Vinyl Recorder - Stylus heating HELP PLEASE!

[David34]

Hey folks,

Before I get told off for starting a new topic, I did search this and couldn't find anything with instructions on how to use the Vinyl Recorders Stylus heater.

I have spoken to Souri, however I cant really make sense of it all and thought Id hit up one of you guys using it already.

If anyone can please spare a minute to explain step-by-step how I use it without damaging my machine. I will be eternally grateful.

Or maybe there is a link out there with instructions, either way Ill be very appreciative !

Thanks in advance..

[The Shank]

Diamond stylus don't need to be heated too much.


Start to cut without heating the stylus (but heat the blank), play the record while cutting, listen to the background noise, adjust your stylus heating, some noises will disappear and you will get a good "silence" groove. Continue to heat a bit more and some new noises will appear, so step back where you have the "best silence".

[David34]

Thanks for your help..

So do you do this with every record that you cut? Or just one tester (throw away) disc? Then just leave it at that setting?

Really appreciate your help!

[The Shank]

Thanks for your help..

So do you do this with every record that you cut? Or just one tester (throw away) disc? Then just leave it at that setting?

Really appreciate your help!

Of course you don't have to do this with every records... But cut after cut, the diamond becomes used, even if you don't see it with microscope.
Check the "silence" every 15/20 hours.
With experience, you will fix it in the first seconde you'll ear the background noise, you will know what/how to do precisely.

[David34]

I just want to know how you hear the "silence" when you're cutting the audio ? Doesnt really make sense to me ?

Really appreciate your help !

[opcode66]

He is talking about cutting unmodulated grooves. I.e. cutting grooves with no audio playing. Play them as they are being cut with your playback tonearm. This is the best way to dial in your system. Then start cutting audio to a fresh disc. I designate a disc as a test cut disc. I have one for both lacquer and plastic. I use these discs to periodically cut unmodulated grooves to insure all is correct. I listen to them and inspect them under my scope. I also cut bits of audio into these test discs.

Once all is sounding and looking good, pull out a fresh disc from your stock and start cutting safe in the knowledge that you will have minimized your background noise and will nicely formed grooves. After every 15/20 hours of cutting, perform this test cut and tweaking process again as your diamond will now have some wear you might need to compensate for.

Happy Cutting!

[The Shank]

that's it!

[David34]

Thats some awesome advice and Im so grateful for all your help on this guys..

Do I leave the cutter amp off while doing the noise test ? Souri said to do that ?
'

[The Shank]

Do I leave the cutter amp off while doing the noise test ? Souri said to do that ?
'

Yes, leave it off.

BTW, why don't you ask Souri for the tips? He is the most appropriate person I guess.

Or maybe you get a second hand vinylrecorder..so....

[David34]

I own new machine, have spoken to Souri about it, just wanted to see if there was any other ways/tips/tools etc..

[SUNBEARS]

My experience with the Vinylrecorder is to start with heat off, amp off, drop in, turn heat on at lowest setting, and slowly turn it up, listening to the groove that you're cutting. The silence can only get as quite as it can. I have never turned up the heat passed 30 on my dial when cutting PC (Souri Discs).

Don't be afraid, but don't be stupid. Being careless and overly aggressive will mess you up and kill styli.

Souri is cool, but he can seem intense! I have a business partner here at my studio and he was actually AFRAID to use the stylus heating because of something Souri had said about it being a "Catastrophe" if you misuse it. And yeah, Souri is right. So, be smart, go slow, practice, and have fun!!

Cheers!!

[drdub]

when cutting pvc we tend to NOT heat the stylus heting at all.
you will get an absolutely quiet groove just by heating up the blanks.
however, it takes time to find out the exact temperature, cause humidty,
batch of record, room temperature, condition of stylus are all paramters that
have to be taken into account
my2cents
cheers mex

[aaron]

One thing that always bothered me about the whole blank/stylus heating thing, especially in regards to cutting plastic.... I thought when you're engraving/cutting/whatever using some sort of tool, isn't the goal to REDUCE heat? I've heard that heat kills diamond tooling... why is cutting records any different? You don't see other industries heating tools to do diamond engraving... they're always trying to cool the part/tool down, with water or air or something. Maybe I'm missing something...?

[opcode66]

The amount of heat is exponentially different here. On a CNC machine there is a jet of water that cools and washes debris away. But, the amount of heat and friction is much different than cutting a fine piece of hairlike material away from the surface of a blank disc.

If we were cutting without heat and measured the normal running temp of the stylus, it wouldn't be very hot on its own. Unlike other tooling that would be hot as a result of normal usage.

Also, take into consideration that the vacuum system on a lathe will draw air over the stylus. You aren't supposed to run current through the heating wires unless your vacuum is on. Because, yes, too much heat is not ideal. However, a little is ok. And, a little helps the cutting tool slice through the material like butter. You can get quieter grooves with a little heat. And, that is the pay off. Slightly less lifespan in exchange for records with a very low noise floor.

Your vacuum actually helps to keep the temp of the stylus with heat applied at a reasonable temperature. The heat itself gives you a more high fidelity recording. Life is a series of tradeoffs.

[tragwag]

on another related note, I've found the flatness of the blank to be far more important on the vinyl recorder than when I cut with the presto.
if your blank is uneven the smallest amount, there will be elevated surface noise.

[David34]

Great advise folks and I really appreciate your answers. I still haven't tried the stylus heating yet as I was a bit scared to do so after Souris advice.

Im ready to try now as I have 3 spare diamonds..

[tragwag]

not sure if I said this before, but keep the heat level at 10, or 15 on the knob. anything above that is way too hot.

[SUNBEARS]

when cutting pvc we tend to NOT heat the stylus heting at all.
you will get an absolutely quiet groove just by heating up the blanks.
however, it takes time to find out the exact temperature, cause humidty,
batch of record, room temperature, condition of stylus are all paramters that
have to be taken into account
my2cents
cheers mex

And what exactly is that temp for you, normally??

[punkrock]

Ok, I remind you all I'm not a proffessional at all. This is my experience after using the Vynilrecorder sporadicly for the last 2.5 years:

At the beginning I used to cut with no heat at all.

After one year or so, I would always cut at a temperature of 35... I guess I tried it once with a used stylus and that was the quietest temperature at the point. Anyhow, stylus seemed to last little.

This last year I've been cutting at 20. This last stylus lasted around 60 full Lp recordings. I think that's a good lasting, what do yout think?

In my opinion, heating the stylus will sometimes reduce surface noise but not always... Cutting with a not heat stylus will make perfectly silent cuts regarding to the noise issue.

What will set the difference between heat/not heat is the way the resulting record will look like. When you use heat, record grooves are much deeper and look much more proffessional. Records look "more real". That's the main difference.