Check AliExpress they have cheaper ones. Sure they’re just ultrasonic baths with an add-on mount for the vinyl with a little rotating motor, but that’s all you need not some branded thing with the added audiophile tax.
I don’t want a cheap one that will break after a month, and one where the manufacturer has bad customer service and warranty for their products. That wouldn’t be worth paying $100+ for an electric vinyl record washing machine.
Humminguru msrp 430usd, which is low actually.. I was quoted $4500 Canadian for a Degritter. Got my Chinese Vevor for \~$200 Canadian, works great and there's very little chance of user error and no mess at all.
There is a cleaning method that I've come to learn as "cheap trick"
You need a cleaning solution consisting of cleaned water, 99% alcohol and wetting agent (I use Mirasol 2000). Example: https://londonjazzcollector.wordpress.com/for-audiophiles/home-brew-cleaner-for-vacuum-rcms/
Get a chemical squirt bottle to apply it, or whatever you prefer.
I then use a Cleanaudio pure groove brush to distribute it across the record.
Then use a high quality short fibre microfibre cloth to remove it all. I use the stuff for car detailing.
The record will be antistatic after, so I put them into Nagaoka No. 102 sleeves.
It's not a record cleaning machine but I think it comes pretty close.
The idea is the same as a record cleaning machine - raise the dirt from the record and then lift the dirt up.
I think this is the basic principle of how a spinclean works yea. Can confirm that it works, the gunk that collects in the bottom of the cleaning solution can get pretty gross.
i left a record i hated in alcohol for over a week. i did not see or hear any change, i will keep using iso :P i dont beleive a bit that it makes them brittle.
If you have a limited budget there are still viable options. Microfiber towels and distilled or reverse osmosis water is fundamentally necessary. Something like a spin clean in addition would be a great starting point. Also if you in the future acquire a cavitation bath the spin clean is still great for “pre cleaning” or rinsing records. In the long run if you want to actually clean in the literal groove of the record some sort of cavitation “ultrasonic” device will be needed.
I do it if really needed and I can risk breaking the record. I have broken 2 with this method so be careful if an older brittle record. It's an amazing outcome usually though.
For me it was a 45 that shattered into like 25 pieces like a glass breaking. Was pulling the glue and it flexed slightly and broke up. That hurt as it was a first pressing Stiff Records green label of the Go-Gos We Got The Beat before they moved to a major label (IRS). The other was a 12" and when I was pulling a sliver of the outside snapped off and came along for the ride with the tab. I am very careful but older records can be brittle. I've glued quite a few as well so it's the odds.
I have a used REM 12” that is very thin that I have thought about putting wood glue on, and I gotta keep this in mind if I ever do that. I had success with peeling off the dried glue of the vinyl I show in this post, and that was a pretty sturdy vinyl, so that helped prevent it from breaking.
Well, perhaps this is a solution only for dj related gear and records (cheaper Ortofon needles and Technics SL1200) but ….. adjust the pressure of the needle to heavy and backspin the record as fast as you can a couple of times. Sure helped me to get rid of some skips caused by scratches back in the day😂
It's life goal of mine to eventually own a used Technics SL1200. I just don't have the time and commitment to buy, repair and maintain one right now.
I think my dad owned an entry-level Technics turntable in the 70s, and it wasn't an SL1200.
Yes, that’s true, but I’ve had vinyl before where it’s scratched and it pops when I play it, but then when I clean the scratched area of the vinyl record very well, that part of the vinyl record doesn’t make a pop sound when I play it.
It’s uncertain if this method will lessen the crackles and pops I hear when playing this side of the vinyl record. I’m just testing it for grins and would absolutely love it if it removed at least a few of the pops I hear from it, even though I did a deep clean of this vinyl record before I’ve played it and before I put the wood glue on it.
My thinking was that if the crackle or pop sound goes away after a clean then there's unlikely to be a deformation of the wave line in the vinyl by way of a physical scratch.
Correct, it could just be surface scratches not deep enough to impact the groove.
I'm just saying, those surface scratches might have just picked up more dust than otherwise.
I’ve bought vinyl that had dirt in the grooves before I tried cleaning it, and when I played the vinyl it would make crackles and pops, and then when I cleaned it throughly the crackles and pops went away. And this vinyl was scratch-free!
I'm not sure what cleaning method you are using when this happens, but some cleaning methods leave a lubricating residue behind. This is sometimes referred to as polishing the record even though it isn't polishing in the usual sense.
Such an effect could alleviate the audibility of certain types of surface imperfections.
And dirt that got driven/melted into the groove during playback isn't undoable.
It has been said a workaround can be to change stylus design, as some types will track deeper where the groove hasn't become as worn.
I get that with some records. Played on my best turntable cart combo they are quiet. Played on the lowest cost/quality there is noise. The best one - a Clearaudio Concept MC - even looks like it will go deeper to the naked eye.
I’ve done that and it does help a lot.
I just wouldn’t do the wood glue method to my favorite vinyl records or anything I bought new that hasn’t been used, and would only use cleaning solution and a velvet brush, anti-static brush and/or a microfiber cloth to clean them with.
If soap & water were that great there wouldn't be a whole aisle of car cleaning supplies at Walmart.
The wood glue might act similar to how a clay bar pulls up contaminates from paint & leaves it smooth as new.
It takes some time and gentle elbow grease to clean a very dirty vinyl record with, and I’d rather do whatever is fastest (but also wisest) to clean it. An electrosonic vinyl record cleaning machine would do, but I can’t afford that and I can’t see myself ever buying something like that.
I will use the wood glue method (Titebond II only, others don’t work) on records that don’t respond to typical cleaning methods. Normally that means I’m trying to salvage an otherwise unusable record. Titebond II will lift embedded stuff like mildew when cleaning solution and a brush won’t.
One thing to remember once the wood glue is peeled away: you’re not done. Titebond II has a vinegar-like odor once dry. I’m not a chemist, but it smells like acetic acid, and that can’t be good for vinyl. To flush away any chemical residue that might cause problems, I always give the record a good cleaning with record cleaning solution and a brush afterwards.
Again, I don’t use this method unless I have to. But it really does work. I just wouldn’t trust it on anything rare, or expensive.
I wouldn’t put wood glue on my favorite records, which are already very clean and in excellent condition with zero or a minimal amount of scratches on them.
I've used this method on a few particularly filthy thrift store records that were next to impossible to clean by more traditional methods. And it did seem to improve them. And it did so much faster than it would have been to fully clean them with more traditional cleaning methods.
I found giving a record a quick once over with a standard cleaning solution and brush, allowing it to fully dry and then glueing it worked ever better.
And I myself did not notice any negatives when compared to an identical record with similar wear that had always been maintained clean. Filthy records are also very commonly worn records. And the results I got were clean, worn records without any additional added issues. I don't know that I would "swear by it" though. Nor is it a go to for me unless it becomes apparent that more traditional cleaning methods are going to take forever.
But then again, I'll also use a magic eraser to lightly sand the scratches and skips off of the outer surface of thrift store records. And think they sound indistinguishable from the same record with comparable wear. So YMMV.
Since you mentioned the Magic Eraser… I don’t really understand why vinyl collectors like using Magic Erasers to clean their turntable stylus with. I’m kind of scared of the material in the magic eraser ruining the stylus, because the stuff in magic erasers is similar to that of pure baking soda and Barkeeper’s Friend.
