I swear by the Gem Dandy system by George Merrill. It can be built for around $20 and works better than any vacuum system I've tried. The one he sells is around $140, still way cheaper than the VPI.

endofanera wrote:enframed wrote:Is there a really noticeable difference in sound between using a machine and using fluid and a brush? On new records? Used?Yes. I got a Nitty Gritty a couple years back and the difference was significant, albeit as one would expect much more noticeable on older used records than on new records. The machine rescued a few records that I thought were dirtied beyond being playable when I was cleaning them with a brush.To add/make-clear:The vacuum basically sucks the shit out of the grooves whereas merely wiping or rubbing with a brush or what-have-you only can remove so much... while possibly pushing some "dirt" deeper into the grooves.

I've got one of those eltronic jewelry cleaners that works pretty good for 7 records. You fill it with part alcohol part distilled water with a drop of detergent and set it off for a few minutes whilst slowly turning the record. It's just big enough to get in one side of a single up to the label.Basically send sound waves through the liquid to knock the dirt off without being too mechanically harsh on the vinyl, pretty good results for the sub 20 or so it cost me. I've taken a really rinsed G grade record to about VG/VG+ before with a lot of work, and took a dirty VG- to about Ex grade. If it's just dirt on the record and it's not too greasy, this thing should cut it.

There is a thread in GD I believe that covers the construction of one with links.I had a VPI 16.5 that I sold after building this and trying it out.

etch wrote:I swear by the Gem Dandy system by George Merrill. It can be built for around $20 and works better than any vacuum system I've tried. The one he sells is around $140, still way cheaper than the VPI.whoa. I'm going to have to check that out.

Whoa, the wood glue trick really works.I did a test on a scratchy junk copy of 'Tusk', it cleaned the hell out of it.I didn't use quite enough glue, I guess you really gotta get a pancake of glue on there. The piece that peeled off looked like a perfect copy of the grooves, maybe you could play it.I'll take photos next time.- Robin

I run filthy records under lots of warmish tap water. Shake off the water, dry the label, dry off the platter with a really old linen dish towel (without much lint) ... it's like nite and day.If the water is just warm enough the platter is dry before you get back to the turntable.Not audiophile approved.

ptay wrote:I run filthy records under lots of warmish tap water. Shake off the water, dry the label, dry off the platter with a really old linen dish towel (without much lint) ... it's like nite and day.If the water is just warm enough the platter is dry before you get back to the turntable.Not audiophile approved.I would not recommend doing this with older records, in particular old Blue Note pressings. Many of those older records have label ink that will run or fade under water. I've seen more than one old Blue Note get a smudged label from careless fluid application (water and other substances) during cleaning.

Best method I've found for cleaning records is to steam clean them. Sounds crazy, but it works very well. Here's a thread I found a while back that piqued my interest (warning: major audiophile cockfighting ensues).http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1192142257&openflup&22&4#22Check out this guy's method. It's extreme and probably just a LITTLE over the top.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6OjtKUZ048