How To Clean Discwasher Felt Turntable Mat

For the last several years, turntables accept been at the center of my audio life. It had something to do with the vinyl revival, and the fact that I was one of the few SoundStage! Network reviewers who never lost the faith -- generally considering I have somewhat esoteric (read: strange) tastes in music, and ain a large library of recordings on vinyl that have never been digitized. So I kept set up for action my late-1980s Dual CS-5000 turntable and myriad cartridges -- one ADC, four Grados, two Shures, 1 Stanton, one Sumiko -- until what goes around came around again: the LP.

I've been at this game a long time. In those years I've learned that non everything de rigueur today will exist then tomorrow. Simply some turntable accessories seem to exist of enduring usefulness. Those are what I talk about hither.

Bones record cleaning

There are probably more ways to clean LPs, more fluids and devices, than there are stars in the firmament. Here I mention a few I'm familiar with. If you don't run across your favorite, or 1 you want to acquire more than about, remember -- I oasis't tried them all, and would rather say nothing than mislead or misinform yous.

From Discwasher to GrooveWasher: In the late 1960s, a university professor and audiophile was unhappy with the record-cleaning processes and then bachelor. He invented a swell solution: a nappy pad affixed to a walnut handle, a brush for cleaning the pad, and a small bottle of proprietary cleaning fluid. He called this kit the Discwasher, and it quickly became successful -- so successful that the professor was overwhelmed with trying to produce enough of them to fulfill his orders, and by audio companies willing to purchase him out. He sold Discwasher to one of those companies, which not long thereafter was bought by another company, which in turn was bought by a conglomerate, which was bought out by someone else, who spun off all their audio lines to someone else who, not long thereafter, went bankrupt. All forth the style, the purity of Discwasher was cheapened by its successive owners, until it became pretty much useless for cleaning records.

In 2019, enter GrooveWasher. Its founder, Steve Chase, recalls that his family was deeply involved with Discwasher from 1972 to 1982. And so, not long ago, Chase's son, a recording engineer, told him that the bands he was recording were releasing their music on vinyl.

Chase developed his own record-cleaning fluid, based on the enquiry of Discwasher's inventor, Dr. Bruce Maier. Chase designed his own walnut handle with directional fiber, and set up upward his ain firm, GrooveWasher.

Back to 1972: Having read many reviews of the Discwasher and in need of a good basic record-cleaning system, I bought my own Discwasher and, subsequently, ii big bottles of their magic D4 cleaning fluid. Since then I've religiously cleaned my records earlier every use: both sides, even if I'thousand playing only a single cut. My LPs never go very dirty, and those 2 big bottles of D4 lasted until early this year.

That's when I discovered GrooveWasher. I ordered the basic Walnut Record Cleaning Kit of fluid and castor ($34.95, all prices USD), and tried it. It worked just likewise as, if not a bit better than, my 48-yr-quondam Discwasher.

Other basic tape-cleaning devices: Allsop'due south Orbitrac record-cleaning organisation, so well thought of that Allsop brought it back into production subsequently having discontinued it some xx years earlier; and record brushes from AudioQuest, Clearaudio, Grūv Glide, Hunt, Mobile Fidelity, Musical Surroundings, Okki Nokki, Ortofon, and Pro-Ject, among others. These brushes usually cost between $xv and $35. There are also some basic tape-washing devices, such as Spin-Clean'southward Record Washer, that starting time at about $80.

But a GrooveWasher won't be enough to thoroughly clean really filthy records. If you buy a lot of used LPs, yous'll need a bigger hammer . . .

Record-cleaning machines

A record-cleaning car cleans LPs deeper and therefore better than a record castor can -- important if y'all've had your records a while and haven't cleaned them before each play, or if you option up used records at garage sales and stores.

Most record-cleaning machines are variations on the same basic concept: a revolving platter very similar to a turntable'southward, a tape brush for applying cleaning fluid to the record's surfaces, and a vacuum arm lined with bristles and/or velvet, to suck up the dirt-begetting fluid. Some platters are motor driven; the platters of less-expensive machines are hand-cranked.

The general technique is to place the tape on the platter, apply that model's proprietary cleaning fluid (usually diluted into a solution) to the cleaning brush, rotate the record and so that the fluid is applied evenly across the entire surface, and so turn on the vacuum, hinge the arm over the tape, and spin the platter to suck up the fluid and dirt, while drying the record surface at the same time. Flip the tape and echo.

It'due south nearly economic to machine-make clean records in batches -- the toll of the cleaning fluid can add up. When you're comparing record cleaners, recall that you'll need to empty its dirty solution into a sink or toilet, so endeavour to detect a model that makes that job easy.

