[kingdeezie]

So, I have been gearing up these last few weeks in preparation for a Dodd Phono preamp that I ordered; should be coming in the next couple of weeks 

In order to try and pound a reference frame into my ears (brain), I have been listening to my small vinyl collection quite frequently these last two weeks.

The one problem I now seem to be experiencing is some awful constant noise on a lot of my vinyls that I am playing.

Normally, I would assume that its just surface noise or a dirty LP, but this is coming from new and used vinyls of all different ages and conditions.

I am assuming its static, but could be wrong.

Outside of cleaning the LPs, which while I don't have a great system like a nitty gritty I still clean them, is there anything I can try to help eliminate the static build up.

I have been meaning to get a humidifier for the room, but was wondering if there is some sort of cloth or spray that is recommended to use in this instance.

Appreciate the help as always.   

[Mike B.]

try a carbon fiber brush

[TheChairGuy]

A swipe of fluid and an RCM (Record Cleaning Machine...Nitty Gritty in my case) eliminated static nearly entirely.  I live in fairly low humidity San Fran - so I may be an anomaly.

KABUSA sells a unit made by Nitty Gritty for them...if you have a canister vacuum with reasonable suction (or an upright with excellent suction...but that's often harder to find) you're issue with static may be eliminated for another $150 (+ chemical costs)

It's just a device that puts vinyl over that little bit past all the digital technologies when you do. With what you've invested in the Dodd phono preamp...your collection deserves an RCM of your choice.

I bought a Nitty Gritty 1.0 used on ebay for $125...so that's another route to go. 

It's surprising how effective these RCM's are to playback.  Very

John

[kingdeezie]

I do have a carbon fiber brush from Maple Shade Records, with a ground cable; in all honesty it was probably a huge waste of money.

For 20 dollars I could have gotten an audioquest brush or something like it with the same results. The grounding cable that is supposed to "suck away the static" is horse dung.

I also bought their Anti-static gun, which also proves to be next to no help.

I do want to purchase a nitty gritty, and will in the near future, but I wanted to know if there was anything I could do now to alleviate some of the problem. 

[twitch54]

Here's another option.........

http://www.gruvglide.com/HOME.html

[kingdeezie]

Chairguy...

Can you elaborate on how the Nitty Gritty 1.0 works?

The brush and the vacuum cleaner are on what would be the bottom side of the LP correct?

So do you apply the fluid on a side, and the flip it down so it faces the machine to be manually rotated by the user??

Wouldn't gravity pull the fluid off the LP and cause dripping?

[Photon46]

People use the Nitty Gritty slightly differently apparently. I tend to get a bit impatient because I use multi-step cleaning solutions and this is what I do. I wet the velvet strips of the intake with cleaning solution, put the lp on, and then apply a squirt of cleaning fluid across the top surface. I hold the cleaning brush on the lp's top surface and turn the lp a few rotations with the other hand. The record is lightly pinched between the velvet strips & the cleaning brush during this part of the cleaning. Then I turn on the vacuum and rotate the lp for 3-4 rotations, turn off the vacuum and turn the record over, then repeat the vacuuming. I wipe off the cleaning brush on a clean cloth, apply step two cleaning solution and repeat. If you are very liberal with the fluid applcation, yes some liquid with fall off when you turn the record over. Not a problem though. Enough fluid remains in the grooves because of surface tension for things to work properly. For very stubborn records, I resort to steam cleaning with a hand held steam cleaner. If interested, Audiogon.com has two ridiculously long threads detailing every aspect of steam cleaning ad nauseum. Some records just can't be cleaned in my experience though and the stubborn staticky type noise persists. The absolute worst record label for this problem in my experience is Deutsche Grammaphon.

[TheChairGuy]

Chairguy...

Can you elaborate on how the Nitty Gritty 1.0 works?

The brush and the vacuum cleaner are on what would be the bottom side of the LP correct?

So do you apply the fluid on a side, and the flip it down so it faces the machine to be manually rotated by the user??

Wouldn't gravity pull the fluid off the LP and cause dripping?

You pretty much got it right above...except there is never is a drip if you use liberal, but restrained amounts of fluid.  The fluid seeps into the grooves and is sucked out by the vacuum when you flip the record over.

The better Nitty Gritty's vacuum automatically...either by doing both sides at once, and or rotating it for you.  You pay more for the auto functions this way...but, the top of the line (auto) Nitty Gritty is still less than so many of us pay for a turntable.

The differences in using an rcm and not or spending $500 for a good table or $2500 for a (reported) very good table is an easy choice for me.  By far, the better value is an rcm in playback betterment

The KAB EV-1 and Nitty Gritty 1.0 do all that the pricier units do...only at fairly minimal outlay.  The 'better'/pricier units from all manufacturers are mostly nuanced in differences and what you end up mostly paying for in their more convenient cleaning methods.

You're gonna' be slack-jawed when you hear the difference between rcm cleaned and dirty records.  It's just silly how much better your records sound when cleaned

John

[Wayner]

Fluids usually exibit adhesion on the bottom side of a surface and cohesion on the top side.

Wayner

[bunnyma357]

Also Audio Advisor sells a stripped down version of the Nitty Gritty called the Record Doctor that is about $50 bucks cheaper than a 1.0, I have one of these and have been happy with it. If you use a lot of fluid it is possible it will drip or get on the label, but it takes quite a bit of fluid to get to that point. In general, as others have noted, it isn't an issue.

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=NGRD3

I also am of the mindset that the money spent on an RCM will improve your sound, more than investing that money on an upgraded TT.

I tend to only use the the RCM for bad LP's or before I digitize an LP. For regular casual playing I just use a Carbon Fiber Brush or a Discwasher brush and fluid. I do have a couple of LP's that just are bad pressings and no amount of cleaning has gotten rid of the surface noise.

