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Understanding Heat Damage.

Jonny_PaycheckJonny_Paycheck 17,825 Posts
edited March 2008 in Strut Central
It has come to my attention, through my warp-flattening service, that many collectors do not know or understand the difference between a storage warp and heat damage. Anyone who doesn't understand this, feel free to read on and ask questions. I get a lot of records sent to me that are heat damaged. Heat damage is when a record has been left next to the radiator, under direct sunlight, in the oven, and so on. The actual grooves of the record are marred by the heat - basically, they have begun to melt and bend. There is no saving a record once this happens. A flattener, for instance, can flatten these records but it doesn't matter - the grooves are still demolished. A lot of times very sharp, small warps are caused by heat damage. By contrast, storage warps are broad and gradual.A record that has been warped by improper storage has not had its grooves damaged, and can be flattened to its original state; the heating coil and glass panes reverse the process of its improper storage.If you hear a "woosh" sound every rotation, that is heat damage. If the needle jumps sideways, that is also most likely heat damage. The groove has been elongated into an oval from a circle. Does that make sense?

  Comments

  • spelunkspelunk 3,400 Posts
    You can also usually see heat damage where the grooves look widened and just generally not right.

    Are you getting folks coming into the store wanting to use the flattener for heat warps? Or getting sold records with storage warps that are actually heat warps?
  • pointmanpointman 1,042 Posts
    Heat damage makes me cry.
  • Jonny_PaycheckJonny_Paycheck 17,825 Posts


    Are you getting folks coming into the store wanting to use the flattener for heat warps? Or getting sold records with storage warps that are actually heat warps?

    Folks have been sending me heat damaged records for flattening. It is becoming an issue just because it takes valuable time and it costs money to ship back and forth. I just want people to have a better understanding of it. I was honestly surprised at the amount I've been getting.

    I just got off the phone with a dealer who sent me a heat-damaged rarity; I attempted to explain that no matter how flat it gets, the grooves will still be damaged and the record will not be worth much; he was of the opinion that as long as the record tracked, he would still put a collector's price on it.

  • NiteKrawler45NiteKrawler45 1,062 Posts
    You couldn't have defined it better JP.

    Heat damage is the pits.
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    It has come to my attention, through my warp-flattening service, that many collectors do not know or understand the difference between a storage warp and heat damage. Anyone who doesn't understand this, feel free to read on and ask questions.

    I get a lot of records sent to me that are heat damaged. Heat damage is when a record has been left next to the radiator, under direct sunlight, in the oven, and so on. The actual grooves of the record are marred by the heat - basically, they have begun to melt and bend. There is no saving a record once this happens. A flattener, for instance, can flatten these records but it doesn't matter - the grooves are still demolished. A lot of times very sharp, small warps are caused by heat damage. By contrast, storage warps are broad and gradual.

    A record that has been warped by improper storage has not had its grooves damaged, and can be flattened to its original state; the heating coil and glass panes reverse the process of its improper storage.

    If you hear a "woosh" sound every rotation, that is heat damage. If the needle jumps sideways, that is also most likely heat damage. The groove has been elongated into an oval from a circle.

    Does that make sense?

    I think this makes good sense. It might help, for example, on your services page to include an example of what a RESTORED heat-warped record sounds like so they know that even if the final platter is flat, the sound is still going to be fucked up.

    That "collector's price" for a flattened, heat-damaged record seems shady as hell but let the buyer beware I guess.
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    Just curious: my first - and last - experience with heat damage came back in '93 when I left a copy of a Brand Nubian 12" on my turntables with the sun coming through. It created this MASSIVE warp bubble on the part the sun heated up and of course, I had to throw it out.

    Would your flattener have been able to "fix" it, visually speaking? The sound would have been fucked of course but I'm wondering what the point of no return would be for your flattening machine.
  • Jonny_PaycheckJonny_Paycheck 17,825 Posts
    it's hard to say, it really is specific to the individual record and the warp.

    I've fixed very drastic warps but I've also been frustrated by relatively minor ones.

    I can't seem to flatten a single African record.
  • DelayDelay 4,530 Posts
    i was djing at the watermelon festival in Virginia in August, and i literally had a record warp while playing.


  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    i was djing at the watermelon festival in Virginia in August, and i literally had a record warp while playing.



    That's wild - what was the record made out of?
  • DelayDelay 4,530 Posts
    vinyl. it was just so hot and humid, i heard it skipping, looked down and it was doing the cosign dance
  • DJ_NevilleCDJ_NevilleC 1,922 Posts
    vinyl. it was just so hot and humid, i heard it skipping, looked down and it was doing the cosign dance
    Same thing happened to a friend of mine at the Virgin Festival last summer in Baltimore. Luckily by time I played that same stage the next day they had umbrellas for us. Still hot as hell though.
  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts

    Does that make sense?

    What is the proper term for what happens to dudes' ears when I play them my beats, yo?

    I had thought that that was referred to as "heat damage," but maybe not???
  • SoulhawkSoulhawk 3,197 Posts

    Does that make sense?

    What is the proper term for what happens to dudes' ears when I play them my beats, yo?

    I had thought that that was referred to as "heat damage," but maybe not???

    I believe this is called 'shaken little dude syndrome'

    or perhaps 'raer whiplash'

    ---
  • Controller_7Controller_7 4,052 Posts

    What is the proper term for what happens to dudes' ears when I play them my beats, yo?

    I had thought that that was referred to as "heat damage," but maybe not???

    no, you're right, but I believe Jonny is talking about "heat damage" as opposed to what you're refering to, which is "that heat damage, son" or "heat damage, unggghhh."
  • DjArcadianDjArcadian 3,632 Posts
    i was djing at the watermelon festival in Virginia in August, and i literally had a record warp while playing.



    I remember DeeRock posting something like this before. Records melting while he was spinning.
  • sysfunksysfunk 32 Posts
    Funny, I never knew one could fix records that have been damaged in storage. Now I know. I guess it was worthwhile finally registering here and paying a bit more attention to the discussion.
  • pointmanpointman 1,042 Posts
    If you're playing outdoors during the daytime, make sure there's a tent covering the tables or your set will look like a Mr. Wizard experiment.
  • DB_CooperDB_Cooper Manhatin' 7,823 Posts
    Now I know.

    And knowing is half the battle.

    P.S. - Watch out for Faux Rillz. His beats will cripple your auditory canals and hurt your feelings.
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