Re: turntable beginners -- musings


Steven de Mena wrote:

> How long does it take to clean an LP with that? How many rotations per
> side?


I've had the great-grandaddy of this model Nitty-Gritty for about 20
years. If it's about the same as mine, you can figure on (1) however
long it takes you to squirt on your cleaning fluid and scrub the
grooves with your li'l N-G velvetoid brush, then (2) flip it over,
flick on the vacuum, and turn it (manually, of course) for a minimum of
three revolutions. I usually rotate it another revolution or so to make
sure it's gotten all the liquid out. If you've been a bit too liberal
with the fluid, also plan to add step (3) wiping excess liquid from
runout groove area and outside rim of the LP, with a soft lint-free
cloth. And naturally, you have to repeat the process on the other side.
Figure somewhere between 3 and 5 minutes per record, once you get your
speed down--longer while you're learning.

Just a couple of warnings:

(1) Don't clean every record you get. Some don't need it, and if you
try to clean EVERYTHING, I can just about assure you that you'll get
fed up with the process and look on vinyl as more trouble than it's
worth.

(2) If a record does need cleaning, don't give up if you don't attain
sonic perfection on the first pass. You CAN often reclaim almost
hopeless looking/sounding records (that aren't truly scratched deeply),
but it can take several passes if the record is exceptionally dirty.
This is true with any cleaning machine--Nitty-Gritty, VPI or Keith
Monks. Years ago, I was associated (as record buyer and general
hanger-on) with a high-end hi-fi shop here, and a friend of mine was
ordering a VPI cleaning machine there to donate to the local classical
station. The station sent over some VERY grungy looking LPs that they'd
inherited from a previous/defunct classical station in town. We plucked
out a rather nasty-looking copy of the Gilels/Szell "Emperor" concerto,
washed it twice (it really was that dirty), put it on the demo system
in the shop and it sounded awful. Washed it again, same results. Washed
it a fourth time...sounded almost salvageable but not really great.
Washed it a fifth time, and it was like someone said an incantation
over the damn thing. Except for a handful of very minor ticks from
actual scratches in the vinyl, the sonics were totally transformed. Of
course, this level of effort makes no real sense with super-common
records, but when you find something that's truly rare or valuable (in
sentiment OR in lucre), don't give up after one or two tries. It might
well be worth a few added cleanings.

FWIW,

Dirk

.

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