Glad to see some responses. I've also received some personal positive ones that I hope to see repeated here in this forum. Although I was thinking of it more of a local thing where people could meet and discuss it, one was suggesting offering to do it by mail if necessary.
To Elizabeth: Thanks for responding. You've come up with a lot of reasons not to do it but I'm sure there are many who wouldn't have any problem paying $2 or more per record to have some records cleaned well. I have personally set up a system to manually clean mine that works well, but others I've spoken to are perhaps less 'do it yourself' than I am and have shown interest in such a service.
Most of us here are accustomed to many times spending a great deal of money for equipment to listen to our records. A couple bucks to clean one for less pops and snaps and a quieter sound is a drop in the bucket rather than spending another $1000 for a cleaning machine that actually works. And also rather than spending $100 on one that really doesn't.
Any other thoughts? |
ctsooner: Uh oh... Now you've done it! Opened up a whole can of worms going out to listen to new equipment! But I'm always glad to hear people enjoying listening to LPs either again or for the first time.
And well the answers to some of your questions is part of why I posted this here. To maybe get a little conversation going on what to do with those LPs that may benefit from a cleaning. I buy quite a few thrift shop LPs many of which are in pristine condition, others not so much.. I don't waste my time if the surface isn't still shiny, but even then there can be dust on them that can lead to lots of pops and snaps. But after cleaning them the difference is remarkable and makes what would be difficult to listen to really enjoyable again.
But the cost of a good quality record cleaner can be staggering. So I was hoping to hook up those owners of these cleaners and who may be willing to offer their services a chance to get together.
As far as how often you clean I guess that's a personal preference, but let your ears tell you I guess is the best way to know. Less messing around with the surface to me is best, but if it gets too snap poppy it's time to do something. If the inner sleeves are really in bad shape and you think that by sliding the record back in there might just make it dirty again you can replace it, but having all the original stuff that goes with an LP to me is best. I have bought on eBay some new ones to have around to replace some that are missing in some of these thrift shop purchases.
Thanks for your response ctsooner |
Agape126:
I wouldn't clean a new LP. You want to maintain that pristeen surface as long as possible with careful handling.
Glad you asked though. |
Buconero117:
I too use steam with great success. Distilled water to minimize any buildup. Set it up so as to keep the label dry. |
I've been playing records since the 60's and that's the first I've heard of needing to clean them before playing. Not sure about that one. New LPs have always sounded great. Could that be one of those urban legends? |
Got to say I'm still a little suspect at this cleaning of new LPs.. You can read all sorts of things on the internet forums these days and I always take them with a grain of salt. And some people can get a little carried away.
I've used shibata and fine line tips listening to mostly jazz and classical with very capable gear. So it's not as if I've been listening to Metallica with a penny taped to the end of the tonearm of a portable stereo and wouldn't know good sound when I hear it.
I am however all for trying to wring out the last drop of good sound, so if others feel the need for this I say go for it. But let's just leave it at that. |
To keep this posting from getting too far off track here, letÂ’s say all new records should be cleaned before their first use. And this type of deep cleaning can only really be done effectively with a capable LP cleaner, using both liquid and vacuum methods.
These type of cleaners are not cheap, thus the purpose of my posting. The majority of people who own turntables and enjoy listening to vinyl will not be able to budget for a $1000 cleaner.
So.. Are there any people who are fortunate enough to own such a cleaner who may be willing to connect with others in their area, or possibly a mail in service, to offer their units for use. So that everyone can clean their vinyl records before their first use? |
Wonderful responses! Thanks!
I do clean mine with an 'alternative' method. But wouldn't mind trying one of these machines myself to see if the results are any better. Who knows, I might even try cleaning a brand new one, after listening to it first of course.. So anybody in the central Ohio area with one of these nice cleaners who is willing to share let me know. |
Whart:
Thanks Bill, that's about 160 miles away from me, but really enjoyed reading about his cleaning processes. I too use steam, and have access to a large enough ultrasonic tank to clean them as well. The steam process I use helps makes the thrift shop finds salvageable and listenable again. I'd like to rig up a way to vacuum dry them, as it is I wipe off the majority and air dry them.
I'd kind of like to see a continuous hook up of cleaner owners and vinyl lovers so let's see if we can't keep this going. Too many newbies think vinyl is short lived because they may not be aware they can be cleaned back to life and may be missing out on a really valuable source of good, quality sound. |
Ctsooner:
Congratulations on your upcoming VPI 16.5 purchase. Are we to expect you'll be offering it's services for others in your area? |
Just curious.
How many people here personally own LP cleaners?
How many also bought $600-$2000 LP cleaners when you bought your turntables?
How many people still have stores that sell vinyl in their area?
And how many of those stores offer to clean LP's?
|
Now I don't want to start a great big argument, but I have an old American Optical/Reichert Stereo Star Zoom 0.7X to 4.2X scope and am able to actually see right down into the actual grooves of an LP.
