Need help with record cleaning.

[bturk667]

I am finally in the market for a record cleaning machine. I am considering Nitty Gritty. More specifically the Record Doctor II, offered through Audio Advisor. Funds are limited, when are they not? So does anybody like or dislike Nitty Gritty products? Are there any other record cleaning machines out there that are better? I'm trying to keep the purchase price as close to $300 as possible.

Thanks for the help, it is greatly appreciated!

[92135011]

Seriously, I have no idea why these cleaners are so expensive!
sure they have a vacuum that sucks away dust that normally cant be rid by brush, but look at it this way...you can buy a vacuum to clean your house with 200-300 bux. I cant imagine that the little nitty gritty costs more to make than a regular vacuum cleaner.
Seriously I think they are a ripoff, but required for proper cleaning of heavily used records.

This leads me to the next question...making it yourself possible?

[DMK]

I am finally in the market for a record cleaning machine. I am considering Nitty Gritty. More specifically the Record Doctor II, offered through Audio Advisor. Funds are limited, when are they not? So does anybody like or dislike Nitty Gritty products? Are there any other record cleaning machines out there that are better? I'm trying to keep the purchase price as close to $300 as possible.

Thanks for the help, it is greatly appreciated!

Oh wait, my bad! You weren't asking for help on actually cleaning them. Ok, the Record Doctor was my first cleaner. It blew a motor within two months. Audio Advisor, nice chaps that they are, replaced it for free. I used it for close to a year with no more problems but then decided my laziness was taking over so I bought the Nitty Gritty Mini-Pro which does both sides at once (turn the LP over if you want to clean in both directions, again at once!). My Mini-Pro is now on its 5th year with absolutely no problems and gives me superior cleaning. I prefer it over the VPI models as the NG has no platter to soil a just cleaned record. Only the velvet "lips" of the cleaner (the part that vacuums and the part that cleans) comes in contact with the record. Oh, and I think the Doc is only $200.

I do NOT recommend you throw an incredibly dirty record on ANY vacuum cleaner. For the really grungy ones, you'll need a pre-cleaning. May I recommend LAST Power Cleaner? It does a great job at loosening the grunge, just a crappy job at removing it. But it brings it to the surface and the vacuum takes it off.

I don't want to say my LP's are the cleanest and clearest in the world. But if everyone that feels that surface noise is the biggest problem with vinyl could hear my LP's using this cleaning regimen, most of them would find something else to ***** about!

[bturk667]

I did make it sound like I was looking to clean other peoples recordes, didn't I? Nice pick up!

Do you feel the Mini-Pro is worth the extra cash? I mean, does it clean better, or is it just easier to use?

I was going to either use the Last Power Cleaner, or the Allsop Orbitrac 2 (which I presently own) to pre-clean my really grungy ones.

[DMK]

I did make it sound like I was looking to clean other peoples recordes, didn't I? Nice pick up!

Do you feel the Mini-Pro is worth the extra cash? I mean, does it clean better, or is it just easier to use?

I was going to either use the Last Power Cleaner, or the Allsop Orbitrac 2 (which I presently own) to pre-clean my really grungy ones.

Dang, I like this guy! Tell you why later. But I still ain't gonna clean your records and don't ask me no questions about cables, neither! :)

Is the Mini-Pro worth the extra cash? Wow, tough question! It doesn't literally clean records better than the Record Doctor but the fact that's it's easier to use and faster means that you're more likely NOT to sit down for a listening session and say "Man, I don't wanna go through this hassle". In other words, less cleaning time means more listening and makes record cleaning seem less like washing windows. But if you're asking if it somehow picks up more dirt, I'd have to say no, although my answer is based on memory rather than a direct record-by-record comparison. Nitty Gritty may well tell you something different.

I use both the LAST and the Orbitrac. Sheesh, you're good! However, I don't use the Orbitrac as a pre-cleaner on the really dirty ones. I pre-clean all my records, extremely dirty or seemingly clean, before I vacuum. This gives the velvet lips of the NG a longer life. I never "just vacuum" any of them. Which of the LAST or Orbitrac I use depends on how grungy the LP is. If it's a thrift store find and looks like it's never been cleaned, I use the LAST. If it's less dirty, the Orbitrac. I've found that the Orbitrac isn't much use on the dirtiest of records. And you CAN simply vacuum even the dirtiest of records but you'll have to replace the vac's velvet lips more often - MUCH more often. but you won't go to Record Cleaning Jail or ruin your LP's or get a stroke or anything.

BTW, I also use Gruv-Glide preservative whenever there's a lot of static buildup after cleaning. Finally, a stylus cleaner and a dry brush. Yeah, vinyl's a hassle but it sounds better than CD. So to sum up:

Very dirty record - LAST power cleaner and vacuum. Gruv-Glide.
Less dirty record - Orbitrac and vacuum. Gruv-Glide.
Records I've cleaned before - Orbitrac, vacuum and Gruv-Glide once every 10 plays or so.
Stylus cleaner every 10 LP's.
Dry record brush on every LP side, all the time. No cartridge hits the vinyl without a dry sweep. Takes 3 seconds.

Happy cleaning and happy listening!

[bturk667]

I own two dry record cleaning brushes; the Hunt Brush and the Decca 2+2. I dry sweep each side before and after listening. Have you ever tried the Zerostat from Milty (Discwasher) as a way to remove static? As a stylus cleaner I use a combination of Last Stylus Cleaner 4, and Extreme Phono Solid State Stylus Cleaner. I sometimes use the Last Stylus cleaner after I listen to each side of a record. Making sure to just wet the brush and then gently brush the stylus tip from back to front. Otherwise I use the Extreme Phono about every three or four records.

The only thing about vinyl that I believe is a hassel is the dust and dirt. Other than that I love the manual nature of it. Oh, and the sound is much more appealing to me than that of CD's.

DMK, thank you for all your help; It is greatly appreciated!