Your presentation is the best ever. You’re the kind of guy that could make a history class something to look forward to. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and knowledge.
Michael! Michael!! Michael!!! I love your channel, writing, and sense of humor. You are a great teacher. I feel educated and entertained. Always look forward to your videos. Cheers from Chris in San Francisco.🙋♂️🎶
Dear Michael, I love your reviews, they are honest and encourage acceptance of your views, you are not trying to sell anything, you are just transparent. Keep up the good work.
Micheal I have to agree with you 100 % , I owned 2 other machines , and by far this is my favorite one !!!! I have had it for over a year and have cleaned my entire collection (1200+) and it has worked flawlessly .
You had two other machines....I am guessing one is some other HardWare, 16 and a half years......was this noticeably quieter than the other vacuum machines ? .......asking for an apartment dweller.
I love your sense of humor, the ending made me laugh out loud. Currently I have a record doctor and then use a cleaner vinyl ultrasonic RCM for my records. I dislike the manual turning of the Record Doctor and the volume( I wear earplugs when using) of the vacuum. The Pro-Ject seems like a great upgrade.
This is a fantastic value for money machine. (Its not cheap, but costs far less than an ultrasonic cleaner) Since using it, I find that it cleans my records much, much better than can be achieved by hand cleaning and drying. Furthermore, it is extremely simple to use and way more convenient for cleaning a large record collection. An added bonus ... it will completely remove static from your records! BTW Michael ... RTFM first ! (great review though)
I've watched so many of your videos and not commented. So please accept my thanks for the wealth of information you provide which is enhanced by your obvious love and enthusiasm for vinyl and hi-fi equipment.
I don't think that this machine dries any slower than say a VPI. You have to remember that a VPI rotates at a slooow crawl and the Project rotates at 30 rpm! Also the comments on the use of isopropyl alcohol on records, their is know empirical data that I have ever seen, read that claims alcohol damages the 300 plus formulas used to make vinyl records. If you know of any articles that prove otherwise I'd love read them.
Why is alcohol a "no no" for record cleaning? Isn't the bottle that alcohol comes in also made of vinyl plastic too? Nothing happens to that bottle... can someone explain?
Picked this up for $350 for the V2 on a close out. It will kick my Record Doctor 6' and 5's butt all over the place.... Can't wait. I've also used LAST 2 Record Preservative on 95% of my records for 35 years and it does keep records more quiet than without. Big difference. I still believe one has to use a well-damped dustcover while playing records for absolute quietest LPs. I am going to try the TM-8 solution. I have been using Audio Intelligent No. 6 for years. Love it.
I just bought this at AXPONA for the show price of $400. So far, it's been great. It sure beats trying to mop off a record with a micro fiber cloth. I do a distilled rinse after the cleaning step though. It helps keep the velvet brushes clean too. I decided to go the vac route rather than cavitation because of the price, and because you still have to get the water off a cavitated record anyhow. BTW, this christian was not offended by the "Grunge Tuesday" comment.
Mikey - love you, bless your vinyl knowledge BUT the reason it took more than one turn to dry it is because you got the felt really wet because you put the arm over a long time before you turned on the suction. Therefore it got wet through. Turn on the vac and drop it in, two rotations and dry!
casually using a (potentially) $150+ copy of smashing pumpkins "siamese dream" to support a "shelf" for fluids @3:34 😂 just found this channel, loving your approach to the hobby.
My local record store uses one of these machines; they use it to clean every used record that comes in...they swear by it. I've been thinking abut buying one for ever.
I have used one of these in the uk for over a year and it is fantastic. I had stopped buying records in the 1990s because of the poor pressings with scratches. Since I bought this cleaner I have been buying records again and ones I thought were poor now sound good.
This guy has actually grown on me. I still think the price of most of the stuff he reviews is stupid but hey if your a millionaire who am I to say what you can spend your money on. Things like this project record cleaner however are just about within the reach of us ordinary folk. Good review
Love your sense of humour and as an Austrian I am happy that my fellows built something decent. I maybe buy this as my collection is growing fast and I find a lot at the flea markets here. And don't worry, I will never send you an email:-)
just a thought, first thing I would do to a dirty record is blow away the dust.. then if possible, i'd use a continuous stream of water to wash away the hard particles. only then proceed to use the preferred solution to decontaminate the surface, go around, caress and all that jazz.. i know this is a presentation of a cleaning machine, but still it would have been nice to see a proper cleaning technique.. i'm sure mr Analog is quite versed in maintaining records and all that, but I've seen a few people (maybe that's the norm w/ this hobby, I don't know/care, I prefer other media) doing the very same mistake: start wetting a dirty record and then going at it with different kind of brushes, microfibers, etc... that's not how it works when it comes to cleaning. that's not how one cleans a dusty camera lens, a telescope mirror or in fact preparing a showroom car with a properly deep clear finish... rule no 1 always: don't wipe, move, drag around dirt particles! especially dust. that's what scratches sensitive surfaces. on a dark color car with a few layers of clear coat for example, one needs to properly clean the surfaces after each polishing step otherwise even a little dried up 'paste' from the previous stage will scratch the finish. out of curiosity, i looked today at a record under a microscope... i've been watching cleaning videos for no apparent reason... anyways, even under a 10x magnification, the dust looked like miniature rocks, under 40x the dust looked like boulders in ditches.... why would anyone leave all that scratching potential in the game? cheers everyone, have fun, be safe.
i've been watching a few clips of late to gain insight into a vaccuum machine for records. This seems really good and has some sensible features. currently i use the disco antistat which is OK, but you do end up with wet labels every so often if you dont get the fluid level spot on. Thanks for this, time to go shopping see what deals can be had!
