VMP Magazine

Short of buying a replacement copy of your prized records, there really isn’t a quick and easy way to alleviate the pain of having a bent or warped record on your hands, and buying new isn’t always an option. You might have noticed some people put a clamp over their records while they play them, but those don’t work for every turntable and they don’t actually fix a warped record, they just soften the effects by smashing your record down during playback. Although your perception of an “easy way” to fix a warped record might be wholly different than others in the vinyl-collecting community, simply bending it back the other way is not an option. This guide to flattening warped vinyl records will hopefully get you on track or, at the very least, prevent you from irreparably damaging your records.

You probably wouldn’t be reading about how to fix this problem if it wasn’t already an issue, but general prevention is a good place to begin. So before we jump head-first into ways to fix warping issues, let's start with some basics about vinyl care that might prevent you from having to troubleshoot this issue in the first place.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was a time when bands took to its logical conclusion the one-word band name; a time when you could grab three random CDs from your binder and end up with either the proper ingredients for a meal (Cracker, Cake, Cranberries) or an impromptu construction job (Helmet, Tool, Pavement); a time when bands loved doing things (Smashing Pumpkins, Throwing Copper, Counting Crows) and juxtaposition (Spacehog, Soundgarden, Candlebox). It was a time when “alternative” rock saturated the airwaves, and perhaps not all of it has received the respect it deserves, for the '90s was a decade of abundance.

Eleven years ago, I sold every CD I’d spent my youth on and set out on the adventure of record collecting. I had no stereo and knew little about what I was getting into. I knew I wanted the mother-of-all-turntables, the Technics SL-1210MK5, and at that time you could still buy them new. Quality speakers would be essential, but I wasn’t willing to dive too deep there, as I wanted to save as much cash as possible for my burgeoning record collection. What took me the longest to understand was why I needed a receiver, and what the hell was a pre-amp? I just wanted to get the music from my turntable to the speakers in the simplest way possible.

I’ve written about turntables and record players many times, and I’ve enthusiastically recommended different setups and stereo equipment to people for years. I love music, first, collecting vinyl as a general practice, second--it’s nice when someone says “what’s this?” and you can hand them a record sleeve instead of your iPhone, just sayin’--and third, like a growing flock of others who share those traits, I enjoy constantly updating my own record player setups to make sure I’m eeking the most out of every record groove on my crowded shelves.

On May 16, we'll be selling Skogens Frukter, a brand new compilation of new and beloved songs by Swedish star Daniel Norgren. He came onto Vinyl Me, Please's radar thanks to Levi Sheppard, so we had him write about who Daniel is, and why he's one of Europe's best kept secrets.