More Vinyl / Turntable queries

I've had my EB-101 running since I got it and am quite pleased with my purchase. I've cleared the local Red Cross shop out of my taste in vinyl and am now eying the YMCA & Oxfam shops.

Some of the records are fairly dusty, I tried to get some Isopropyl Alcohol and Boots and was met with a blank stare. Any suggestions as to where to get some ?

I've cleaned a few disks with a new paintbrush and a weak solution of water, washing up liquid & wetting agent. Careful drying with a cotten discloth. This has produced some improvement though I'm starting to think a Knosti may be an iminent purchase.

Can someone please recommend a good brand / source of record sleeves ?

The Nagoka MP-11 cartridge that came with the deck is fairly old so I'm thinking of getting a replacement. A local shop is closing down and has 30% discount on all their stock so I'll see what they have. I know they sell Goldring so any suggestions on which model > The previous owner was running a 1006 on it before he sold it to me.

It'll be playing though a GramAmp 2 and I'll be listening to mainly classical and jazz (if I can find any cheap!)

Cheers

Andrew

 

Hi Andrew,

Try a proper old fashioned pharmacist for Isopropyl alcohol and also distilled water.

I make up my own mix 25% Isopropyl, 75% distilled water and a couple of drops of Ecover. Works a treat. Your approach is pretty much the same as mine, except I'd rinse the records thoroughly with distilled water after cleaning with the mix - also I use a carbon fibre record cleaning brush for the scrub. Something like a Knosti should work a bit better, but in principle is the same. Vacuum cleaning machines are better yet, but expensive.

PS. Old pants work better than dishcloths

PPS. HiFi News sell sleeves and there a couple of people advertise in the back of Record Collector.

PPS. A lot of folk like the Goldring, which can be upgraded too, I liked the Ortofon 510 II (which can also be upgraded and is a bit cheaper than the Goldring)

 

I bought a DiscoAntistat "machine" to clean my records... (about £40 from hififorsale.co.uk)
It's a bit of a fiddly chore but a cheap way of getting them almost as clean as with a Moth or VPI cleaner. And you can use Ants' suggestion of home-brew water/isopropyl alcohol mix. I buy mine from the local chemist as well - Boots don't seem to have stuff like that any more... When I asked there for isopropyl alcohol they looked at me as if I'd asked for glycerine and conc. nitric acid!

 

That sounds like the response I got. You'd have thought I was going to drink the stuff ! Perhaps I should have shaved...........

Popped in "Beaver Radio's" closing down sale and picked up a Goldring 1006 for £64, so I'll be trying to fit that in the next day or so.

 

Still, they must be more comfy than the Beaver canoes a m8 of mine advertises on his tshirt!

 

Yeah, get yourself a Disco Antistat - it was the best investment I made. As for Isopropyl Alcohol - as has been mentioned just pop into your local chemist and they will be able to order it for you - otherwise try online.
Donut

 

I don't like the antistat, I kept finding big balls of gloop on my stylus after using it on records, like it was loosening dirt, but not taking it off, then the first playing after that the stylus was doing the work. I'm going to buy one of those cheapish cleaners that attaches to the vacuum one of these days, I reckon that'll be a better bet

 

Never had that problem with mine - though I turn the record within the brushes for about 10 revolutions.. Then it's 1/2 hour to dry.

 

I have owned both a Goldring 1012Gx ( 4 different one actually ) and a Nagaoka MP11 Boron cartridge. I have also used an Ortofon 510 Mk 1 and an Ortofon 520 Mk 2 neither of which i liked very much. I got the impression from the Ortofons that they seemed to pick up more record surface noise than the other carts i had at my disposal at the time.

If i was in the market for a new budget MM cartridge right now i would go for either a Nagaoka MP11 or a Nagaoka MP20.

You could also upgrade your current MP11 by using any one of the MP series stylus assy's, all of them will fit your cartridge body. The MP20 is probably the best VFM though.

I used to use my Nag with an MP20 and MP30 stylus assy's. I know the Nag is an older , perhaps longer in the tooth design than the Goldring 1000 series however newer isn't always better, imho......


Check this out:
http://svalander.se/pickuper/mp10-50description.htm#mp20

 

This mirrors my experience. The Knosti is good for cleaning records that are lightly soiled; however, a really grotty record wont get a thorough cleaning in the antistat. I'd reckon that the KAB EV1 (a stripped down and fully manual Nitty Gritty RCM) would do the job properly. More expensive than the Knosti but not by that much.

Stuart.

 

Thanks for the information gents. Anyway, mad impetuous fool that I am the Goldring is already bought. Any idea were I could get a new stylus for the Nagoka ? Can't seem to find anywhere on Google.

Looking around for a good souce on setting up arms / cartridges and found your other page Sid http://imageevent.com/sidandcoke/turntablesetup?p=0&w=2&c=3&n=0&m=24&s=0&y=1&z=2&l=0 which looks very useful. Thats a nice Systemdek, same arm as on my EB-101 (which is sadly in black, so 80's...) :JOEL:

 

It would obviously have helped if I'd Googled using the correct spelling of NAGAOKA !



And don't ask about the previous smiley, a tremor of the mouse !

 

Try here: http://www.musonic.co.uk/

 

Hi Stuart,

I wanted to get one of these. Makes great sense to keep the costs of a proper vac machine down by using your household cleaner ... problem is there's no UK distributor. Could get one from the States I guess but then you're hit with duties, VAT etc.

I'm sure I saw in one of the mags recently a show report where they reported a new vac machine (dutch I think), which they said would be retailing here at around £180. Not as cheap as the KAB of course but a lot chepaer than any of the alternatives available here.

 

Chap on Ebay is advertising the kit version of the Moth cleaner at £225. That gets you the guts of the beast but you still need to find MDF or plywood to build the enclosure. A little excessive considering I only paid £60 for the turntable!

 

Indeed. Mind you, looked at that way even the Knosti might seem excessive You'll be okay for now for now with what you are doing - don't forget the distilled water rinse though. No point loosening all the grunge and then leaving it on the record.

 

I got my KAB EV-1 shipped to Belgium in less than a week. Even if you factor in duty and VAT, you're still looking at only £100-£120 all-in. So stop fannying about and just go for it, you won't be sorry!

Cheers, Dex

 

Oh dear another temptation to add to the list