Any idea why Mercury used styrene instead of vinyl?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Biel" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, November 30, 2009 6:45 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Pressing Haze: Help Needed
> Aaron Levinson wrote:
>> Don-
>>
>> You are suggesting that one pass with a very worn stylus produced this
>> kind of greying? That seems kind of hard to fathom
>
> Not if this is a styrene pressing rather than vinyl. I have seen
> microgroove styrene pressings absolutely shredded when played by a 78
> stylus or a stylus with a sharp facet. You haven't told us if this
> pressing is vinyl or styrene.
>
>> considering all
>> the other anecdotal evidence that suggests that Mercury and Emarcy
>> seem to exhibit this "record cancer" when almost no other labels do?
>
> Funny thing is that many early Mercury and Emarcy pressings are styrene
> when practically none others were. A few Harmony and many Gold/Silver
> Crest LPs are also styrene, and Decca was using a slightly different
> type of styrene in the late 50s. Most Columbia 45s were styrene.
> Back-cueing them by DJs can kill the first seconds of these.
>
>
>> I have seen many records that have been played by a worn stylus and
>> are greying but none that I have ever seen, stop so abruptly as this
>> record does.
>>
>> AA
>>
>>
>
> Since most microgroove records are vinyl, I would expect that this would
> be almost everybody's experience. But I have seen it happen.
>
> Mike Biel [log in to unmask]
>
>> Don Chichester wrote:
>>>
>>> In a message dated 11/30/2009 5:12:06 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
>>> [log in to unmask] writes:
>>>
>>> Mike Gray wrote:
>>>
>>>> Played with a *very* worn stylus that's damaged the groove -
>>>> Groove wear is a potential culprit Mike but in this case it can be
>>>> conclusively ruled out. This haze stops dead two thirds of the way
>>>> through track 2 only on the first side. The worn stylus theory is
>>>> simply not an option with a condition like this. I think it is far
>>>> more likely to be some kind of mold, storage and/or pressing defect.
>>>>
>>>
>>> AA
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> My experience is that this exactly the cause of the haze. The
>>> former owner played the record two-thirds of the way through track
>>> two--then noticed the wear and lifted the stylus at that point.
>>>
>>> Don Chichester
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
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