Michael, I have the Vpi 16.5, but I like this better because the dirty record never touch the platter of the record cleaner, like in the case of the Vpi, so no contamination. I make my own enzyme cleaner, which is made from fruits and I use Triton X-100 as a surfactant. I also own other cleaning products from other companies. I have been able to bring back older blue notes rated at G level to play vg plus or better minus scratches that can't be removed, but don't over power the music. Michael, I don't want you to be like anyone else, you are a very funny guy and you have a tendency to take the most mondane topics and make them interesting. Please be yourself and keep this hobby interesting and funny.
Hey Michael Fremer. Just to let you know that LAST does have record cleaning fluids. I've been using them for years. They're my go to record care products. You can checkout all their products on their website or at one of your local high-end stereo store.
Just a quick tip: When using the vacuum, you'll might produce static on the record surface, and one should thus try to minimize the time of vacuuming. 1-2 spins are okay, especially when using non-alcoholic solutions (or when having rinsed with distilled water). I use this machine, and I'm also pleased with the platter. Greetings from Norway.
NorProg Lorentz Yup. I use battery water, but i could buy lab grade distilled water too? And i have photo flo also that i put in a few drops to the cleaning solution.
Great video Mike.... been waiting for this demo. This record cleaner looks great in all ways.... turns forwards and backgrounds plus the reservoir spout killer innovation. I'm sold; I'll be purchasing this machine soon. Thanks man! JC/Miami
Great video , I now have this machine and I like it, I had the VCE and it never worked due to the terrible air vent just below the record ( where was the quality control). Having said that I got my money back and got this, its so much better however I do have “7” records to clean too but due to the high cost of the kit I still use my Knosti Disco Antistat cleaner for these.
Thanks for showing this! I'm on a budget an have been disappointed by the Spin-Clean solution, and have been looking to step up to something more serious.
I got an Okki Nokki record cleaning machine. It really makes a better job of cleaning a record than the manual cleaning methods. The only thing I don’t like about it is the clear plastic lid for it, cost me £50 extra and was sold separately. You’d think something so essential to the efficient working of such a machine would come with it.
HI Michael thanks another great video I recently just bought a ultrasonic machine so I'm going to try that out. I'm going to keep this one in mind if the ultrasonic machine Doesn't work out.. and that white record you cleaned called the Great sadness can't find it anywhere I did sample some music by them and I really liked it I'll keep my Eyes open at the WFMU Record Fair in April.
While I know you were joking Michael, the Library of Congress is actually very important due to its vast collection of older records. If you've bought any huge archival release of pre 1950's music in the last 20 years the LOC are usually credited for either providing sources or of providing data/images that might be lost otherwise.
I know that! I've been there and toured their facility. In fact I was involved in helping them get a pair of special Simon Yorke turntables that they use for archival work.
What can I say... love this channel! But I have a question regarding LAST record preservative. Yes... I too have LPs from the 80s that have been LASTed... and they are amazing! Very quiet still. My question is, as I embark on an upgraded record cleaning process with the Pro-Ject VC-S2... after cleaning with TM-8 and vacuuming... will I need to reapply the LAST... or is the one application years ago good enough? Thanks and keep up the great work...
Would you recommend this machine over the oki noki or a base model VPI rcm ? What is your favorite? I dont care much for pro ject turntables so im skeptical of there record cleaning machines. I like that it is decently quite though.
Very good video, I like the sacarstic vocal style :) . This is a very good machine, I own one, but I replaced it by the "artisan-cheap" cavitation machine you showed some months earlier. I liked it better.
I think I once used a cleaning fluid called Touromat TM-7 but it seemed to leave a film behind on the records so I stopped using it. I remember using First and then Last record preservative.
I get why you don't want to do a before/after listening test. But I really want to find a video which does have one, because my decision to purchase one will be based on audible results.
So Michael, I have two questions and a note.. Question #1 : Since you have significant experience can you please advise on the noise level specifically between this machine and a VPI 16.5 Question #2 : On a 16.5 you can remove the suction device and run your brush over the suction hole to clean all the debris and liquid in between cleanings, can I do that with this machine? Note #1 : I've always understood that the brush should be placed with bristles straight on the record not bent or swished around as that allows the tip of the bristles to reach into the grooves. It is not just having the liquid on the record that cleans it. Note 2: It IS important to clean the brush between sides..NOT because you used different liquids but because the debris from the first side in in the brush and needs to be removed..no? Otherwise you are smearing that onto the other side...no? Thank you for your deep interest in vinyl and for sharing your knowledge...I don't always agree with you and you are indeed corny at times in my opinion...but so what..your upbeat approach is great! You support, encourage and promote vinyl and that puts us on the same team. Sharing your access is also something not readily available and appreciated! Oh yes, I like that your videos are long because they are interesting and thorough. Cheers!
