Do I need to clean my LP's?

[mike70]

Well, I think it can be as sound waves, electrical / magnetics fields, etc. Distance is always a concern (at least at macro levels, in the quantum levels all goes weird ).

If distance is a concern ... one thing is to have the vibrations source at the bottom and almost parallel to the record and another one vertically (direct radiation) and really close to the record.

One thing you really help me to understand is about filters and the dirt in the water ... you aren't really moving / circling the water, so the dirt naturally must go to the bottom. Filters are not necessary with standard water replacement times.

 

[cgallery]

Yeh, it actually made it worse. maybe just need to repeat.

I looked at that "...Aqueous cleaning..." doc again, did a bit of internet searching and found that bases are better for grease removal than acids, so the quaternary cleaners would be the way to go. His method is to use a base first, followed with acid and then trition x-100 for the final clean. He recommends the heavily soiled items get a double dose of base to start.

I looked at the Dawn Clear and it has essential oils added as a selling feature. I know lots of people are happy with dish soap as a record cleaner, but I'm a bit leery of those additives if I'm hoping to clean without other contamination.

I use two velvet pads for cleaning, one for applying fluid and agitating, the other to dry.

It isn't uncommon for me to take a record with only a little surface noise and introduce some crackle on the first iteration. The fluid and pads shifted crap around in the groove and didn't get all of it, and now the stylus is picking some of it up. Subsequent iterations quickly quiet the groove, as more and more is mopped-out.

This really only happens with albums that have crapped packed into groove, but it does happen.

 

[MattHooper]

Here's a new review of the latest version of the Degritter Ultra Sonic Record Cleaner (I own an original version).

At 5:30 there's a good before and after demo in terms of what this cleaner can sometimes achieve:

I copied the url at the right spot so should play at the before/after demo.

I put every record through the Degritter, both to ensure as quiet wax as I can get, and also to keep my cartridge clean.

 

[pseudoid]

Humans shed somewhere near 700,000 skin cells per day, some say about 50mg/hour or 3.6kg/year.
And that is just YOU.
If you have carpeting in your listening room, you probably should not drag your feet on the carpet (static but more importantly rustling up [?] airborne dust).
If you have a fan on or have windows open (even with screens on them) more airborne particulate matter in listening area.

Was I fooling myself all those decades of LP collecting?
Besides the pre-play cleaning regiment, I also felt good about using …. ummmm... Shure V15 MkIV (thru V-MR).

The carbon whiskered (10k) brush ahead of the stylus was called a stabilizer/damper but it was pretty good at reducing static and clinging on to surface dust.
The amount of effort that is/was required to keep records pristine became too much work and finally broke this camel's back.
ADD: Who is fooling who? Dust sleeps less than rust.

 

[charleski]

Here's a new review of the latest version of the Degritter Ultra Sonic Record Cleaner (I own an original version).

At 5:30 there's a good before and after demo in terms of what this cleaner can sometimes achieve:

I copied the url at the right spot so should play at the before/after demo.

I put every record through the Degritter, both to ensure as quiet wax as I can get, and also to keep my cartridge clean.

I had to laugh at the bit where he celebrates the amount of time this machine saves him. You probably already know the obvious snarky digital riposte, so I’ll resist making it.

But it’s a bit disappointing that even a high-end washer like this still leaves clearly audible surface noise, though it sounds like it can rescue records that were unplayable.

 

[mike70]

you only need to clean a record once ... and then take a good care on it (brand new quality sleeve, carbon fiber brush before play).
that´s what i do since decades.

to anyone who thinks that's so much hassle ... well, i think you're on the wrong boat. Audio is to enjoy it ... in the way you like.

 

[mglobe]

A buddy of mine has a Degritter, and it rescued my original copy of Then Play On with one cycle. It was so noisy I was ready to pitch it. Sounds amazing now. I couldn’t bring myself to lay out the money for a Degrittter, and so I bought a Humminguru. It works well, and well worth the money in my opinion, but not as capable as the Degritter.

I sold almost all of my vinyl when CDs came out. What I have left are a few survivors, and new pressings that I’ve bought in recent years to play around with records. Mostly I listen to digital, so I can’t justify spending the big money on a cleaning device. But if I had a big collection of records I’d do it in a heartbeat.

 

[MattHooper]

A buddy of mine has a Degritter, and it rescued my original copy of Then Play On with one cycle. It was so noisy I was ready to pitch it. Sounds amazing now. I couldn’t bring myself to lay out the money for a Degrittter, and so I bought a Humminguru. It works well, and well worth the money in my opinion, but not as capable as the Degritter.

I sold almost all of my vinyl when CDs came out. What I have left are a few survivors, and new pressings that I’ve bought in recent years to play around with records. Mostly I listen to digital, so I can’t justify spending the big money on a cleaning device. But if I had a big collection of records I’d do it in a heartbeat.