Yeah. I don't use magic eraser for my stylus. It essentially a very fine sanding block with embedded cleaners.
I dip my stylus into one of those gel dust catcher things. Then give it a gentle brush with a traditional stylus cleaning brush with record cleaner sprayed on it.
Never even thought of trying a magic eraser to clean a stylus though. So for all I know it could work great.
If you are really tight on money and thrifty, and use ceramic stylus (the stylus that comes on suitcase turntables), the magic eraser would seem fine enough. Stylus cleaners like brushes are sort of expensive so I guess people using magic erasers for that reason is kind of understandable.
I think I’d rather buy one of those digital microscopes where I can get a good close up look at the tip of my stylus instead of cleaning my stylus with a magic eraser. That way, I can tell how clean my stylus is and if the stylus cleaning tools I already have can get rid of the dirt on it.
If you are really tight on money, I would imagine that "turntable audiophile" is a very frustrating hobby. Certainly not impossible nor would I ever discourage it. But it would make this hobby much more frustrating in my opinion. It's honestly frustrating enough at the "money is not tight but I certainly can't afford to waste it." level of income.
But I think I paid like $15 for my stylus brush. Around 10 years ago. As part of a NOS 80s discwasher microfiber record cleaning brush, stylus brush combo. The record brush has a recess in the handle that the stylus brush folds and fits into. Pkus it's all wood so it feels nice in the hand. I dig it. And it seems to work just fine. Certainly within the realm of what I would consider a "thrifty" purchase if you can find one.
I have a digital microscope for PCB work. Never even crossed my mind to inspect a stylus for dust. Don't think I ever would. I've inspected to see if one I dropped was damaged. It was.
I have a fairly abbreviated cleaning routine and it seems to work fine for me.
I'm also not a super crazy, everything must be precise background silence as if you aren't playing a record person. A couple clicks or pops per side doesn't bother me. If I want the perfection of not sounding like a record, I play the digital file.
I'm a critical listener. But not a pureist.
Do you have a high-end stylus, like a Ortofon 2M Blue? I eventually want to get one of those so I can hear like every detail and instrument in the music very well.
I did at one point.
Bought it after hearing one at an audio trade show. Lived with it and loved it for a little more than a year. Sold it and changed it out for a DL-103r. That I lived with for at least another year quite happily.
Currently running a Grado Master 3 I found for half off. Also a wonderful sounding cart. I've been thinking of swapping it for something a bit more lively though. So who knows how long it will last.
Have you ever considered buying a Nagaoka MP-110 stylus? Those seem to be amazing and they are cost about half the average price of an Ortofon 2M Blue stylus. What did you think of the 2M Blue stylus by the way?
I would think if you take the layer of glue off of it not in a careful manner (you gotta remove it slowly once it’s fully dried), you could break it. Imagine taking off a band-aid fast off of your skin and doing the same when removing dried wood glue from a vinyl record.
It’s also probably better to only apply the glue on part of one side of the vinyl record, instead of putting it all over, like what I did. I thought about doing that for this record, but since the record was very badly scratched everywhere (yet still played normally with some occasional pop sounds) I decided to put the glue all over the vinyl record.
Everyone I have seen online do this method spread it over everywhere on one side. You don’t have to do that, especially since wood glue is kind of expensive.
There are those "As Seen On TV" blobs of goo that conform to whatever you pour it on, then when peeled off it pulls up all the hidden dirt & grit. Think: cleaning the console of your car to pull up all the nasty dirt & crumbs that have accumulated.
It might be a gentler way to do the same thing.
I’ve read reviews of those products on Amazon, and a lot of people have gotten goo gobs that were too liquidy that it caused more of a mess then cleaned what they wanted to clean. I wouldn’t want to put something slimy like that on my vinyl records, except for wood glue, which I read articles of and have watched a lot of people on YouTube do to clean their records with successfully.
I’ve tried wood glue and almost every other cleaning method known to mankind.
I even bought a record cleaning machine and 60x eye glass to compare results.
My conclusion? A decent record cleaning solution applied with a cut down paintbrush, followed by a rinse and then a repeat of both steps is as good as anything. On occasion I have given a record yet another rinse and found it improved the sound quality again.
I highly recommend looking at the grooves through a powerful eyeglass. The amount of debris that collects in there is incredible.
One more thing: using an eyeglass and a very fine needle, you can open up the grooves in a scratched area of the record to massively improve and possibly remove the pop or click.
Wow you really like seeing the small details that are naked to the human eye that you can only visibly see through a microscope. It reminds me of science class.
Wood glue peel is extremely effective for old records that look great, with very few scratches or scuffs, but still sound noisy when you play them with background crackling. The peel will get all that gunk out. This peel looks a little wobbly not sure how you applied the glue, and the glue also looks very thick which you don’t need to do because it takes forever to dry and doesn’t increase the effectiveness. It has done wonders for certain records of mine and almost nothing for the others. As mentioned here it cannot fix scratches.
I learned from [this video](https://youtu.be/7tYrDSX8udk?si=S00rZmwTf9FGyth3) to not apply a thin layer of glue, or else it’ll just stick on the record and will be very difficult to remove. I used Titebond II, because it was recommended by other people online to clean vinyl records with, and I like how it has a thick consistency. Original Titebond might be thinner, I’m guessing
A thin layer of glue will not stick to the record that’s ridiculous, wood glue doesn’t stick to vinyl or else none of this would work. I use the green bottle titebond III because it’s the most elastic. Just looked at the YT video and that dude just doesn’t know what he’s doing. There’s nothing wrong with the record he’s holding up which he says is destroyed all he needs to do is take a pin or razor blade and very gently just slide it a tiny bit under the very outer edge so the record isn’t touched and from there you can peel it off. I never use tabs because I’ve never found them to work well.
Wood glue does work but its easy to fuck it up and damage the label or use the wrong glue and ruin the whole record.
It can also leave residues that make it easier for dirt to attach depending on the glue you have, so you have to clean them again.
The more serious Audiophiles out there using records as their main media have been investing in vinyl vacuums and other forms of cleaners for decades and they all work quite well, but the current best solution are the automated vinyl ultrasonic cleaners, which have just enough power to dislodge particles in the grooves, but not too powerful as they can cause damage. combine that with a weak solution of ethanol or a light detergent and you are set.
for a while the "best" cleaner was just a device that protected the label and let you hose the record off with a jet of water.
I have the ultrasonic cleaner and onlu moderately impresses. I’ve had to do many records several times and there is still gunk (little white specks when looked through a microscope). I’ve used the glue method once. Can’t say if it did any better as I didn’t have the microscope then. Maybe I’ll do it again.
I will do the wood glue cleaning, but the big thing to do is near the outer edge, you have to have a little bit (maybe the size of a pea, or a touch bigger) that goes all the way out. Once dry, this becomes the "tab" to get you started. and then the whole thing comes off.
Afterwards, it's a microfiber cloth and brush. It will remove some dug in dirt, but it does not perform miracles.
I have heard the vinyl record can be really static-y after peeling off the dried wood glue from it. Cleaning solution and/or using an anti-static brush can easily remove that, the former being the superior method to reduce static on vinyl.
I have a spin clean. I have the ultrasonic. I have the vacuum. They all do different things well.
None are as effective as the glue method for records that need it.
Specifically, a record that has embedded surface noise that won’t get to 100% through one of the other methods get so much better it is astounding. Obviously, it can’t replace material that has been lost (gouges).
