Ten things to help keep your records sounding great

By Jeff Dorgay
Publisher, TONE Audio Magazine

Now that you’ve been hanging out here at SoundStageDirect.com and buying lots of records, we’d like to help you take good care of them, so they will still sound great years from now.

When my Grandfather used to bounce me on his knee, he used to always say “take care of your tools and they will take care of you!” What does this have to do with records? Cleanliness is the key. Many people get really grumpy about vinyl and they complain about noise; clicks, pops, etc. But I’ll let you in on a big secret, if you keep your records really clean, they will be very quiet and in many cases be just as quiet as CD’s!

But it’s going to take some work. The best thing about CD’s is that they require precious little if any maintenance to sound great and you don’t have to worry about a stylus breaking or wearing out and there is no setup involved with a CD player. Just drop that little shiny disc in and go. Keeping LP’s sounding great is a ritual; it’s up to you if you want to participate!

Contrary to popular belief, even new records can benefit from a good cleaning, so we’ll start simple and work our way up:

1- The basic Discwasher system. This will only set you back about $19.99 and will keep the heavy chunks off of your records. It consists of a foam pad with some fluid that is applied to said pad. You brush the record while it spins and some of the surface dirt and dust will come up off the record.

2- Carbon fiber brush. This is a dry brush that works similarly to the Discwasher brush, but without the fluid. Used in conjunction with a can of compressed air, it too can keep the surface nasties off of your records but you will need to go further if you want your records to be super quiet.

3- Stylus cleaning system. We could write a book here, but there are a number of great stylus cleaning systems that won’t break the bank. Remember, any of them that use a brush, always go from the back of the cartridge to the front, NEVER the other way around or you will break the stylus right off! This is one of the most overlooked aspects of record care and the dirtier your stylus gets, the more it gets ground into the LP. Where did you think all that gunk on the record ends up anyway?

4- Vacuum cleaning machine. If you really want to get serious about keeping your records sounding pristine, you need one of the vacuum cleaning systems from Nitty Gritty, VPI, Clearaudio or other manufacturers. These allow you to spread a cleaning fluid on the record (another whole article in itself), scrub it in a bit and then vacuum it off the record, taking the dirt along with it. This is by far the best way to get the most dirt off of your records, and if you ever buy any used LP’s an invaluable tool.

5- Record cleaning fluid. This will go along with your cleaning machine and there are quite a few different formulas out there. Rather than argue the merits of the many excellent cleaners, I’ll just give you my favorite: Vinyl Zyme, which you can get from Todd the Vinyl Junkie . VZ comes in regular or extra strength versions and if you are buying mostly new or very clean used records, will be all you ever need. The extra strength is great for used records that look pretty scummy and have a lot of fingerprints. It’s easy to use too. Just spray it on with the applicator bottle, lightly scrub in and let it sit for a minute or two to let the enzymes do their job. Then, fire up the record cleaner and suck all the crud out of your grooves!! If you have really dirty records, spray on a little extra VZ and let it soak before the vacuum operation.

6- Record sleeves. This one’s easy. Once you have those LP’s nice and clean, now’s the time to slip them into a nice, clean, archival sleeve. These will protect your records much better than the paper or cardboard sleeve it came with.

7- Outer sleeves. These don’t really affect how your records will sound, but they do keep the jackets looking nice and crisp like the day you brought them home and it completes the ritual that is vinyl collecting. A small price to pay to keep everything looking good.

8- Here’s a few mini-tips that don’t require spending any money, just a little bit of common sense. Never store your records any way other than vertical. Leaving them on an angle will eventually lead to warps that could make your LP’s unplayable. Again, order and cleanliness is your friend and the key to great sound from your vinyl. Put those records back in those sleeves after you went to the trouble to clean them and keep your hands as clean as possible when handling your records. Wash your hands after eating snacks and before touching records!

9- Get your turntable tuned up. If you don’t know how to do it yourself, get a friend or your dealer to give your table a checkup. Make sure your cartridge is correctly adjusted and that your stylus is not worn. If you have a belt drive turntable that’s more than a couple of years old, get a new belt. Now might even be a good time to trade up to a better cartridge or even a better turntable!

10- Be on the level. This is the easiest, yet most often overlooked aspect of turntable setup and anyone can handle this one! Get an inexpensive bubble level and make sure your turntable is level on more than one axis. More than likely your turntable has adjustable leveling feet on the bottom, and it probably won’t take much to get fully level. Even if you have a table worth thousands of dollars, this tweak will give you better sound, guaranteed! It should only take 5-10 minutes.

So, there you have it. Follow these instructions and with a little care and effort, your record collection will still sound good 20 years from now. Enjoy!!