[mark brooks]

Can anyone who uses one recommend a unit? What model is the biggest
bang for the buck? Thanks.

[Peter A. Stoll[_2_]]

mark brooks wrote in news:v8ZOi.696$ul3.682
@newsfe12.lga:

Can anyone who uses one recommend a unit? What model is the biggest
bang for the buck? Thanks.

Nitty-gritty makes a private label one sold by the online store Audio
Advisor as the Record Doctor III. It relies on muscle power (yours) to
rotate the LP, and also requires you to apply the cleaning solution. Much
more expensive ones automate more of the task.

I own and use a Record Doctor, which I think is pretty similar to Record
Doctor III.

I don't think there is a less expensive serious cleaning machine. (you did
say bang for buck)

I rather did not believe the hype about general haze removal for this class
of machines, but after hearing some drastic improvements, not just in the
expected obviouusly dirt-related sounds, I made DAT recordings
before/after. The improvement for 30-year old classical LPs with a dozen
or two lifetime playings in non-awful condition was surprisingly obvious.
The vacuum motor itself is disgustingly loud, but that may be necessary.

[Scott Dorsey]

mark brooks wrote:
Can anyone who uses one recommend a unit? What model is the biggest
bang for the buck? Thanks.

For cleaning what?

If you only care about LPs, not shellac pressings or acetates, the Nitty
Gritty Record Doctor (now discontinued but available used) is the best bang
for the buck. It is more work to operate than the fancier automated machines
but it does just as good a job.

If you have a lot of records to do, it will leave you very sore, and the
VPI is a better bet.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Edi Zubovic]

On Wed, 10 Oct 2007 01:09:47 -0400, mark brooks
wrote:

Can anyone who uses one recommend a unit? What model is the biggest
bang for the buck? Thanks.

-- There are still some on the market -- even costly, and the best,
Keith Monks models. But I'd consider Nitty Gritty machines which KAB
are selling:

http://www.kabusa.com/frameset.htm?/m1200.htm

click "Record Cleaners" at te top banner.

Deepending of your needs, ie. how often you'd use a machine and on how
many records, KAB have washing machines from simple manual ones to
automated both-side-at-once top models in nice wooden plinths. Don't
forget to take spares and liquids into account. Record _do_ sound
better after they have been troughly washed.

Edi Zubovic, Crikvenica, Croatia

[Adrian Tuddenham]

mark brooks wrote:

Can anyone who uses one recommend a unit? What model is the biggest
bang for the buck? Thanks.

If you clean nitrates this way, do not allow them to dry out before
playing them.


--
~ Adrian Tuddenham ~
(Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
www.poppyrecords.co.uk

[Carey Carlan]

(Scott Dorsey) wrote in
:

mark brooks wrote:
Can anyone who uses one recommend a unit? What model is the biggest
bang for the buck? Thanks.

For cleaning what?

If you only care about LPs, not shellac pressings or acetates, the
Nitty Gritty Record Doctor (now discontinued but available used) is
the best bang for the buck. It is more work to operate than the
fancier automated machines but it does just as good a job.

If you have a lot of records to do, it will leave you very sore, and
the VPI is a better bet.
--scott

Is there any advantage/disadvantage to ultrasonic cleaning?

[William Sommerwerck]

Is there any advantage/disadvantage to ultrasonic cleaning?

In theory, ultrasonic cleaning would do a better job of getting every last
bit of shmutz out of the groove. But is there an ultrasound machine for
records?

[Scott Dorsey]

Carey Carlan wrote:
(Scott Dorsey) wrote in
mark brooks wrote:
Can anyone who uses one recommend a unit? What model is the biggest
bang for the buck? Thanks.

For cleaning what?

If you only care about LPs, not shellac pressings or acetates, the
Nitty Gritty Record Doctor (now discontinued but available used) is
the best bang for the buck. It is more work to operate than the
fancier automated machines but it does just as good a job.

If you have a lot of records to do, it will leave you very sore, and
the VPI is a better bet.

Is there any advantage/disadvantage to ultrasonic cleaning?

The ultrasonic dunk tank:
1. Will work for acetates without tearing the surface up the way most
vacuum machines do. The Kieth Monks vacuum machine works even better
than the dunk tank, but it costs more than a late-model Mercedes.

2. Will remove gunk from 78s. Because shellac records were played with
steel needles that "wore into" the abrasive groove, the grooves are
packed with metal particles. You don't want the things anywhere NEAR
your record cleaning machine.

3. Work better for styrene (injection-molded) 45s. I don't know why this
is and if you can figure it out you can get a conference paper out of it.

4. Works better for gum and resin stuck in the grooves.

Otherwise the ultrasonic cleaner is generally less effective for a final
cleaning although sometimes on really grubby vinyl, I will clean it in
the sink with Alconox, then do the dunk tank, then do a final clean on
the vacuum machine. I don't know how much it really helps in that case
but it doesn't hurt.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."