Can't imagine why your records aren't in plastic protective sleeves. I get exactly the same effect rinsing my LP's in spring tap water and a clean hand towel to dry with.
I have managed to find on ebay a 7" adapter that is 3mm in thickness i have bought it to try to use with my Pro-ject vc-s by cutting out the rubber on the clamp and the platter ile leave a message if it works .
Michael, what cleaning solution (liquid) do you use with your cavitation process? Plain distilled water with surfactant? I'll check out those solutions for my vacuum cleaner. -Brad
I have this machine and the 7" record kit but there is no way of adapting the platter for record with large holes i find plastic inserts verry fidly all i want is a small platter with a 1mm thick 38mm wide ridge it will then be quick and easy to use or a 1mm thick adapter that is perfectly round i like a washer and the rubber on the clamp is not thick enough it needs to at least twice as thick its ok keeping record lable dry the first 5 10 times the more times you clamp the record squashes the rubber and the becomes leaky to the lable if they doubled the thickness of the rubber it would still be verry waterproof after please could someone tell project of this problem i used the thicker stick on rubber pad on the clamp and its not thick enough i need project to sell extra rubber mats stick on tipe to make things good but they dont seem to sell them why not.
What does the cleaning fluid of any brand actually do when it enters the grooves? Just wet it? Degrease? Detergent? How long does the fluid need to be there for?
Thanks for the video. I was curious what the actual product looked like and I think they have a leg up on the VPI designs and at a cheaper price. Now I am curious, does it shut down if the motor overheats like the VPI lower price designs or did they put in a more efficient motor. As an aside, I want to try some of those solutions myself.
Another entertaining & informative video. BTW, just a slight correction, the band is "The Great Sadness", I think you said "The Great Madness". I checked them out and Cathy now has a new fan. A bit like PJ Harvey. Thanks for the info.
That was a ridiculous faux pas, especially since I wrote a rather lengthy review you can read on AnalogPlanet.com and of course posted a song from the album on this channel!
I think you need to use more fluid. Flood the record and scrub it. Hi Michael, You can use a homebrew and not worry -- mainly because you'll vacuum it all off, right?. I use 50 percent isoproyl alcohol, 50 percent distilled water, and 4 drops of Dawn dish detergent as a surfactant. It works great and I've experienced no problems at all since 1984 when I got my VPI machine. I tried Jack Daniels, but I found that I kept drinking the fluid instead of putting it on the record... I think that even using distilled water is overkill since, as I mentioned, you vacuum it all off. your pal, Dave
No. According to Wikipedia "His appearances at New York's Copacabana led local disc jockey Fred Robbins to give him the nickname "The Velvet Fog" in honor of his high tenor and smooth vocal style."
Who sings the great madness I try to find that album on both amazon and RUclips it just comes up with madness lps from the UK pop group as I am really interested in hearing what that lp is like and I have no idea who they are it should be easier than it is to find out something about that record
Hi i love youre channel i have a question if i clean a record with a alchahol based solution and alcahol dry out the plastersizers dose last the record preserver stop or put the plastersisers back into there origonal sate if done from a new record if so how many times can i clean the record using the alcahol based solution before i need to last the record again thanks for taking time to read my humble question.
Biggest question I have with this is should you add a distilled water rinse after cleaning. There are lots of videos on this unit and some do recommend it. Also , should the brush be cleaned in between records and how?
I would love one. I would order right now but just checked and as usual double the cost direct from Project here in Australia, even taking into account exchange rate it's still high :(
Micro-clean sounds a lot like the talk from Discwasher (RCA) D4+ fluid. Used that for years before I got a real cleaning machine and started to use "Lárt du son".
Yes, I make batches of 1 litre at a time and keep it in a fridge. L'art du son doesn't like any foreign microbio material either so if it's going to be a while before you finish a batch you need to use properly distilled water to mix it with. The usual deionized and decalcified waters i.e. "battery water" is going to cause some clotting inside a week and make it less effective. Although if you are mixing just for one day use, then it's fine with deionized water.
Yes, I use it for the vacuum-type cleaner. It is my go to choice, but sometimes there is particular stuff that needs more alcohol-based cleaning. I'd rather not go that way if I can avoid it though. I also use a cavitation cleaner nowadays though, and it is really the superior choice.
Losing Weight, Ripping Vinyl Thanks a lot for the info, I got into vinyl almost 2 years now and the only thing I have to wash records so far is the spin clean and I wanted to upgrade to a vacuum cleaning machine but watching Michael’s reviews on cavitation cleaning systems I think that would be a better choice, I just can’t get enough of playing records :)
Michael as I always say another great video & this is no exception!! I bought this machine based on your review back in March,2020 but, unfortunately this model has lots of issues it leaks and now it sounds 10 xs louder than when I got it like a jet taking off !!! I emailed the Pro-Ject folks & the people I bought it from, and after a few emails the Pro-ject people told me to send it back & I may qualify for the upgraded model VC-E machine. This Machine was great I cleaned almost 50 + records before I had issues with it. So just to let Michaels Fans (Like me) know that they discontinue this model and if you do happen to buy one it leaks!! so I would go with the Pro-Ject VC-E machine which is all aluminum. So if your thinking about buying one There Great machines, but go with the VC-E or the VC-S2 model..
