I like Joe's no-nonsense “keep it simple” approach: clean 'em, sleeve 'em, play 'em. Record collectors by and large are a neurotic bunch (well, speaking for myself), and there are entire industries built around exploiting those tendencies – turntables priced at what many entry-level luxury sedans go for, vacuum cleaning contraptions that cost ten times as much as a household Hoover, and esoteric “secret potion” record cleaning fluids marketed in ways that would make P.T. Barnum blush.
Records DO need to be cleaned. The rap against vinyl has always been that records scratch easily, they skip, they have noisy clicks and pops, etc. That's because many record buyers used to handle records only slightly better than frisbees (check the dollar bins at Goodwill for examples). But if a record is kept clean and handled carefully, that record can be played and enjoyed for a lifetime.
Follow Joe's method ONCE for each record. Then, invest in a carbon fiber brush (about twenty bucks), and give the record a clean sweep on the platter before each play. Also, a stylus brush (less than ten bucks) will remove any accumulated gunk from your stylus.
Comments
Records DO need to be cleaned. The rap against vinyl has always been that records scratch easily, they skip, they have noisy clicks and pops, etc. That's because many record buyers used to handle records only slightly better than frisbees (check the dollar bins at Goodwill for examples). But if a record is kept clean and handled carefully, that record can be played and enjoyed for a lifetime.
Follow Joe's method ONCE for each record. Then, invest in a carbon fiber brush (about twenty bucks), and give the record a clean sweep on the platter before each play. Also, a stylus brush (less than ten bucks) will remove any accumulated gunk from your stylus.
Happy Listening, y'all!