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Record cleaning setup?


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OK, so now that I’m about to go vinyl crazy (even my wife has the bug), just what should my cleaning setup be? Looking for suggestions on what to purchase - somewhat familiar with Nitty Gritty - and looking for suggestions on what I should be using to clean and prepare my vinyl for play. I need an education here.....

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The Project as well as the Okki Nokki looks like a good value relative to others. Definitely seem worth considering. The one thing I like about Nitty Gritty is that they've been around so long, I'm certainly mindful of who's been at it or who would be more viable as a company if they ever needed service (Project should also be good here, correct)?

 

Both of these mentioned seem to lower the cost floor for some reasonably automated equipment, seemed that anything with this level of machinery was a grand or more in past years. So these do look attractive.

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nothing will beat an ultrasonic cleaner. You can go the DIY route and be in for the price of a regular record cleaner that does an inferior job. And yes, brand new records need to be cleaned before played.I can clean 4 lp's at a time with my ultrasonic cleaner. There are some that will clean 8 at a time.

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I also endorse the ultrasonic approach. I put together a DIY ultrasonic set up and it works awesome. I bought the ultrasonic cleaner on ebay and used the motor unit from here

https://thevinylstack.com/ultrasonic-cleaning/ultra-sonic-spin-record-cleaning-kit/

And the filtration set up from here

https://www.cleanervinyl.com/micron-fluid-filtration.html

 

This DIY set up does virtually everything the more expensive ultrasonic cleaners do. It does however take up a lot of space.

The unit does take up a fair bit of room however which is why I have stepped up to a stand alone unit from Kirmuss Audio. I was going to put the DIY unit in the garage sale section. If you interested let me know. I will sell all of the above for a very fair price.  If you have a place to put it it is an excellent option.

Josh

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I tend to be frugal (cheap), but I do want great sound from my records.  I use the Spin Clean and have gotten great results with it.  One thing I do different from the instructions is allow my records to air dry instead of drying with the provided towels.  I just put them in a rack designed to hold document files and find that it works well for holding records while they dry.  Drying usually takes about an hour, but I tend to let them go two or three.  Before I play, I'll use an anti static brush lightly.  Sometimes after cleaning, the first play might have a small amount of static.  It disappears by the second play.  If it's a new record, and the static continues, it's bad vinyl.  It happens.

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2 hours ago, joshnich said:

I also endorse the ultrasonic approach. I put together a DIY ultrasonic set up and it works awesome. I bought the ultrasonic cleaner on ebay and used the motor unit from here

https://thevinylstack.com/ultrasonic-cleaning/ultra-sonic-spin-record-cleaning-kit/

And the filtration set up from here

https://www.cleanervinyl.com/micron-fluid-filtration.html

 

This DIY set up does virtually everything the more expensive ultrasonic cleaners do. It does however take up a lot of space.

The unit does take up a fair bit of room however which is why I have stepped up to a stand alone unit from Kirmuss Audio. I was going to put the DIY unit in the garage sale section. If you interested let me know. I will sell all of the above for a very fair price.  If you have a place to put it it is an excellent option.

Josh

 

 

Space is definitely a consideration. These ultrasonic approaches certainly appear to have merit, but I'll end up with half a room occupied. My wife has ultrasonic cleaning setups for gemstones and the jewelry that comes out looks like a jeweler did it. So it definitely is a method I could agree with. But I gotta shrink the size, for sure - and I want it in proximity to the system.

 

Definitely food for thought, though, which is why I posted to begin with.

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Another vote here for the spin clean. I don't like the included cloths. Instead, I use amazon's microfiber cloths. I also let air dry after using a plastic dish drying rack and then they go straight into anti stat inner sleeves. Mobile Fidelity or Invest in Vinyl brand are good. Just make sure you get the paper backed with plastic lining. 

 

The spin clean does take a while for each record, but the results are way better than the pad and spray types. I can't comment on the vpi type or ultrasonic, but I think my choice is working fine for me and the capital outlay is comparatively low. Oh, and even new records can up with a lot of stuff in the distilled water/cleaning fluid mix.

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IME, NO.  I used to own one years ago.

 

I no longer spend time figuring out what might work.  After reading about Reg Williamson’s system in The Audio Amateur, I stick with what does  work.  Ask Dave @Mallette  Send me a PM if you want to discuss this in greater detail.  I’ve no interest in talking people out of using their vacuums, washers, etc.

YMMV

 

 

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Cleaning aside, and all good suggestions here, you also need to think of when you drop the record. For that I recommend get yourself some Last Stylus Cleaner. It's about $20 and does last just about forever. I've looked at needles under a microscope before and after using it and it really does clean up the needle. A cheaper, but IMO more dangerous, alternative if one of those magic eraser/sponges.One of those microfiber brushes on the record just before play is also a must.

 

Now some say that using a liquid like Last on a needle will somehow (insert technical osmosis type jargon here) get sucked up into the body of the cart and rot out the innards of said cart.  Alas, tain't true and some of my local buds (aka GaryMD, Mike Lindsey et all) have been using it on carts must more expensive than mine will no ill effect and great results.

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