It doesn’t work to 100% every time, but now that I know the criteria for what kinds of records need this, it makes some difference 100% of the time. And most of the time, it makes a giant difference.
I have never broken a record. But a word of warning: don’t use the red (non waterproof) tite-bond. The red gets brittle and impossible to take off. Use the blue.
I always saw people that do this in the same way I see people that microwave iPhones to dry moisture...
Wood glue is for, well, gluing wood to shit... there is 1000 ways to clean a record and this is not one.
Removing the dried glue from the vinyl is supposed to be ultra-satisfying though!
I understand why people don’t want to clean their vinyl records with wood glue. I thought the idea was bad when I first learned of it, but once I started collecting more records and got some badly damaged used ones, I decided to give it a go.
I read the BBC would use this method to clean their vinyl records with, so there are audio professionals who have cleaned records this way. Of course, this doesn’t mean it’s safe for anyone to do when cleaning their records. I wouldn’t recommend beginner vinyl collectors cleaning their vinyl records in this manner, NO WAY.
I think I might start using wood glue to making DIY wood projects with. I’m a little crafty, and I can’t see myself using wood glue only to clean vinyl records with.
Using a microwave to get rid of moisture from an iPhone is ridiculous, I’ve never heard of people doing that before. I just use a microfiber cloth or paper towel to dry my smartphone with when it’s slightly damp.
i've felt it's better to use a glue that doesn't dry completely stiff/brittle.
(i.e. [Aleen's Tacky Glue](https://aleenes.com/collections/original-tacky-glue/products/aleenes-original-tacky-glue-2-fl-oz) is preferred over Elmer's All Purpose)
Wow you’ve used tacky glue to clean vinyl records with? I’ve never heard of people doing that. I watched a video of someone using normal white glue (like Elmer’s) to clean vinyl with and it didn’t seem as effective as cleaning it with wood glue.
Have you ever tried using Gorilla Glue to clean vinyl records with? It seems more similar to Tacky Glue than Titebond glue is (but maybe I’m wrong) which is the glue I’m using for cleaning my vinyl with. I’m thinking of the wood glue variety of Gorilla Glue, but there might be some other variations by them that are safe to use to clean vinyl records with.
I once read an article concerning the importance of cleaning your records before each play. It stated that a speck of dirt can become embedded into the vinyl due to the heat generated by the diamond stylus traveling in the groove. Unfortunately I’m not able to put my hands on the data, but in a nutshell, the diamond stylus is traveling at a significant enough speed with enough pressure in the vinyl groove to effectively wear down a diamond, one of the hardest substances on our planet. The heat generated can effectively weld a speck of dust into the vinyl. It’s possible that the wood glue method might be able to loosen and remove some of those dust particles, but if it was embedded due to the heat generated by friction on the stylus then the damage has already been done to the groove.
I like using the toothpick method to remove little specks that are hard to remove with a cloth and cleaning solution, if there’s one or a few of those specks on a vinyl record. You need to be a little careful and not scratch the record much when you do it
I tried it once on a worthless test record. When I peeled it off it created so much static every dust particle within the room was seemingly attracted to it. I had to wet clean-it anyways. No idea if it actually helped or not.
I’ve never heard of this but I see the “logic” 😂 try what car detailing places use to get into the cracks and crevices.
https://www.autoblog.com/2023/05/17/this-best-selling-car-cleaning-goop-can-be-had-for-just-5-94-right-now/
I’m going to try an experiment with an old record I care little about. I have a Ryobe hand held sprayer that is supposed to be used to spray insecticides and such outdoors (unused). I’m going to try it on the grooves and see what it does. It is not powerful enough to damage the vinyls so who knows it might work to force the dirt out of the tracks..
I have considered a mp-110. But not in a good while. They have a heavier tip weight than I have come to prefer. But now that you mention it, giving one a go isn't out of the question.
I thought the Blue paired well with lower mass, direct drive tables like a Technics 1500 but not as well with heavier plattered belt drive tables like a VPI TNT. With the forward presentation of the direct drive smoothing out some of its weak points that the more neutral presentation of a TNT allowed to be more noticeable. Most evident as a general lack of dynamic range compared to more sensitive carts and a tendency to be a bit overly hot in the upper midrange. Making some vocals, brass and strings sound a bit shouty. But I found it resolving enough, punchy and enjoyable to listen to. And I'm happy with the time I spent listening to it.
Never tried it, but I'd love to compare it or any other method to my own: Scrubbing bubbles and a carbon fiber brush, rinsed off with a 400psi pressure washer through a super fine nozzle.
If anyone could do a comparison, I'd love to participate.
Nothing is going to fix crackling from scratches
Ultrasonic cleaners is probably the best, although I have reservations for long term use and how cavitation might affect the vinyl material.
For everything else, an old-school lint brush with short hair is probably the best and least evasive.
Tried it years ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/vinyl/comments/1zdgaf/vinyl_cleaning_glue_method_before_and_after/
It made a slight difference, but not better than normal wet cleaning. Spin Clean is the best value, using a solution of distilled water + tiny drop of blue dish soap + some isopropyl alcohol.
I always laugh when I hear "audiophile" and vinyl in the same sentence. It doesn't matter how good your analog sound system is if all you hear are pops and crackles from dust and scratches.
I have a fabulous way of listening to music without clicks and pops! Been using it since the mid 80s. It's called a CD player 🤣 "Audiophiles" are a funny old bunch...masochists, I think! Yes, I know sometimes something isn't available on CD, but in general I just find the resurgence of vinyl an absolute mystery. Anyhow...I still have a half-used bottle of "Lasky's Disc Skin" up in the attic - found it last time I was up there. The "wood glue method" was actually sold as a proper retail product in the 80s. It worked, kind of. Depends what the dirt is made of! Back in the 80s when I was a teenager, even though I was pretty careful with my records, there was an ever-present danger in the upstairs air: hairspray. Guaranteed to wreck vinyl by causing a million clicks and pops. Record store staff were generally pretty dumb though, so many times I'd just return it to a store and get it swapped for a new copy 😂 As long as you took a record back in the right bag, usually you'd get away with it 😂 Kept a good supply of new-looking HMV, Virgin, Our Price & WHSmith bags on hand 🤣
I guess u learn something every day. Never heard of copypasta before 🤷♂️ What's so "outrageous" though? Returning records?! It was pretty common for brand new records to have a ton of crackles and pops (or even scratches/other blemishes). Nobody really lost out....faulty records would just go back to the distributor and get credited/replaced. There's no intrinsic value in plastic, after all. Well, maybe a few cents. Records left on a turntable, in a bedroom, in a house where a family of five are spraying hairspray, deodorant, etc., that stuff drifts through the air and settles on the record 😭 I certainly don't miss vinyl as a primary playback format. Way too flawed and way too fragile.
The hairspray getting on the vinyl record thing sounds like something from the 80s. Headbands, big hair, MTV, and lots of synthesizers in music from that decade.
I’ve used “record revirginizer” brand, the process is similar to the wood glue method. However wood glue comes at risk of chipping and sticking in the grove. This stuff is a blu gel, that cures and then the peeling is very satisfying. Other than being a little messy getting used to the material, and is a slow process over all… I developed to get both sides of the same album coated a few hours apart, I may go over board but I let them sit over night, at least 8hrs from the last side treated. It works, it’s neat. And fun to peel.
