In the past 18 months, it would appear that many people picked up a plethora of weird and wonderful hobbies as a result of the lockdown. We’ve seen everything from baking & breadmaking, tie-dye, DIY home improvements or even those experimenting with arts and crafts.

Now, not all of us are into such messy or exhausting affairs. Some of us like to sit back and enjoy an album to its fullest. Perhaps you’re one of those that added to the surge in vinyl sales and have recently developed a vinyl addiction? Or maybe you rediscovered your old vinyl in the loft, where it has resided for the last 20 years? Maybe you’ve inherited a vinyl collection from a relative that’s had a clearout? Or, perhaps you’re already the owner of a large and cherished record collection? Whichever applies to you, the likelihood is that you’re not aware of the benefits of maintaining your beloved discs of plastic. Hey, you might not even know what’s available?! But never fear, we’ve got you covered…

The Project VC-E ALU, with cleaning brush and vacuum arm, cleaning mixture, carbon fibre brushes and some treasured VINYL!

Here at Audio T Reading we offer a number of solutions for playing your vinyl, from your very first entry-level turntable to the highest of high end audio solutions. Your records contain many treasured moments & memories, and when kept in good condition they give a satisfying sonic experience up there with other HD formats.

But the real question that isn’t asked all too often is how can I revive my vinyl and/or keep them in tip-top condition? I’ll be attempting to provide some practical, everyday ways of doing that. Obviously, it goes without saying that your records can’t necessarily be brought back to life if they are scratched or cracked, but the dirty and dusty ones can be easily revived with a bit of TLC.

Keeping your records clean will mean that the noise and crackles on the vinyl will be a lot quieter, if not silent. You’ll also be better able to access the detail and dynamics locked inside the grooves.

So, what causes record “wear”?

Well it can be from a number of causes. It’s best to cover all your bases.

Firstly, the stylus on your record player can become coated in debris (dust and various artefacts) picked up from unclean records as well as dust in atmosphere. This is why many people keep a style cover over their cartridge. This debris can build up around the stylus and cause mistracking (the inability of the cartridge to travel through complex grooves without distortion).

Another issue to watch out for is a worn out stylus. Sadly these things don’t last forever. In fact, many manufacturers suggest that most styli last around 1000 hours and should be changed every few years. It’s important to make sure you keep on top of this as it can again can lead to mistracking, not to mention it can cause damage to the records themselves.

Did you know that we service turntables and fit new styli and cartridges? Contact your local store to find out more.

You can keep your styli healthy by maintaining the correct playing weight and anti-skate bias. If you ever need advice on this, be sure to contact us.

The biggest perpetrator for cleanliness are the records themselves. Because of the polyvinyl chloride that they are made from, they are prone to becoming statically charged, meaning they attract dust and dirt to the surface. If left on, this grime can ingrain itself into the vinyl groove and again cause serious noise and mistracking, not to mention it stops the needle from doing its job and getting deep inside the grooves for all that high-fidelity goodness.

It’s a little known fact that brand new vinyl can be left with production residue on the surface. So we’d recommend even cleaning your new record purchases. So this isn’t just for old or second hand records.

What are the solutions?

The basic aim is to keep both your stylus and records as clean as possible. The practical every day approach is to use the following:

A carbon fibre stylus brush – used occasionally and carefully to keep the debris off the stylus
A carbon fibre record brush – to sweep across the record before playing it. It also reduces the static attraction

For cleaning your record collection for the first time, or occasionally thereafter, we would recommend either manual or powered record cleaning for deeper cleaning. Some of our favourite examples are -

The Project Spin Clean Record Cleaner Mk2, which is a highly effective manual cleaner, complete with cleaning kit. All you have to do is source some distilled water (readily available online)
The Project VC-S2 and VC-E-Alu are mains powered record cleaners, which thoroughly wet clean the record via a supplied brush, and then vacuum the liquid and remaining debris from the vinyl groove (the machine has a built in vacuum motor). The VC range comes complete with vinyl cleaning solution to mix with some distilled water. The VC-E is functionally smaller than the VC-S2 and will fit into an IKEA Kallax along with your records
Last, but not least, for those with deeper pockets, the Audio Desk Pro Vinyl Cleaner, which uses a wet bath enhanced by ultrasonics to loosen dirt in the groves and a drying mode which ensures that the vinyl is ready to play within 5-6 minutes.

Project VC-E ALU & kit and carbon fibre stylus and record brush.

Conclusion

If you you use either the mains powered or manual cleaners, your records will not need to be treated again for some time, other than with a carbon fibre brush.

The advantage of the mains cleaners is that they are much more effective at lifting out the grime and detritus from the groove, whereas the manual cleaners rely on soaking and air-drying. If you have a large record collection, we strongly recommend the mains powered cleaners, They make quick and efficient work of the whole process.

In addition to keeping your records in tip-top condition, as an additional bonus, all the above cleaning products will greatly aid to prolonging to the life of your stylus.

All those treasured moments, memories and sonic highlights can be preserved. After all, everything deserves a bit of TLC occasionally!

Contact us to book a demonstration or for any more advice.

Rob & Gareth – Audio T Reading

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Project can be found at the following Audio-T stores