What is the first thing you do when you unwrap a new vinyl record?


That is, apart from kiss the person who gave it to you!

You might play it, catalog it, archive it, clean it or simply store it.  I am sure there are many other things you do!

128x128richardbrand

as with others here, I clean it in my US RCM and put it in a rice sleeve, if it was not supplied with one. Then I listen for pops and clicks and skips. Then a few days later, I listen to the music.

I lookup the record ID on discogs, add it to my collection. Get a protective sleeve for the cover and then play it ! laugh

I zap it with my Zerostat then clean it on my Nitty Gritty RCM--first using the MoFi Super Deep Cleaner and then their regular record wash.  I apply the cleaners by placing the LP on a rubber record mat in its shipping box, so there is a solid surface against which I can apply the pressure of the record-cleaning brushes. Then I place the LP back on the rubber mat and apply LAST preservative.  It is often necessary to clean the LP again (with a dry carbon-fiber brush) after placing it on the turntable, as dust will have landed on it.  After listening to the record I add it to my collection on Discogs if I'm going to keep it. I usually place the LP in a new inner sleeve, especially if it came in a paper or cheap poly sleeve.

This procedure, along with using the Zerostat and the dry brush before each play, has worked to keep my LPs in near-mint condition over decades of play.