I was going to add the same. I bought this cleaner a few years back and it cleaned ok but the motor sounded like it had a bag of ball bearings in it, it didn’t give me confidence it was going to last. Then it leaked, and it leaked a lot. In fact I suspect it had been leaking since the first clean, and I cleaned around 50 albums. I took the bottom off before I sent it back and was quite surprised when I found the reservoir was basically a 5 litre plastic bottle glued to the suction tube and the bottle had come away and had a split in it, the wood on the inside wasn’t treated either and it was starting disintegrate. I sent it back and got an Okki Nokki, more expensive and also not without its issues but it doesn’t leak. I don’t know if they have changed the design or improved it but that was my experience. The only thing I liked better on this machine was the smaller platter, the OK has a full size platter.
More likely they are mineral spirits and you can use mineral spirit to clean your records and a contact lens cleaner afterwards if you need to, especially the one with a micro pause filler sold by Specsavers. I've been thinking about electroplating records with copper or silver to a maybe 8 nano thick, have you heard of this ever been done!! firstly it will fill in a micro pauses copper has a good low resistance factor, and it will Earth out the record to the platter so not to cause any static charge interference to be sent back to the cartridge. Can't find any information on this I'd like to know!? it should make it sound deeper with a wider soundstage and clarity in vocals. Let me know if you hear anything like this or pass the word around. Thanks
Great video thanks for telling me (Well us) about that TM-8 cleaning fluid you mentioned it a while back and another video and I had forgotten about it I will order some. So I guess you give this machine 2 thumbs up I'll look into it Thanks again
Your presentation is the best ever. You’re the kind of guy that could make a history class something to look forward to. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and knowledge.
Michael! Michael!! Michael!!! I love your channel, writing, and sense of humor. You are a great teacher. I feel educated and entertained. Always look forward to your videos. Cheers from Chris in San Francisco.🙋♂️🎶
Dear Michael, I love your reviews, they are honest and encourage acceptance of your views, you are not trying to sell anything, you are just transparent. Keep up the good work.
Micheal I have to agree with you 100 % , I owned 2 other machines , and by far this is my favorite one !!!! I have had it for over a year and have cleaned my entire collection (1200+) and it has worked flawlessly .
Just out of curiosity I'm thinking about buying one of these machines where did you get your machine and did you pay the same amount? Thanks
Got it from Music Direct , musicdirect.com $500
Thanks
You had two other machines....I am guessing one is some other HardWare, 16 and a half years......was this noticeably quieter than the other vacuum machines ?
.......asking for an apartment dweller.
I love your sense of humor, the ending made me laugh out loud. Currently I have a record doctor and then use a cleaner vinyl ultrasonic RCM for my records. I dislike the manual turning of the Record Doctor and the volume( I wear earplugs when using) of the vacuum. The Pro-Ject seems like a great upgrade.
Lanny Lippold oh man the end was genius.
This is a fantastic value for money machine. (Its not cheap, but costs far less than an ultrasonic cleaner)
Since using it, I find that it cleans my records much, much better than can be achieved by hand cleaning and drying.
Furthermore, it is extremely simple to use and way more convenient for cleaning a large record collection. An added bonus ... it will completely remove static from your records!
BTW Michael ... RTFM first ! (great review though)
I've watched so many of your videos and not commented. So please accept my thanks for the wealth of information you provide which is enhanced by your obvious love and enthusiasm for vinyl and hi-fi equipment.
I don't think that this machine dries any slower than say a VPI. You have to remember that a VPI rotates at a slooow crawl and the Project rotates at 30 rpm! Also the comments on the use of isopropyl alcohol on records, their is know empirical data that I have ever seen, read that claims alcohol damages the 300 plus formulas used to make vinyl records. If you know of any articles that prove otherwise I'd love read them.
Why is alcohol a "no no" for record cleaning? Isn't the bottle that alcohol comes in also made of vinyl plastic too? Nothing happens to that bottle... can someone explain?
Different plastics with different plasticizers. There's thousands of plastics for countless uses.
Great video, as always, Michael, thank you so much. I use an okki nokki, it does the thing
Picked this up for $350 for the V2 on a close out. It will kick my Record Doctor 6' and 5's butt all over the place.... Can't wait. I've also used LAST 2 Record Preservative on 95% of my records for 35 years and it does keep records more quiet than without. Big difference. I still believe one has to use a well-damped dustcover while playing records for absolute quietest LPs. I am going to try the TM-8 solution. I have been using Audio Intelligent No. 6 for years. Love it.
I just bought this at AXPONA for the show price of $400. So far, it's been great. It sure beats trying to mop off a record with a micro fiber cloth. I do a distilled rinse after the cleaning step though. It helps keep the velvet brushes clean too. I decided to go the vac route rather than cavitation because of the price, and because you still have to get the water off a cavitated record anyhow. BTW, this christian was not offended by the "Grunge Tuesday" comment.
