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cleaning records
so, how does everyone clean their records apart from the traditional carbon fiber brush?
i got a tech a while ago and since then i've bought a bunch of records and some aren't in very good condition and i'd like to restore their sound quality as well as i can. some of my records have small crackles in them throughout the tracks and i can't fucking stand them.
i've been thinking about getting a kab ev-1 cleaning machine for the records that aren't in very good condition, but i kinda doubt if it really can remove the crackles.
so does anyone have any tips for me?
i won't use gruv glide because i don't want any shit on my records/needle that will stay there.
i also bought nagaoka 102 inner sleeves for all my vinyls and an extreme phono solid state stylus cleaner to keep my needle clean.
also i'm wondering if i should buy a "proper" carbon fiber brush, now i have some cheap one.
here's some links about the stuff i'm talking about :
kab ev-1
extreme phono solid state stylus cleaner
info on the nagaoka 102 inner sleeves can be found on google (i don't think they have a website of their own)
and i'm kinda surprised about all this, because it seems that i'm pretty much the only dj that cares about the sound quality of vinyl. well not the only one, but in the vast minority at least.
most djs seem to buy whatever cartridge they can get even though most dj carts sound like utter crap and it also seems that most djs are not in the slight interested in keeping their records clean and dust free thus extending their life. i've bought many records off the dicogs marketplace and people have claimed them to be mint or near mint and that they can't hear anything wrong with the sound, yet i clearly can tell that some of the records are not in such a good condition. when i've complained about the records being graded wrong, the sellers have been truly surprised about it.
i just can't stand any kind of errors in sound, it makes me go crazy if i hear pops and crackles. most other people don't even seem to notice them. 
ok, that was quite a ramble, but basically i just want to know if anyone knows anything about cleaning records properly (and thus improving the sound quality if the crackles aren't burnt in to the record). 
I'm by no means an expert on cleaning records, but I can share what little I do. I clean my entire collection about twice a year with Gruv Glide. I have a stylus brush that came with my Staton Groovemaster series carts, and I use that before I spin. I also keep a can of compressed air (like you clean a computer with) nearby. I give the record a quick shot of that whilst it's rotating and before dropping the needle.
Now, I'm sure some audiophile could point out scientifically how I am destroying my poor records, but working a full time job and raising two kids means that I am only going to allocate so much time to record maintenance.
does gruv glide in your opinion clean the records deep from the grooves, from where the basic carbon fiber brush can't reach?
also from what i read gruv glide stays on the record, that's why it keeps them anti static "forever" and only needs to be applied once. i really don't feel like putting stuff like that in my records for some reason, even if it would make them sound better.
that's why i'm looking into the kab ev-1 vacuum cleaner because it would get all the cleaning fluid out and the dirt the fluid has detached.
Since I have not used such a brush, I couldn't answer that question objectively, unfortunately. And even though Gruv Glide states that one application will keep your records static free "forevar," I have found this is not the case.
I guess I look at it this way: if I were a single man with few responsibilities, I'd probably invest a great deal more in preserving my records. However, we spend nearly everything we make raising kids and maintaining a home and cars. Also, I'm not going to live forever, and the chances of my records outliving me is not guaranteed (fire, flood, tornado, theft, etc.).
For what use I get out of my records (bedroom DJ only), the Gruv Glide and the compressed air have served me well for nearly two years. I feel like I'm not really helping here. 
i never clean mine..i get a fuzzy feeling inside hearing all the cracks and pops
Actually, just a cloth used for cleaning glasses works well.. no scratchy glasses , no scratchy record.
Little bit of record cleaner if they are extra dirty.
Jay
dude, I just want to say 1 thing here.. POLYLINED sleeves !! forget those cheap paper inner sleeve that comes with the record, if you're talking preservation, buy that stuff.
All my precious records has one, it will never leave any marks/sounds on your vinyl that a paper or (god, am I saying this ??) no sleeve would do.
It's also very hermetic, so prevent most of the dust to find his way on your records.
Except that, when I buy my records, I clean them once with a product I bought on the net, clear groove, and when the vinyl is getting very dusty when I take it out to play it, I just clean it with the carbon brush.
I must say that I'm not an expert either, and as Zoso says, I don't have time to take 3 hours each week or so to clean my entire collection.
