Humminguru record cleaner

You can get excellent, happy listening w all three …and more…..

my experiment was buy 3 sequential MoFi pressings ( easy to do at my local audio / vinyl crack den ), clean 1 on store VPI, clean another on store Degritter, send 3rd away to Perfect Vinyl Forever ( process 2.0 )….. 

I own a Degritter…….. now…..

First , it a great to know the world has another proven happy customers AFFORDABLE US RCM ! Bravo.

A blacklight will help you see the fruits of effective cleaning….

Finally, dive just a bit deeper into the subject by visiting US cleaning bible by @antinn hosted by @whart at The Vinyil Press.

You will discover great dudes passionate about music, records… and better…

FWIW, ultrasonic stylus cleaners are not “ultrasonic”, if you define it as beyond range of hearing. They operate at about 500 Hz.

I once compared US cleaning to cleaning with my VPI HW17, using DI water, alcohol, and TX100 in the VPI. I used a familiar recording by Johnny Hartman. The US machine was on demo at the CAF in DC, and the owner cleaned the LP with his machine at the show. I could hear no significant difference between the two methods, both excellent.

There are any number of decent ways to clean a record. I am beginning to think it depends more on the fluid than anything else. The problem is how the record is dried. This is an instance where the original record cleaners were well researched. They all used vacuum drying for a very good reason. The air is full of pollution. It is so full that evolution has given animals an amazing system for filtering it out, mucous and cilia. Without that system by the time we were one decade old our lungs would be totally trashed. For those of you with forced hot air heating or AC what does your filter look like after 6 months, a year. Now imagine that in your lungs. Now imagine that on your records. The fluid traps the dust, then you fan or air dry the record evaporating the water, leaving the pollution on the record. Once a record is wet it has to be vacuum dried, removing everything from the surface. I do not know of an ultrasonic machine that vacuum dries the record, the format makes vacuum drying impossible to do at anything approaching a reasonable cost. I think the Nessie is the best value in a vacuum record cleaning machine. Cleaning with a fine brush or microfiber pad and a good fluid is just as effective as ultrasonic cleaning with the advantage of vacuum drying with any number of machines making the entire process more effective than any ultrasonic machine. 

I thing that people who notice a stunning improvement in sound quality after cleaning a record either have extraordinarily filthy records or they are subject to expectation bias. Many people are disappointed when a record is just as noisy after cleaning. You clean your records to prevent them from becoming trashed, once they are they are rubbish fodder.  

@vinylshadow I have a PRC-4 Deluxe, and it does most of the work. My Degritter is the icing on the cake, as it were. I use L'Art du Son with it (sometimes AI Enzyme Formula when needed) and use the Degritter now with plain distilled water. That gives the final rise whilst the transducers take off any remaining crud. So my experience suggests that a Humminguru would be a good addition to your Loricraft, but probably not a replacement.

Is this Shaklee Stuff really OK to use on LPs?  I question household cleaners on vinyl, just out of principle, not out of experience. 

Welcome to the ultrasonic club.

I've had my Humminguru for a year now and am surprised how well it works.  I've gotten used albums in sketchy condition, but after a good manual cleaning and a run or two through the ultrasonic machine, they sound just fine.   

How interesting. Doesn't Hummingbird also make an Ultrasonic stylus cleaner too? I've always wondered if those would work or possibly jeopardize the stylus due to the waves.

I have a Loricraft 4 RCM with L'Art du Son liquid.... Does a great job suctioning and cleaning. Wonder how the Hummingbird compares.

I’ve had one for about six months. Please follow the manual. Used distilled water. Do not use tapwater. I use a single drop of a surficant. Do not use alcohol. This machine runs at a lower frequency than the more expensive units. If it’s not clean enough for me, I run it through again. It only takes a few minutes. The device will dry your records. It takes a few minutes for the fan to work. I wear white gloves when I work with my records. 
you will not be disappointed with this device.

Bent

I’ve ordered it from Amazon.  Arriving tomorrow.

I’m not worried because I don’t have hard water.

I can pretty much guarantee that your tap water still has dissolved minerals and who knows whatever else in it no matter how soft you may think it is.  Just grab some distilled or DI at the grocery store without delay.  Why wait?

A few drops of Basic H in the water as I mentioned in fact acts as a surfactant. But I find it optional, not required for good results and probably not unique to any particular Ultrasonic cleaner.

The ’Guru’ is an excellent machine, However, it does benefit greatly from having a surfactant added to the water ( as do all US machines). Without a surfactant and DS, I found the machine to clean ok, but there was still a certain amount of hash, even on relatively clean LP’s.

To this, i am now going to add a vacuum machine to my regimen, as I think the ability to remove more ingrained gunk is better with a manual scrub, and the addition of an enzyme remover is also a plus.

I change the water regularly depending on how much used and how dirty records are.   Just visual inspection.   If it's not clear, I change the water.  Or if it sits for a period of time between uses.  A gallon of distilled water goes a long way.

@mapman 

How often do you do maintenance on the Humminguru?

I finally achieved ultimate vinyl paradise last year after acquiring my very own Humminguru. Highly recommended!

Distilled water maybe with an optional  drop or two of Shaklee Basic H for me.

Tablejockey,

For now I’m just using tap water.  Soon I will get distilled water, which is recommended.  I’m not worried because I don’t have hard water.

Its really a great and easy machine to operate.

I just bought one and have not used it yet. Have a VPI 16.5 that I will use for the "dirty" records as a first clean and then run them through the Hummin' Guru. Looking forward to firing it up.

Amazon.com: Happybuy Ultrasonic Cleaner 6L Ultrasonic Vinyl Cleaner 7-12 Inch 8 Records Ultrasonic Vinyl Cleaning Machine 180W Ultrasonic Records Cleaner with Drying Rack for Home Store : Industrial & Scientific

...is what I use. It's even cheaper. It does not dry automatically, but to dry the records, I use DeWalt drill to grab a spindle and spin those fast till dry.

There you go: "the biggest upgrade" is how I put it. It doesn't have to be an ultrasonic machine, and all sorts of ways to skin a cat here. But a perfectly clean record is a joy to hear.

I've been putting off purchasing a proper RCM for years, because of cost.

Good to read another positive outcome with the Hummingbird.

This appears to be the solution since my collection is generally in good condition. 

Water/solution or just water?

It’s hard to believe how much better records sound when cleaned ultrasonically,