Two record player questions

I never clean my records with discwasher type systems, the few LPs cleaned with them I've seen back in the 70s always looked gummy.

If the needle got broken in transit or mishandling it can damage a record, but I don't think a cartridge that comes with a turntable, even at the lowest end, would be bad enough to hurt disks. What brand is the turntable and cartridge?

I believe perceived wisdom is that: since the only place that actually matters for sound reproduction is actually in the grooves; and since record cleaning brushes / cloths typically can't actually get into those grooves; most of those products actually do more harm than good and that all you should normally need to do is remove any obvious fluff which might impede the passage of the needle and blow off any that's collected on the cartridge around said needle.

I'm certainly not offering any guarantees here, but I did once read a review in hi-fi magazine of some incredibly expensive high-end mechanical record cleaner which basically said that if you do have really dirty records, the best thing for cleaning them is probably a weak solution of ordinary household washing up liquid in warm water....

I would suggest that you try this on something other than your priceless unreleased Beatles acetates first 'though.

Interesting. I recently purchased a bottle of record cleaner from Elusive Sound. The first record that I cleaned actually now sounds WORSE than it did before. Incidentally, this was a brand new record, that looked in horrible shape and had an in ordinate amount of surface noise for a brand new platter (the perfect victim for my first cleaning, or so I thought). I'm reticent to clean beyond dry brushes now. As aside, what is it with brand new records that seem to be in awful shape? Further, I find that even 180gram pressings of today can't hold a candle soundwise to pretty much anything that was pressed in the pre-cd era. Are we just dealing with a weaker stock of vinyl in general here or what?

I spoke to a long-time shop owner about cleaning records last year, and he told me the same thing with regard to ordinary household cleaner. His advice was to fill a new spray bottle with distilled water and use 1oz (about the size of a shot) of dish soap for the entire bottle. Spray the weak cleaning solution on the record without hitting the label and use a microfiber cloth to carefully wipe it dry. Bounty paper towels are about the closest substitute to microfiber, but using any cheap paper towels could potentially cause scratches, so be careful.

Everyone seems to have a different opinion on cleaning. After years of trial and error, I've found that a combination of a distalled water/alcohol solution and a lint-free cloth, with a bit of pressure and a scrub in a circular motion, cleans the well enough for me. Maybe it never does get into the grooves but often with used LPs there will be debris on the outside as well that causes tracking problems. I do this one for most used records and then never again. After that I use one of those $10 carbon microfiber brushes, which seems to pick up a fair amount of dust.

i've had a Prince record sitting on my turntable for two weeks now open to the air. i just blow off the lint or obvious hairs.

you can't take it with you.

This is straight from my Diamond Cut manual on audio restoration. Diamond Cut is a program used to transfer to digital and restore everything from wax cylinder recordings to really damaged vinyl. The company developed it into a product after using it to restore/recreate to digital antique recordings for the Smithsonian.
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When dealing with a one-of-a-kind or a very rare recording, it is strongly advised that you make a transfer of the recording before beginning any cleaning process. The reason for this is so that you at least have something to work with in the event that you inadvertently damage the recording in the cleaning process.
Clean the surface of the recording. Use a machine designed for this purpose if you have one available. The type which deposits a "bead" of distilled water and then removes it with a stylus, string, and a vacuum system are probably the best for this purpose. If a system such as this is not available, clean your record with a lint-free cloth and distilled water. Avoid the use of solvents or wetting agents that are non-aromatic as they have the propensity to leave behind a residue. These residues can attract particulate matter over time and clog the bottom of the record groove. If you are cleaning either wax cylinders or Edison Diamond Discs, or other records containing wood or paper cores, do not use water because of the potential for damage by the solvent. Use only a lint free cloth on these items. Also, be very careful not to get fingerprints on wax cylinders. The oil in your fingerprint will provide the "seed" necessary to trigger fungus growth on the wax surface. This will destroy the cylinder groove wall in time. Blue Amberol cylinders can be cleaned with a cloth that has been moistened with distilled water. However, be careful not to allow any water to come into contact with the plaster core, because it may swell up cracking the record surface.

Warning: Do not use solvents such as alcohol or acetone on acetate (transcription) recordings! These solvents will destroy the recording. We have seen grown men cry after utilizing this method of cleaning on acetates (and in one case the transcription was a one-of-a-kind recording.)

Copyright 1995-2001 Diamond Cut Productions, Inc.

Alcohol disolves shellac (used for 78s) and apparently wax cylinders but I don't think it harms vinyl. I am no expert, though.