Found this link today: http://www.atu2.com/collectors/colu...aintenance.html
thanks for all the replies guys.
the nagaoka 102 inner sleeves i got because they're supposedly better than polylined sleeves and i don't really need them to be paper. and they don't have a hole in the middle either, so no dust will get in thru there.
mostly what i'm asking here is this:
how will i get all the crackles out of the vinyl which are deep inside the grooves (assuming that the crackles aren't burnt in)? i have bought some used records that i would like to remedy if possible. and so far a vacuum cleaner seems like the best option. but i'm not really sure, so i'd like to hear from people about their ways of cleaning records and hear what has actually improved the sound (lessened the crackling) they get from the records. or if people just clean their records out of habit and don't really notice any difference in either way.
before i play any record i clean it with the carbon fiber brush so that no visible dust is seen on the record, so all the crackles i hear must be crap inside the groove.
also wouldn't some cleaning fluid just bring the crap to the surface and then when the fluid has evaporated (if it will) the crap stays there and possibly gets back into the grooves or sticks to the needle? that's the main reason why a vacuum cleaner IMO seems like a much better solution (it should get everything out that the fluid will detach).
What been using is this works great Audio Intelligent - Ultimate Kit by hand with there 3 step cleaning solution method every 3 months. But opposite months I use carbon fiber brush and compressed air. I have VPI - HW-27 Typhoon Record Cleaning Machine on order because hate cleaning by hand at times.
i finally got the kab ev-1 record cleaning machine. first thing i tried to clean with it was the crappiest sounding vinyl i had:
joshua ryan - pistolwhip (james holden remix)
it was sold to me as mint but there were really bad crackles in the beginning of the track. i couldn't get these crackles away with a brush. the record looked mint, but there was something in the grooves for sure, because the crackles were so apparent.
i cleaned the record with the machine. it was quite easy and fast, no problems there. i thought it would be much harder/time consuming.
anyway, i uploaded wav samples of the first 1:25 minutes of the track uncleaned and cleaned. IMO the difference is remarkable. i don't know if the record could be even better cleaned with the machine (this was my first and only try so far), but if it does this well, it's definitely worth it, for me at least. you can hear for yourselves by checking the samples. the samples are in wav, so you can hear the samples in the best quality i had.
[[ LINK REMOVED ]]
[[ LINK REMOVED ]]
/me cums
that's awesome skip, how much you buy the cleaning machine for? take some piccies and do some more experiments 
what size bottle did u get
those cleaners are a scam < lighter fluid
the cleaner ended up costing a bit over 150� including taxes and customs. i didn't order a bigger bottle with it, because i wanted to see how it works first. the bottle that came with it is about 1 dl (4 oz apparently). cleans 40 records they say. the fluid isn't exactly cheap though. too bad i'm not in school anymore so i don't have any way of trying to find out what it consists of (i bet it's really simple and cheap). when my bottle runs out i think i'm gonna order the 64 oz one, which is 34$ + shipping.
the cleaner itself is ugly as fuck, but i don't care as it does what it has to do and after that you can put it away so you don't have to look at it. 
i don't have many vinyls yet (around 30 to 40 i think) and most of them are in near mint condition, so i don't have that many records i could try to clean with it. i do have some though and i'm gonna test it later today if i have the time. if not, then it'll have to wait to some other day. i can take pics of it too when i clean a record, but i can't promise when.
Hey skip
I'm thinking of buying the KAB EV-1, but its �96 without postage and no doubt the customs charge that I'll get with it
You got any examples of the work it can do please? really tempted to buy this thing, sick of experimenting with crappy so called "awesome" cleaning kits, that dont do much....
Cheers
I haven't really got a better sample as the one I posted already.
Joshua Ryan - Pistolwhip (James Holden Remix).
And I haven't cleaned any records with it in a while (haven't bought much records in need of cleaning). But if you're thinking of cleaning 2800 records with it and digitizing them, I really suggest you get something less laborious to use. The Nitty Gritty machines should be much nicer to use, altho the end result isn't apparently any different. They're quite expensive though.
http://www.nittygrittyinc.com/minipro.htm
Also, cleaning 2800 records will use a lot of the cleaning liquid, so you could consider making your own if you can get hold of basic chemicals easily. I can't remember what exactly you should put into it and what proportions, but I think it was all basic stuff like, isopropanol, distilled water and some detergent (like triton x-100).
