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Record cleaning machines and prices

171.69.185.212
Posted on March 10, 1999 at 10:38:45
ken m


 

Hi all,

I'm now starting to move on building an analog playback system. Everybody recommends buying a cleaning machine. The best deal I have found so far is the VPI HW 16.5 for $390 from Galen Carol. Can somebody recommend anything better?

TIA,

-ken

 

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Re: Record cleaning machines and prices, posted on March 10, 1999 at 11:06:48
Oakroot


 
This is an awfully good deal - if the machine is new and not a demo. Very good machine that does a good job of cleaning your LP's. Do you get any cleaning fluid with it?

 

Don't know about cleaning fluid, posted on March 10, 1999 at 11:17:17
ken


 

I haven't spoken with Galen yet. I just noticed this on his "Steals" page. So, I should order it as soon as possible??

Regards,

-ken

 

Re: Don't know about cleaning fluid, posted on March 10, 1999 at 11:40:50
Jeff B


 
I've seen this price for a while. His prices are great and his service is excellent. You're not going to beat that price for a new one.

I have a Record Doctor from Audio Advisor. It's really a stripped down Nitty Gritty 1.0. It, too, works extremely well, but you do all the turning yourself. The price is $170 and you can buy alot of records for what you save on the VPI. If you have the money, go right ahead and get the VPI. It's certainly an excellent machine.

 

Re: Don't know about cleaning fluid, posted on March 10, 1999 at 13:34:48
Vinyl Junkie


 
I've noticed that the fully manual record cleaners work the best. I have
had records cleaned on the VPI's and the automatic Nitty Gritty's and they
do not do as good as of a job. I can hear the difference when I play them.
I have also cleanned those same records (again) on my fully manual Nitty
Gritty Model One, and this did improve the sound.

The reason why manual machines work better is that you can scrub the
record with a brush and vacuum it dry more thoroughly. The automatic
machines quickly goes through the motions and does not take much time
to do so.

Since I've bought my Nitty Gritty, the company has made some changes
to their products. Before they used teflon across the vacuum pick ups
of their manual machines. You'd turn the record once and it would be dry,
but sometimes it would leave scuff marks on the record. Now they use some
kind of a cloth material on the pick ups. They recommend three turns when
drying. What I found is that you have to turn it pretty slow and about two times, so that most of the liquid is sucked out of the cloth. Otherwise it
will leave some residue on the record. I brush the crap that builds up on
the cloth after each time I dry a side of a record.

After a while, you get use to the routine. I put some wax papar down on
the top of the table, then put the record on top of the wax paper. Sparing
apply enough fluid to do the job. Scrub it with the brush. Which is another
thing Nitty Gritty changed. They switch from a brush with Nylon Bristles
to a Cloth Padded Brush. This, to put it kindly, royally sucks. I've asked
Nitty Gritty to bring back the old brush and they said sorry. May be they
need some peer pressure.

As far as Record Cleaning Fluids:
Nitty Gritty II (alcohol Based), works okay.
Torumat (non-alcohol Based), works better.
Record Research (non-alcohol Base), works even better.

You can here the difference.

 

Thanks. That was useful., posted on March 10, 1999 at 15:19:02
Jeff B


 
...

 

I concur, posted on March 10, 1999 at 15:38:46
Steve


 
I used a manual Nitty Gritty II with the nylon brush and it did a better job of cleaning than my current machine, the VPI-17F, when used as directed. But because of the nerve damage in my hands (due to diabetes), I had to go with an automatic machine to be able to tackle more than five cleanings at one time. I now use the VPI to rotate the records, both forward and reverse, but use the additional Nitty Gritty nylon brush on the record, scrubbing back and forth while the record rotates (as long as my hand holds out). I do not recommend Nitty Gritty Purifier II fluid, as I think it adds a glare to the upper mids/lower treble. I make fluid using Genie-in-a-bottle concentrate (one bottle makes 60 gallons) mixed with 25% isopropanol/water, as recommended by Elliot Kallen of the Tweak Shop (email him at eektweak@wco.com). And Genie has no Photoflo, hooray!

 

Manual vs. automatic, your opinion, posted on March 10, 1999 at 16:21:56
ken m


 

Well, we have 2 votes for manual cleaners and total silence for automatic cleaners. Please put in your opinion. Is the VPI HW 16.5 $200 (or any for that matter) better than the Record Doctor?

-ken

 

Re: Manual vs. automatic, your opinion, posted on March 11, 1999 at 05:22:25
Jack G


 
IMo yes. You can apply much more force on the records with the 16.5. This isn't always mandatory, but sometimes it is-I've bought LPs used that really NEEDED serious elbow grease to get clean.
Also get the concentrated VPI cleaner, and put it in 25% isopropanol.
Jack

 

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