Tape-cleaning machines tend to exist big and bulky, and their vacuum pumps can be noisy. They start at around $200 and can cost $5000 or more, and they include parts that demand to be periodically replaced; e.g., felt pads and cleaning solution. But there'south no doubt they do a better job of cleaning LPs than does the basic tape cleaner, and if you have a valuable record drove, they're just the ticket. Manufacturers of record-cleaning machines include Clearaudio, Music Hall, Nitty Gritty, Okki Nokki, Record Doctor (from AudioAdvisor.com), and VPI Industries.

Better record sleeves

Generally, the inner sleeves that protect the LP from its stiff cardboard jacket are fabricated of thin newspaper that tears hands, exposing the grooves to damage. Better inner sleeves will keep your records cleaner and safer.

The best inner sleeves accept inner sleeves of their own, of soft plastic backed with semistrong newspaper. The best I've seen are Mobile Fidelity'due south Original Main Sleeves. If yous've bought any of MoFi's wonderful vinyl reissues over the years, you lot know the Main Sleeve. I like it considering its paper lining is rigid enough not to fold over, thus making it hard to insert the disc. They're not the cheapest y'all can discover -- in bulk, depending on the supplier, they run 20¢ each or and then -- but they do the task well.

Online sources of record sleeves are Amazon.com, BagsUnilimited.com, ClearBags.com, SleeveCityUSA.com, and the wonderfully named Sleevie Wonder. Look for sleeves with newspaper liners, like MoFi'due south Original Master Sleeve. You won't exist sorry.

Stylus cleaners

In the past, some cartridge manufacturers included a stylus-cleaning brush with each cartridge. You lot don't see that much anymore, so it's up to the user to choose the best manner of keeping his or her styli clean. A stylus can dislodge clay from the tape'south groove, and that dirt tin and so be fused to the stylus and cantilever by the heat caused past the friction of the groove'due south motion as it's pulled past the stylus. This can deadening the highs, and more often than not distort the sound. Cleaning the stylus after every 10 hours of playing fourth dimension should suffice.

Many stylus cleaners are similar to GrooveWasher's SC1 Stylus Cleaning Kit ($nineteen.95), which comprises a felt pad at the end of a small handle and a bottle of cleaning fluid.

Other stylus cleaners are available from Concluding, Lyra, Mobile Fidelity, Ortofon, Pro-Ject, and Thorens, and usually cost from $15 to $30. Well-nigh interesting is the Extremephono Solid-State Stylus Cleaner (SCC1), for $29.99 from Amazon, though I don't know what they mean past "solid-state." It uses a gel pad that contains a cleaning solution. You lower the stylus onto the pad and its contents using only the tonearm lift -- Extremephono is very emphatic about this. They merits that enough solution is included to last you v years.

Stylus-force gauge

A stylus-strength gauge should be constitute in the accessories drawer of every turntable owner, to ensure that the cartridge is tracing the groove with the optimal vertical tracking force (VTF). Some turntables are supplied with bones gauges, but often, ameliorate ones are available for non much coin.

For years now, I've relied on Shure Bros.' manual SFG-2 judge, simply that now runs every bit loftier every bit $40 on Amazon. Manual gauges are available from Ortofon and Clearaudio for somewhat less.

A better choice today is an electronic guess, which tin can be accurate to 0.01gm and start equally low every bit $12. Some are self-calibrating; others come with a calibration weight with which you gear up the gauge earlier measuring a stylus'southward VTF. At the upper terminate of the range, Rega Research's MK2 sells for nearly $250. I've never used one, so I don't know if information technology's xx times better than a $12 model -- just given Rega'due south reputation, information technology's probably worth information technology if you tin afford it.

Bubble levels, tape clamps, speed strobes

A turntable works best when its platter is perfectly level, and a bubble or spirit level is the all-time way to ensure that it is. I've used i that I bought years ago for $v, merely there are improve ones today.

The niftiest level I've seen is made past Viborg and fills iii needs of the turntable owner. Primarily a 280gm record clamp that fits over the record spindle -- the best place for determining if the platter is level -- the Viborg Black has a nice circular chimera level at its center. Information technology as well has strobe markings for 33⅓ and 45rpm. The Black version is available in 60Hz and 50Hz versions -- yous can get the one that matches the frequency of Ac power in your location. Look for it on Amazon Electronics under "Viborg Black 60Hz 280g Record Weight LP Disc Stabilizer Turntable Vinyl Clamp HiFi" -- it currently sells in that location for $26.90. While Viborg is named for a city in Denmark, their clamps are fabricated in Prc.

Other manufacturers of chimera levels are Audio-Technica, Clearaudio, Music Hall, Pro-Ject, and VPI. In fact, VPI's Crosscheck is a variation on the usual blueprint, comprising two straight bubble levels: one each to level a platter from front to back and from side to side. I've seen it for as little as $x.

