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Whilst exhibiting at the Bristol HiFi show some years ago, I was chatting with the late, great Paul Messenger who was/is still considered a sage when it comes to all things HiFi. A man of huge experience who had lived through the days of valves to solid state amplifiers, from Garrard 301s to esoteric turntables with air bearings and linear tonearms.
I remember being particularly impressed by the fact that, in his own admission, he had a pair of Quad ESL 57s in his bedroom. At the time, I imagined the almost constant early morning toe-stubbing or the fact that Paul lived in a palatial mansion that could accommodate such a trip hazard. But I digress.
The reason for mentioning this is that whilst discussing record cleaning machines, Paul dismissed them saying he never used them. His cleaning regime consisted of simply running his cartridge over the recommended mass, and playing a record with no sound before listening to it. This, he believed, was the best way to effectively drag the dirt and contaminants out of the grooves before sitting back and enjoying the music.
Now, I still have great respect for Paul, who lived and breathed all things HiFi and had access to some of the very best equipment available, but, when it comes to record-cleaning I had to respectfully disagree with him.
At that time, cleaning machines were fairly few and far between. The choice was high-end, very expensive models, such as the original Keith Monks machine and Lorricraft PRC units, which were preferred by archivists and radio stations with space enough to store and use them and deep enough pockets to buy them. At the other end of the scale were the felt brush vacuum types that needed ear defenders when using them , which were largely relegated to the garden shed or garage so as not to disturb the family.
Since then, the record cleaning machine market has blossomed, falling into four distinct camps, namely entry-level spin cleaners (let’s be honest, most of us started there), felt-wand vacuum cleaners, an influx of ultrasonic cleaners and, what we believe to be the very best, those that use the thread-based precision vacuum nozzle system, such as Pristine Vinyl’s ViVac cleaning machine.
Okay, I can hear everyone say, “But you would say that, wouldn’t you?” but let me explain.
First, a question. Would you clean your windows with a filthy sponge and a bucket of dirty water? Of course you wouldn’t. But, with nearly all cleaning systems, that’s effectively what you are doing. There’s one exception, and we’ll come on to that.
Effectively, with most cleaners you are doing one or both, cleaning them with a filthy sponge or dirty water. More accurately, you are using a felt wand that has likely cleaned tens, if not hundreds, of records before, or the record is sat in a vat of cleaning fluid that contains the dirt from the previous 20 or so records you have cleaned.
First, a question. Would you clean your windows with a filthy sponge and a bucket of dirty water? Of course you wouldn’t. But, with nearly all cleaning systems, that’s effectively what you are doing. There’s one exception, and we’ll come on to that.
Effectively, with most cleaners you are doing one or both, cleaning them with a filthy sponge or dirty water. More accurately, you are using a felt wand that has likely cleaned tens, if not hundreds, of records before, or the record is sat in a vat of cleaning fluid that contains the dirt from the previous 20 or so records you have cleaned.
Not so with the Pristine Vinyl cleaning machine; this works in a fundamentally different way.
Using a tried and tested system developed with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in the 1970s, it uses a specially selected nylon thread and a precision vacuum nozzle to deep clean the record.
The process, whilst it became the preferred choice of archivists and broadcasters around the world, is not the simplest to develop or cheapest to manufacture but, when done right, it offers a huge improvement over other cleaners.
Now back to the window-cleaning analogy. The Pristine method effectively uses clean water and a clean sponge on every window. No re-contamination, no smears, no dirt, just a clean window every time.
How does this work? The process is genius in its simplicity. Fresh cleaning fluid is applied automatically to the record’s surface before the vacuum nozzle sweeps across it, lifting the contaminants from deep within the grooves. The thread is the clever part. While it does not clean the record, it ensures that the vacuum nozzle is held the perfect and most efficient distance from the record’s surface (just think of putting your hand over a domestic vacuum cleaner’s nozzle and listen to the motor struggle). Once the side has been cleaned, the now dirty thread is sucked through to the waste fluid container and a clean section of thread replaces it, ready to clean again. And there you have it, clean water and clean sponge each and every time you clean a side.
So, why are there so few of these machines on the market if they are so good?
Whilst the world seems to be overrun with felt wand and ultrasonic cleaners of all shapes and sizes, the answer is that the thread-based cleaners require real engineering expertise to get right. Sadly, even manufacturers who once championed this method of cleaning have struggled to achieve a consistent and effective result with their newer models and have fallen away.
Not Pristine Vinyl; we have a reliable, efficient, tried and tested machine using top quality components, offered at a very competitive price. In fact, you won’t find a more cost-effective machine of its type anywhere in the world today.
If you want to know more, get in touch today and let us help you get the very best from your record collection by purchasing one of the best upgrades you can make to your system.
The same is true with vinyl.
