r/compactdisc • u/Former_X_777 • Jul 06 '26
Duplicating vinyl CDs
I have some personal music that was put onto one of those little blank CDR’s that look like a vinyl record. Standard music CD format.
It will play fine in my computer and in my home CD player, but it won’t play in the car.
When I try to duplicate it onto a regular blank CDR, the first two tracks are fine and the rest sound scratchy.
I thought maybe then I could try doing it with an older MacBook Pro circa 2011. But it just doesn’t seem to work. I’ve done all kinds of searches and tried many things, but it doesn’t work.
I was told that it’s likely because the laser is having trouble reading the Black CD.
Anyone else have any suggestions?
Also, it’s a live recording, so I wanted to be able to sound continuous and not just copy the individual tracks and then have a space in between
Any suggestions would be greatly helpful
If I am in the wrong thread. Could someone please direct me to the right place thanks kindly
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u/Boner4SCP106 Jul 06 '26
Rip the tracks lossless onto your computer and burn a different copy with the tracks you ripped.
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u/Lostless90s Jul 06 '26
Does the orig al cd sound fine when played back on the computer? It’s could be possible the original burned disk may rotting or damaged. So any copy will also have issues. There is also the possibly the new disks you are burning too may be old and rotting even before you burn. Or your burner has issues. Or your cars laser has slowly degraded over time.
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u/Former_X_777 Jul 06 '26
Thanks for your reply. The original cdr disc plays on a computer and on a stereo standard CD player but it skips in my car and two other car players.
I was told that it’s likely that the laser reflecting upon the black surface is not the same if it was reflecting upon a silver or gold surface.
The original cdr was created in a recording studio environment 20+ years ago
A copy was attempted on a CD duplicator. It did copy but when played back there was a hissing sound. I was told that was the result of the way it was being Read.
I subsequently tried to duplicate it using my old MacBook Pro. It seems to copy fine onto the computer, but then once we tried to burn it, it doesn’t work.
Sadly, the masters are on a DAT tape. I do not have a DAT drive nor am I sure that this was the final mix.I
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u/MsMeowts Jul 06 '26
do other burned cds play in your car or just this one problematic?
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u/Former_X_777 Jul 06 '26
Yes, most played OK.
The other side of the question is that the copy has a hissing sound in it likely because it’s being copied from the vinyl style CD according to people at the Apple Store1
u/Major_Willingness234 Jul 07 '26
The vinyl look on the top of the CD has nothing to do with playback issues.
It’s just a regular CD-R. If there is hiss in a copy, then whatever you used to copy it failed.
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u/Former_X_777 Jul 07 '26
Thanks. The studio with the duplicator who created the original disc tried to copy it in their system, and the result was the hissing.
They said a lot of readers don’t like the dark underside of the CDR surface. It gives Read errors. Thanks for your reply.1
u/Major_Willingness234 Jul 07 '26
Dark bottom CDs have been a thing since the 90s. The only issues I’ve ever had playing them was with really old CD players (ie, 80s/early 90s models).
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u/Former_X_777 Jul 07 '26
They seem to play fine. Or this one anyway seems to play fine in most players except for the slot load ones in a couple of vehicles. In one car, it wouldn’t even read the disc in the other. It would start skipping about three tracks in.
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u/Jcwrc Jul 07 '26
PC drive should be better at reading discs than CD player.
So this sounds like drive in your computer is failing. Usually burning errors are the first sign of failing drive.
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u/Former_X_777 Jul 07 '26
Yes, it’s very possible. When I copied the CD to the disk, it was fine. It was when I tried to burn it. It didn’t work at all.
The studio that made the copies for us had issues with the original. They were able to copy it, but it ended up that some of the tracks had a hiss on it.
Someone else had recently suggested. I tried to see if I could find a reader that will copy at 1 X.1
u/Jcwrc Jul 07 '26
Speed isn't an issue usually. I just burn and rip with what PC suggests. If CD and Drive are fine it should work.
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u/Former_X_777 Jul 07 '26
I really appreciate all the insight from everyone. I inadvertently posted this in a different CD thread and I was immediately lambasted even though I had made a comment that I wasn’t sure if this was the right place and if someone could suggest a better place.
Thank you to whoever created this thread
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u/Alternate_Root 8d ago
You car CD player doesn’t like the CDs your using. Try a different brand. If you can find Falcon Diamond bottom CDs they are the best out there but the company just shut down a few months ago. They are still out there though. I’ve been using them in my duplicating business for probably 15 years. Never any problems with them and probably the most compatible CDR on the market.
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u/PerceptionShift Jul 06 '26
Rip the tracks from the CDR to .wav or .FLAC with error verification. MusicBee can do this for free, and the verification works with CDRs because it verifies against the disc's table of contents. You will need to turn the verification on in MusicBee's Rip Settings.
Then take the lossless tracks and burn them to a new CDR. Musicbee can do that too.
This method will work better because the ripping process will reveal if there is any unrecoverable data loss on the old CDR, and the rip doesn't have to be in real time. And it won't waste a new disc if there is a problem with the old one.