Second, because of the nature of the fibre type, it drains static electricity which attracts dust in the first place. Firstly, it has a better chance of entering the grooves to remove dirt that lies within. This type of cloth is good at absorbing oils and hangs onto dust and grime.ĪudioQuest Anti-Static Record Cleaning BrushĪs an alternative to a pad, the brush is useful for two reasons. A good quality example is offered by 3M but there’s plenty of others out there. If a good quality brush is out of your budget range then take a look at a non-abrasive, microfibre cleaning cloth. They are normally infested with dust – even on a micro level – plus that oily pressing plant release agent I mentioned earlier. Tap water also includes plenty of impurities which re-infect record grooves.įinally, new records need cleaning too. You risk damaging the fragile record label. They can often attack the vinyl itself or, at the very least, block your grooves with more rubbish than they remove.Īlso, do not rinse vinyl under a tap. sprays, liquids and the like) hanging around your kitchen. By then, though, it’s too late and your record has been irretrievably scarred.Īnother no-no is commercial cleaning products (i.e. After the third or fourth clean, they sound terrible. Initially, alcohol-cleaned records sound great. I’ve done a series of sound tests to prove this phenomenon. Once that essential protective layer is gone, music sounds harsh and brittle. I don’t mean the oft talked about ‘release agent’ that a record pressing plant utilises and is often left to bung up vinyl grooves, either. Pure alcohol strips away much of the rubbish and gunge from grooves – which is great – but it also removes the protective coating that rests on the groove walls/floor. The problem is, it also lies within many commercial record cleaning products, so look carefully at the ingredients before you use them. The most contentious of the lot and one that will have a few readers and some hi-fi journalists up in arms is pure, isopropyl alcohol (as opposed to the remnants of your last vodka and tonic). There are certain things that you should most definitely avoid when cleaning vinyl. What follows is a broad selection of the different types of cleaning gadgets that you can buy.īefore we get to that, though, allow me to remove a few myths. Fortunately, there are plenty of cheaper, manual methods of record cleaning that do a great job. Using a record cleaning machine is the best way to clean a record but they are often prohibitively expensive. More than that, giving second hand records a thorough cleaning will drastically reduce any noise that you hear. If you look after your vinyl, then there is no reason why your new, quiet record shouldn’t stay quiet for many, many years. All those clicks and hiss and noise and things.” In the majority of cases (not all, I grant you that) the source of this criticism is dirty vinyl, bunged up with so much rubbish that the poor stylus has to battle through the groove like a digitised hero in a beat’em-up computer game. The album pays tribute to Kolenik’s uncle, a passionate surfer whose attic in Long Island was used for making their first album.Stressed out by the idea of lathering your first editions in wood glue? Don’t fancy spending a packet on a cleaning machine? Paul Rigby offers eight easy and affordable ways to keep your records in good nick. After five years, Cheap Dreams finds the band taking stock on where they’re from and where they’ve ended up. Making their way through three LPs and multiple incarnations of the band, they became a touring machine across America and overseas throughout the last decade. Cheap Dreams, described as a “Long Island gothic surf epic,” will be released on April 9th, 2021 via 100% Electronica.įounded in 2009 Brooklyn, Small Black were at the forefront of the chillwave scene of the early 2010s. Red and Black Splatter Vinyl - signed by the whole band!Ĭhillwave pioneers Small Black are returning with their first new album in five years.
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