Man you are hilarious! As a professing Christian I have to say that joke was funny to me lol. I just got my machine in today and can't wait to use it.
Mikey - love you, bless your vinyl knowledge BUT the reason it took more than one turn to dry it is because you got the felt really wet because you put the arm over a long time before you turned on the suction. Therefore it got wet through. Turn on the vac and drop it in, two rotations and dry!
casually using a (potentially) $150+ copy of smashing pumpkins "siamese dream" to support a "shelf" for fluids @3:34 😂 just found this channel, loving your approach to the hobby.
Man I love this guy!
You should love your wife
My local record store uses one of these machines; they use it to clean every used record that comes in...they swear by it. I've been thinking abut buying one for ever.
I have used one of these in the uk for over a year and it is fantastic. I had stopped buying records in the 1990s because of the poor pressings with scratches. Since I bought this cleaner I have been buying records again and ones I thought were poor now sound good.
some say, spin clean does a deeper cleaning than this. what do you think?
@@valeccylinder8703 some say? Who are they? Spin clean company or somebody else?
@@valeccylinder8703 doesn't get nowhere near what this machine can do I have both
This guy has actually grown on me. I still think the price of most of the stuff he reviews is stupid but hey if your a millionaire who am I to say what you can spend your money on. Things like this project record cleaner however are just about within the reach of us ordinary folk. Good review
Love your sense of humour and as an Austrian I am happy that my fellows built something decent. I maybe buy this as my collection is growing fast and I find a lot at the flea markets here. And don't worry, I will never send you an email:-)
just a thought, first thing I would do to a dirty record is blow away the dust.. then if possible, i'd use a continuous stream of water to wash away the hard particles. only then proceed to use the preferred solution to decontaminate the surface, go around, caress and all that jazz..
i know this is a presentation of a cleaning machine, but still it would have been nice to see a proper cleaning technique.. i'm sure mr Analog is quite versed in maintaining records and all that, but I've seen a few people (maybe that's the norm w/ this hobby, I don't know/care, I prefer other media) doing the very same mistake: start wetting a dirty record and then going at it with different kind of brushes, microfibers, etc...
that's not how it works when it comes to cleaning. that's not how one cleans a dusty camera lens, a telescope mirror or in fact preparing a showroom car with a properly deep clear finish... rule no 1 always: don't wipe, move, drag around dirt particles! especially dust. that's what scratches sensitive surfaces. on a dark color car with a few layers of clear coat for example, one needs to properly clean the surfaces after each polishing step otherwise even a little dried up 'paste' from the previous stage will scratch the finish.
out of curiosity, i looked today at a record under a microscope... i've been watching cleaning videos for no apparent reason... anyways, even under a 10x magnification, the dust looked like miniature rocks, under 40x the dust looked like boulders in ditches.... why would anyone leave all that scratching potential in the game?
cheers everyone, have fun, be safe.
i've been watching a few clips of late to gain insight into a vaccuum machine for records. This seems really good and has some sensible features. currently i use the disco antistat which is OK, but you do end up with wet labels every so often if you dont get the fluid level spot on. Thanks for this, time to go shopping see what deals can be had!
Michael, I have the Vpi 16.5, but I like this better because the dirty record never touch the platter of the record cleaner, like in the case of the Vpi, so no contamination. I make my own enzyme cleaner, which is made from fruits and I use Triton X-100 as a surfactant. I also own other cleaning products from other companies. I have been able to bring back older blue notes rated at G level to play vg plus or better minus scratches that can't be removed, but don't over power the music. Michael, I don't want you to be like anyone else, you are a very funny guy and you have a tendency to take the most mondane topics and make them interesting. Please be yourself and keep this hobby interesting and funny.
Your own enzyme cleaner! This is the comment content I came here for 😅 THX SEX PISTOLS!
So glad to see another video from you! I wish you'd do them more often, but I suppose you have a life!😁 I always enjoy your video's!
I love it... deal with it... keep up the great work
Love the programs keep them coming.
Hey Michael Fremer. Just to let you know that LAST does have record cleaning fluids. I've been using them for years. They're my go to record care products. You can checkout all their products on their website or at one of your local high-end stereo store.
Yes I know they do, and some very good ones. I was just going to the preservative.
Analog Planet Does LAST really bind the vinyl material? I didnt think vinyl plastic could absorbe anything.
Just a quick tip: When using the vacuum, you'll might produce static on the record surface, and one should thus try to minimize the time of vacuuming. 1-2 spins are okay, especially when using non-alcoholic solutions (or when having rinsed with distilled water). I use this machine, and I'm also pleased with the platter. Greetings from Norway.
NorProg Lorentz is the projects own wash it solution alcohol free?
Yes, it is :) I do not use it myself though, so i have no further knowledge about it, how good of a job it does etc.
NorProg Lorentz Ok, thanks. I will be using it as i trust project to use a good solution with their own machine.
Yes, I would think so. Just remember to mix it with distilled water if its a concentrate.
NorProg Lorentz Yup. I use battery water, but i could buy lab grade distilled water too? And i have photo flo also that i put in a few drops to the cleaning solution.
