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On Friday, October 02, 2009 12:59 PM, Brandon Burke wrote:
>
> Just stumbled across this online. Never seen such a thing before: 
> http://www.furutech.com/a2008/product2.asp?prodNo=263 
>
>
> Thoughts? Has anyone used on of these before? 

I've not seen the Furutech in the flesh, but I have
and use the Airtight Disc Flatter:

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue29/flatter.htm

which looks to be the same thing in principle.

I use it most on dictation discs that have indentations
from paper clips or creases from mailing.  These discs
would be Edision Voicewriter, Gray Audograph and 
Soundscriber discs.  Just about every project I do with
these discs, I encounter indentations or creases, which
in turn result in skips and repeats during transfer.

I've also used it to flatten severely warped shellacs
(so warped that the tonearm is hit by the record and
the stylus is lifted right off the record).  It does
a fine job, although it will leave a shiny surface at
the contact points.  Given that the disc is essentially
unplayable, the shiny surface is a small price to pay.

Naturally, it works very well on vinyl discs, its 
intended media, vinyl discs.

The experiment I've been wanting to find time to 
perform has been to:

   - purchase some used and expendable flat vinyl discs
   - transfer the discs
   - warp the discs to varying degrees from subtle to
     severe
   - flatten the discs with the Airtight Disc Flatter
   - transfer the discs again
   - compare the pre-warp and post-flatten transfers

These flattening devices are expensive.  If you have a
few discs that require flattening and you are curious
to see the results, let me know and we can do some tests
before you invest in such a thing.


Eric Jacobs

The Audio Archive, Inc.
tel: 408.221.2128
fax: 408.549.9867
mailto:[log in to unmask]
http://www.TheAudioArchive.com
Disc and Tape Audio Transfer Services and Preservation Consulting