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reddye6 wrote:For those of you with the Record Doctor V, I've seen some Amazon reviews that discuss using the Spin-Clean first on albums and then using the RDV for a final drying and vacuuming. Do any of you replicate this process? Is it overkill?

I'm finally looking to pull the plug on a record cleaner (well, asking for one for my birthday). I was thinking about the RDV but then saw the Spin-Clean mentioned in relation.

So I do not have the Record Doctor V but I'm going to give my opinion on why I chose not to buy it. First and foremost the price, it is $200 for an particle board box wrapped in cheap vinyl. It looks very poorly constructed. 2nd I read reviews of folks who had mold growing in the box itself after using it. I'm not sure if this is easily avoided or a common occurrence but that turned me off big time. There are other little minor issues I have with it but those the two that pushed me away.

I recently was gifted the Vinyl Vac 33 which is essentially a PVC tube with slot cut out and pads on either side of the slot, essentially what you are getting on the Record Doctor but this is an attachment for a wet/dry vac. I picked up a $20 1HP wet/dry vac from Walmart and a bamboo 12" lazy susan for $10 on Amazon. I drilled a hole in the center, glued a dowel the size of a turntable spindle in the middle and cut a piece of rubber mat I use in the bottom of my tool boxes to go on lazy susan. A big roll can be bought for $5-$10 at Lowes/autoparts store/walmart. It works really good for cleaning dust and the solution off of the records. It comes out dry and clean. I will probably build a stand/holder for the Vinyl Vac itself so I can focus on turning the record. This may be more work than the Record Doctor but it was worth it to me to save the $150. Now I feel to get the dirt and grime out of the grooves neither the Vinyl Vac or Record doctor will achieve this which is probably why you are seeing recommendations for the Spin Clean, as that seems to do a good job at getting the deeper stuff out. This is actually something I wondered about the $500 units too, I don't see the Okki-Nokki getting that deep in the grooves but I don't have one so I can't really speak to how well it gets that gunk out (mind you this is really only for the old really dirty records, newer stuff shouldn't really be an issue). You can also circumvent this by cleaning the records by hand with brushes/clothes and solution before doing the final wash/vacuum.
https://www.vinylvac.net/vinylvac33.html

This has led me to something that I wish I discovered a few months ago and that's the discovery of the Squeaky Clean, this looks like a better version of the Vinyl Vac that some guy makes himself with a 3D printer. It's $125 and you still need to buy a wet/dry vac if you don't have one but the cleaning brush, turntable and vac hook up are all one unit. It looks pretty great and the few people I talked to on reddit who had one were pretty happy.
https://www.squeakycleanvinyl.com/produ ... nyl-mk-iii

It would be nice to just be able to grab an Okki Nokki and call it day but then I'd have to stop actually buying records for a few months and I don't want to do that :)

I hope some of what I said makes sense and helps. I'm not trying to sway you towards any one thing, as I think they all could use improvements but to relay info I have and wish I had before making a purchase.

inksb wrote:

reddye6 wrote:For those of you with the Record Doctor V, I've seen some Amazon reviews that discuss using the Spin-Clean first on albums and then using the RDV for a final drying and vacuuming. Do any of you replicate this process? Is it overkill?

I'm finally looking to pull the plug on a record cleaner (well, asking for one for my birthday). I was thinking about the RDV but then saw the Spin-Clean mentioned in relation.

So I do not have the Record Doctor V but I'm going to give my opinion on why I chose not to buy it. First and foremost the price, it is $200 for an particle board box wrapped in cheap vinyl. It looks very poorly constructed. 2nd I read reviews of folks who had mold growing in the box itself after using it. I'm not sure if this is easily avoided or a common occurrence but that turned me off big time. There are other little minor issues I have with it but those the two that pushed me away.

I recently was gifted the Vinyl Vac 33 which is essentially a PVC tube with slot cut out and pads on either side of the slot, essentially what you are getting on the Record Doctor but this is an attachment for a wet/dry vac. I picked up a $20 1HP wet/dry vac from Walmart and a bamboo 12" lazy susan for $10 on Amazon. I drilled a hole in the center, glued a dowel the size of a turntable spindle in the middle and cut a piece of rubber mat I use in the bottom of my tool boxes to go on lazy susan. A big roll can be bought for $5-$10 at Lowes/autoparts store/walmart. It works really good for cleaning dust and the solution off of the records. It comes out dry and clean. I will probably build a stand/holder for the Vinyl Vac itself so I can focus on turning the record. This may be more work than the Record Doctor but it was worth it to me to save the $150. Now I feel to get the dirt and grime out of the grooves neither the Vinyl Vac or Record doctor will achieve this which is probably why you are seeing recommendations for the Spin Clean, as that seems to do a good job at getting the deeper stuff out. This is actually something I wondered about the $500 units too, I don't see the Okki-Nokki getting that deep in the grooves but I don't have one so I can't really speak to how well it gets that gunk out (mind you this is really only for the old really dirty records, newer stuff shouldn't really be an issue). You can also circumvent this by cleaning the records by hand with brushes/clothes and solution before doing the final wash/vacuum.
https://www.vinylvac.net/vinylvac33.html

This has led me to something that I wish I discovered a few months ago and that's the discovery of the Squeaky Clean, this looks like a better version of the Vinyl Vac that some guy makes himself with a 3D printer. It's $125 and you still need to buy a wet/dry vac if you don't have one but the cleaning brush, turntable and vac hook up are all one unit. It looks pretty great and the few people I talked to on reddit who had one were pretty happy.
https://www.squeakycleanvinyl.com/produ ... nyl-mk-iii

It would be nice to just be able to grab an Okki Nokki and call it day but then I'd have to stop actually buying records for a few months and I don't want to do that :)

I hope some of what I said makes sense and helps. I'm not trying to sway you towards any one thing, as I think they all could use improvements but to relay info I have and wish I had before making a purchase.