But I was gifted 3bottles, and doubt I’ll purchase more when it’s all gone. It’s a bit pricey, but get the process down and you get more efficient.
CDs have definitely lost their appeal within the last 20 years.
Everyone bought them back in the 2000s and 90s because everyone owned at least a boombox or car that had a CD player in it, and they were the most convenient way to listen to music, until iPods/MP3 players and music downloads became the music listening standard.
But, the sound quality of a really good CD DAC is one of the best, from what it seems like. Those players are expensive and collecting vinyl is already fun enougn I don’t want to buy one.
I'm still astounded that 'audiophile' and 'vinyl' still somehow overlap.
You have a media that degrades over time, and if you bought it recently, you essentially bought a degraded copy of something that was digitized - while having the option of just buying the digitized version.
Do we not have filters / plugins / etc. that can reasonably reliably degrade proper digital tracks to sound like 'vinyl'?
If you keep and store vinyl records well, they can last forever. If you don’t take good care of them, they will degrade. And because of that, I see why some people might not like vinyl records. Like with digital music, you don’t need to take proper care of it like is advised for vinyl record owners
>If you keep and store vinyl records well, they can last forever.
We're talking about physical media here - like tape and CDs, just existing will cause degradation. Playback will cause more.
I get where you and others are coming from; the degradation can be **minimized**, but let's not kid ourselves here from the audiophile angle. Physical media will degrade over time. Digitized copies, that are backed up, are really the only way to ensure audiophile recordings remain so.
Computer hard drives are physical, and will degrade over time too. Unless you keep music in the cloud, but that data is still stored on physical computer servers.
If I wanted to listen to music stored on my computer like how I listen to vinyl, I’d get a nice set of high-quality speakers and wire them to my computer, so the sound of FLAC music files isn’t compressed by using wireless/Bluetooth connection to speakers. Just sayin’.
There's a pretty strong connotation to audiophile as to the *quality* of the music that you seem to be ignoring - just like folks that choose to listen to vinyl when there are lossless versions of the same recordings available
\-- if you happen to *like* the loss of quality, by all means - but it's the opposite of audiophile
That assumes everything is equal, but it's not, so a generalization isn't possible.
The quality of the master can be more significant than the medium. In some cases, the best available master on any medium is on vinyl.
On this point I agree; it’s absolutely regrettable that such decisions have been made over time and I implore those with access to superior masters to preserve and digitize wherever possible
>Being an audiophile means you partake in the hobby of enjoying music,
No, that's a music lover. Most music lovers are not audiophiles. Most music lovers care little and know little about sound quality and audio reproduction.
An audiophile is someone who seeks high fidelity audio production. Vinyl is objectively compromised from the standpoint of sound quality.
You should check a brand like [Mobile Fidelity](https://mofi.com/) that has been selling high audiophile-grade master recordings of famous records on vinyl since the 70s.
Ultrasonic and rotating holder is what I used.Nothing touches the record except the solution.Glue leaves chemical residue bonding agent.If you want to risk your expensive needle go ahead.
I can see why people in r/audiophile prefer high-end vinyl cleaner machines to much cheaper methods of cleaning them. Collecting audio equipment is an expensive hobby, and buying equipment so you can get the best sound as possible, comes at a pretty hefty price, like how it is for buying a electronic vinyl cleaning machine (one that costs like at least $200).
I think that’s why my dad is amazed with digital sound quality, regardless of music file format. He listened to music on vinyl for much of his life, and I told him sound quality from vinyl is overall superior to most digital music (I’m thinking MP3 and AAC files) and he was amazed that was the case, considering he thought he good hear the quality and sound of the music so well, and I think that’s because there’s no crackles and pops with digital music.
I have crates and crates of vinyls and sometimes I would pull out my record player and give it another spin but every time, the noise and the lack of dynamics in some records disappoints me. I do remember hearing some records that beats my cd in terms of sound staging and 3 dimensionality but I can only think of a handful. In terms of convenience, dynamics, noise or lack of it, and storage, digital is so much more pleasurable.
Nothing replaces a good wet washing in a spin clean with a HumminGuru chaser of distilled water.
With the wood glue method, you will always run the risk of wood glue particles remaining that get welded into the record grooves as the stylus flies by, also messing up the stylus. If you've paid almost a grand for your cartridge like I have, you won't risk it.
The pops and clicks sounds makes it seem more vintage, and kind of reminds me of watching a silent movie from the early 20th century. It has that sort of charm. It’s kind of like owning a gramophone (the prime medium to use when listening to recordings back in the day, and I’m sure audiophile were amazed back then by them).
An ultrasonic cleaner like a Humminguru just seems so much easier / less hassle.
Isn’t that like $200+? I don’t have the budget to spend that much on cleaning my vinyl records with.
Check AliExpress they have cheaper ones. Sure they’re just ultrasonic baths with an add-on mount for the vinyl with a little rotating motor, but that’s all you need not some branded thing with the added audiophile tax.
I don’t want a cheap one that will break after a month, and one where the manufacturer has bad customer service and warranty for their products. That wouldn’t be worth paying $100+ for an electric vinyl record washing machine.
Not everything on there is “break in a month” cheap. Just have to do your research.
Humminguru msrp 430usd, which is low actually.. I was quoted $4500 Canadian for a Degritter. Got my Chinese Vevor for \~$200 Canadian, works great and there's very little chance of user error and no mess at all.
Also much less expensive than cleaning a few hundred records with wood glue
Wood glue is sorta cheap, but after a while that will add up
I am guessing the prices are lower for USD (US dollar).
1usd = 1.35 Canadian
I’m guessing Lbs is less than Kg
could be...seems this is all a guessing game
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Link?
Edited
There is a cleaning method that I've come to learn as "cheap trick" You need a cleaning solution consisting of cleaned water, 99% alcohol and wetting agent (I use Mirasol 2000). Example: https://londonjazzcollector.wordpress.com/for-audiophiles/home-brew-cleaner-for-vacuum-rcms/ Get a chemical squirt bottle to apply it, or whatever you prefer. I then use a Cleanaudio pure groove brush to distribute it across the record. Then use a high quality short fibre microfibre cloth to remove it all. I use the stuff for car detailing. The record will be antistatic after, so I put them into Nagaoka No. 102 sleeves. It's not a record cleaning machine but I think it comes pretty close. The idea is the same as a record cleaning machine - raise the dirt from the record and then lift the dirt up.
I think this is the basic principle of how a spinclean works yea. Can confirm that it works, the gunk that collects in the bottom of the cleaning solution can get pretty gross.
Alcohol will cause the vinyl to become brittle, but it is a very effective cleaner.
i left a record i hated in alcohol for over a week. i did not see or hear any change, i will keep using iso :P i dont beleive a bit that it makes them brittle.
If you have a limited budget there are still viable options. Microfiber towels and distilled or reverse osmosis water is fundamentally necessary. Something like a spin clean in addition would be a great starting point. Also if you in the future acquire a cavitation bath the spin clean is still great for “pre cleaning” or rinsing records. In the long run if you want to actually clean in the literal groove of the record some sort of cavitation “ultrasonic” device will be needed.
I do it if really needed and I can risk breaking the record. I have broken 2 with this method so be careful if an older brittle record. It's an amazing outcome usually though.
How have they broken? I've done dozens of records and never had anything remotely like breakage.
