Quick question about CDs.

[Shutup and Deal, I'm Losin']

Does it seem to anyone else that some CDs scratch easier than others? I remember when I first got Harmony, only a couple of months after I got it, "No Mistake About It" would skip whenever I played it. Summertime Dream (my 2nd oldest album) no longer plays, and neither does Sundown (only the first 6 tracks, after that I might as well put in another disc). They lasted about a year or so of taking in and out of the box and pushing them in & out of the CD player.

However, Gord's Gold 2 (the oldest I've got), and A Painter Passing Through (not one of my oldest but one of the most frequently played), plays great. GG2 looks a little bit scuffed up when you turn the disc over, but A Painter looks almost like it's brand new (though I can't say the same for the box :( ).

It also seems some CDs can play with a scratch better than others. As I mentioned above, GG2 has a few scuff marks and miniature scratches, but plays fine. Seems like when it comes to burned CDs, the teeniest, tiniest, most microscopic scratch will cause them to skip. :(

[formerlylavender]

I had to get a new Dream Street Rose CD because the last three songs would skip terribly. I really don't know what happened because I handle all my CDs pretty carefully. It does seem like some are more likely to scratch than others.

[Kathy in Michigan]

I like to copy the originals to my computer and then to a new cd and put the 'real' one back in the sleeve and on the shelf. The copy goes into my car and gets all beat up. My computer isn't the best stereo system in the world, but I get to listen to all my favorite music by just pushing one button and my original cds stay in pretty good shape so I can copy them again if need be. I don't really notice that the burned ones skip easier...
Kathy

[johnfowles]

Well now Douglas I think Kathy has given you a strong clue. I assume as an up to date young man you possess on your computer such a thing as a CD burner and if so no doubt in future you will take the precaution of making a (perfectly legal) back up copy of any new CD. Meanwhile AFAIK it is unlikely that the scatches have in any way affected the actual digital information on the difficult to play CDs. So may I suggest the elementary step you could now try; if you have Musicmatch or any of the equivalent freeware CD programs you can very easily rip the tracks from the offending discs to your hard drive as full uncompressed wav format files from where you can then burn new replacement CDs
Piece of cake.
Another tip. If you rip to good quality mp3s say a minimum of 192 KBPS you can then make a simple text file by writing in the file names and saving the file as albumname.m3u . If say Musicmatch is your default mp3 player on your computer it will open the m3u file and proceed to play the tracks in the order you added them to the text file.
i do have a fine and well used bit of freeware called mp3folders that very conveniently if you run it then open the folder containing any mp3s it will list them in the order in that folder you can then save that list as an m3u or move the tracks around or even select "randomise" and save either for a change. The program's original site seems to have disappeared but recently after some determined googling I found an Italian site with the program file there to be downloaded
http://www.recoverypc.it/download.asp
just scroll down until you see the link
MP3FOLDERS (http://www.recoverypc.it/freeware/mp3folders.zip) (.zip 2 MB) Ascolta tutti i brani in sequenza in automatico.Da non perdere! so there
Another good feature of Musicmatch is that if you are online whilst playing a GL CD most of them are in the gracenote.com CDDB CD DataBase and instead showing track 1 etc the actual title will appear then when you rip to wav or mp3 the resulting file set is already correctly named
another piece of cake!!

[BILLW]

Good advice and exactly how I handled it BiP (Before my iPod). But only one of our cars is iPod compatible so it's still a good practice. And with the bargain price of big boxes of audio CDs at big places like Walmart, etc. you can almost consider the copies disposable. Many times you can fit two or more original CDs on one CD-R since the originals were pretty short as far as run time.

And remember to back up your computer frequently so you don't lose anything.

Bill :)

I like to copy the originals to my computer and then to a new cd and put the 'real' one back in the sleeve and on the shelf. The copy goes into my car and gets all beat up. My computer isn't the best stereo system in the world, but I get to listen to all my favorite music by just pushing one button and my original cds stay in pretty good shape so I can copy them again if need be. I don't really notice that the burned ones skip easier...
Kathy

[podunklander]

Some of my CD's skip when played in one of my CD players...but I have no such issues when playing these same CD's in my PC and another CD player I have.

Yeah, great to have copies and keep the original clean. I'm working on that slowly but surely. My son just burned 4 CD's onto a single DVD-R...which I have to get around to sending to Yuri!

