Bought a(nother) turntable

The Savior

So, I bought a turntable off of craigslist today, with the intention of using it only with new vinyl. I've got one already, but I frequently use that one to play old, grimy records, and as such I don't really want to play clean ones in it. My question is, what should I do to the new one to ensure proper album cleanliness? Would it be worth my while to get a new stylus? The one that's in there now is labeled "Shure M44E." Pics can be provided if they'd help. Thanks!

Vulpine

All your vinyl will pick up dirt and such through normal use - brand new cartridge, stylus, etc. or not - all you can really do is try to keep them as clean as you can. Simple steps like keeping them in their sleeves, brushing them clean regularly, and so on can help. I picked up a cleaning liquid from my local HMV which seems to help too - prevented some annoying skipping on my copy of Synchronicity.

The Savior

Yeah, I'm pretty good about keeping them in their jackets, but just to be safe I need to pick up a brush.

[Edit] Would it be kosh to just clean my oldies before playing them in the new turntable? Some of them are quite old/dirty, I don't know how well a simple cleaning would work. Also, will playing scratched records wear down my needle any faster?

Vulpine

I've played some pretty dirty records on mine and I haven't noticed any problems with the stylus; so long as I clean any accumulated grime from it, it plays fine on everything else without any noticeable drop in quality. Give your oldies a brush when you can and play them through with the new stylus; actively playing records will help dislodge dirt from the grooves.

The Savior

Vulpine wrote: »

I've played some pretty dirty records on mine and I haven't noticed any problems with the stylus; so long as I clean any accumulated grime from it, it plays fine on everything else without any noticeable drop in quality. Give your oldies a brush when you can and play them through with the new stylus; actively playing records will help dislodge dirt from the grooves.

What I've heard is that grime on the needle will accelerate wear/tear on albums, which seems plausible enough to me.

JWFokker

Clean your albums. If your albums are clean, your stylus should be too. A common DIY solution is 1 part isopropyl alcohol and 1 part distilled water. It will cut grime effectively without leeching the plasticizers in the vinyl like Windex and many other household cleaners will.

Vulpine

The cleaning fluid I've got definitely contains isopropyl, and it works nicely for me. As for grime on the needle, it does sound sensible it would increase wear to the vinyl itself, so keep 'em clean.

Zeon

You can just use water and a clean fiberless cloth as well. I buy almost all my records at the thrift store, and ive had some where you could literally rub dirt off the surface with your finger. Water + Cloth + old turn table = clean record. Just dont play them when theyre wet, let them sit out for a few hours. The heat of the stylus + water in the grooves will fuck a record up pretty fast.

JWFokker

Zeon wrote: »

You can just use water and a clean fiberless cloth as well. I buy almost all my records at the thrift store, and ive had some where you could literally rub dirt off the surface with your finger. Water + Cloth + old turn table = clean record. Just dont play them when theyre wet, let them sit out for a few hours. The heat of the stylus + water in the grooves will fuck a record up pretty fast.

I hope you mean distilled water and a microfiber cloth. Undistilled water will leave mineral deposits and can leech the plasticizers out of the vinyl.