Cleaning vinyl - made zero difference

[d0dja]

I did a vinyl laundry day yesterday - and for interest recorded an album (Waterboys' Fishermans Blues) before each stage to compare. I was surprised and disappointed to see there was little or no improvement. Cleaning with the brush removed some of the bigger pops, but surface noise stayed about the same.

The uncleaned recording here http://www.reasonal.com/guest/Needledrop_Waterboys_before.wav
Cleaned here http://www.reasonal.com/guest/Needledrop_Waterboys_wash-fluid-clean-brush.wav

I first cleaned with the carbon brush from Croak, then with brush, spray, microfibre cloth and carbon brush, and then the whole hog - into a basin with a mix of water, denatured alcohol, detergent (washing both sides with microfibre cloth), then rinse in clean water, then rinse in distilled water.

Anyone have an idea for better results?

 

[Steve Strange]

Find a new copy 

[Viagara]

Aha! You did not vacuum it

[Hi-Phibian]

Find a new copy 

+1

Not all noise is dirt.

[Family_Dog]

Vacuuming a record makes a HUGE difference! before I got my RCM, I washed, brushed and cleaned vinyl but always had disappointing results, in spite of the surface of the record looking clean. Then I got hold of a RCM with a vacuum that is powerful enough to suck the stars out of the skies... and there was an immediate difference to be heard!

Try and get the record cleaned by someone who has a capable machinre and then if you're happy, get your own. It is well worth it.


-F_D

[audiomuze]

Anyone have an idea for better results?

CD?

[Francois]

Yepp, had the same problem.... Nitty Gritty, the whole process.... then I realized SOME LP's were just recorded sh@t
Some 2nd hand ones have been carved out that one finds mostly noise

BUT wait! there is hope. On well recorded LP's that are relatively new, it makes a bit of a difference. Dare I say about Removes the dust, pop, clicks, but have yet to hear the surface noise drop very much. After me and Jazzy lost a few diamonds its more a precaution than to significantly improve the sound. Maybe Jazzy can comment here ?

But now we are opening another can of worms..... 

I did find that some cartridges track so well the LP sounds much better! Case in point, Dynavector Karat vs Lyra.... The Lyra just cruised and made music, the Karat "bitched" about any imperfection. But put the Karat on new clean well recorded LP and she behave very very well 


 

[Prince]

+1

Not all noise is dirt.

I agree on that one.

[Crankshaft]

Yepp, had the same problem.... Nitty Gritty, the whole process.... then I realized SOME LP's were just recorded sh@t
Some 2nd hand ones have been carved out that one finds mostly noise

BUT wait! there is hope. On well recorded LP's that are relatively new, it makes a bit of a difference. Dare I say about Removes the dust, pop, clicks, but have yet to hear the surface noise drop very much. After me and Jazzy lost a few diamonds its more a precaution than to significantly improve the sound. Maybe Jazzy can comment here ?

But now we are opening another can of worms..... 

I did find that some cartridges track so well the LP sounds much better! Case in point, Dynavector Karat vs Lyra.... The Lyra just cruised and made music, the Karat "bitched" about any imperfection. But put the Karat on new clean well recorded LP and she behave very very well 

Different cartridges make a difference:

Records that are noisy when played using the V15III with JICO SAS stylus, are nice and smooth when played with the Shure White Lable DJ cartridge.  I reckon it's because the JICO stylus goes a lot deeper into the groove - where there may be dirt lurking. Whereas the DJ stylus prob. has a big rounded tip that misses the deep contamination.

What do you think?

[Shonver]

Ja, YMMV. Agree that some LPs are just beyond recovery. I would like to build an ultrasonic cleaner to use in conjunction with a vacuum, but that project is beyond the event horizon.

[Hi-Phibian]

Unfortunately there are no guarantees. Some Lps that were dreadful came to life after a vacuum, others are just toast.
It is worth trying a vacuum cycle before disposing but if you did all the above with no improvement at all then I suspect the record is just toast. For the avid collector or owner of a fair not new collection a vacuum Rcm makes more difference then many other vinyl upgrades.
The stylus profile makes a big difference and some cartridge manufacturers put a lot of focus on finding a groove wall area  not touched by others for eg. Sumiko IMO do well with this.

That said a record played to death on a dubious turntable with dodgy stylus in teenage years will never be close to new. No matter what stylus or cleaning routine.

[kayc]

What I've found over the years is that a lot of the surface noise comes from a cartridge that has not been correctly aligned. I still use the old Cart-A-Lign protractor. Can one still get them?

[fdlsys]

CD?

[d0dja]

I do need a new stylus -- have NO idea what the condition is of mine. Bit short right now, though. 

Anyone have a cunning idea how to use a regular vacuum cleaner? Hmm. Some kind of jig?

Will try the comparison with another couple of LPs - I did have a Tchaikovsky recording of 1812 from when I was a kid that a good wash did improve...

[J.S.]

I did have a Tchaikovsky recording of 1812 from when I was a kid that a good wash did improve...

Which one; the famous one by Robert Fine on Mercury label or the average one on Decca?