Pam

[Borderstone]

CD's skip either when there's something wrong with one's player,they don't take care of their CD's or the manufacturer screws up somehow.

All of mine play and thankful to say they have never skipped.

[Shutup and Deal, I'm Losin']

Well now Douglas I think Kathy has given you a strong clue. I assume as an up to date young man you possess on your computer such a thing as a CD burner and if so no doubt in future you will take the precaution of making a (perfectly legal) back up copy of any new CD. Meanwhile AFAIK it is unlikely that the scatches have in any way affected the actual digital information on the difficult to play CDs. So may I suggest the elementary step you could now try; if you have Musicmatch or any of the equivalent freeware CD programs you can very easily rip the tracks from the offending discs to your hard drive as full uncompressed wav format files from where you can then burn new replacement CDs
Piece of cake.
Another tip. If you rip to good quality mp3s say a minimum of 192 KBPS you can then make a simple text file by writing in the file names and saving the file as albumname.m3u . If say Musicmatch is your default mp3 player on your computer it will open the m3u file and proceed to play the tracks in the order you added them to the text file.
i do have a fine and well used bit of freeware called mp3folders that very conveniently if you run it then open the folder containing any mp3s it will list them in the order in that folder you can then save that list as an m3u or move the tracks around or even select "randomise" and save either for a change. The program's original site seems to have disappeared but recently after some determined googling I found an Italian site with the program file there to be downloaded
http://www.recoverypc.it/download.asp
just scroll down until you see the link
MP3FOLDERS (http://www.recoverypc.it/freeware/mp3folders.zip) (.zip 2 MB) Ascolta tutti i brani in sequenza in automatico.Da non perdere! so there
Another good feature of Musicmatch is that if you are online whilst playing a GL CD most of them are in the gracenote.com CDDB CD DataBase and instead showing track 1 etc the actual title will appear then when you rip to wav or mp3 the resulting file set is already correctly named
another piece of cake!!

Yes I have a CD Burner. :) I think I remember how to load downloaded songs (from Limewire) onto a disc, but still not sure about how to upload the songs from an actual CD. I wonder if it's possible to upload a song that normally skips and then burn it onto a spare disc and it play like hit should...

[Shutup and Deal, I'm Losin']

Good advice and exactly how I handled it BiP (Before my iPod). But only one of our cars is iPod compatible so it's still a good practice. And with the bargain price of big boxes of audio CDs at big places like Walmart, etc. you can almost consider the copies disposable. Many times you can fit two or more original CDs on one CD-R since the originals were pretty short as far as run time.

And remember to back up your computer frequently so you don't lose anything.

Bill :)

I'd actually thought about putting 2 albums on one disc but not only that, I could also take some of the songs from Songbook that never made it onto the album and include them as well. (Betty Called Me In would go either on Summertime Dream or Endless Wire, Lifeline could go on either Salute or East Of Midnight. I'm not sure which album they were supposed to be on...)

[BILLW]

Yes I have a CD Burner. :) I think I remember how to load downloaded songs (from Limewire) onto a disc, but still not sure about how to upload the songs from an actual CD. I wonder if it's possible to upload a song that normally skips and then burn it onto a spare disc and it play like hit should...

If you don't have iTunes on your PC just go and download it - it's free. You don't need an iPod to use all the other features. You just stick the CD in the drive and it asks you if you want to "import it". You click yes and it's done in about 5 minutes. Then you can create a playlist with that CD alone or with any additions or deletions you want. Once you have the playlist together there is a button that you push that says "burn cd" Couldn't be easier.

You could add those songs you were talking about from Songbook for example.

Try it you might like it. It's very user friendly. Think about all the dimwits walking around with iPods !!!! If they can do it we certainly can.

Bill :)

And yes you can usually load a CD that skips with no problem.

[Shutup and Deal, I'm Losin']

Thanks Bill. :)

[zoneranger]

I had a Jim Croce CD that had a skip right in the middle of the song "Box #10" It would skip in any (CD player, car, home, computer) A firiend of mone at work gave me a packet of some kind of paste that supposedly took scratches out of CDs. I was skeptical but rubbed it on the CD, especially the scratched areas, then buffed it off with a clean rag. Tried it in a CD player and Viola! no more skip. I asked him where he got it and he said someone who works at the local music/DVD/entertainment store gave it to him. Sure wish I could remember the name of the stuff.

