Do you clean new vinyl before first playback?

No need, unless for some reason I see the stylus collecting kerrap upon first playing the LP. It happened just once and I cleaned the s.... out of it.

 

I recently purchased a few of the Elton John vinyl reissues and while they all looked pretty clean coming out of the sleeve for the first time,I still did a quick rinse in the spin clean. I was amazed how much hidden gunk was in the grooves.

Any record I get,whether it's brand new or second hand,gets at minimum a spin clean rinse,followed by a sweep with my carbon fiber brush before my stylus touches it.

 

Give them at least a brushing. What’s there to lose?

 

I've the former Okki Nokki model equipped with the metal wand- I don't think that the metal wand is the main difference when it comes to getting much less static electricity when using the Pro-Ject VC-S compared to the Okki Nokki. I believe the main advantage in this case is that the VC-S has no full size platter.

 

Great! If it plays well in the first place fine.A good thing to use is a Zero stat on new records followed by a dust off with a carbon fiber brush.They play silent, enjoy the music,life is too short .

 

I am really starting to wonder if cleaning new records does in fact make much difference at all. In my experience (and I've gone from do-it-yourself models, to the Spin Clean, to the Vinyl Vac, to the Record Doctor) cleaning new records will always take away some noice, but it will always add some noise. So, in reality, there does not seem to be any real reason to clean from a surface noise perspective. In fact, I have found that cleaning brand new records will often leave you with a noisier record than what you began with! It can be very frustrating to go through the process of cleaning a record only to find out that any expectations of a completely "clean" play are dashed. Even the Record Doctor, a pretty decent vacuum machine, leaves some audible presence behind. I don't know...maybe my expectations are too high. I always bought into the idea that "no record should touch my turntable or meet my stylus without a proper wet clean"; however, is it really that horrible to play a new record without wet cleaning it? I take great care of my stylus (ATVM95ML) and never leave it with any gunk on it at at all (I clean after every play). To me, the effort I put into cleaning should result in noticeable audible improvement. A passage like the opening of "Where The Streets Have No Name" should be basically silent after the money and time I have spent in record cleaning; however, I just played a new copy of The Joshua Tree tonight (uncleaned) next to a "cleaned" version and the similarity was striking...faint pops and crackles in both. So...was the time cleaning it worth it? Or should I have just played that previously cleaned copy of the album from the get-go with only really caring about using a carbon fibre brush before each play? Seems like the latter to me...unless I am missing something? Does playing a new record without wet cleaning it first really cause damage to the stylus/grooves?

 

Why do you think that a process we call "cleaning records" ends with a dirty record?
Don't you suspect that there's something wrong with your "cleaning"?

I have a RCM and it's the best thing I do for playing vinyl ... night and day.
Maybe you don't change inner sleeves, you use tap water, you have a dirty brush, blah blah ... something is wrong my friend.

 

Sounds like you are adding static to your records.
I had this issue to with my RCM when first starting out.

You probably do have too high expectations.
If a new record looks and plays perfect I dont clean it either. If the record isnt dirty theres no issue.

 

I for one firmly believe that a record will never be quieter than when you first pull it out of it's sleeve and the first indicator of groove/stylus damage is noise. No noise then everything is fine. If you're not cleaning your records and your not hearing background noise then keep doing what you're doing. As long as you are buying your vinyl from reputable manufactures like RTI, QRP, Pallas, Record Industry or Optimal to name a few you're getting a first rate product. Usually the only thing I do is go one revolution with a Hunt EDA Mk6 to get rid of surface dust so it doesn't build up on the stylus, and forcing it out of the groove causing distortion. Occasionally I'll use some LAST all purpose record cleaner with one of their applicators if there is some sleeve residue but that about it and I don't get anal about changing inner sleeves unless they're made totally out of paper or if they're particularly dusty.

 

I had a record played on a variety of equipment for the best part forty one years that had been getting noisy in that time which I attributed to wear as I had used a basic auto stop deck with a ceramic cartridge for a period.
I cleaned it by hand -other cleaning systems are available - and when I listened to the other day it was much less noisy between the tracks sounding almost new.
My point is effective cleaning should result in not just physically cleaner records but quieter ones so if you are finding the opposite then maybe somewhere down the line you aren't quite getting it right.

 

I dont know if I should..

 

Ya, expectations can be one’s worst enemy. Out of curiosity, how did you end up not adding more static to your records through the RCM? Any tips?

 

The issue as I recall it was a combination of it being winter in Sweden, which is extremely dry, Im talking sub 20% humidity and using too little cleaning liquid and too many rotations. This added lots of static and my records only got noisier, very disappointing first impression.
This can still happen from time to time, although with use of more liquid and a rinse step as well as only one rotation with my modded Okki Nokki which gets most liquid with that anyway I reduced that static a lot and typically its no issue during summers now. It doesnt always make an improvement, but it doesnt make it worse either, some pressings are just noisy.

There are a few other ways to mitigate static build up, like using humidifiers which worked somewhat for me and also a DIY grounding solution for the playing record which I have yet to try. [DIY design] The TNT StatTrap!
But if it is static you just have to let the record play once or so, thereby reducing the charge for the next play with less noise.
If it pops and clicks are still present in the exact same spot next play, its not static.

 

Thanks for all of your advice. I think I'm going to try to clean new records in my Spin Clean with just distilled water and then give each side one rotation on the Record Doctor. I'll see how that works out...it should at least take away the static charge that comes with new records and, as you say, one rotation with a relatively wet record (which it will be if straight out of the SC) should not put too much new static charge on the album. I'll see how that goes...

 

Right, the cleaning solution can be rotated more since the rinse step after will take care of that built up static from the first step.

 

A spin clean is not a vacuum machine, and usually the most important trouble is the drying.

Don't use towels (of any kind) ... let the records dry vertically in a dedicated plastic dish dryer or something like that.

Anyway, a vacuum RCM it's the best option.

 

No, but I do with almost all second hand records.

 

Yes, and then an application of Groove Lube.

 

Yeah, I do that

 

This makes no sense to me. First you clean the record. Ok fine. Then you apply a foreign substance to the record. That doesn’t add up.

 

I think that's the reason why America "use to be" the richest country in the world.

 

Ya - That's why I am thinking do a clean with the Spin Clean (just distilled water) and then vacuum on my Record Doctor with just one rotation on each side. The main purpose is to remove the static that comes from the record when opened.

 

If your main purpose is to remove static I would just get a static gun for that. Much easier and quicker and you reduce the risk of introducing static through a vacuum cycle, although with one rotation it probably won't introduce static. On the other hand, one rotation probably won't be enough to dry the record completely.

 

For my Okki Nokki it is, but its modded with extra suction so maybe not for the RDV. Either way its easy for the rest to air dry after a minute or so Im sure, and since its just distilled water theres no contaminants to worry about being left on. That small amount of left over water will also help keep the static at bay.

 

Obviously you've never tried it or you wouldn't have made that statement.