Locked Groove Runouts

debianlinux

debianlinux

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Seems more and more of the new records I get have a locked groove at the end of the runout instead of going under the label. I have an automatic return on my table and I actually prefer the arm get to the point the table picks it up rather than spinning indefinitely on the final circuit.

I haven’t done enough research to see if it is certain plants, labels, etc. That are putting these out.

Any observations, anecdotes, or preferences from the community?
 
I think locked grooves are great and am always pleasantly surprised when a new album I get has one.

Off the top of my head, I can't think of many new ones I have that have them though. I know Viet Cong does.
 
djdavedk said:
www.discogs.com

Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1974 Vinyl release of "Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)" on Discogs.
www.discogs.com www.discogs.com

A5 runs out to a continuous locked groove.
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Ha, that was the first one that came to mind because I played it the other day. Thought we were talking about modern ones though.
 
debianlinux said:
Seems more and more of the new records I get have a locked groove at the end of the runout instead of going under the label. I have an automatic return on my table and I actually prefer the arm get to the point the table picks it up rather than spinning indefinitely on the final circuit.

I haven’t done enough research to see if it is certain plants, labels, etc. That are putting these out.

Any observations, anecdotes, or preferences from the community?
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Most of my new and old records do this in the runout. I rarely see the ones that go into the label.
 
mcherry said:
Most of my new and old records do this in the runout. I rarely see the ones that go into the label.
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debianlinux said:
Seems more and more of the new records I get have a locked groove at the end of the runout instead of going under the label. I have an automatic return on my table and I actually prefer the arm get to the point the table picks it up rather than spinning indefinitely on the final circuit.

I haven’t done enough research to see if it is certain plants, labels, etc. That are putting these out.

Any observations, anecdotes, or preferences from the community?
Click to expand...
Ha, wait now I'm confused, did you mean locked grooves at all? I've never seen a record without one. I figured you meant locked grooves with audio in them.
 
dhodo said:
Ha, wait now I'm confused, did you mean locked grooves at all? I've never seen a record without one. I figured you meant locked grooves with audio in them.
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Yeah, no, I mean the runout silence. Christ, now I’m rethinking everything I ever thought I knew. Have they been locked the whole time but just so close to the label you can hear it hit if you don’t get the needle up first? I am certain inave records where the runout definitely hits the label and if you peeled it up there’ll be more groove under there. My recent experiences, however, may just be with locked runouts that are a half inch or more away from the label?
 
debianlinux said:
Yeah, no, I mean the runout silence. Christ, now I’m rethinking everything I ever thought I knew. Have they been locked the whole time but just so close to the label you can hear it hit if you don’t get the needle up first? I am certain inave records where the runout definitely hits the label and if you peeled it up there’ll be more groove under there. My recent experiences, however, may just be with locked runouts that are a half inch or more away from the label?
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The latter is typical on all my records, of any vintage. The needle running onto the label is usually a side-effect of a misplaced label.
 
debianlinux said:
Yeah, no, I mean the runout silence. Christ, now I’m rethinking everything I ever thought I knew. Have they been locked the whole time but just so close to the label you can hear it hit if you don’t get the needle up first? I am certain inave records where the runout definitely hits the label and if you peeled it up there’ll be more groove under there. My recent experiences, however, may just be with locked runouts that are a half inch or more away from the label?
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Yeah, what @kvetcha said, if you hit the label, something is either wrong with the record, or your setup (not sure what would cause that though).
 
Stereolab's Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements ends with a locked groove.

The final track's title?

"Lock Groove Lullaby"
 
IIRC, I think LCD Soundsystem's "American Dream" had a few with audio in them.

(I know, this is not what the OP was referring to, but the subject is in the vicinity and it's totally fun to find one).
 
Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but I always assumed the needle running into the label is a bad thing that could be damaging to the needle. It at least sounds terrible when it does it on my turntable, which only happens on a couple of the albums that I own. 🤔
 
Yeah. Just about every record ends on a locked groove...but more are starting to add an audio loop into them.

Even though there is no audio, it is the reason I got a Q-Up for my TT, as I'm not too quick on stopping the record to flip over or file away. Even a silent groove can wear on a stylus.

When people use the term "locked groove" it implies there is audio associated with it.

Tool's Ænema has static on a loop on side 1 - almost like a record that continues onto side 2.

If you have an auto return arm, sometimes they have a setting to adjust when it returns. Or it could be whoever is cutting isn't going in as far as usual.
 
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My auto return was definitely picking up before hitting the final groove of most records hence the creation of this thread. My previous experience with locked grooves was more of the beat loop variety. For example, my copy of Don’t Laugh by Josh Winx has a locked groove that allows mixing the repeating “ha ha ha ha” with other music without having to keep resetting the record back to the desired sample.
 
Föllakzoid ‎– I has locked grooves on all four sides. Completely appropriate for the music and quite awesome.
 
From my own collection, off the top of my head:

Godspeed You Black Emperor's F#A#oo has a locked groove at the end of side 2.
Beatles Sgt. Pepper has a locked groove.
The Stepkids Direct To Disc live album has a locked groove.
Rilo Kiley's R-kives has a pre-mature run-out groove on side 4; you have to life the needle to another position on the record to get to the hidden track. Not the same thing, but pretty cool either way.

Come to think of it, I have a DJ turntable, so every album I own potentially has a locked groove, but only if material is printed into the run out. For example, Unwound's Leaves Turn Inside You has run-out groove audio on sides 2 and 3, but to my knowledge they are not "locked grooves" and it's just a unique thing to my turntable.

I would not mind owning an original copy of Lee Ranaldo's From Here To Infinity. Every single track, by design, has its own lock groove.
 
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