Watching Paint dry is always fun
Great video. I like this machine, thanks for sharing!
Great video Mike.... been waiting for this demo. This record cleaner looks great in all ways.... turns forwards and backgrounds plus the reservoir spout killer innovation. I'm sold; I'll be purchasing this machine soon. Thanks man! JC/Miami
This guy is so funny its just worth watching just for the comedy, even if you are not interested in hifi or turntables.
Great video , I now have this machine and I like it, I had the VCE and it never worked due to the terrible air vent just below the record ( where was the quality control). Having said that I got my money back and got this, its so much better however I do have “7” records to clean too but due to the high cost of the kit I still use my Knosti Disco Antistat cleaner for these.
What a great guy! Thanks for the excellent and witty video.
One thing is for sure...... Michael Fremer enjoys himself.
Thanks for showing this! I'm on a budget an have been disappointed by the Spin-Clean solution, and have been looking to step up to something more serious.
hi, is this better as your spin clean? i heard spin clean does a deeper cleaning.
You are the best Michael i watch each single review You make i hope i see You in Schaumburg Axpona next week
I'll be there
I got an Okki Nokki record cleaning machine. It really makes a better job of cleaning a record than the manual cleaning methods. The only thing I don’t like about it is the clear plastic lid for it, cost me £50 extra and was sold separately. You’d think something so essential to the efficient working of such a machine would come with it.
"It changes the molecular structure(...)" no it doesn't.
Who cares if it does or it doesn’t. It does something and that sounds good.
I've got the newer model. It was 470$ aus...which is fantastic value..black Friday. Good record cleaner.
you're a funny guy, I enjoy your brand of vinyl record humor.
If you had a choice The Project or the Humming Guru which would you go with? I have those 2 choices.
HI Michael thanks another great video I recently just bought a ultrasonic machine so I'm going to try that out. I'm going to keep this one in mind if the ultrasonic machine Doesn't work out.. and that white record you cleaned called the Great sadness can't find it anywhere I did sample some music by them and I really liked it I'll keep my Eyes open at the WFMU Record Fair in April.
Window Payne acid…. Nice! Good review.
Great vids Mike! ❤
While I know you were joking Michael, the Library of Congress is actually very important due to its vast collection of older records. If you've bought any huge archival release of pre 1950's music in the last 20 years the LOC are usually credited for either providing sources or of providing data/images that might be lost otherwise.
I know that! I've been there and toured their facility. In fact I was involved in helping them get a pair of special Simon Yorke turntables that they use for archival work.
What can I say... love this channel! But I have a question regarding LAST record preservative. Yes... I too have LPs from the 80s that have been LASTed... and they are amazing! Very quiet still. My question is, as I embark on an upgraded record cleaning process with the Pro-Ject VC-S2... after cleaning with TM-8 and vacuuming... will I need to reapply the LAST... or is the one application years ago good enough? Thanks and keep up the great work...
This guy is one of a kind, probably could have been a comedian if he didn’t land in this cushy job.
LOL He is on Facebook and I told him exactly that. He said when younger, he DID do some standup! LOL
Would you recommend this machine over the oki noki or a base model VPI rcm ? What is your favorite? I dont care much for pro ject turntables so im skeptical of there record cleaning machines. I like that it is decently quite though.
Very good video, I like the sacarstic vocal style :) . This is a very good machine, I own one, but I replaced it by the "artisan-cheap" cavitation machine you showed some months earlier. I liked it better.
(I wonder why the Orbitrac box doesn't fall!)
Nothing beats cavitation
I think I once used a cleaning fluid called Touromat TM-7 but it seemed to leave a film behind on the records so I stopped using it. I remember using First and then Last record preservative.
I get why you don't want to do a before/after listening test. But I really want to find a video which does have one, because my decision to purchase one will be based on audible results.
So Michael, I have two questions and a note..
Question #1 : Since you have significant experience can you please advise on the noise level specifically between this machine and a VPI 16.5
Question #2 : On a 16.5 you can remove the suction device and run your brush over the suction hole to clean all the debris and liquid in between cleanings, can I do that with this machine?
Note #1 : I've always understood that the brush should be placed with bristles straight on the record not bent or swished around as that allows the tip of the bristles to reach into the grooves. It is not just having the liquid on the record that cleans it.
Note 2: It IS important to clean the brush between sides..NOT because you used different liquids but because the debris from the first side in in the brush and needs to be removed..no? Otherwise you are smearing that onto the other side...no?
Thank you for your deep interest in vinyl and for sharing your knowledge...I don't always agree with you and you are indeed corny at times in my opinion...but so what..your upbeat approach is great! You support, encourage and promote vinyl and that puts us on the same team. Sharing your access is also something not readily available and appreciated! Oh yes, I like that your videos are long because they are interesting and thorough. Cheers!
dude, looks like Michael dont give a shit about your two questions
...the Kirby door to door salesman was just here. If the deluxe vacuum cleaner accessory package came with a record cleaner I would have bought it.
you really don't want to be sucking liquids into a vacuum cleaner other than a shop vac
Can't imagine why your records aren't in plastic protective sleeves. I get exactly the same effect rinsing my LP's in spring tap water and a clean hand towel to dry with.
