So, I have read and read and read. Including the Your Doing it Wrong thread....I went out and purchased the correct "stuff" and made a solution. I used to use Dawn or whatever and tapwater and regular alcohol and even some more aggressive cleaners. Some albums sounded worse, some better and it didn't seem to matter how I cleaned them. I fussed about the TT ground, I played with the connections on the cart and the RCA connectors. I also use an old Discwasher I bought back in 81, But I just dampen it a bit to collect dust....I have been picking up albums at a place called Mckays that takes in old books and etc. and has an extensive array of albums, Cd's and cassettes. I stayed with just washing them with the "solution" and spinning them with a painters pad...Hit or miss and you could not judge them by eye. Now, I bought a turntable weight and plopped it on, major difference in sound, including the static pops. Yes, I got a protractor and set up the alignment, even though no one can tell you which one works with an old Pioneer. Another improvement after getting a Jico 750 stylus for my XV-15 was increasing the tracking force....small improvements making it sound much better. This is where the monkey wrench gets thrown in. I have some albums that just crackle, one of them is The Scorpions Love at First Sting. I bought that album in the early 80's and it has been played maybe 5 times and spent many years in a box. I was going to take it to the used place and ditch it but tonight I put it on my pad and wiped it with a paper towel....and BBQ lighter fluid......yikes. Just wiped it around a few time and let it soak in.....Then I sprayed it with the "solution" and wiped it around with a clean paper towel, if there is such a thing. Rinsed it in tapwater and then sprayed it again with the "solution" and brushed it well with my paint pad....then rinsed in warm water from the tap....my tap water sucks...I dryed it well, let it spin for a few minutes on the TT and set the stylus on the beginning of Coming Home, which is very quite at the start. Nothing.....I reached over and turned the volume up......one little click.....then the song started.....This song was unbearable and the album so bad I would not even record it and use the click reducer in my Vinyl Studios program. It is the most dramatic change in any album I have cleaned.
On a side note, I passed on buying the Sota on ebay last night, I had the winning bid typed into esnipe and didnt pull the trigger. I will work with what I have for now, and ponder this cleaning thing like many others are.