[Jesse Joe]

Hey zoneranger or anyone with a CD scratch problem, you can buy {MAXELL Quick Fix Disc Repair} at many places, including your Waltmart Department store. I myself have one kit but have yet to use it, all my CD's play great on every machine including the cars. :)


http://rsk.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pRS1C-3038165t98.jpg

http://www.pricecanada.com/detail.php?product_id=517316


http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=014658&cid=545

[Kerstin]

Hi Jesse,
that's interesting. I think I'll go and try one of those kits, as my Don Quixote CD keeps skipping on Christian Island, which is sooo annoying. Thanks for the tip.

[johnfowles]

.......I'm not sure which album they were supposed to be on...) ......

Not worth worrying about Douglas.I like to think that the 18 Songbook rarities are in truth an additional "original" album to add to the "official" 20 in its own right.
For my own use I quickly devised a suitable CD insert for that "extra" CD. You are welcome to use it or make up your own
http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/lightfoot/images/rarities.jpg
AND
.......
but still not sure about how to upload the songs from an actual CD.
I wonder if it's possible to upload a song that normally skips and then burn it onto a spare disc and it play like hit should...

Of course it is there is no minimum cd content and I believe there was a time when new "singles" were issued on a low content CD.In fact
my point was really that you might as well rip the complete CD(s) and burn new CDs to replace the ones giving you trouble
As far as getting the songs from an actual CD. do yourself a favour and download Musicmatch .It used to be possible to download directly from http://www.musicmatch.com,either as standalone full installation file or as a relatively useless one time instant install but since the takeoever of musicmatch by Yahoo they have renamed it and ruined it by simplifying it so that the resultant Yahoo Jukebox is now a bastardised version with many features omitted so go to
www.oldversion.com (http://www.oldversion.com/program.php?n=mmatch)
(a useful resource that archives old versions of software
http://www.oldversion.com/images/slogan.gif
there you can obtain this comprehensive program file for free
MusicMatch Jukebox 10.00.2058 (http://www.oldversion.com/download.php?idlong=940910a991a474b69ca30526790237 62) (24 MB)
ignore their apology the file will download as mmatch10002058.exe 24.4MB quite happily from their link
Once installed you can access the CD using Musicmatch as I previously mentioned and rip its content as either a full wav file or a compressed mp3 to whatever folder you select on your hard drive
OK get cracking I'll be back with a mini tutorial on how to do just that

[Shutup and Deal, I'm Losin']

Thanks John. :)

Zoneranger: I've heard someone say that putting peanut butter on the scratches would fix it. :eek: I'll need to try it out later... (I would think it would need to be the creamy kind and I guess I'd just use JIF) :confused:

[zoneranger]

I'm pretty sure that the stuff Jesse Joe brought to our attention is the stuff I used. I'm not so sure how Skippy or Peter Pan would do! :)

[Shutup and Deal, I'm Losin']

I'm pretty sure that the stuff Jesse Joe brought to our attention is the stuff I used. I'm not so sure how Skippy or Peter Pan would do! :)

Yes. I still haven't gotten around to trying it, but when I do I'll let everyone know if it works or not.

[fezo]

When they first started selling that stuff to remove scratches Consumer Reports tried it out. It worked fine. Then for the heck of it they tried cheaper things you'd have around the house anyway - like Pledge. The winner came out Johnson's Rally car wax. Any car wax will do the trick.

I've never used it just because I haven't had the need but my brother's copy of Graceland might as well have been cleaned with a Brillo pad for all the scratches. He used the car wax and it plays fine.

[johnfowles]

. Then for the heck of it they tried cheaper things you'd have around the house anyway - like Pledge. The winner came out Johnson's Rally car wax. Any car wax will do the trick.


Brilliant Steve
I do so love these old wives remedies
Another one I picked up to solve a similar sort of problem is that when two are together in a small bathroom and the lady of the house is showering the man about the house can protest all he likes but it wont prevent the mirror from fogging up!!
A very simple solution I often use I read I think in a weekend supplement a few years back. The solution is literally at hand:-
just rub a little shaving lotion (foam works a treat) on the mirror and then like magic presumably because it is
HyGroscopic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygroscopic)
it absorbs the water droplets and bingo a nice clear mirror and thereby one avoids cutting oneself
and far cheaper than buying a specialised fogless mirror or anti-fog solution
http://www.shavingdirect.com/images/products/Fog%20Free%20Mirror/Z_fogless_cleaner_lg.jpg

[Yuri]

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/134/discxg0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)