Micheal you should try L'Art Du Son Record Cleaning Fluid, i found it very very good.. anyway nice review ...
I have managed to find on ebay a 7" adapter that is 3mm in thickness i have bought it to try to use with my Pro-ject vc-s by cutting out the rubber on the clamp and the platter ile leave a message if it works .
did it work ?? and if so do you have a link for it
Michael can you give a website for "Last" you speak of?
Read the directions, dude!
Michael, what cleaning solution (liquid) do you use with your cavitation process? Plain distilled water with surfactant? I'll check out those solutions for my vacuum cleaner. -Brad
Does this scratch the inner groove from the wand? You might have to look closely.
As long as the "lips" raise the wand, which they do, why should that happen?
Grunge Tuesday is my favorite day
Is LAST the same as Sound Guard by Ball Corp. that I swore by in the 70’s?
They are w different products I used sound guard yrs ago good stuff
Any thoughts on Gruv Glide?
Many people are fans but I'm hesitant to use a lubricant, even a dry one, on a record.
Grunge Tuesday includes a copy of Siamese Dream!
I have this machine and the 7" record kit but there is no way of adapting the platter for record with large holes i find plastic inserts verry fidly all i want is a small platter with a 1mm thick 38mm wide ridge it will then be quick and easy to use or a 1mm thick adapter that is perfectly round i like a washer and the rubber on the clamp is not thick enough it needs to at least twice as thick its ok keeping record lable dry the first 5 10 times the more times you clamp the record squashes the rubber and the becomes leaky to the lable if they doubled the thickness of the rubber it would still be verry waterproof after please could someone tell project of this problem i used the thicker stick on rubber pad on the clamp and its not thick enough i need project to sell extra rubber mats stick on tipe to make things good but they dont seem to sell them why not.
Michael - when are you going to review the Kirmuss audio cleaning system
What does the cleaning fluid of any brand actually do when it enters the grooves? Just wet it? Degrease? Detergent? How long does the fluid need to be there for?
O my God!! that's 25 mins I'll never get back..never again
Great video...but I’m guessing that all of these cleaning solutions need to be followed by a thorough rinse in distilled water (or better).
It's not a bad idea but the ones that do not use alcohol really don't.
J C df
Thanks for the video. I was curious what the actual product looked like and I think they have a leg up on the VPI designs and at a cheaper price. Now I am curious, does it shut down if the motor overheats like the VPI lower price designs or did they put in a more efficient motor. As an aside, I want to try some of those solutions myself.
In the instruction booklet it does say that there is protection against overheating - shuts off the motor. I haven't tested it though!
Another entertaining & informative video. BTW, just a slight correction, the band is "The Great Sadness", I think you said "The Great Madness". I checked them out and Cathy now has a new fan. A bit like PJ Harvey. Thanks for the info.
That was a ridiculous faux pas, especially since I wrote a rather lengthy review you can read on AnalogPlanet.com and of course posted a song from the album on this channel!
I think you need to use more fluid. Flood the record and scrub it.
Hi Michael,
You can use a homebrew and not worry -- mainly because you'll vacuum it all off, right?. I use 50 percent isoproyl alcohol, 50 percent distilled water, and 4 drops of Dawn dish detergent as a surfactant. It works great and I've experienced no problems at all since 1984 when I got my VPI machine. I tried Jack Daniels, but I found that I kept drinking the fluid instead of putting it on the record...
I think that even using distilled water is overkill since, as I mentioned, you vacuum it all off.
your pal,
Dave
Detergent not good for records, nor is alcohol so why use them? Instead of Dawn use Kodak Photoflo but of course your choice.
Analog Planet Would you add kodak photo flo to the projects own cleaning solution + deminiralised water.
Velvet lips wasn't that Mel Torme?
No. According to Wikipedia "His appearances at New York's Copacabana led local disc jockey Fred Robbins to give him the nickname "The Velvet Fog" in honor of his high tenor and smooth vocal style."
What about the "lips" on the vacuum? Do they collect dirt?
I dont know what the problem with the machine micks using mines a monster one spin an its done. I did plug up the arm end caps with PTFE tape.
Who sings the great madness I try to find that album on both amazon and RUclips it just comes up with madness lps from the UK pop group as I am really interested in hearing what that lp is like and I have no idea who they are it should be easier than it is to find out something about that record
You have a lot of really touchy people in your comments lol
Yes. Very touchy and they get back as good as they give.
Analog Planet love this comment! Love the channel!
Analog Planet. Fremer, you are a snake oil salesman of the highest order.
Hi i love youre channel i have a question if i clean a record with a alchahol based solution and alcahol dry out the plastersizers dose last the record preserver stop or put the plastersisers back into there origonal sate if done from a new record if so how many times can i clean the record using the alcahol based solution before i need to last the record again thanks for taking time to read my humble question.
i heard that spin clean does a deeper cleaning than vc s or vc e. is it true?
Biggest question I have with this is should you add a distilled water rinse after cleaning. There are lots of videos on this unit and some do recommend it. Also , should the brush be cleaned in between records and how?
