Why is Groove Spacing Important?

Groove pitch is important because it helps fit more music on a record. This video teaches how it's done, and what determines the space between the grooves.

[@fittobetiedyed5315]

Excellent explanation Craig. I love this technical stuff. Listening to a record will never be the same for me after this. Thanks for doing this.

[@PirateNovelist]

Happy to see you back! Really enjoyed this video!

[@robfriedrich2822]

There was a recording machine with a groove pitch knob, what also changed the level meter, lowered down the red field.

[@manolokonosko2868]

Making a mixtape for someone was a labor of love.

[@Wilburbruh]

Good to see you again, Craig!

[@chadergeist]

I like it when a 12" single is spaced far apart like that. It is visually amazing to see the groove sound pattern in a large like scale and view.

[@metalmogul]

Absolutely fascinating video. Thanks for this.

[@andypomeroy7447]

Well done! I look forward to your shows. Thank you!

[@matthewschottel]

Keep up the great work! Great video!

[@jdsgotninelives]

Hey! Your back! Good to see and hear and thanks for another fascinating journey into the grooves :-)

[@aznashwan]

Really interesting vid (as always), now you got me really curious on the tape type comparison, can’t wait for it!

[@nickh.4722]

great explanation of a very interesting topic, brilliant! thanks!

[@bogdanpropeck]

Thanks for the time you spend making your videos, it's always a pleasure to watch !

[@RichGoyetteMusic]

Awesome! Looking forward to the tape bias video. Cheers.

[@tzahy4968]

very good video! we love and admire you! I start listening rush because of you!

[@UnderTheNeedle]

Wish we lived closer! Back in the day your videos helped me get started brewing beer.... and now all this great vinyl stuff! Awesome, brother! Be well!, Best, Jersey Joey

[@harshglare5017]

Amazing discussion on how to find the loud passages on a record! Thank you, this will come in handy when I transfer my records to digital..

[@TheVinylGuru]

Craig! I love ya! Been watching your channel when you had like 1k... Groove spacing is SO important. Great channel, on it now!

[@kissvinyltv9761]

Man! The audio on this channel is AMAZING! Great Mic!

[@domeniquexander_]

Nice! Love your Videos. Happy to see new stuff. Cheers, Domenique Xander

[@yukonsukon]

That's so cool. Thanks.

[@2574mcu]

I used to buy albums and record them on reel to reel, then store the albums away. That's probably why almost all of my albums are near mint. I've been doing that since the late 60s. In the 80s, I recorded them on both cassette and reel to reel tape. I used the cassettes for the car.

[@robfriedrich2822]

Another possible way was to buy two copies and to store one of them. Sometimes less expensive, than the reel to reel tape.

[@mariodesmo]

Great explanation. Looking forward to the tape bias video!

[@TheNaboen]

Brilliant stuff, Craig!

[@beetleworx]

So well done ... especially at 11:30 min. ! Great !!! Greatings from Germany

[@ford1546]

very interesting. Good video. I learned something new.

[@olebjrklund8648]

Nice and very informative video again Craig, nice work :) Cool filming with the microsope that was cool stuff to see.... :) Keep up the good work and brew on. Regards to you and your family. 17.

[@MFramy]

Very interesting video, I'm glad I found your channel :)

[@paulaj2829]

good to see you back Man.. & yet again lots of good information.. i also have the Microscope which you have & also bought the Same stand as a little present for myself which i find is very good for learning about this stuff.. keep it up Craig

[@Badassvidsz]

Thanks for the video dear Craig i've learned something very interesting today also as an analog sound lover i love LPs and cassettes i'll be waitting for your next video about the tape biasing of course i'm a subscriber of your lovely channel so i will receive the notification cheers :-)

[@HDaudioEnhance]

Thanks Craig! Excellent video ;)

[@robfriedrich2822]

They introduced variable grade in the time, where normal groove 78 rpm and micro groove vinyl records existed together. A 12" shellac with classic music could be extended from 4 ½ minutes to 8 or 9. About micro groove and pop music, it hasn't this dramatic effect, but it could make it possible to get 7 minutes from a 45 rpm 7" record and up to 25 minutes from a 12" record with 33 rpm. The 20 hits compilations were recorded with less bass (nothing below 80 Hz) and less level, so it was 30 to 40 minutes per side. The opposite of this is the maxi single or super sound single, 45 rpm on a 12", maximum length about 7 or 8 minutes.

[@blackmore1030]

Great video, thank you! I will check my SOAD records for variations in groove spacing :) (for the ones who don't know: their songs include lots of abrupt switches in volume and tempo)

[@HifiundMusik]

Happy you’re back. Hey Craig, new passive Speakers? Tell us about it. Good Video!!

[@shaun9107]

The scope well be good for lookking at he groove that makes the stylus jump across on LPs . I did this on singles back in the day using a dart to open the groove and it worked .

[@Theactivepsychos]

Just received some lathe cut vinyl of our new single and when the breakdown happens and the fuzz and organ climax two of the grooves are so close together! This has resulted in some of the discs having skipping and sticking issues. So gutted. Majority are fine but 10% have a visible merging of the groove areas. Searched on KZbin and this came up so will forward it to my cutting engineer.

[@olledahlquist3784]

Hi Craig, I find your videos very interesting. In a previous video you talked about Supertramp and the grooves. I can't find that video, but hope you can tell me where to find it. Keep up the good work!

[@robfriedrich2822]

13:14 variable grade was always automatically. It was an analog computer, what set the groove pitch.

[@BetterISupposeYeah]

great info.

