Cleaning LP's

I take Ray Gandy's advise just like I took Ivor's advise when the blowhard babbled the same thing. It's crap. Properly care for your records, that includes cleaning them when you get them and put them in a new VRP type sleeve. After that there is usually very little need to do more than to dust them before you play them again.

 

My record collection goes from 1959. Never cleaned them, only handled with care. No fingerprints ever.
My secret is a good needle, not worn so that the needle groove contact is as it should be and no scraping the groove bottom.
Noise and crakcles in my experience a worn or fairly worn needle that scrapes the groove bottom.
Nagaoka states diamond life at the point where sound quality is deteriorating is 200 Hours.

 

Part of what makes this forum stimulating is reading statements that are the complete and utter opposite of what I think is true, ideas that seem dead wrong and even fantastical. Yet we both play and enjoy records and somehow coexist on the same plane of reality.

I seem to remember than Steve Hoffman also doesn't see the point of cleaning records. Different strokes — Personally I think cleaning makes perfect sense, makes the whole listening experience more pleasurable and euphonious, and relieves my cartridge of the wear and friction of tracking through canyons of microscopic boulders and random gunk.

 

Of course I now and then wash a record aquired second hand and noisy by dirt.
But my new ones didn't need it ever. The needle just ignores dust like an icebreaker cuts ice at the North Pole.
But most important is a needle in good shape.
This is (still) a free world and everybody does what is most efficient and easy.

 

I only buy used LPs. Lil rubbing ETOH and a dab of Dawn liquid soap in hot water has served me well. Cotton ball with more ETOH and/or thumb nail to rid of gunk spots.

 

in my experience, brand new LPs are dirtier than well kept used ones i got fm Ebay.
but of course they are those used LPs despite repeated cleaning and even Ultrasonic
does not remove the ticks n pops, these i suspect have permanently groove damage
probably by playing them on worn out stylus.

 

I'm listening to several used store finds that I bought and washed in the discwasher yesterday. I have gotten into the habit of washing records once when they first arrive and then not anymore unless they sound really bad. I have been surprised at how good these used records sound, or maybe I'be just been lucky. They often sound cleaner and are flatter than the brand new ones I buy for $20+. Especially the flatness thing. Another surprising fact is how some of these wavey wobbly records sound normal. One would think there would be all sorts of W&F with them but not to my ears. I'd rather listen to a roller coaster record than one that is off center.

 

I recently found the London Jazz Club.
On the net.
They give recipe for a standard well proven cleaner.
800ml distilled water
200 Isopropyl Alcohol
5 ml Illford Foto whetting Agent.
I used this both with Cotton wool and rinse with distilled water,
And in "disco Antistat" used normally .
With very good results.
Soap no1. But sometimes with a stubborn record i will use this alternative mixture. It's very economical! And can provide excellent results.

 

the guy who did the ultrasonic cleaning for me uses a similiar mix. the LPs came off very clean as
when i play the LPs the stylus pick up no debris from the grooves. but however those LPs with
ticks n pops, they remain. so these may not be caused by dirt in the groove but by damaged grooves
due to either using a worn out stylus or to heavy a VTF loading, i suspect.

 

Get a Spin clean . Clean them when they are dirty , pretty simple!