Record Cleaning Machine Reviews

If you're of a certain age you'll know that "let your fingers do the walking" was the Yellow Pages slogan. If you're of a different certain age, you might not even know what the Yellow Pages is! It doesn't matter really because it's just a play on words. The slogan meant you could thumb through the Yellow Pages rather than walking around to find a particular retailer or service.

In the case of the Record Doctor V, it's a vacuum record cleaning machine that requires you hand-turn the record instead of having a motor do it. Omitting the motor allows the manufacturer to pass the savings on to you. The Record Doctor V, which resembles the Nitty Gritty approach to record cleaning machines, costs a more than reasonable $199.00. It includes a bottle of fluid, the chemical make-up of which is unspecified, as well as an applicator brush that's soft-bristled on one end and foam-padded on the other.

For your two hundred bucks you get a plain black box in which is a vacuum motor, the inlet for which is a replaceable, velvet-lipped slit. The arrangement means only twelve inch records can be cleaned.

Adjacent to the lips is a spindle surrounded at its base by a roller bearing assembly. Record Doctor supplies a near-record label-sized disc of acrylic topped by a soft "grippy" material that serves as a platter that goes over the spindle.

Place a 12" record over the spindle and onto the acrylic platform, apply your choice of fluid over the record surface, turn over the record, place the record turner disc over the spindle, flip the "on" switch, then rotate the record three or four times by gripping the record turner, switch the vacuum off and the side is done. Apply liquid to the uncleaned side and repeat the process. You're done.

So how does it all work? Very well once you get the hang of it, though at first it can be a bit awkward. For one thing, the record sitting on the acrylic disc can be a bit wobbly, particularly if you bear down on it with the applicator brush, so it's best to support the outer rim while doing so. While the instructions suggest rotating the record and keeping the applicator still, I found it better the other way around but how you apply the liquid is up to you as long as you take care to avoid getting liquid on the label or having it migrate to the other side. Both of these are issues to one degree or another with most vacuum cleaning systems but especially when the record is not particularly stable.

Rotating the record while vacuuming is relatively easy, whether or not you put your fingers in the holes atop the record turner, or grip its sides and twist.

The box is not well-insulated and the motor is relatively noisy but I've hard far more expensive units that were equally noisy. I measured SPLs in excess of 90dB, which is very loud so I suggest earplugs when cleaning records.

The instructions say you can clean up to a hundred LPs a day but if you feel the box getting warm, its best to give it a rest regardless of how many you've cleaned. A drain plug on the bottom of the box allows you to drain dirty fluid into a sink or toilet.

Overall, for $199, I think that for those on a budget the Record Doctor V is a very good value. Yes, there are some less expensive devices that use a similar system but which require you to supply a shop vac, but unless you are really strapped for cash, I think this compact all-in-one box is the way to go. I highly recommend the Record Doctor V to any serious vinyl fan who's been without a vacuum machine.

While supplying a bottle of fluid and brush is a thoughtful inclusion, I strongly recommend investing in either the Disc Doctor or Mobile Fidelity micro-fiber applicator brushes and experimenting with one-step fluids to find the one you think most effective. I like Audio Intelligent Premium One-Step Formula No. 6 for vacuum-type machines and dusty records, but there are other good ones too. I made a "quick and dirty" video showing how the Record Doctor V works that you can watch here: