2. analog
  3. 190080-81864

ultrasound record cleaning machine damaged my records

I recently purchased an ultrasound record cleaning machine. For reasons which I hope you understand I won’t name brands, because I am not wanting to make bad publicity to anyone but to discuss the matter. 

Previously, I had anather ultrasound machine which broke. I cleaned more than a 1000 records with it, with no concerns at all. The machine broke and, due to its steep price, I decided to go for a less costly solution. 

With the new machine I cleaned 7 records. One of themLeonard Cohen’s “New Skin for the old ceremony”. When listening to “Chelsea Hote”, I remarked a distortion that wasn’t there before. IT was clear on the low notes, like the instrument being out of focus or vibrating. I had some old very worn records which had that problem due to bad stylus. At first I started to think that there was a problem with the stylus of my Lyra Atlas. So I went to another version of the same album I have at home, to check if there was a problem with the stylus. Clean passage. No problem at all. 

As on the previous cleaned record I noticed a similar problem, not so apparent, I decided to clean the second version of the LP on the new machine. Playing it i heard  the same distortion on the same music. Checking out all the 7 records I cleaned, I heard issues on all of them, some less apparent ( the mono ones) and some more appparent. 

I couldn’t believe it but the new machine was damaging my records. 

The combination of my atlas and my SME 312 arm gives some “needle talk” - music heard when with everything muted you put your hear next to the stylus on the record. Doing it, I heard the same rumble distortion that was being amplified by the system. 

 

I used distilled water (not a new one but one which was opened for the previous machine) but it was clear clean. I put the exact amount of surfactant liquid on the mixture of distilled water. I kept all the operating instruction rules. I don’t understand what is wrong, but the fact is this machines damages the grooves on the record. 

 

Does anyone had this problem before? Any help provided?

 

Note: I already contacted the dealer who sold it  and I am going to see him next week. It is a very good a solid dealer.  It I’d like to hear your opinion. 

 

Best regards,

pfmaudio

Showing 2 responses by oldrooney

oldrooney's avatar
oldrooney
220 posts
 

@pindac Thank you for posting a link to Neil Antin‘s magnum opus.
@antinn Thank you for responding to clarify specific questions with citations to your book.

Generally speaking, this is a very very confusing topic for beginners such as myself, getting back into vinyl in a serious fashion. I found the organization of Precision Aqueous Cleaning of Vinyl Records, 3rd Edition quite well laid out, easy to read, and well illustrated. What’s more, it cites materials for not only the United States, but Europe, the United Kingdom, as well as Australia. In five chapters it describes the process recommended as a starting-off point, with the what’s and why’s of each step. It’s strongest point, I think, is that it doesn’t hold up one ingredient or the other as a silver bullet, or mandate specific ‘hard rules’ so much as (1) describe the task, (2) list materials, (3) describe precisely how and why procedure is given the way it is, (4) offers ways to check effectiveness. Finally, it is very well documented. Anyone seeking to clean their records would benefit from reading it, in my opinion. It was worth the morning I spent doing so.

Note: Chapter 6 discusses keeping your records clean, and Chapters 7 through 15 delve deeper into the component parts of the cleaning process, starting with the water, and finish examining the method and effectiveness of record cleaning machines, both vacuum and ultrasonic. Appendix B consists of a helpful List of Abbreviations and Acronyms (don’t you wish everyone did).

For my part, I washed my old records by hand with warm water and Fels Naptha Soap and dried them with a cotton towel. [Hey! The process was aqueous, wasn’t it?] Play improved on all but the worst ones. I’ve purchased a Spin Clean, but have yet to use it. I’m thinking I’ll print out chapters 1-6 and start building my kit before I start in on my collection of about 200 LPs and 750 45 RPM records.

@pfmaudio I hope you are able to get some satisfaction from the dealer, and hopefully recover whatever was lost on your recordings. I can certainly understand your reticence to make any more sacrifices for ‘science’ or other’s satisfaction. 

oldrooney's avatar
oldrooney
220 posts
 

@pindac Thanks for the tips.
@antinn When I cite your work in future, I will be sure to include the text from the foreword, p. 3 that you quote above.
@whart Thank you for allowing free download of the current edition of Precision Aqueous Cleaning of Vinyl Records. It truly is a gift to the community and offers solid guidance in the midst of a forest of ‘solutions’ I feel.
@pfmaudio I’m glad things went well at the dealer. Your experience vindicated your reticence to mention names at the start, in my opinion. I don’t know about you, but every new purchase these days seems to generate a high degree of anxiety in me which seems to affect both my senses and my sense, if you will. I wish I had a dealer I could go to in order to confirm or deny my perceptions. I guess my old age (70+) makes me frail in ways I don’t always anticipate.

As far as I know you can post links to YouTube video clips that contain music, but I haven’t done it myself. The key is linking the data file, I’m not sure you can upload the file itself, but others may correct me. You might reach out to the site moderator for instructions and limitations.

More to discover