Ditto here on a RCM with the following caveat. I have a VPI 16.5 and use the AIVS stuff and a friend has a Loricraft. We did an experiment where I cleaned a batch of records from the late 50s to the early 60s on my VPI. I carted the records over to my friends house where we first listened to establish a baseline and then re-cleaned the records on his Loricraft. No contest, everything sounded much better than they did using just the VPI. To ensure that it wasnt multiple cleanings that was the cause of the improvement, I brought the records back home, re-listened again to re-establish the baseline and then re-cleaned on the VPI. I never got past the first disc as it regressed to the pre-Loricraft condition. My best guess is that the concentrated suction of the Loricraft removed more of the fluid out of the grooves. A Loricraft is on my wish list.
My best advice is to befriend collectors in your local area. I stumbled into several of these early on in my collecting life and the friendships that developed over the years have been extremely rewarding first on a personal basis and then also from a building a collection standpoint. From my experience, these guys love to play DJ and will endlessly spin records for you. These guys also tend to have large collections with duplicates that may send your way after the relationship is established. Also, these guys have years of experience and know the best sources for records.
The corollary to the above paragraph is to develop relationships/friendships with dealers. Your local collectors can help facilitate this. The benefits from this are many. Heres a couple of things that have happened to me. The larger of these dealers will only include an item on their list for set number of times before it goes in a discard file if it hasnt sold. How would you like to get a call from said dealer letting you know that the pile is getting large and he will sell you any disc in the pile for a buck? Yes, it does help being a good and consistent customer. Scenario number 2. Dealer gets a large batch (about 15k) of records in thats loaded with the type of stuff you like (being a good customer, he knows what you like). The problem is the stuff in the pile doesnt have enough value to make it worth while for the dealer to individually list so he plans to sell them in bulk to foreign buyers. You get a call that you came come and cull records out at 3 bucks a disc. Lots of fun and well worth the hours of driving required.
My best advice is to befriend collectors in your local area. I stumbled into several of these early on in my collecting life and the friendships that developed over the years have been extremely rewarding first on a personal basis and then also from a building a collection standpoint. From my experience, these guys love to play DJ and will endlessly spin records for you. These guys also tend to have large collections with duplicates that may send your way after the relationship is established. Also, these guys have years of experience and know the best sources for records.
The corollary to the above paragraph is to develop relationships/friendships with dealers. Your local collectors can help facilitate this. The benefits from this are many. Heres a couple of things that have happened to me. The larger of these dealers will only include an item on their list for set number of times before it goes in a discard file if it hasnt sold. How would you like to get a call from said dealer letting you know that the pile is getting large and he will sell you any disc in the pile for a buck? Yes, it does help being a good and consistent customer. Scenario number 2. Dealer gets a large batch (about 15k) of records in thats loaded with the type of stuff you like (being a good customer, he knows what you like). The problem is the stuff in the pile doesnt have enough value to make it worth while for the dealer to individually list so he plans to sell them in bulk to foreign buyers. You get a call that you came come and cull records out at 3 bucks a disc. Lots of fun and well worth the hours of driving required.