[@jorgealfonso8871]

Jorge from Miami good new videos, it was already missed, I finally bought a turntable fluance, rt80, and I bought a used 2mred orthophon cartridge, little use but used, so it does not bring manual, it would help me to be guided by the trakin force of the 2m red cartridge!, thank you very much and God bless you!

[@jameshogg11]

Hi Craig, good to see you on the Tube again! You mentioned in a previous video that you'd be doing a video on Inner Groove Distortion. Do you know when that's going to drop?

[@Neuromancer23]

Super interesting! I was actually trying to find out why some of my tekno records (the k is not a typo; it's a genre I'd describe as psychedelic gabber/hardcore) have a large groove distance within a song. I'm talking a cm of space, within a track. I stumbled on your video instead. I later found out the empty space is on a break in the track every time. My theory is that it is a visual cue for DJ's to know where the breaks are!

[@diogenescaruaru]

Hi. Nice to see you again :)

[@futureshock7425]

On a few Rush reissues they slapped an etching on Side D of a 2 LP set instead of spacing things out more

[@FirstDonkie]

I just discovered this channel and it's great! I'm catching up on your videos, so I'm burning up quite some time now. It lead me to checking my turntables again. Can you give us your thought on pucks and mats? I bought a perspex mat and some people say it makes a world of difference. But I find it's difficult to hear any differences. And pucks: what's the effect on the sound and the turntable? Does it generate extra wear? To me it seems a lot like driving around with a few bricks in your car. That's not helpful for the car (except maybe for some types with very bad handling in the olden days), so is it for your TT? And does this compensate for the gain in sound quality? Please let us know. Thank you.

[@7JANEWAY]

Another good one, Craig!!! Don't stay away so long next time, OK???!!!

[@robetclo2516]

Just to set the record straight, 12 inches singles have a wider grooves than LP's and the disc was cut at with a louder volume and the dynamic range is increased as well. The spacing of some 12 inches singles have also decreased a lot Columbia Records are the first to have done it and with good results with the groove wider but closer. Let's Groove of Earth Wind and Fire was one that I got and what is good is that the song is limited to the outer edges. As you know the closer you get to the center of the record the closer are the vibrations of the groove and with a spherical stylus there was a lot of distortion at the end of the record and none at all with eleptical or fine eleptical ones and very good results with Shibata. So concentrating the song to the outer edge elimated the distortion as most DJ's use spherical stylus.

[@wilcalint]

I have a nice collection of Direct to Disc Discs. So they must have set the “pitch” to a constant across the entire disc? They definitely have less play time on them.

[@jeenkzk5919]

I love looking at this stuff! It still amazes me how literal vibrations from a tiny piece of metal puts out great sound! Is it true that a 12 inch 45 RPM is better audio quality than a 33 1/3 album version? Something about wider grooves but wasn’t sure if that was an urban legend

[@bat2137]

Like everything if done properly yes a 12 inch 45 ep is usually better sound quality.

[@9mmmike642]

Check out Mobile Fidelity Labs 45rpm albums.

[@VinylTV33]

Because the vibrations can be spread apart at higher speed (45), it's easier to track those records, especially on a cheaper stylus. It's like with tape... Faster is usually better because the information is not so crammed together.

[@jeenkzk5919]

Vinyl TV I suppose the same idea as digital only physical space rather than digital. The more physical space used, the higher of quality

[@Edubarca46]

Excellent explanations, congratulations. We, vinyl lovers like very much all your videos. Please don't space them so much!! By the way, I have read that there are environmental problems due to the materials used to make vinyls. What is the truth about this?

[@ScottysBackYardBBQ]

hello sir. thanks to you.i now have 3 mr beer kits going lol

[@olfart62]

This was a very interesting video because I learned years ago that albums are cut 1-5 now I'm going to try like heck to explain this a 1 was for say 12-15 min per side a no 2 cut was 15-17 min. per side a 3 was 17-20 min. a 4 was 20-23 min per side a 5 was 23- whatever because I've seen some albums have OVER 30 MIN PER SIDE which is when they are so tightly put together for example Led Zeppelin's The Song Remains The Same was cut at a 5 because sides 2,3,4 were over 25 min. per side now if I'm wrong on this process Craig let me know

[@josephrobertmah3438]

Good point! In the late 80’s and early 90’s, when compact discs ruled the earth, albums were getting longer and longer and fewer people were buying vinyl record albums because of the novelty of CD’s. It was also a self-fulfilling prophecy because those longer albums from that period sounded horrendous! The Cure - Disintegration, Def Leppard - Hysteria, and Tom Cochrane - Mad Mad World were all long LP’s in excess of an hour and they sounded terrible on vinyl. Of course, they are highly collectible now but thankfully reissued on two records.

[@KenjiUmino]

@@josephrobertmah3438 I assume that terrible sound was also because record labels decided to cheap out and release an album on a single LP even though it would have required a double LP release to retain an acceptable sound quality. ... and because flippin records around is so 1970's - CeeDees can fit a whole album on one disk too. ;)

[@proto1proto25]

Hey Craig, I wanted to ask your thoughts on the Nagaoka mp 110 cartridge. I have it on a Fluance RT82. When playing a record I get alot of SHHH sounds sometimes, I tried adjusting the antiskate and made sure the cartridge is aligned and tracking at 1.8 grams?

[@debrebeuf8959]

ya boy

[@hoodedtoe2280]

Well what can I say but..... Groovy :)

[@mosinatic2011]

How do the engineers know they will have enough room to fit àll the songs they want to go on a record ?

[@ILikeStyx]

Was the song under the microscope Xanadu?