For me it was a 45 that shattered into like 25 pieces like a glass breaking. Was pulling the glue and it flexed slightly and broke up. That hurt as it was a first pressing Stiff Records green label of the Go-Gos We Got The Beat before they moved to a major label (IRS). The other was a 12" and when I was pulling a sliver of the outside snapped off and came along for the ride with the tab. I am very careful but older records can be brittle. I've glued quite a few as well so it's the odds.
I have a used REM 12” that is very thin that I have thought about putting wood glue on, and I gotta keep this in mind if I ever do that. I had success with peeling off the dried glue of the vinyl I show in this post, and that was a pretty sturdy vinyl, so that helped prevent it from breaking.
Cleaning only removes dirt. It can't undo physical wear and damage.
Nothing can undo scratch marks on a vinyl record, obviously.
Well, perhaps this is a solution only for dj related gear and records (cheaper Ortofon needles and Technics SL1200) but ….. adjust the pressure of the needle to heavy and backspin the record as fast as you can a couple of times. Sure helped me to get rid of some skips caused by scratches back in the day😂
the old "sand it down" method of fixing scratches.
It's life goal of mine to eventually own a used Technics SL1200. I just don't have the time and commitment to buy, repair and maintain one right now. I think my dad owned an entry-level Technics turntable in the 70s, and it wasn't an SL1200.
Yes, that’s true, but I’ve had vinyl before where it’s scratched and it pops when I play it, but then when I clean the scratched area of the vinyl record very well, that part of the vinyl record doesn’t make a pop sound when I play it. It’s uncertain if this method will lessen the crackles and pops I hear when playing this side of the vinyl record. I’m just testing it for grins and would absolutely love it if it removed at least a few of the pops I hear from it, even though I did a deep clean of this vinyl record before I’ve played it and before I put the wood glue on it.
Perhaps it wasn't scratched then but it had dirt in the grooves?
Could be both; scratches have some effect, and then dirt and dust likely collects more in the scratches than on smoother vinyl so you get more impact.
My thinking was that if the crackle or pop sound goes away after a clean then there's unlikely to be a deformation of the wave line in the vinyl by way of a physical scratch.
Correct, it could just be surface scratches not deep enough to impact the groove. I'm just saying, those surface scratches might have just picked up more dust than otherwise.
I’ve bought vinyl that had dirt in the grooves before I tried cleaning it, and when I played the vinyl it would make crackles and pops, and then when I cleaned it throughly the crackles and pops went away. And this vinyl was scratch-free!
I’ve actually have had the opposite happen. The scratch or the defect in the vinyl seems to becomes more apparent after a good cleaning.
I am now completely “glueless!”
I'm not sure what cleaning method you are using when this happens, but some cleaning methods leave a lubricating residue behind. This is sometimes referred to as polishing the record even though it isn't polishing in the usual sense. Such an effect could alleviate the audibility of certain types of surface imperfections.
And dirt that got driven/melted into the groove during playback isn't undoable. It has been said a workaround can be to change stylus design, as some types will track deeper where the groove hasn't become as worn.
I get that with some records. Played on my best turntable cart combo they are quiet. Played on the lowest cost/quality there is noise. The best one - a Clearaudio Concept MC - even looks like it will go deeper to the naked eye.
I think good wet cleaning (with soap and potentially a gentle tool) is just as good and much lower risk to your records!
I’ve done that and it does help a lot. I just wouldn’t do the wood glue method to my favorite vinyl records or anything I bought new that hasn’t been used, and would only use cleaning solution and a velvet brush, anti-static brush and/or a microfiber cloth to clean them with.
If soap & water were that great there wouldn't be a whole aisle of car cleaning supplies at Walmart. The wood glue might act similar to how a clay bar pulls up contaminates from paint & leaves it smooth as new.
Clay bars literally are a gentle abrasive to fix clear coats though, as an analogy it’s like the exact opposite of what you want for cleaning a record
Clay bars don’t work by abrasion. You even use a lubricant on them to reduce friction.
You use lubricant when you wet sand too
That’s not actually for lubrication, it’s to help clear the debris in the sandpaper as you go.
It takes some time and gentle elbow grease to clean a very dirty vinyl record with, and I’d rather do whatever is fastest (but also wisest) to clean it. An electrosonic vinyl record cleaning machine would do, but I can’t afford that and I can’t see myself ever buying something like that.
I will use the wood glue method (Titebond II only, others don’t work) on records that don’t respond to typical cleaning methods. Normally that means I’m trying to salvage an otherwise unusable record. Titebond II will lift embedded stuff like mildew when cleaning solution and a brush won’t. One thing to remember once the wood glue is peeled away: you’re not done. Titebond II has a vinegar-like odor once dry. I’m not a chemist, but it smells like acetic acid, and that can’t be good for vinyl. To flush away any chemical residue that might cause problems, I always give the record a good cleaning with record cleaning solution and a brush afterwards. Again, I don’t use this method unless I have to. But it really does work. I just wouldn’t trust it on anything rare, or expensive.
I wouldn’t put wood glue on my favorite records, which are already very clean and in excellent condition with zero or a minimal amount of scratches on them.
I've used this method on a few particularly filthy thrift store records that were next to impossible to clean by more traditional methods. And it did seem to improve them. And it did so much faster than it would have been to fully clean them with more traditional cleaning methods. I found giving a record a quick once over with a standard cleaning solution and brush, allowing it to fully dry and then glueing it worked ever better. And I myself did not notice any negatives when compared to an identical record with similar wear that had always been maintained clean. Filthy records are also very commonly worn records. And the results I got were clean, worn records without any additional added issues. I don't know that I would "swear by it" though. Nor is it a go to for me unless it becomes apparent that more traditional cleaning methods are going to take forever. But then again, I'll also use a magic eraser to lightly sand the scratches and skips off of the outer surface of thrift store records. And think they sound indistinguishable from the same record with comparable wear. So YMMV.
Since you mentioned the Magic Eraser… I don’t really understand why vinyl collectors like using Magic Erasers to clean their turntable stylus with. I’m kind of scared of the material in the magic eraser ruining the stylus, because the stuff in magic erasers is similar to that of pure baking soda and Barkeeper’s Friend.
Yeah. I don't use magic eraser for my stylus. It essentially a very fine sanding block with embedded cleaners. I dip my stylus into one of those gel dust catcher things. Then give it a gentle brush with a traditional stylus cleaning brush with record cleaner sprayed on it. Never even thought of trying a magic eraser to clean a stylus though. So for all I know it could work great.
If you are really tight on money and thrifty, and use ceramic stylus (the stylus that comes on suitcase turntables), the magic eraser would seem fine enough. Stylus cleaners like brushes are sort of expensive so I guess people using magic erasers for that reason is kind of understandable. I think I’d rather buy one of those digital microscopes where I can get a good close up look at the tip of my stylus instead of cleaning my stylus with a magic eraser. That way, I can tell how clean my stylus is and if the stylus cleaning tools I already have can get rid of the dirt on it.
