I did not even know this was an issue. Great topic - thank you for shedding light on this. I have one concern about using various types of organic materials as a support of the record surface during the flattening process and that is the possibility of the record contamination from the material. Ideally, the plates should be shaped so that they perfectly fit the record but that would create another set of problems one would have to deal with such as punch hole eccentricity, different record sizes etc. As an alternative or organic materials for the support ring would metal be a better choice? Of course one would have to take really good care of it, avoid exposing it to dust, touching it with bare fingers, accidentally creasing it etc. This already starts to seem like a bad idea but with the right metal alloy, who knows, maybe some people would consider it. The question of course is: does that little amount of residual warping of the record actually matter? If it does, why and how much does it matter ?
Do you close the clips while flatting the records. In the Manuel it says not to this. But I have seen some people doing it while flatting. What is your recommendation? Thanks for the video
I vehemently disagree with this. I have been using the orb for over 3 years and use it 24/7. When one comes out another goes in. I agree we groove guard, but I have never had it create an issue with a record. I have never had one come out that is still wobbly or slightly cupped in between the dead wax and the label. The orb comes with felt pads that cut out the label to compensate for what you are talking about, but I never use them. I have fixed every type of damage you can imagine, but obviously some are too far gone.
Not everyone has the same experience. I am only talking about records with "groove guard", and not pressings that don't have raised edges/labels. There are records with severe edge warps that are very difficult to flatten between two parallel surfaces. They'll be better, but won't be completely flat unless you use something extra with the Orb, like paper rings or spongy felt pieces. The problem with felt is the amount of dust it holds. The units come with a single black, square, felt piece that is intended to keep the two pieces of glass from hitting each other too forcefully during shipping, but it's not intended for use with records, is the same basic dimension as the glass panels, and has a single spindle hole at the center. It sounds like you have the VinylFlat Groovy Rings.
@@mockingbirdanalog the later version of the orb came I’m with felt inserts, but yes, I have several variations of felt pads that came with different versions of the flat and the pi. As for edge warps, yes, some are impossible to get out and some come out easily but I’ve never had issues with the groove guard hindering them. On some edge warps I have certain tools that I created that I use to flatten that specific area but I don’t generally watch out for the groove guard. Most of the time they are over the guards. 99% of the time o use nothing to fix them, just the orb and they are flat as a board. So I think your video is more of an addendum for those rare instances other than typical operation procedure for the orb.
@@spatulacityrecords6263 The problem for me is/was the type of end user. I have sold to audiophiles who expected the record to be better than new after cycling through the machine, to be absolutely flat, absolutely silent, and have some kind of transcendental experience. Some of the problem records were 180 gram pressings. The complaint was always something like "there is still a wave". The only solution I could find for those records were cutout rings that allowed the glass plates to evenly press against the playing surface while still putting heat through the label and outer edge. Ideally, all the heat would transfer through the label and outer edge as a safety precaution.
@@mockingbirdanalog that makes more sense, as I said in the video, the orb wasn’t designed for 180+ gram records. They’re to thick and it doesn’t heat up hot enough. I am flattening most all records under 180. You might want to try the record pi. It works beautifully on 200g records.
I bought a new orb flattener a few months back and I find it has no issues with 180 gram records. Mine came with some plastic inserts which maybe thier a fix for the issues mentioned. Only tried one 200gram LP so far as that's all which has come my way. Perfect result but the warp wasn't the worst to begin with. I was actually more concerned with compounds which make up various colour vinyl. All have been ok so far though.
