Tips for buying used Vinyl needed

I agree with Bdgregory that the look (and the smell) of the cover is irrelevant to the quality of the sound to be heard from the record. Even if the record is dirty (dust, finger prints, etc.) it is not tragic (it should be washed thoroughly). Essential for the quality of the sound reproduction from vinyl record is, that the disc is without (deeper/auditory) scratches, that it is flat, not "exentric" and that the grooves are not deformed/damaged by the previous playing (with a deformed/worn needle, improper setting or playing unclean record). The latter is hardly to detect without playing the record on the turntable.

Cleaning is mandatory. I use a Nitty Gritty f1.5 and it does the job. I make my own cleaning solution so I'm not concerned about cost of fluids. We have a Half Price Book Store which carries a good supply of vinyl and tons of CD's. The best part is the money back guarantee (7 days) or store credit (30 days) after purchase. I have spent as little as .25 and as much as $15 for albums that sound great and are not available anymore. Check the yellow pages for stores you may not know about in your area. Long live vinyl.

After cleaning the records, I recommend replacing the sleeves. They are most likely dirty inside.

You need to be able to clean the records thoroughly and properly, either with machine or by hand. Either can work well. There is a thread here on A'gon somewhere about manual record cleaning techniques if interested.

The key for me buying used records, assuming cover is in acceptable condition, is being able to determine whether an old direty, gnarly looking record just needs a good cleaning or whether there is groove damage or surface defects like scratches that will detract from teh material and not go away with cleaning. I will say I have a pretty good eye for this from experience and seldom make mistakes buying records that are not listenable, but it is an art based on science that you can only achieve from experience.

The trick is to observe how light reflects off the records surface. The difference between groove wear or scratches and dirty records with grooves in good physical condition that a good cleaning can recover can be detected with teh naked eye with reasonable certainty based on how the light reflects from teh surface of the record.

Severely warped records are also worth staying away from. The amount of warp in a record can be estimated by looking at the record from the side from multiple angles and looking for obvious deviations from a flat plane.

Yes, and it is worth keeping some decent lined paper replacement record inner sleeves around and use these with the used records as needed for protection if current inner sleeves are dirty or severely worn or torn. You can by these for reasonable price of vendors on amazon and ebay.

Excellent advice from Mapman. Try to find the best available lighting in the shop when checking the records.

For cleaning, I don't like vacuum cleaning machines. They are too noisy. Here's my review of the Gem Dandy, which I still stand by (I think the Spin Clean has taken over as the cheap record cleaner, though I haven't tried it.)

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If you haven't seen this thing, it's basically some PVC, nuts, washers, and a pressure hose that allows you to use a jet of water to clean Lps without getting the label wet.

So far it seems to be doing a good job quieting down vinyl and playback is smoother. I haven't had the courage to use the Groove Lube stuff they supply.

Their cleaning fluid is definitely alcohol based.

The most inconvenient thing about it will probably be having to remove the faucet aerator for every record cleaning session.

The most convenient thing about it is the much lower noise level. It sounds like you think a pressure washer might sound. But you certainly won't need earplugs like I do when I use my Nitty Gritty, and if you have housemates I think they'll appreciate the much lower noise level. Probably useable when the wife and kids have gone to bed.

Now the question of value. At $149, I think this is purposely priced just a little below the Kab RCM. The Gem Dandy is made of all standard PVC parts and metal nuts and bolts, and looks like any reasonably handy person with the right tools could put one together in an afternoon. It certainly doesn't look worth $149 in parts and labor (the cleaning fluid and the groove lube kit is included, though). And I think they could have at least included a starter pack of drying cloths.

However, given that I'm unreasonably unhandy, that Merrill have put together most everything you need, and that it seems to work well without making me go deaf, I think it will easily pay for itself. It makes cleaning records almost pleasant.

And maybe Mapleshade will come out with a knockoff at half the price.

http://www.gmanalog.com/gem.aspx