Introduction: DIY Soft-felt Record Platter-mat
I love listening to vinyl on my "mass-fi" Sanyo console stereo. It really not that bad of a stereo, lots of features, but the turntable, like other cheapos, is lacking. Instead of having a nice solid CLUNK when you tap it, the thin , plastic platter rings and vibrates.
Of course also this vibration also rears its head when your trying to play a lp with lots of upper-frequency noise. It was utterly terrible, and the hi-freq resonance was horrible! Bass was almost non-existant.
When I got tired of Ric Ocasek singing "Sssssssppp" on every "s" sound, I figured it was time to create a record mat!
Step 1: Gather Materials
What you will need-
High-quality felt, you will only need two 1' by 1' pieces.
Nice, vibrant Sharpie
A pattern LP (DONT USE A GOOD ONE!!!)
SHarp Scissors
Step 2: Mark!
Take the record and lay it on your felt, trace the circumference of the LP.
While holding the LP in position, clearly mark the spindle hole onto the felt
OPTIONAL:
Repeat step on another piece of felt to make a second "layer" of mat.
Step 3: Cut!
Cut the circumference of the marked line on both mats.
Spindle hole(s)
fold the mat in half through its line of symmetry, CAREFULLY cut a small "V" notch on the marked hole. MAKE SURE the cut is exactly centered on the mark, or you will have to do some major trimming!
Step 4: Place and LISTEN to the Improvement!!!
On any thin-plastic, mass-fi table, this WILL make an improvement in sound. I was totally amazed when I flipped one of my albums on the newly-deadened platter. The bass was tightened and more pronounced, and the hi-frequency resonance was cut down tremendously (not TOTALLY)
All in all, this cost me about 50 cents in material, and is one thing to do before you can afford a real, good, turntable. It suits me just fine for now!
Hope you enjoyed this, please rate and comment, feel free to ask questions!
I will be making a record clamp also to compliment this mat soon!