Ask the pro ject and let me know
I would love one. I would order right now but just checked and as usual double the cost direct from Project here in Australia, even taking into account exchange rate it's still high :(
Micro-clean sounds a lot like the talk from Discwasher (RCA) D4+ fluid. Used that for years before I got a real cleaning machine and started to use "Lárt du son".
That is a useful fluid but it contains organics and so it's important to keep out of sunlight (they say).
Yes, I make batches of 1 litre at a time and keep it in a fridge. L'art du son doesn't like any foreign microbio material either so if it's going to be a while before you finish a batch you need to use properly distilled water to mix it with. The usual deionized and decalcified waters i.e. "battery water" is going to cause some clotting inside a week and make it less effective. Although if you are mixing just for one day use, then it's fine with deionized water.
@@runetech Are You still using L'Art Du Son Record Cleaning Fluid? how do you like it?
Yes, I use it for the vacuum-type cleaner. It is my go to choice, but sometimes there is particular stuff that needs more alcohol-based cleaning. I'd rather not go that way if I can avoid it though. I also use a cavitation cleaner nowadays though, and it is really the superior choice.
Losing Weight, Ripping Vinyl Thanks a lot for the info, I got into vinyl almost 2 years now and the only thing I have to wash records so far is the spin clean and I wanted to upgrade to a vacuum cleaning machine but watching Michael’s reviews on cavitation cleaning systems I think that would be a better choice, I just can’t get enough of playing records :)
Hi there! Where’s the opening clip from?
Thanks Michael - the Micro Seiki product is available here: www.micro-seiki.org/clean-beat
Getting my project vcs tomorrow. Is the project wash it cleaning solution any good?
Hey Live WIre...after having had the VCS for a year now what are your thoughts?
Hilarious and informative. Thank you!
Michael as I always say another great video & this is no exception!! I bought this machine based on your review back in March,2020 but, unfortunately this model has lots of issues it leaks and now it sounds 10 xs louder than when I got it like a jet taking off !!! I emailed the Pro-Ject folks & the people I bought it from, and after a few emails the Pro-ject people told me to send it back & I may qualify for the upgraded model VC-E machine. This Machine was great I cleaned almost 50 + records before I had issues with it. So just to let Michaels Fans (Like me) know that they discontinue this model and if you do happen to buy one it leaks!! so I would go with the Pro-Ject VC-E machine which is all aluminum. So if your thinking about buying one There Great machines, but go with the VC-E or the VC-S2 model..
I was going to add the same. I bought this cleaner a few years back and it cleaned ok but the motor sounded like it had a bag of ball bearings in it, it didn’t give me confidence it was going to last. Then it leaked, and it leaked a lot. In fact I suspect it had been leaking since the first clean, and I cleaned around 50 albums. I took the bottom off before I sent it back and was quite surprised when I found the reservoir was basically a 5 litre plastic bottle glued to the suction tube and the bottle had come away and had a split in it, the wood on the inside wasn’t treated either and it was starting disintegrate. I sent it back and got an Okki Nokki, more expensive and also not without its issues but it doesn’t leak. I don’t know if they have changed the design or improved it but that was my experience. The only thing I liked better on this machine was the smaller platter, the OK has a full size platter.
@@craig2907 How is your other machine doing now? From my post above they gave me an upgrade the VC-e machine woks as it should..
Do you recomend rinsing the record after using those fluids
Mr Fremer, how it sounds the records after the cleaning process? Cheers from Chile
My cleaning machine Pro Ject VC S MKII is broken after 6 weeks from purchase.
Wow!!! Working, needed just allen key.
Great video. Could I use the cleaning solutions you use in the video in a manual vate style record cleaners like the SPIN Clean or the Knosti cleaner?
I wouldn't. Their fluid is specifically designed to "ball up" the dirt so it doesn't re-contaminate the record...they claim.
Mmmm yes, a wholesome man
How in the hell do you pick a record to play? Eenie meeinie minnie mo?? Impressive!
More likely they are mineral spirits and you can use mineral spirit to clean your records and a contact lens cleaner afterwards if you need to, especially the one with a micro pause filler sold by Specsavers. I've been thinking about electroplating records with copper or silver to a maybe 8 nano thick, have you heard of this ever been done!! firstly it will fill in a micro pauses copper has a good low resistance factor, and it will Earth out the record to the platter so not to cause any static charge interference to be sent back to the cartridge. Can't find any information on this I'd like to know!? it should make it sound deeper with a wider soundstage and clarity in vocals. Let me know if you hear anything like this or pass the word around. Thanks
You must get back on your meds.
Analog Planet nothing wrong with mineral spirits doesn't attack vinyl not a constructive reply was it? Can you elaborate!!
Where can I find "Micro Clean"?
Great video thanks for telling me (Well us) about that TM-8 cleaning fluid you mentioned it a while back and another video and I had forgotten about it I will order some. So I guess you give this machine 2 thumbs up I'll look into it Thanks again
"This is the fluid Bernie Sanders uses to clean his socialist records" LMAO
why not ultrasonic cleaner , just water , i dont use LP but i think it should be better then goat hair :)
where can micro clean be purchased?