinyl and acetate records. Cleaning will remove this filth and reveal better sound quality. For acetate I use a solution of two parts water and one part Shaklee Satin Sheen dish washing liquid. It’s very mellow and non-destructive. I wipe the solution on gently with a soft cloth and wipe dry with another soft cloth dampened with warm water. Rub in the direction of the grooves, not against the grain. Repeat process as necessary until visual inspection shows naked surface.

For vinyl I use standard record cleaner because it is stronger and the vinyl can take it.

Then, make a scan of the record label to use for your CD lable. You may want to do this before you wash it as washing may damage the label. The old record lable has sentimental value. Why not use this nostalgia to your creative advantage?

Now you are ready to play the record into your computer using a high quality record player with a nice stylus appropriate for the playing surface. Diamond needles are good for vinyl transfer but synthetic needles should be used for acetate because of the softer playing surface. Keep a couple of each handy because they are getting harder to find.
(www.needledepot.com is a great source).

You also want to use a nice pre-amp and mixing board to keep all levels consistant and even to avoid added hiss and lost sound tone.

Keep in mind when transferring your record to load and record right away. If you are transferring acetate, each transfer will reduce the sound quality. Vinyl is not as much a concern but still worth loading from the start. Load the record multiple times because in some cases the sound quality will improve with multiple plays. The needle may actually help clean the vinyl and remove skips (depending on the weight of your tone arm).
Each play that is loaded should have variables with tone arm weight. Lable your file accordingly (e.g., ‘tone arm weight .5 grams, pass two’). Keep your studio monitors low when playing into your computer so the turntable does not vibrate.

Listen back to your loads and determine which one sounds best, then go to work. Raise the volume to digitally acceptable levels. Equalize the tone, edit out the clicks, wave hammer or expand the file. Convert to stereo simulation or add deley or reverb. Bottom line, experiment with a process that works for you.

You may want to run off to reel-to-reel before you make the CD master since the analog processing of a two-track may further enhance the restoration.

Email me if you would like to know more of our processes and procedures on vinyl restoration. From time to time I try different processes and would be happy to help you perfect yours.

ed@ primeauproductions.com

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