I also have a brand new pressing of Carol Kings Tapestry (yes, I'm an old fart). Let's just say after looking at it under the scope right out of the sleeve for the first time, claims that even a brand new LP's grooves are full of junk are shall we say slightly over exaggerated.. I see nothing that shouldn't be there. Clean, pristine wiggles cut into the vinyl.
HOWEVER! Even after a couple very careful playings, what looks to the naked eye as a still clean LP under the scope starts to look a little scary. If anything this would make me clean them maybe a little more often than I normally would..
So... There's another piece of actual, first hand, with my own eyes, information to chew on. |
Hevac1:
I think steam or the ultrasonic of the Audio Desk are best for actually getting stuff out of those microscopic grooves. The "microfiber brushes" claims used by some cleaners are in fact so relatively large that they would straddle several of the truly microscopic grooves of the LP instead of getting down in there and cleaning them out as some claim. Although certain chemical release solutions and a vacuuming should be effective too.
And yes, the mailing option for offering your own cleaner for use might not be for everyone. |
But more to the point, I wish we could edit after submitting, not everybody can afford $4K for a truly effective LP cleaner like the Audio Desk Hevac1 has.
And that's why I was trying to get some people who are fortunate enough to own a good LP cleaner to offer their machines for use to others who may not be able to afford one. That's the real purpose of this posting. |
No Whart, if you'll read my posting again what I was looking at was not the surface but down into the actual grooves of the record. |
Sure Whart, if you see something on your record clean it off. Absolutely. Common sense.
I was addressing the notion espoused by some, more than likely originating from makers of LP cleaners, and then repeated by others that there are artifacts left in the grooves from the manufacturing process. |
Continuing from my last post..
Stuff does eventually get down into the grooves however and no amount of wiping of the surface will get that.. Thus the need for a good effective LP cleaner. |
There is a difference between wiping the dust off the surface with a padded padded velvet covered Discwasher brush and cleaning the record. |
If what some have been talking about when you say cleaning a record is using one of those padded velvet brushes on a new LP, I would advise strongly against doing that. That's as clean as that LP surface is ever going to be.. I just blow off anything that might be on there for as long as possible without ever touching the surface with that brush or anything else. I do use one of those padded velvet brushes occasionally, but only as a last resort and after the LP having been played many times.
If you think that tiny diamond tip maybe catching one or two pieces of lint is capable of causing problems, think about what problems you're causing by dragging that big wide padded velvet brush over the entire new pristine surface, under a great deal more pressure than 1.75 grams, and that is still embedded with all the stuff from every LP you've ever wiped with it. No matter how much you think brushing it off on your pant leg cleans it off. |
That's a great idea Hevac1. We're down to only one high end audio store in the area and it's 45 miles away.. Used to have several nice ones years ago. |
Ctsooner:
You can buy bench top ultrasonic cleaners large enough to dip LP's into for a few hundred dollars instead of paying several thousand. No automatic rotation of the LP but you could rig up something or just turn them by hand.
Just make sure you take into account the size of the LP, the width and distance up to the label (because you don't want or need to dunk past the label) and how deep the tank's max limit of liquid is to make sure an LP will fit before you buy.
There are no such things as magical ultrasonic bubbles made just for LPs. No matter what the marketing dept. of the LP cleaners say.. Ultrasonics are ultrasonics. I have one in my shop and keep meaning to clean it out and try it out with some distilled water and will one of these days. I use it to clean tools, parts, etc. and wouldn't want to dunk an LP in that stuff.. I'm using a cheap $20 clothes steamer on my LPs right now and it does a great job. |
Ctsooner:
After I clean mine with steam I have them hanging in front of a fan to dry. They dry quickly. Just make sure you don't stir up any dust behind the fan. You can do a visual inspection when they dry.
As far as stylus cleaning, if the stylus gets a tiny fuzz ball on it it will effect the sound of course. Things can happen even with good cleaning practices. I will use the dry stylus brush occasionally. |
Ctsooner:
As far as how often to clean, I'd say as long as the method you use doesn't cause undue wear itself it's up to you how often you want to clean them. Jyprez says he cleans his every time and that's his choice. I don't clean mine that often but that's just how I do it.. As far as coatings and such I don't like to add stuff that can possibly build up down inside the grooves. That's why I favor steam and ultrasonics for cleaning. And again, that's my choice.
Always keep in the back of your mind when you see a new product that in marketing, the number one rule is to create a need for your product. So many times manufacturers will turn a non-issue into a seemingly plausible theoretical solution to a 'problem' you didn't know you had, just to sell you their products.. Just try to maintain a little common sense as you navigate through the world of hype we're inundated with daily.. |
Screw record cleaners.. I've got to have one of those robots Tbg is talking about! |