Thanks for the great response -- very helpful. I'd really like to get an Okki Nokki, too, but I can't put that on the llist, even if it is a milestone birthday. I'll take a closer look at the Squeaky Clean.

Milestone, huh? You getting a lap dance or a Juul?

Happy birthday, homie

Happy early birthday, Reddye!

Jimmy_Mike wrote:Milestone, huh? You getting a lap dance or a Juul?

Happy birthday, homie

More like which adult diaper do I want to try out -- briefs or pull-ups? It'll be the big 50 in a few weeks. Thanks for the birthday wishes!

reddye6 wrote:

Jimmy_Mike wrote:Milestone, huh? You getting a lap dance or a Juul?

Happy birthday, homie

More like which adult diaper do I want to try out -- briefs or pull-ups? It'll be the big 50 in a few weeks. Thanks for the birthday wishes!

Mateo Sanboval wrote:

reddye6 wrote:

Jimmy_Mike wrote:Milestone, huh? You getting a lap dance or a Juul?

Happy birthday, homie

More like which adult diaper do I want to try out -- briefs or pull-ups? It'll be the big 50 in a few weeks. Thanks for the birthday wishes!

Heh -- might be more like, do I get the diapers with the wet/dry vac attachment or not?

reddye6 wrote:Heh -- might be more like, do I get the diapers with the wet/dry vac attachment or not?

Either way, gif still stands.

lol. Happy B-day @reddye

Many happy returns Big Red!

Thanks, guys! I'll be setting up a PO Box for all the gifts you want to send. You still have a few weeks!

So my wife got me a Squeaky Clean -- arrived a day late today! This weekend I'll be clearing out a space in the basement and cleaning the wet/dry vac in preparation for setting this up.

i am selling my white Okki Nokki (as new) with the acrylic dust cover (never used, actually this is "still sealed"). comes with original record cleaning brush and the vacuum tubes for 7" (plus 7" adapter) and 12" records. only thing i do not have anymore is the cleaning fluid.

rarely used and kept in the original box all along. i am the first owner of this baby.

i would say all this stuff is worth +500 euros and i am asking for 280. if anyone is interested, please hit me up. otherwise this will hit ebay in about a week.

reddye6 wrote:So my wife got me a Squeaky Clean -- arrived a day late today! This weekend I'll be clearing out a space in the basement and cleaning the wet/dry vac in preparation for setting this up.

Nice gift @Red! Enjoy!

milliondollars wrote:i am selling my white Okki Nokki (as new) with the acrylic dust cover (never used, actually this is "still sealed"). comes with original record cleaning brush and the vacuum tubes for 7" (plus 7" adapter) and 12" records. only thing i do not have anymore is the cleaning fluid.

rarely used and kept in the original box all along. i am the first owner of this baby.

i would say all this stuff is worth +500 euros and i am asking for 280. if anyone is interested, please hit me up. otherwise this will hit ebay in about a week.

***SOLD***

so i got myself one of these Double Matrix Professional Sonic machines eventually. had the chance to grab a brand new exhibition piece for a great price. of course it costs some dollars but if you have some good pieces in your collection and you want to have a cleaning, that is as good as even possible, i recommend it. been through a lot of stuff and my previous solution was the Okki Nokki which was quite OK for the cleaning but had the noise of a jet plane takeoff during the vacuum process.

in summary i can say that the Double Matrix treatment is beyond real and it honestly makes a difference.

the good thing is that you get the perfect cleaning from both sides. yesterday i washed a pile of about 30-50 records while i was cooking and doing some other stuff meanwhile. all you have to do is to throw on a record, push one button and return for putting on the next one, whenever you have the time to come around. maximum convenience, maximum results and low cleaning noise were the right arguments that led me to into this investment that i surely do not regret.

one thing that i consider a bit cheeky is the price they charge for the original cleaning fluid. with a little investigation i found out that it might be some isopropyl that you can get for a accessible price from other sources.

@Million

That is a beautiful object :-)

Your collection does deserve stuff like that!

Nice @million, whoever grabbed that okki Nokki got themselves a bargain.
I like the okki Nokki but agree if it was more user friendly I would use it a while lot more than I do.

There is also an ultrasonic record cleaner that is supposed to be amazing, and uses no liquid!! But of course goes for insane money


EDIT* of course they use liquid it's ultrasonic !

https://youtu.be/Ju88WiMIiNQ

Cheaper ultrasonics

https://youtu.be/xAIpIh2Dq24

@Bez: haha! every collection deserves some proper welfare...

@Dollar: there's some wild machines in existance, like this one from KL Audio. but what i really love about the Clearaudio Double Matrix is the automatic mode. for super lazy bastards like me, its just perfect. my oldest son is doing the cleaning now for 0,10 € per record to improve his pocket money. i wanted to give him 0,05 € but he's a tough negotiating partner. the good thing is that you can't do anything wrong plus there is three automatic modes:

- quick mode - for basic dust remove
- normal mode - which is just perfect for almost every kind of dirt
- intensive mode - the mode you need when your buddy comes along with a stack of latin stuff that he has brought home from Panama, Colombia or Brazil...

Sounds like a nice set up Millie. Does it have parts that need replacing? Like brushes or pads.

My okki Nokki brushes never seem to last long.

I know those types of dirty records.