On 17 Jun 97, Walter Five wrote to Richard Lisi:
 WF> Variable. Many Picture Discs are only worth about $15-20. They typically
 WF> have poor sound quality to begin with
This is true...
 WF> and it deteriorates more every time the record is played.
But this is myth.  The vinyl surface of the record is exactly the same as any 
other non-picture disc record, and it wears the same.  The *fidelity* of the 
disc is also the same as a non-picture-disc edition.  But they do sound 
scratchy.  The reason they sound scratchy is because the picture is always 
affixed to the vinyl blank, and when the blank is shallaced, the various 
colored inks used in the picture cause the surface shallac of the blank to 
become more dense in certain spots.  When the record blank is pressed (with 
the grooves) the more dense sections of the surface vinyl are not cut as deep 
as the less dense sections, and the spot where the two different cut depths 
meet causes the tick or "scratch" sound one hears when playing picture discs. 
It is not an actual scratch, but the stylus of most turntables would pick up 
the "edges" as a scratch, and dynamically, they are similar.
Anyway, just wanted to correct this old wives tale.
--- GoldED 2.50
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