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Tried a 4-hour soak in distilled water before cutting, here's what happened
Honestly, I read some random blog about hydrating blanks before cutting and thought it was overkill. But I had a batch of 10 acetates that kept skipping on the same groove around the 3 minute mark. So I soaked them in distilled water for 4 hours at room temp last Sunday before recording. The skips vanished on 8 of them, which blew my mind. One still had a tiny tick near the end, but way better than before. Ngl, I used to think this was snake oil, but now I'm wondering if the water temp matters more than the soak time. Has anyone else messed with hydration before cutting, or did I just get lucky with the humidity in my basement studio in Philly?
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noahtaylor12d ago
Man, this is the same thing that happens with old wooden furniture. Dry air makes it shrink and crack, then it swells back up when it gets some moisture. Acetate is basically plastic that soaks up water like a sponge. So it makes sense that a dry record warps just enough to mess with the groove, and soaking it lets it relax back into shape. Humidity in your basement probably plays a big role too, dry winter air versus a muggy Philly summer could change everything.
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