Nitty Gritty Record Cleaning Machines going away.....

Not sure what happened to the existing thread on this. I know there was a guy with some drama....

Anyhow, I did have contact with Gayle's daughter. Yes, the company is shutting down at the end of the month And for me, the good news is that they are sending my machine back (which was sent in for a tune up repair). Lets hope that someone can pick up the ball - at least in terms of maintenance parts!

Anybody happen to have a vacuum assembly for a 1.5Fi? My vacuum squealed like a pig!

-Bruce

 

Thanks for your update. I do hope someone comes along to rescue NG and that Gayle regains her health - I sure have seen a lot of good vibes about her over the years on this site. I searched for the other thread that became nasty when its purpose was to inform - let us know what was going on. A lot of good vibes were sent Gayle's way in that thread.

 

Yes, I wish Gayle the best, and hope she regains her health. She was always very nice, very friendly, and a pleasure to talk to.

 

The original Nitty Gritty news thread was already removed by the mods.

Anyways, I contacted Kevin at KABUSA regarding the Nitty Gritty and he said that getting the motor vacuum and pump tanks will be very difficult to source at best. Right now, he's trying to stock up on the replacement parts such as vac sweeps and drive wheels.

 

Best wishes to Gayle for a speedy recovery. As I noted in the last thread, I just dug up my 5 year old correspondence with Gayle as she walked me through a pump and body replacement on my 1.5fi..an incredible 36 emails in total and a phone conversation to boot! A true testament to customer service in an era where other companies would simply direct you to return or a dealer for the repairs. 5 years later my NG is still going strong. These things are uncomplicated and built to last. (mine was damaged by an accident)

Hopefully someone will step in, pick up production and/or assume any existing parts inventory.

Sorry that last thread went sideways. Let's hope this one stays on track.

 

Gayle was awesome in helping my buy and replace a pump in my NG even though i bought it used from Craig's List.
I wish her a speedy recovery.

 

As the originator of the original thread, could I emphasize that my intent was purely to inform of a developing situation: I did not seek to castigate nor demean any personage nor product.

 

I think everyone knows that. There was just one guy who fit that statement, and hopefully he will not re-appear in this replacement threat. Cheers, -Bruce

 

Sad to hear. My base model is going strong after 10 years. Always did the job with no undue fuss. Guess I should pull the trigger on the velvet pad replacements while I still can...

 

Hoping and wishing for Gayle to have a speedy recovery!

Just a heads-up for anyone that owns one of these machines: Parts at the usual on-line suspects are starting to disappear VERY quickly. I would not wait to stock up on any parts you might need. I just ordered a replacement capstan kit as they will be difficult to duplicate in the future. For those worried about the felt vacuum strips, The Disc Doctor makes replacements out of the same material as their excellent record cleaning brushes, so at least there is an alternate source for those parts.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

My 1.0 is around 20 years old and I need a new drain tank for it. I think it still works and that most of the liquid vacuumed off the record evaporates anyway. I hope somebody buys the company. I can't see just shutting it down with so much good name power.

 

I’m another happy longtime Nitty Gritty owner who has had nothing but pleasant, helpful experiences with Gayle, who was great from start to finish when I replaced the pump assembly last year. I’m looking at shelves of hundreds of clean LPs and 45s that have been cleaned by the little RCM that could. Very melancholy if the brand expires.

 

I'd read a long time ago that an earlier iteration of Audio Advisor's Record Doctor machine was a NG by another name. Not sure how correct this is, but perhaps they're in the mix somewhere as a successor owner.

 

I've got a Record Doctor III and when I bought it I remember seeing claims that it was a re-branded Nitty Gritty 1.0 at a cheaper price. I'm not sure how true this is, but the machine is still working great after 10+ years.

 

Same here! About 1000 lp's cleaned and still going strong! Yes, NG built them for Audio Advisor out in Michigan.

 

The fluid tank on my 1.5 just sprung a serious leak, so poor timing for me. I took it apart yesterday and slathered epoxy on what I think is the problem. Hopefully it works.

 

Sad to hear this news. I have a 1.5Fi Mk2 that I haven't used in years with a bag of replacement parts and original instructions. Perhaps it's time to part ways with it so it can actually be used.

 

The same thing happened to me a year and a half ago. The replacement manual fluid pump assembly is easy to install and still available.

Nitty Gritty, Inc. - accessories - repair parts

By the way, I’ve used Nitty Gritty’s Pure 2 fluid in my 1.5Fi from the get-go. In the event Pure 2 becomes unavailable, does anybody have any recommendations for a substitute?

 

Now that there's some discussion about the 1.5Fi and its variants, the thin plastic sheet underneath the pump mechanism inside mine is broken and leaks every time I use the pump. Has anyone tried to replace or fix it?

 

Very Sad News... My NG is 20+ years old and still going strong. Great company and Gayle has been a pleasure to work with. I wonder if they're still checking mail at the listed address so we can send some get well cards, well wishes etc....

 

What a lovely thought!

JG

 

Gayle's daughter replied to well wishes that I'd left on the NG contact us link so it seems that although Gayle will no longer be checking mail, her daughter absolutely would be passing along the sentiments.

 

So sorry to hear the news that Gayle is not well and Nitty Gritty has closed. I have looked high and low but the usual sources are out of the VAC Sweep Kit. If anyone knows a source, please let me know? Thank you. Best wishes to Gayle and her family.

 

You could try the Record Doctor Sweep Kit, from Audio Advisor. It should fit, but I don't know if it has the holes in the glue strip for the FI models.

Record Doctor Sweeper Strip Kit-Audio Advisor