Question about vinyl

Hello all,

I have a question that some of you vinyl lovers might be able to help me with. Let me first of all say that I know nothing about records, record players or how they work, except that I like listening to them.

I have an optimus turntable which I bought about a year and a half ago, but in the last few months I had begun to notice that the sound didn't seem quite right. As an experiment, I plugged my guitar in (having tuned it most accurately to the standard EADGBE) and tried to jam along to a few songs on record that I knew how to play. I found that I was somewhat out of tune with the record, and was unable to play along. On the other hand, when I played along to the same songs on CD, the tuning was fine. Does this mean there is something wrong with my record player?

In order to be in tune with the record I had to tune all my strings up by approximately half a semitone, meaning that my record player seems to be playing too fast. I guess what I really want to know is, is a record player supposed to capture the exact sound as it is supposed to be, or is it natural for the speeds on record players to vary ever so slightly? i.e. should it be the exact same speed as you would hear on a cd? Contrastingly, my friend's record player (a very old one mind you) seems to play a little too slow. This was a problem which I never noticed when I first bought the player, so maybe it needs to be fixed *shrug* Any knowledge which could be imparted would be a great help.

Turntables are notorious for having inaccurate rotational speed. Exactly 33 1/3 RPM is almost impossible to achieve with one. Of course, the ear never notices, but a guitar tuned to A=440c/s certainly does, as you've seen.

Stick to jamming with the CD's, or, as you've noted, retune your guitar to match.

BTW, you've got a very good sense of pitch, if you could tell just by listening that the record was a half semitone sharp.

Thanks stratman, that's helpful to know

The thing that annoys me is, at times my ear does notice, and it really puts me off listening to a song. I know that the speed is only slightly out, but some songs I've listened to for so many years on CD that the exact sound is imprinted in my brain. On the other hand though, I find that records do have a really nice sound as opposed to CD, it's just getting the right bloody speed!

Stratters is right in that most turntables are never at the correct rotational speed. Variation in line current throughout the day can even effect it.
Most better quality turntables have an adjustment built in that will allow you to correct the tone (RPM's).
Your's may or may not have that ability. If yout turntable platten (the big round dics you put the record on) has a pattern of squares on the side and there is a tiny strobe light built into the table deck, then you may be in business. There should be an adjustment knob that will allow you to speed up or slow down the rotation of the platten to the proper speed. When at the correct speed one set of those little squares on the side will appear to stand still. Refer to you owners manual if you still have it.

Actually you'll find that no two CD players are at exactly the same speed, either-- although the variations are much smaller, so unless you have perfect pitch, you should be okay. Otherwise it will drive you nuts.

Sadly my player dosen't appear to have this function. But now that you mention it, I'm going to try and find one that does. I think my player is exeptionally bad because it's not just a teeny bit out, it's out enough that I think most people would be able to notice that it sounds too fast. I mean, on 'Comfortably Numb' Dave really does sound too high, like he was kicked in the balls or something. When I play 45's though the speed is like 100% correct. Maybe this is because I've hardly played any 45's at all, so it's maintained the correct speed, wheras I've played plenty of 33 1/3's, hence this speed function might have slipped out a little as time has passed. Well, I'm just taking a guess.

By the way, thanks, you've all somewhat set my mind at rest. At least now I know what is going on, beforehand the player was driving me bloody crazy.

Here's a good one..

http://www.pssl.com/bitemdetail.tpl?...03091005363573