Charity Shop Trawl

[visualnickmos]

Bruckner 7, Mahler 2 and Ein Heldenleben are my favourites.

Sounds about right....

[Dave2002]

Pastoralguy: as long as the surface with the label info on isn't damaged, it may be possible to polish or even grind out the scratches. There are machines that assist, or there is a manual method with (typically) toothpaste and Brasso (and lots of patience and elbow-grease!).

It can indeed be done - though whether it's worthwhile will ... er ... depend.
I think I actually did one using first Vim, then cleaning that off and using Brasso or Silvo after that. Also toothpaste has been said to work.

Don't use sandpaper or Brillo pads. As I recall I didn't set out to use Vim at first, but the milder abrasives didn't get anywhere, so I was going to have to throw the CD away or use it as a bird scarer anyway.

Use water and also alcohol to clean off any abrasive substances between attempts. Eventually my efforts were successful. I made a digital rip once I'd got the CD to play.

[visualnickmos]

It can indeed be done - though whether it's worthwhile will ... er ... depend.
I think I actually did one using first Vim, then cleaning that off and using Brasso or Silvo after that. Also toothpaste has been said to work.

Don't use sandpaper or Brillo pads. As I recall I didn't set out to use Vim at first, but the milder abrasives didn't get anywhere, so I was going to have to throw the CD away or use it as a bird scarer anyway.

Use water and also alcohol to clean off any abrasive substances between attempts. Eventually my efforts were successful. I made a digital rip once I'd got the CD to play.

Don't use sandpaper or Brillo pads.

A method that works if the scratch is not too gauged, is to apply a little Vaselin petroleum, and rub with your finger in circular motion on the scratch. A bit boring, I know! Then clean it of - maybe with a drop of lighter fuel. However, if the disc is quite badly scratched, It's not worth even bothering.

[Cockney Sparrow]

In the graded abrasives I'd try Cif cleaner before last ditch vim. I also have to hand
ceramic hob cleaner
Stainless steel sink cleaner
Car plastics / perspex cleaner
Diamond whetstones of 4 different grades of smoothness

to take a relevant place in the grades of abrasion.

I also read that a car clear polymer lacquer could be applied to a deep scratch - well pit really, to fill the hole (that also was last ditch ). Perhaps the vaseline retained in scratches has the same effect, and it has the merit that it could be washed out if it didn't work as it doesn't set.

[Sir Velo]

A method that works if the scratch is not too gauged, is to apply a little Vaselin petroleum, and rub with your finger in circular motion on the scratch. A bit boring, I know! Then clean it of - maybe with a drop of lighter fuel. However, if the disc is quite badly scratched, It's not worth even bothering.

Did someone here once say that CDs were more simple and trouble free than streaming?

[Bryn]

Did someone here once say that CDs were more simple and trouble free than streaming?

While I am very much in favour of downloads, I have had more than enough experiences of some with serious faults at least as bad as those on CDs. In some cases, even after informing the vendor of these faults, they do not get resolved and even if withdrawn, they sometimes later return to sale with precisely the same faults. As some may have noticed, my main download source is QOBUZ.

[Sir Velo]

While I am very much in favour of downloads, I have had more than enough experiences of some with serious faults at least as bad as those on CDs. In some cases, even after informing the vendor of these faults, they do not get resolved and even if withdrawn, they sometimes later return to sale with precisely the same faults. As some may have noticed, my main download source is QOBUZ.

That's disappointing to hear. One of the benefits of streaming (as I know you appreciate) is there isn't the outlay involved as with a purchase of a download. Qobuz (again, as you know) allows for the imports of all the catalogue into a separate folder and in effect gives the same benefits of downloads without the cost. Unlike downloads imports can only be played using the desktop app (AFAIAA) but a similar facility is also available with the mobile app meaning that the catalogue can be played on most of one's devices.

[Bryn]

That's disappointing to hear. One of the benefits of streaming (as I know you appreciate) is there isn't the outlay involved as with a purchase of a download. Qobuz (again, as you know) allows for the imports of all the catalogue into a separate folder and in effect gives the same benefits of downloads without the cost. Unlike downloads imports can only be played using the desktop app (AFAIAA) but a similar facility is also available with the mobile app meaning that the catalogue can be played on most of one's devices.