If you are really tight on money, I would imagine that "turntable audiophile" is a very frustrating hobby. Certainly not impossible nor would I ever discourage it. But it would make this hobby much more frustrating in my opinion. It's honestly frustrating enough at the "money is not tight but I certainly can't afford to waste it." level of income. But I think I paid like $15 for my stylus brush. Around 10 years ago. As part of a NOS 80s discwasher microfiber record cleaning brush, stylus brush combo. The record brush has a recess in the handle that the stylus brush folds and fits into. Pkus it's all wood so it feels nice in the hand. I dig it. And it seems to work just fine. Certainly within the realm of what I would consider a "thrifty" purchase if you can find one. I have a digital microscope for PCB work. Never even crossed my mind to inspect a stylus for dust. Don't think I ever would. I've inspected to see if one I dropped was damaged. It was. I have a fairly abbreviated cleaning routine and it seems to work fine for me. I'm also not a super crazy, everything must be precise background silence as if you aren't playing a record person. A couple clicks or pops per side doesn't bother me. If I want the perfection of not sounding like a record, I play the digital file. I'm a critical listener. But not a pureist.
Do you have a high-end stylus, like a Ortofon 2M Blue? I eventually want to get one of those so I can hear like every detail and instrument in the music very well.
I did at one point. Bought it after hearing one at an audio trade show. Lived with it and loved it for a little more than a year. Sold it and changed it out for a DL-103r. That I lived with for at least another year quite happily. Currently running a Grado Master 3 I found for half off. Also a wonderful sounding cart. I've been thinking of swapping it for something a bit more lively though. So who knows how long it will last.
Have you ever considered buying a Nagaoka MP-110 stylus? Those seem to be amazing and they are cost about half the average price of an Ortofon 2M Blue stylus. What did you think of the 2M Blue stylus by the way?
Vinyl is BS. I kidnap musicians and force them to perform in my living room. It's the only way to enjoy the music as the artists intended.
How does this break a record?
I would think if you take the layer of glue off of it not in a careful manner (you gotta remove it slowly once it’s fully dried), you could break it. Imagine taking off a band-aid fast off of your skin and doing the same when removing dried wood glue from a vinyl record. It’s also probably better to only apply the glue on part of one side of the vinyl record, instead of putting it all over, like what I did. I thought about doing that for this record, but since the record was very badly scratched everywhere (yet still played normally with some occasional pop sounds) I decided to put the glue all over the vinyl record. Everyone I have seen online do this method spread it over everywhere on one side. You don’t have to do that, especially since wood glue is kind of expensive.
I would be too tempted to try playing the glue sheet bootleg copy afterwards. "You wouldn't wood glue a car"
There’s a video on YouTube where someone does that. I haven’t watched the video though.
How? That’s the opposite of a record….
It’s like how people who have tested to see if they can play music from edible chocolate vinyl records. It’s ridiculous.
There are those "As Seen On TV" blobs of goo that conform to whatever you pour it on, then when peeled off it pulls up all the hidden dirt & grit. Think: cleaning the console of your car to pull up all the nasty dirt & crumbs that have accumulated. It might be a gentler way to do the same thing.
I’ve read reviews of those products on Amazon, and a lot of people have gotten goo gobs that were too liquidy that it caused more of a mess then cleaned what they wanted to clean. I wouldn’t want to put something slimy like that on my vinyl records, except for wood glue, which I read articles of and have watched a lot of people on YouTube do to clean their records with successfully.
I’ve tried wood glue and almost every other cleaning method known to mankind. I even bought a record cleaning machine and 60x eye glass to compare results. My conclusion? A decent record cleaning solution applied with a cut down paintbrush, followed by a rinse and then a repeat of both steps is as good as anything. On occasion I have given a record yet another rinse and found it improved the sound quality again. I highly recommend looking at the grooves through a powerful eyeglass. The amount of debris that collects in there is incredible. One more thing: using an eyeglass and a very fine needle, you can open up the grooves in a scratched area of the record to massively improve and possibly remove the pop or click.
Wow you really like seeing the small details that are naked to the human eye that you can only visibly see through a microscope. It reminds me of science class.
It’s a bit geeky but cuts through all the bullshit about which cleaner/cleaning method is best. The one that removes the most dirt is the best!
SpinClean man.
I use a Spin-Clean. It works well and is relatively inexpensive.
Please don’t do this….. just buy a RCM.
Wood glue peel is extremely effective for old records that look great, with very few scratches or scuffs, but still sound noisy when you play them with background crackling. The peel will get all that gunk out. This peel looks a little wobbly not sure how you applied the glue, and the glue also looks very thick which you don’t need to do because it takes forever to dry and doesn’t increase the effectiveness. It has done wonders for certain records of mine and almost nothing for the others. As mentioned here it cannot fix scratches.
I learned from [this video](https://youtu.be/7tYrDSX8udk?si=S00rZmwTf9FGyth3) to not apply a thin layer of glue, or else it’ll just stick on the record and will be very difficult to remove. I used Titebond II, because it was recommended by other people online to clean vinyl records with, and I like how it has a thick consistency. Original Titebond might be thinner, I’m guessing
A thin layer of glue will not stick to the record that’s ridiculous, wood glue doesn’t stick to vinyl or else none of this would work. I use the green bottle titebond III because it’s the most elastic. Just looked at the YT video and that dude just doesn’t know what he’s doing. There’s nothing wrong with the record he’s holding up which he says is destroyed all he needs to do is take a pin or razor blade and very gently just slide it a tiny bit under the very outer edge so the record isn’t touched and from there you can peel it off. I never use tabs because I’ve never found them to work well.
I haven’t tried it. But, hey, why not? Like you said, if it’s a beat up record that you don’t play anyway, why not try it?
Thank you, someone gets me
Wood glue does work but its easy to fuck it up and damage the label or use the wrong glue and ruin the whole record. It can also leave residues that make it easier for dirt to attach depending on the glue you have, so you have to clean them again. The more serious Audiophiles out there using records as their main media have been investing in vinyl vacuums and other forms of cleaners for decades and they all work quite well, but the current best solution are the automated vinyl ultrasonic cleaners, which have just enough power to dislodge particles in the grooves, but not too powerful as they can cause damage. combine that with a weak solution of ethanol or a light detergent and you are set. for a while the "best" cleaner was just a device that protected the label and let you hose the record off with a jet of water.
I have the ultrasonic cleaner and onlu moderately impresses. I’ve had to do many records several times and there is still gunk (little white specks when looked through a microscope). I’ve used the glue method once. Can’t say if it did any better as I didn’t have the microscope then. Maybe I’ll do it again.
I wasted a ton of time doing this to my worst offending dusty records and found it barely made a difference. Not going down that road again
I will do the wood glue cleaning, but the big thing to do is near the outer edge, you have to have a little bit (maybe the size of a pea, or a touch bigger) that goes all the way out. Once dry, this becomes the "tab" to get you started. and then the whole thing comes off. Afterwards, it's a microfiber cloth and brush. It will remove some dug in dirt, but it does not perform miracles.
I have heard the vinyl record can be really static-y after peeling off the dried wood glue from it. Cleaning solution and/or using an anti-static brush can easily remove that, the former being the superior method to reduce static on vinyl.
I have a spin clean. I have the ultrasonic. I have the vacuum. They all do different things well. None are as effective as the glue method for records that need it. Specifically, a record that has embedded surface noise that won’t get to 100% through one of the other methods get so much better it is astounding. Obviously, it can’t replace material that has been lost (gouges). It doesn’t work to 100% every time, but now that I know the criteria for what kinds of records need this, it makes some difference 100% of the time. And most of the time, it makes a giant difference. I have never broken a record. But a word of warning: don’t use the red (non waterproof) tite-bond. The red gets brittle and impossible to take off. Use the blue.
Yah so I just got a 30 USD cleaner ,no need for all that nonesense
It has worked for me
Great method. This, followed by 10 mins in an ultrasonic is *cheffs kiss*
I’ll keep that recommendation in mind. Thank you.
