Playin' 45's......

[electra225]

We have approximately 300 45 rpm records. The wife's records are mostly "doowop" from the late 1950's. My records are mostly country from the early 1960's. There are some Lawrence Welk extended play 45's, some Glenn Miller extended play 45's, Stan Kenton, maybe a couple classical two-record, extended play albums. I have about half of them cleaned, and have played half of those. We believe most of these records have not been played since 1985. I don't really like playing 45's on a manual turntable. So, when I got the Magnavox record player done, I was excited to be able to play 45's with a real changer. Outside of a juke box, nothing plays 45's better than a VM changer. It is amazing to watch it work. Something I had taken for granted as a kid, brings back memories of a gentler time in as we grow older. I played 4 stacks of 14 records each, both sides, this afternoon. The old VM changer never missed a beat. The amp in the record player has some sort of bass boost circuit, which gives strong bass at low volume levels, but it also muddies up the treble. I can actually hear the volume increase in the small speaker when I increase the volume to a certain level. The crossover cap is a 2uf at 50 volt unit. Some tinkering could be done to roll off the treble later so the treble would be stronger at low volume. I can advance the treble control to compensate. That may be how it's designed. This is a minor issue given how good it sounds otherwise. I am thrilled with how it turned out. I reckon I'm ready for the sock hop......

[TC Chris]

The bass boost is usually via a tap on the volume control pot. Maybe you could fiddle with the component values there?

Chris Campbell

[Dr. Radio]

Can you kindly explain the "cleaning" process to me?

I have a number of records (nowhere near 300!) but would like some info and cleaning the grooves out for better sound and protecting the longevity.

[electra225]

Certainly worth investigating if I get the chance. I am tired of working on it, to be honest. I want to enjoy it some now. I think I'll not put more than ten records on the spindle at a time. I don't know how many I'm supposed to stack on there. It changes 14, but the tone arm doesn't drop far on the last record.....

[TC Chris]

Can you kindly explain the "cleaning" process to me?

I have a number of records (nowhere near 300!) but would like some info and cleaning the grooves out for better sound and protecting the longevity.

You can buy very expensive record cleaners that use vacuum systems to suck the crud out of grooves washed with special liquids and brushes. I'm a bit too frugal so I bought a Spin Clean device. It's a plastic tank with vertical brushes. The discs are supported vertically between the brushes by rollers and you rotate the discs by hand. Then rinse & dry. The water in the tank collects a surprising amount of debris when cleaning used discs.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

Sorry I overlooked your post, Doc. I use Glance, a commercial window cleaner with alcohol in it. Not to be used on 78's or other shellac records. Only used on plastic records. Glance is made by Johnson-Diversey, the industrial chemical division of Johnson Wax. I spray the cleaner on a microfiber cloth, then wipe with the grooves. Then I follow with a dry microfiber cloth. Windex works well, too, but Glance has alcohol which gets some of the gunge Windex won't cut. Plus it leaves no streaks or residue. I have a makeup brush I use to clean the stylus on record players. After I cleaned my 45's with this method, I had hardly any dirt built up on the needle after I played approximately 130 sides on the 45's. 4 times 14 records per stack times two sides equals 132 songs, not counting the double-play records. I like this method on LP's because it helps with static buildup, which eliminates most of the pops and crackles in those records. I was amazed how these old records sounded, even the ones that were obviously played many times. The wife has most of the records Elvis put out before 1960, well-played on a Magnavox mono player, something like a Berkshire, although I don't know the model. I know it had a radio in it. Our 45's were attrociously filthy being in storage for as long as they were.

[Dr. Radio]

Thanks guys. I think I was chastized for using rubbing alcohol a long time ago. However, it was on 45s on not-so-great-value.

Gives me some ideas!

[electra225]

My initial reaction to using rubbing alcohol to clean records might not be positive. Perhaps that would be too strong of an alcohol concentration. I don't know what the alcohol content of Glance is, but they use it at Walmart to clean glass. You can't spend the time to fight streaking. It needs to be an on-off type compound that will give good results with a minimum of effort. The alcohol not only prevents streaks and "the nasties" on records, it gets oil and finger marks that requires more than Windex can provide. I use a compound of distilled water and dish washing detergent, in a spray bottle to clean 78's. I don't use microfiber cloths on 78's, terry cloths actually work better. My belief is that dirt is a greater killer of needles than worn, scratchy records.

It seems to me that 45's are noisier and get dirtier than 78's do. I know 78's had high surface noise, but the music seems cleaner to me that 45's. I don't play 45's on a manual turntable that uses a $35 needle. My Magnavox record player uses an $8 needle. I don't know how many plays I'll get before I need to replace it, but I bought a .7 mil diamond tip needle for LP/45's. Sapphire tip for 78's. I'm not a fan of sapphire needles for LP's. 45's represent a trip back in time to the "good old days", not an exercise in fine music reproduction......

Many years ago, I read that if you use baby powder on the labels on 45's, it helps prevent slippage so they won't have so much wow and flutter when you drop a record on one that is warped in the stack on your spindle. I don't remember where I read it, and have never tried it.

[William]

Like Chris, I use a Spin-Clean to clean my records, he actually recommended it. It works well, and after washing 20 LP's the water will be dark brown to black.

Bill

[electra225]

Can you still buy the Spin Clean new?

[Ken Doyle]

I clean my 45s with a spray bottle of Pfanstiehl Pfan-Stat and an old (clean) sock.

thevoiceofmusic.com has if for $4

https://www.thevoiceofmusic.com/catalog ... ord%20Care

[hermitcrab]

One thing I like about the magnavox micromatic changer is the 45's do not need the over arm...most of my 45's have been played to death... most sound like worn 78's

[electra225]

A lot of the wife's Elvis records have been played so much the labels are all scuffed up. Most of them are still very playable. Some of mine came out of the jukebox at the American Legion back in the day. The guy who serviced the jukebox changed them regularly. The American Legion had the best jukebox in the country back then. It was a Rowe, with tubes, a dime a play or three plays for a quarter. There were two large Peavey speakers on the bandstand that were connected to the jukebox. Jukebox records have a small hole in the label. I always wondered what that hole was for.

[William]

Yes sir! See the links:

https://www.amazon.com/Spin-Clean-Recor ... ljaz10cnVl

https://www.amazon.com/Spin-Clean-Recor ... NrPXRydWU=

They come two ways, same machine just more stuff with the more expensive one which is probably the way to go because you actually need more solution and more wiping rags than what comes with the lesser expensive one. I found that out the hard way.

Bill

[Ken Doyle]

Jukebox records have a small hole in the label. I always wondered what that hole was for.

A small "BB" sized hole in the label of a 45 usually means it's a "cut out" or overstock. The hole is drilled in the label so that the record store can't return the record at full price.

[William]

Interesting, Ken. I never knew that so thanks for sharing.

Bill

[electra225]

Thanks, Ken. I had no idea.

[19&41]

My mother and grandmother were always on the hunt for deals. My sister, like most girls of the early '60s had a RCA 45 changer and a record collection. They found out about a gent who handled juke boxes and reloaded their libraries. He would sell them all the 45's they wanted for a low price. Other kids had collections of 50 to 60 records. My sister had them by the pound. That old changer got a lot of work. It was emblazoned with Roy Rogers decals.

[TC Chris]

Still advertised.

https://spinclean.com/

Chris Campbell

[Dr. Radio]

I dunno guys....do you think these 45's will catch on as a marketable format?




https://youtu.be/cBgC7A2C4ZY