Yes, the import feature of QOBUZ is one of its best features, though I do find that occasionally an import grinds to a halt in the middle of a 'track' and an attempt to re-import it is doomed to failure without restarting my compiter. This may of course, be more a fault in the computer or its operating system.

[jayne lee wilson]

Did someone here once say that CDs were more simple and trouble free than streaming?

I play CDs pretty much every day (well, usually deep into the night) and cannot remember the last time I had a problem with any (either on the mini-bedroom system or the main rig). I don't let the Cats play with them of course....

Apart from badly damaged CDs (better to seek out a replacement usually...) it is almost always down to the transport design itself. Some are fussier than others about minor (often barely visible) imperfections...
Even the few new/2ndhand discs which arrived very marked played without a problem... but they're even rarer now.

I keep a 23-year-old classic transport going just because I love it really - built like a battleship, regularly serviced but even it is a little fussier (with tracks beyond 20 or so, unusual in classical rep)... it still plays almost everything and sounds wonderful.

Streaming great too, as ever - very few problems, but we do get good broadband here...

[Serial_Apologist]

In the graded abrasives I'd try Cif cleaner before last ditch vim. I also have to hand
ceramic hob cleaner
Stainless steel sink cleaner
Car plastics / perspex cleaner
Diamond whetstones of 4 different grades of smoothness

to take a relevant place in the grades of abrasion.

I also read that a car clear polymer lacquer could be applied to a deep scratch - well pit really, to fill the hole (that also was last ditch ). Perhaps the vaseline retained in scratches has the same effect, and it has the merit that it could be washed out if it didn't work as it doesn't set.

Does anyone know if any of these treatments work on scratched DVDs?

[Bryn]

Does anyone know if any of these treatments work on scratched DVDs?

Same principle should apply. Just as long as the scratched are not on the label side, as with CDs.

[Katzelmacher]

In Leamington Spa’s somewhat pricey Oxfam bookshop today, I found the following:

Mascagni - Iris - Domingo/Tolokady/Pons - Hungarian State Orchestra/Patane
Elgar - King Olaf - LPO/Handley
Puccini - Il Trittico - the venerable EMI set with Gobbi, de Los Angeles etc, conducted by three separate conductors.
Handel - Solomon - EBS/JEG
Mahler - Symphony 3 - VPO/Maazel

There was a two for the price of one offer on the first four, so the total tally came to £14.97 - not bargaintastic by any means (by chazza standards) but not bad considering the Mascagni is rare and I’ve never seen it in the wild and the other sets are oop and only available as downloads.

[pastoralguy]

Our local charity shop has had a HUGE collection handed in and it’s being drip fed to the local cognoscenti. Recent purchases include the four volumes of Clifford Curzon’s DECCA edition which I snapped up for 50p a pop! Brahms symphonies/Szell and Rachmaninov symphonies/Ormandy also 50p.

Lots of Decca Doubles at 25p each.

On days off, my routine consists of gym then visiting the charity shop with some pound coins. Must have bought over a couple of hundred over the the last few weeks.

[Katzelmacher]

Our local charity shop has had a HUGE collection handed in and it’s being drip fed to the local cognoscenti. Recent purchases include the four volumes of Clifford Curzon’s DECCA edition which I snapped up for 50p a pop! Brahms symphonies/Szell and Rachmaninov symphonies/Ormandy also 50p.

Lots of Decca Doubles at 25p each.

On days off, my routine consists of gym then visiting the charity shop with some pound coins. Must have bought over a couple of hundred over the the last few weeks.

I remember the summer I spent in Edinburgh in 2016: charity shop heaven! :)

[cloughie]

Our local charity shop has had a HUGE collection handed in and it’s being drip fed to the local cognoscenti. Recent purchases include the four volumes of Clifford Curzon’s DECCA edition which I snapped up for 50p a pop! Brahms symphonies/Szell and Rachmaninov symphonies/Ormandy also 50p.

Lots of Decca Doubles at 25p each.

On days off, my routine consists of gym then visiting the charity shop with some pound coins. Must have bought over a couple of hundred over the the last few weeks.

You’ve certainly hit a rich vein there - well done - happy listening!