Overall I'd say that it's really hard to know if the cleaner will make a difference with the record or not. It really depends on what's wrong with the record. Some records it has salvaged very nicely and on others it has done shit all. If your records are dirty, but not worn out, I'd say you should maybe give it a shot, otherwise I'm not too sure.
Also digitizing 2800 vinyls will take you fucking ages, even if you do nothing else all day. So good luck with that. 
You can also remove most pops and clicks digitally by interpolating, silencing and/or copy pasting, but that's way more laborious than cleaning the records. But sometimes there really is no choice (if you want to listen to click and pop free music that is).
Get Ronsonal lighter fluid.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by skip I haven't really got a better sample as the one I posted already. Joshua Ryan - Pistolwhip (James Holden Remix). |
| quote: |
| And I haven't cleaned any records with it in a while (haven't bought much records in need of cleaning). But if you're thinking of cleaning 2800 records with it and digitizing them, I really suggest you get something less laborious to use. The Nitty Gritty machines should be much nicer to use, altho the end result isn't apparently any different. They're quite expensive though. http://www.nittygrittyinc.com/minipro.htm |
| quote: |
| Also, cleaning 2800 records will use a lot of the cleaning liquid, so you could consider making your own if you can get hold of basic chemicals easily. I can't remember what exactly you should put into it and what proportions, but I think it was all basic stuff like, isopropanol, distilled water and some detergent (like triton x-100). |
| quote: |
| Overall I'd say that it's really hard to know if the cleaner will make a difference with the record or not. It really depends on what's wrong with the record. Some records it has salvaged very nicely and on others it has done shit all. If your records are dirty, but not worn out, I'd say you should maybe give it a shot, otherwise I'm not too sure. |
| quote: |
| Also digitizing 2800 vinyls will take you fucking ages, even if you do nothing else all day. So good luck with that. You can also remove most pops and clicks digitally by interpolating, silencing and/or copy pasting, but that's way more laborious than cleaning the records. But sometimes there really is no choice (if you want to listen to click and pop free music that is). |
what i've found is removing the clicks & pops can affect sound quality a great deal, programs like adobe audition and other wave editors sometimes detect normal musical elements (particularly on dance music!) as clicks & pops and removes them, which is a pain in the arse. It's relatively easy reducing the affect of a pop sound on a record (moving the waves towards the inner line on adobe audition) but not during things like the intro.
I've bought vinyls lately, but they've mostly been in mint or near mint condition, so I haven't had much use for the KAB. I did buy a Nagaoka CL-152 rolling cleaner a month or so ago. It gets rid of the visible dust much better than a carbon fiber brush at least, but i don't think it'll take the crap out from deep in the grooves though, like the KAB does. I bought it because i was fed up with my carbon fiber dust not working as I want it to. No matter how I use it, I can't get all visible dust off with it, but with the rolling cleaner it's really easy.
I can't remember exactly in what condition the Joshua Ryan vinyl was when I got it, but I remember that I really wasn't happy with it, but in the end I got it cleaned pretty well. I think I still might have the separate recordings in .wav of the uncleaned vinyl, cleaned with the KAB and the final version where I've removed even the smallest pops and clicks manually by interpolating.
I haven't used any automatic pop/click removal software, so I've never had the problem of pop/click removal affecting the sound, so that it can be noticed when listening. Usually I just interpolate a small section (where the pop/click is) as most times they're clearly visible.
Every time I record a vinyl to my computer I adjust the levels from the sound card so that it's near 0 dB, but far enough, so it won't clip if there are some louder parts I've missed skimming thru the tune quickly. Then after the recording and click/pop removing I normalize the levels to 0 dB, so that the recording is about the same loudness as all my other music. Mostly vinyl recordings will end up a bit quieter though as the peaks on vinyl recordings aren't that even.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by jpgrdnr those cleaners are a scam < lighter fluid |
Hey dude
when you use the KAB EV-1 what brush do you use to spread the fluid? Do you just use the brush that came with the machine or something else?
I use the one that came with it. I've seen no reason to use anything else. I've got quite some shitty vinyls around atm which I should try cleaning (were sold as mint, but were actually far from). Interested in seeing how much I can improve them. But I don't think I'll have the time to do it for a few months at least, so they'll have to wait.
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/newinventors/txt/s2824854.htm
Saw this last night. I don't see the need for it, but interesting concept.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by jpgrdnr those cleaners are a scam < lighter fluid |
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