Record sounds worse after cleaning?
Beatnick Dee
beatnickdee.com 71 Posts
When trying to clean up a bit of crackle, ticks/pops on records over the years with distilled water and micro fiber cloth - Sometimes it does a great job and makes a big difference, and ends up sounding a whole lot better.
Many times though, I've done this and the record comes out sounding even MORE crackly. Louder and more consistent. What's the deal here?
Not really trying to fork out for a VPI, but just curious if anyone else has experienced this?
Thanks!
Many times though, I've done this and the record comes out sounding even MORE crackly. Louder and more consistent. What's the deal here?
Not really trying to fork out for a VPI, but just curious if anyone else has experienced this?
Thanks!
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Whatever hi-tech methods others have, I’ve always found
warm water + toilet paper
record on deck
press the (not too damp) wad at the centre of the record and manually spin the platter so that your wad follows the grooves outwards
leave to dry
gently do a second time with a cloth to remove any remaining fibres/dirt etc
The VPI isn't cheap but over time it will pay for itself. There have been so many times that I've been able to increase a records grade by giving it a proper cleaning. I got lucky and bought a used VPI for $350 on Audiogon.com several years back.
This. I use the micro towels for TVs, though. Running with the grooves does nothing but cake that grime up. That may be the source of noise if you're doing so. And then there's styrene if it's 45s...
For sure, cleaning/wiping outwards is important. I've always done that. It's just really odd getting different results when utilizing that same technique.
i have never heard of cleaning from the center outwards tho and most of the cleaning options out there seem to be focusing on "getting in the grooves" and cleaning them.. i havent researched vinyl cleaning options in a long time though.
i feel like i have the correct/right/proper tools for doing it, but my process seems flawed somewhere down the line.. unless i am totally way out in left field, lol