My Degritter regularly lowers record noise and performs the occasional miracle (I’ve had records that sounded like they were pulled from a dumpster sound almost brand new after the Degritter).

The thing virtually every Degritter owner remarks on is that it’s such a clever, well thought out design it actually makes washing a record something of a pleasure. And I always hater the idea of washing records.

 

[mglobe]

My Degritter regularly lowers record noise and performs the occasional miracle (I’ve had records that sounded like they were pulled from a dumpster sound almost brand new after the Degritter).

The thing virtually every Degritter owner remarks on is that it’s such a clever, well thought out design it actually makes washing a record something of a pleasure. And I always hater the idea of washing records.

It really is a fantastic product, and if I was deep into vinyl and/or still had my original collection of records I would have one without a doubt.

 

[pseudoid]

to anyone who thinks that's so much hassle ... well, i think you're on the wrong boat. Audio is to enjoy it ... in the way you like.

pffft... the LP boat sailed away long ago... many took up CDs to be able to enjoy the music, sans wax-on, wax-off cycles at each play.
I have gel'd well; being able to have uninterrupted music, without having to get up every 20 minutes... and that intervening silence during the flip, etc...

Did anyone use that 1970s "SoundGuard" lubricant/anti-static spray before the first use of a new LP?

It was a product borne of the 70s' NASA satellite times but way before we had the luxury of the internet (or ASR) to verify product performance.
Some of us trusted NASA... and to this day; I am still not certain if my records will have fond memories of being spoiled by me.

 

[mike70]

I really enjoy vinyl ... and let me tell you ... CDs? Pffff ... I use streaming when I want to use digital.

But, I respect every way to enjoy music.

 

[NormB]

I really enjoy vinyl ... and let me tell you ... CDs? Pffff ... I use streaming when I want to use digital.

But, I respect every way to enjoy music.

Nog here. Son of Og. Grandson of G.

Neanderthal men like me make digital music

one knuckle at time. Crack-pop-click-OW!

Not best music.


Best music hollow log. Just hollow log.

And stick. No forget stick. New tribe put deer skin on log,

beat with stick. Much noise,no music. Me purist. Just use log.

And stick. Beat new tribe with stick.


Wife Ish - daughter of Sh, granddaughter of S (or H, I forget -

Ish say I no listen too good, or something), she play cat tail. Hard to play. cat.

Grab cat, pull tail, cat cries - much music but sometimes bite, scratch.

Hard to tune even with stick.


Not good beat with stick. Cat. I mean. Not wife either.


New logs played with two stick confuse Nog.

Took whole tribe to war over two sticks.

Made very much music on other tribe. One stick at a time.

New tribe quiet now.


Best go now, bright shiny man with time machine log make

much noise he calls music from speaker log thing like

many cats and logs and tribes fighting.

I go find stick now, try on speaker thing before he go.

Maybe on shiny time machine man if noise no stop.

 

[pseudoid]

And stick. Beat new tribe with stick.

Hey, Nog here. Son of Og. Grandson of G.
Pseudoid here.. Son of Id.. probably a bast*rd..
How much for new stick?

 

[Digby]

I have records that haven't been cleaned since purchase say a decade ago, they had no significant noise then and have no more now. I said it before, but if you live in a relatively well controlled environment (humidity in particular), then I don't know how records would necessarily get noisier over time, which means they wouldn't need cleaning.

Yes, dust accumulates and it will need brushing from the surface or removing from the stylus, but it only sits on the surface and doesn't 'embed' itself in records over time. The embedded noise is, imo, a product of high humidity and/or swings in temp/humidity (being left in an loft/attic) and stuff growing in the grooves, touching the playing surface doesn't help in this regard.

 

[mike70]

I'm a grown up man. That's all.

 

[pseudoid]

[1]... but if you live in a relatively well controlled environment (humidity in particular),..
[2]...touching the playing surface doesn't help in this regard...

[1]What grade clean-room are you referring to? erm.. Doesn't low humidity (dry) cause more static 'cling'?

[2]I've never touched the surface of an LP intentionally but this statement needs further proof.
I don't think anyone has done a research re: if hand oils are detrimental to LP longevity.

 

[Digby]

I'm not talking about a clean-room, just a normal room (older homes in UK have big problems with humidity - humidity that encourages mould or damp walls, is the same that encourages stuff growing in the grooves). I don't think hand oils, from reasonably clean hands, damage records, but they provide bacteria/oil for humidity to thrive on - probably only a problem in a bad environment.

 

[Angsty]

I clean all my LPs on my HumminGuru before playing, new or used. New records get five minutes and used records get ten.

 

[pseudoid]

...New records get five ... and used records get ten.

Sounds like a jail sentence handed down from the sheriff/judge/jury.

 

[Angsty]

I don't think anyone has done a research re: if hand oils are detrimental to LP longevity.

Probably does more harm to the stylus than to the LP.