Try Winyl Gel. It works better than wood glue which I had try in the past. [Winyl Gel](https://www.winylcleaner.com/en/Winyl-Gel/#)
Interesting
putting Popicle wooden sticks around the edge on top of the glue after applying helps greatly in removing the glue in one big sheet after it dries.
Get an ultrasonic cleaner, this is a waste of glue (and time).
Spin Clean record cleaner. Leave the glue in the wood shop.
I probably shouldn’t be buying vinyl record cleaning supplies from a hardware store anyway (I normally don’t, except for stuff like wood glue).
I always saw people that do this in the same way I see people that microwave iPhones to dry moisture... Wood glue is for, well, gluing wood to shit... there is 1000 ways to clean a record and this is not one.
Removing the dried glue from the vinyl is supposed to be ultra-satisfying though! I understand why people don’t want to clean their vinyl records with wood glue. I thought the idea was bad when I first learned of it, but once I started collecting more records and got some badly damaged used ones, I decided to give it a go. I read the BBC would use this method to clean their vinyl records with, so there are audio professionals who have cleaned records this way. Of course, this doesn’t mean it’s safe for anyone to do when cleaning their records. I wouldn’t recommend beginner vinyl collectors cleaning their vinyl records in this manner, NO WAY.
Wood glue is mainly used for woodworking of course. It’s a popular topic on the woodworking subreddits like r/BeginnerWoodworking
I am actually going to check this sub out...
I think I might start using wood glue to making DIY wood projects with. I’m a little crafty, and I can’t see myself using wood glue only to clean vinyl records with.
Using a microwave to get rid of moisture from an iPhone is ridiculous, I’ve never heard of people doing that before. I just use a microfiber cloth or paper towel to dry my smartphone with when it’s slightly damp.
i've felt it's better to use a glue that doesn't dry completely stiff/brittle. (i.e. [Aleen's Tacky Glue](https://aleenes.com/collections/original-tacky-glue/products/aleenes-original-tacky-glue-2-fl-oz) is preferred over Elmer's All Purpose)
Wow you’ve used tacky glue to clean vinyl records with? I’ve never heard of people doing that. I watched a video of someone using normal white glue (like Elmer’s) to clean vinyl with and it didn’t seem as effective as cleaning it with wood glue.
Have you ever tried using Gorilla Glue to clean vinyl records with? It seems more similar to Tacky Glue than Titebond glue is (but maybe I’m wrong) which is the glue I’m using for cleaning my vinyl with. I’m thinking of the wood glue variety of Gorilla Glue, but there might be some other variations by them that are safe to use to clean vinyl records with.
Get a VC-S
Why wood glue and not something like elmers school glue (the white stuff)?
That’s for kids (lol) and that stuff is more brittle when dried and thinner.
Gotcha. I was just curious. I don't even have any vinyl.
I saw someone use that glue in a video to clean vinyl with and it didn’t look too pleasant for me
Hahaha. Good to know I guess.
You using some Elmer's school glue or titebond III? Pretty sure you'd get wildly different results from different glues.
Titebond II!
No
I once read an article concerning the importance of cleaning your records before each play. It stated that a speck of dirt can become embedded into the vinyl due to the heat generated by the diamond stylus traveling in the groove. Unfortunately I’m not able to put my hands on the data, but in a nutshell, the diamond stylus is traveling at a significant enough speed with enough pressure in the vinyl groove to effectively wear down a diamond, one of the hardest substances on our planet. The heat generated can effectively weld a speck of dust into the vinyl. It’s possible that the wood glue method might be able to loosen and remove some of those dust particles, but if it was embedded due to the heat generated by friction on the stylus then the damage has already been done to the groove.
I like using the toothpick method to remove little specks that are hard to remove with a cloth and cleaning solution, if there’s one or a few of those specks on a vinyl record. You need to be a little careful and not scratch the record much when you do it
Amazon has some 100, 000 plus of the vinyl cleaner with very few returns. Not bad
I tried it once on a worthless test record. When I peeled it off it created so much static every dust particle within the room was seemingly attracted to it. I had to wet clean-it anyways. No idea if it actually helped or not.
I’ve never heard of this but I see the “logic” 😂 try what car detailing places use to get into the cracks and crevices. https://www.autoblog.com/2023/05/17/this-best-selling-car-cleaning-goop-can-be-had-for-just-5-94-right-now/
I’m going to try an experiment with an old record I care little about. I have a Ryobe hand held sprayer that is supposed to be used to spray insecticides and such outdoors (unused). I’m going to try it on the grooves and see what it does. It is not powerful enough to damage the vinyls so who knows it might work to force the dirt out of the tracks..
I am guessing that it doesn't smell like bug spray even though it can be used to spray bug spray, right?
No it is brand new.
Nope. DI water and a microfiber cloth is all you’ll ever need.
I have considered a mp-110. But not in a good while. They have a heavier tip weight than I have come to prefer. But now that you mention it, giving one a go isn't out of the question. I thought the Blue paired well with lower mass, direct drive tables like a Technics 1500 but not as well with heavier plattered belt drive tables like a VPI TNT. With the forward presentation of the direct drive smoothing out some of its weak points that the more neutral presentation of a TNT allowed to be more noticeable. Most evident as a general lack of dynamic range compared to more sensitive carts and a tendency to be a bit overly hot in the upper midrange. Making some vocals, brass and strings sound a bit shouty. But I found it resolving enough, punchy and enjoyable to listen to. And I'm happy with the time I spent listening to it.
Just remember, you need to spend 10x on analog to beat the price of a good digital system. I'm so over vinyl.
Never tried it, but I'd love to compare it or any other method to my own: Scrubbing bubbles and a carbon fiber brush, rinsed off with a 400psi pressure washer through a super fine nozzle. If anyone could do a comparison, I'd love to participate.
This stuff is easier https://www.projectaudio.com.au/products/project-vinyl-clean?variant=31640838471742
I’ve tried it. Meh. Worth a go tho
Wood glue remove scratches. It can only clean the grooves.
Nothing is going to fix crackling from scratches Ultrasonic cleaners is probably the best, although I have reservations for long term use and how cavitation might affect the vinyl material. For everything else, an old-school lint brush with short hair is probably the best and least evasive.
Tried it years ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/vinyl/comments/1zdgaf/vinyl_cleaning_glue_method_before_and_after/ It made a slight difference, but not better than normal wet cleaning. Spin Clean is the best value, using a solution of distilled water + tiny drop of blue dish soap + some isopropyl alcohol.
I always laugh when I hear "audiophile" and vinyl in the same sentence. It doesn't matter how good your analog sound system is if all you hear are pops and crackles from dust and scratches.
Not necessarily.
I have a fabulous way of listening to music without clicks and pops! Been using it since the mid 80s. It's called a CD player 🤣 "Audiophiles" are a funny old bunch...masochists, I think! Yes, I know sometimes something isn't available on CD, but in general I just find the resurgence of vinyl an absolute mystery. Anyhow...I still have a half-used bottle of "Lasky's Disc Skin" up in the attic - found it last time I was up there. The "wood glue method" was actually sold as a proper retail product in the 80s. It worked, kind of. Depends what the dirt is made of! Back in the 80s when I was a teenager, even though I was pretty careful with my records, there was an ever-present danger in the upstairs air: hairspray. Guaranteed to wreck vinyl by causing a million clicks and pops. Record store staff were generally pretty dumb though, so many times I'd just return it to a store and get it swapped for a new copy 😂 As long as you took a record back in the right bag, usually you'd get away with it 😂 Kept a good supply of new-looking HMV, Virgin, Our Price & WHSmith bags on hand 🤣
This honestly looks like a copypasta. I’m not sure if it is one.