There are also people that swear by the LAST treatment system, which may help with static build-up since it minimizes friction, but I haven't used this personally.

http://home-audio.audioadvisor.com/search?p=Q&lbc=audioadvisor&uid=247206402&ts=custom&w=LAST&af=br:last&isort=score&method=and&view=list


Jim C

[kingdeezie]

Thanks for all of the help.

I think I definitely need to get into a RCM.

Just was curious if the Nitty Gritty 1.0 was good enough.

[Wayner]

Or you can save yourself some money and just wash your records in the sink like I do. A little dishwashing detergent, warm water and a horse-hair paint brush, like a 2" would do great. Use the paint brush to swirl the suds into the grooves on both sides and rinse. Dry off right away with a cotton towel. Don't worry about getting the label wet, it won't come off (but don't "soak" your records either). Let dry. I've done this for 45 years with great results. I always wipe my records with a damp Discwasher brush everytime before playing, using a mixture (3 to 1) of filtered water and 99% Isopropyl alchohol in a spray mist bottle. It lifts the dust and kills the static. After a few times, the record will be nice and shinny. I've also done this for many, many years and those that think that alchohol is bad for vinyl can't prove it by me. In fact I'd say it's good for it.

But it you want a RCM, go for it.

Wayner

[TheChairGuy]

There are also people that swear by the LAST treatment system, which may help with static build-up since it minimizes friction, but I haven't used this personally.

http://home-audio.audioadvisor.com/search?p=Q&lbc=audioadvisor&uid=247206402&ts=custom&w=LAST&af=br:last&isort=score&method=and&view=list

Jim C

I'm one of those, as well.

Joe Fritsch, founder of audio-video cleaning company called Trackmate(tm) and once Chief Engineer for Allsop (he patented the original cassette head cleaner with all the moving pads inside - remember those you geezers? ) told me to love LAST products long ago.

Joe made great hardware and had tried to link up with LAST many times for his cleaning fluids.  LAST always preferred to play it solo and never did.  But, Joe told me that LAST products do what LAST claims they do and are worth the purchase.  That was 1988 and I've been a customer since.

LAST Stylast - which reduces stylus wear up to 10x. 

LAST Record Preservative - a once only treatment that 'hardens' your vinyl so that no additional wear occurs past 200 plays.

LAST Power Cleaner - a once only treatment that removes some crud & residue that normal/general washes seems to leave. It's just that little extra past a general wash that makes vinyl sound even better

Wayner mentions a sink wash as effective.  I've always lived in large metro areas that had shared water supplies treated with chlorine, flourine, etc...so unless you have triple filtered water at your tap, I wouldn't use that to clean your records.  Wayner lives in the country/burbs of Minneapolis and has well water that is treated before it reaches his records.

I suspect an RCM would still be more effective as slurping up residue left in the tiny grooves than a cotton rag of chamois cloth would miss.  Whether that difference is truly audible is debatable, of course

I can tell you this...having grown up & lived in high humidity places like Long Island and Washington, DC...I've never had a static buildup issue with any record once washed with an RCM and LAST'ed.

So, with the bacteria, mold, and stamping 'crud' goes the materials seemingly responsible with the static - right into the RCM's snout 

It just makes for a great advance in record playback.

John

[kingdeezie]

Or you can save yourself some money and just wash your records in the sink like I do. A little dishwashing detergent, warm water and a horse-hair paint brush, like a 2" would do great. Use the paint brush to swirl the suds into the grooves on both sides and rinse. Dry off right away with a cotton towel. Don't worry about getting the label wet, it won't come off (but don't "soak" your records either). Let dry. I've done this for 45 years with great results. I always wipe my records with a damp Discwasher brush everytime before playing, using a mixture (3 to 1) of filtered water and 99% Isopropyl alchohol in a spray mist bottle. It lifts the dust and kills the static. After a few times, the record will be nice and shinny. I've also done this for many, many years and those that think that alchohol is bad for vinyl can't prove it by me. In fact I'd say it's good for it.

But it you want a RCM, go for it.

Wayner

I had bought a shark steam hand steam cleaner and have washed all of these albums thoroughly.

I also had purchased new inner sleeves as well to place the freshly cleaned and dried LP in.

For whatever reason, the static just seems to come right back.

Perhaps my house is just really dry?

I will give the discwasher brush idea a whirl; I did happen to buy a discwasher brush when I first got into vinyl.

Thanks for the tip! 

[Miney]

I also am of the mindset that the money spent on an RCM will improve your sound, more than investing that money on an upgraded TT.

+1 on the ROI of a RCM.  I absolutely love my KAB EV-1.  Has significantly improved the playability of nearly every LP acquired.  Some of those old buggers just can't be saved.

[kingdeezie]

So what kind of vaccum do I need to use with the KAB EV-1??

I have a dyson home vacuum cleaner, will that work?

[TheChairGuy]

Some of those old buggers just can't be saved.

Amen there, Paul/miney.  Once someone has dragged a crappy spherical needle at 4grams on the record - it's 'toast' no matter how well you wash it

John

[TheChairGuy]

I have a dyson home vacuum cleaner, will that work?

It's probably sufficient.  But, I don't think tool suction is Dyson's strong suite

Nonetheless, it's probably suitable enough to vacuum up the gooey juice from your albums.

John

[Wayner]

Wouldn't a small shop-vac work best for this?

Wayner

[kingdeezie]

Reading the Kabusa website it specifically says not to use a shop vac since the suction is too strong.

In the end it looks like 180 to get it shipped here to me; that's not too bad if I can use the vacuum I have now.