Re: [ARSCLIST] Playing Records Backward

[David Lewis <davlew@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Advice that is - duhh - simple, but important - make sure that you pay
attention to the record's lead in and how long it might be. On my old 
Cincinnati-based program Art Damage, I was quite fond of playing Elvis
Presley's "Jailhouse Rock" backwards - it was fun to hear him shout phrases
like "Ow ma now ma nop min op bi nip bi nit bi nip nit neee" etc.

Only problem was that the lead in groove on my 1950s RCA 45 of the thing
was ridiculously short and cut a very drastic angle, and it dumped the
stylus onto the pad with force, snapping the stylus off with impunity. And
remember, it's always worse when the stylus that you destroy is not yours. I
busted two of the station's styli that way, and then later got an Lp of the
thing to play backwards instead.   

David N. Lewis
Assistant Classical Editor, All Music Guide

"Mankind will never know the essence of music in its reality and entirety.
Hail to the prophets!" -  Ferruccio Busoni, 1924

-----Original Message-----
From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
[mailto:ARSCLIST@xxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Mwcpc6@xxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, July 27, 2005 1:22 PM
To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Playing Records Backward

In a message dated 7/25/2005 2:32:05 AM Eastern Standard Time,
sirnailheadjr@xxxxxxxx writes:
Out of
curiosity I'd be interested to know what playing an LP backwards would do
to the grooves and if it would cause long term damage that would affect
it when played properly.  Thanks.  Randy
************

I think that the "cue burn" on radio station records was mostly caused by
very frequent, repeated and rapid reversing of the record rotation with
relatively high tracking forces.  Playing in the reverse direction at normal
speeds
shouldn't cause excessive wear to a clean record. However the tendency of
the
stylus to "dig into" the groove when hitting as scratch or dust particle
might
increase the damage done by playing a record that is in poor condition
already.

As to the tone arm and pivot, with a modern cartridge, if it is rugged
enough
to be manually handled, it should be able to withstand the forces required
to
fold the cantilever back on itself if the stylus hits a crack or deep pit in
the record!

Mike Csontos