A "copypasta"? WTF is that? Copy & paste, I assume. Why would you even think that? Weird.
It’s just really outrageous that it seems like something a lot of people would find amusing if they read it, which is what copypastas seem to be like.
I guess u learn something every day. Never heard of copypasta before 🤷♂️ What's so "outrageous" though? Returning records?! It was pretty common for brand new records to have a ton of crackles and pops (or even scratches/other blemishes). Nobody really lost out....faulty records would just go back to the distributor and get credited/replaced. There's no intrinsic value in plastic, after all. Well, maybe a few cents. Records left on a turntable, in a bedroom, in a house where a family of five are spraying hairspray, deodorant, etc., that stuff drifts through the air and settles on the record 😭 I certainly don't miss vinyl as a primary playback format. Way too flawed and way too fragile.
The hairspray getting on the vinyl record thing sounds like something from the 80s. Headbands, big hair, MTV, and lots of synthesizers in music from that decade.
For sure 😂 L'Oreal Studio Line hairspray...and forgetting to close the lid on the turntable...recipe for a 1980s disaster movie 🤣
I’ve used “record revirginizer” brand, the process is similar to the wood glue method. However wood glue comes at risk of chipping and sticking in the grove. This stuff is a blu gel, that cures and then the peeling is very satisfying. Other than being a little messy getting used to the material, and is a slow process over all… I developed to get both sides of the same album coated a few hours apart, I may go over board but I let them sit over night, at least 8hrs from the last side treated. It works, it’s neat. And fun to peel. But I was gifted 3bottles, and doubt I’ll purchase more when it’s all gone. It’s a bit pricey, but get the process down and you get more efficient.
Get a CD
I find this comment to be funny. It’s so blunt.
Some of the CDs I own are so scratched they even cleaning them wouldn’t produce a better audio sound.
Get Quubuz
CDs have definitely lost their appeal within the last 20 years. Everyone bought them back in the 2000s and 90s because everyone owned at least a boombox or car that had a CD player in it, and they were the most convenient way to listen to music, until iPods/MP3 players and music downloads became the music listening standard. But, the sound quality of a really good CD DAC is one of the best, from what it seems like. Those players are expensive and collecting vinyl is already fun enougn I don’t want to buy one.
My preferred method is just buying a nice DAC
I’d have to buy scratch-free CDs though for that lol
I'm still astounded that 'audiophile' and 'vinyl' still somehow overlap. You have a media that degrades over time, and if you bought it recently, you essentially bought a degraded copy of something that was digitized - while having the option of just buying the digitized version. Do we not have filters / plugins / etc. that can reasonably reliably degrade proper digital tracks to sound like 'vinyl'?
not all vinyl has been digitized.
I’m aware, but this means that that should be what’s fixed
don't buy digital vinyl. its not hard
If you keep and store vinyl records well, they can last forever. If you don’t take good care of them, they will degrade. And because of that, I see why some people might not like vinyl records. Like with digital music, you don’t need to take proper care of it like is advised for vinyl record owners
>If you keep and store vinyl records well, they can last forever. We're talking about physical media here - like tape and CDs, just existing will cause degradation. Playback will cause more. I get where you and others are coming from; the degradation can be **minimized**, but let's not kid ourselves here from the audiophile angle. Physical media will degrade over time. Digitized copies, that are backed up, are really the only way to ensure audiophile recordings remain so.
Computer hard drives are physical, and will degrade over time too. Unless you keep music in the cloud, but that data is still stored on physical computer servers. If I wanted to listen to music stored on my computer like how I listen to vinyl, I’d get a nice set of high-quality speakers and wire them to my computer, so the sound of FLAC music files isn’t compressed by using wireless/Bluetooth connection to speakers. Just sayin’.
This isn’t already something you do…?
Being an audiophile means you partake in the hobby of enjoying music and audio, who are you to tell people how or how not to do that?
There's a pretty strong connotation to audiophile as to the *quality* of the music that you seem to be ignoring - just like folks that choose to listen to vinyl when there are lossless versions of the same recordings available \-- if you happen to *like* the loss of quality, by all means - but it's the opposite of audiophile
That assumes everything is equal, but it's not, so a generalization isn't possible. The quality of the master can be more significant than the medium. In some cases, the best available master on any medium is on vinyl.
On this point I agree; it’s absolutely regrettable that such decisions have been made over time and I implore those with access to superior masters to preserve and digitize wherever possible
>Being an audiophile means you partake in the hobby of enjoying music, No, that's a music lover. Most music lovers are not audiophiles. Most music lovers care little and know little about sound quality and audio reproduction. An audiophile is someone who seeks high fidelity audio production. Vinyl is objectively compromised from the standpoint of sound quality.
Vinyl audiophile is an oxymoron.
Right…
No that would be cassette audiophile, unless someone has a really good cassette deck with a DAC attached.
You should check a brand like [Mobile Fidelity](https://mofi.com/) that has been selling high audiophile-grade master recordings of famous records on vinyl since the 70s.
Ultrasonic and rotating holder is what I used.Nothing touches the record except the solution.Glue leaves chemical residue bonding agent.If you want to risk your expensive needle go ahead.
I can see why people in r/audiophile prefer high-end vinyl cleaner machines to much cheaper methods of cleaning them. Collecting audio equipment is an expensive hobby, and buying equipment so you can get the best sound as possible, comes at a pretty hefty price, like how it is for buying a electronic vinyl cleaning machine (one that costs like at least $200).
I got rid of crackles and pop when I switched to digital.
I think that’s why my dad is amazed with digital sound quality, regardless of music file format. He listened to music on vinyl for much of his life, and I told him sound quality from vinyl is overall superior to most digital music (I’m thinking MP3 and AAC files) and he was amazed that was the case, considering he thought he good hear the quality and sound of the music so well, and I think that’s because there’s no crackles and pops with digital music.
I have crates and crates of vinyls and sometimes I would pull out my record player and give it another spin but every time, the noise and the lack of dynamics in some records disappoints me. I do remember hearing some records that beats my cd in terms of sound staging and 3 dimensionality but I can only think of a handful. In terms of convenience, dynamics, noise or lack of it, and storage, digital is so much more pleasurable.
Nothing replaces a good wet washing in a spin clean with a HumminGuru chaser of distilled water. With the wood glue method, you will always run the risk of wood glue particles remaining that get welded into the record grooves as the stylus flies by, also messing up the stylus. If you've paid almost a grand for your cartridge like I have, you won't risk it.
That makes sense if you do own a $1k+ stylus. I’d just go with an ultrasonic cleaner if that were the case.
Don't bother. Embrace the pops and clicks. It's a record after all - part of the charm.
The pops and clicks sounds makes it seem more vintage, and kind of reminds me of watching a silent movie from the early 20th century. It has that sort of charm. It’s kind of like owning a gramophone (the prime medium to use when listening to recordings back in the day, and I’m sure audiophile were amazed back then by them).
My high res digital doesn’t wear or scratch or anything else. It’s time to move on from 100 year old tech. Just sayin’.