Exam records

In the heyday of hello-fi and stereo, many test LPs were bachelor to assistance the user determine phasing, frequency response, aqueduct identification, tonearm resonance, etc. The nearly famous came from CBS Laboratories, the folks who developed the LP itself. I've seen used copies of this disc, Technical Series: Professional Test Record (Columbia STR 100), advertised for a few hundred dollars. Others were put out by manufacturers, prime among them Shure Bros., as well as such audio magazines as Hi-Fi Stereo Review (US) and Hi-Fi News & Tape Review (UK). They were bachelor at nominal prices and were very popular.

When the LP went out of mode, so did test records. Today, I can find only two that follow the archetype format: Analogue Productions' The Ultimate Counterpart Examination LP ($39.99) and Ortofon's Examination Tape ($49). AP'south offer seems to offer more examination tracks, but either tin can exist of slap-up help in ensuring that your turntable and cartridge are set upwards and working properly.

If your tonearm has a removable headshell and you want to experiment with different cartridges (a fascination that can quickly become very expensive -- take it from me), a spare headshell is ever a good idea. There are many available, ranging in price from $12-$15 to several hundred.

And if yous go that route . . .

Cartridge alignment protractor

It's important for the cartridge to be properly aligned with the record groove. Improper alignment can lead to poor and/or distorted sound, and tin can damage your records.

Merely be warned -- this gets fiddly. If yous don't take a lot of patience for the fiddly, stick to cartridges pre-mounted in headshells. There are many such available.

The most basic cartridge-alignment protractor is a plastic rectangle with a set of mirrored, calibrated scales. You set the stylus in a small circumvolve, to ascertain that the sides of the cartridge are parallel to the lines on the scales at ii dissimilar points forth the tonearm'south travel across the record surface. These can be found online for $x-$fifteen, but the nicest I've seen, made by DB Systems, goes for about $forty.

On the next level up are protractors that look like a record mat: a disc 12" in diameter, with the alignment scales printed or incised on them. These are theoretically a bit less of a trial, just don't have a mirrored surface to ease authentic alignment, and toll significantly more than than the basic protractors. They're available from Avid, Mobile Fidelity, and other companies.

Of the professional-quality alignment machines, the most famous is Dr. Feickert Analogue's Universal Alignment Protractor -- extremely accurate, and extremely pricey at $249. Unless you're very particular, very wealthy, and/or practise this for a living, the Dr. Feickert is a luxury.

Azimuth alignment estimate

A stylus'southward azimuth is the angle at which it meets the groove -- ideally, the stylus should be perfectly vertical to the record surface, at an bending of 90°. A cartridge whose stylus is out of azimuth will produce sound that's consistently louder in one channel than in the other, and might fifty-fifty damage the groove.

In nearly cases, azimuth is adjusted at the factory, and in many is non adaptable by the user. That'south a practiced thing -- the right way to do this involves a multimeter, a monaural or test LP, and a lot of time.

But if you must adjust, acrylic gauges are available online for $15 to $20. A decent multimeter costs well-nigh $25. Merely remember to figure in the hassle of measuring the voltage of each aqueduct at your preamp'due south outputs, adjusting the azimuth, and doing information technology all once more.

My advice: Resist whatever such temptation. In most cases, you'll become hopelessly frustrated and finish upwardly having to accept your turntable to a service shop or dealer.

Assorted hardware

These are the screws and nuts and shims needed to mount a cartridge in a headshell. When I'chiliad installing a cartridge, it's frustrating to discover that I lack the right screws and/or nuts, or the shim of just the correct thickness. Ordinarily, the cartridge maker includes screws and nuts that work with that cartridge, and with about headshells. But drop one of those tiny $.25 of metal on a carpeted floor, and often the only style you'll find it is with a vacuum cleaner -- and and so you have to dig through its bag to observe something less than 0.25" across and 0.1" deep.

Hardware kits are bachelor from such name brands every bit Audio-Technica, and from online dealers such as LPGear.com. They commonly run from $half dozen to $10, depending on the number of items included.

What'southward most important?

Past all means, cleaning those records! If you use something simple, similar the GrooveWasher, clean each record every time you lot play it, fifty-fifty if the record is brand-new and you've never played information technology before -- especially if you've never played information technology earlier. If you use a tape-cleaning machine, a good cleaning afterward every 2 or iii playings should suffice.

Cleaning the stylus after every ten hours of playing time should keep it in adept shape.

Check the VTF regularly. I do this every calendar month or so.

That's it for my recommendations. I promise you lot've institute something here that will aid you more fully enjoy your vinyl.

. . . Thom Moon
thom@soundstagenetwork.com

Source: https://www.soundstageaccess.com/index.php/feature-articles/1071-the-care-and-feeding-of-the-modern-audio-turntable

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