Vinyl men and women unite!
 

Any tips and/or instructions on vinyl maintenance and storage etc? I've collected vinyl since I was a wee kid on and off and always bought secondhand vinyl when I come across/about or discover something that takes my fancy. But recently I've been buying albums on vinyl new like I would compact discs. So, any help to keep my vinyl all nice and in it's original form as much as possible would be of great assistance and appreciation.

Thanks.

ha, i thought you were talking about sex of this species

I'd stick my needle in her groove, if you know what I mean!

good turntable with a good stylus to start with. keep the records stored in their covers when not being played, store standing up not piled up. you can clean them with some distilled water and a tiny bit of detergent or a tiny bit of isopropyll alcohol. if you tone arm on the record played is not balanced properly and is too heavy the record will wear very quickly.

here are the quasi-standards for vinyl records


Standards for the condition of vinyl records
The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.

The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and/or creasing.
The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.
The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc.
The record is still just playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump. The cover and contents will be torn, stained and/or defaced.
The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents will be badly damaged or partly missing.
The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection-filler.

I'm only going to be semi-helpful here - I'm pretty sure that gmku posted a few months ago about care of vinyl and also cleaning of vinyl that hasn't received all the love it should have in the past. I think it was a link to a blog somewhere, it may be worth pm-ing him to ask if he still has the link.

Invest in poly sleeves... keeps the covers from scratching, rubbing against the others, etc... it's worth it.

I only just got started buying vinyl. It's fucking tragic that I had to grow up in consumer super-progressive Orange County. My whole collection is in CD.

But it's still kind of cool that my first vinyl purchase was EVOL. Got tah keep dem clean!

Yes, invest in some poly sleeves. your local record store should have them or you can do mail order through the web.

also, if you have deteriorating inner sl;eeves, and you want to keep them with the album, get some paper sleeves for the record itself.

you can buy inexpensive cardboard 7" single boxes that hold around 200 each.

always store the records upright, not flat on each other. the weight builds up and will warp your albums. keep them vertical an you should never hae that problem.

you can get an inexpensie nylon microfiber brush to wipe the dust from yr records, and you can get a lint free towel and some diluted isopropyl lcholo and wipe the albums down if grimey.

never vere touch the grooves. use the labels, that is what they are there for. hold yr albums by the edge and the label.

keep away from heat. heat will cause the vinyl to dry out and will create a crackle, which is noticeable on old albums you may have bought from a used seller or garage sale.

What everyone has said.

The poly sleeves are great for keeping the covers in good shape and dust and stuff out of the records.

Don't pack them too tightly on the shelf. But they shouldn't be packed so loosely that they fall over or stand at a big angle either.

There is a real art to conserving LPs, isn't there!

oooh i finally remembered what i wanted to say!

all great advice so far, but don't forget this:

remove/discard/eliminate the outer shrinkwrap -- don't just cut a slice on it where you can get your record out. rip & toss the motherfucker in the garbage.

you may think you're "protecting" your sleeves with it, but shrinkwap, well, shrinks with age, and it can warp your records. true story.

Lots of people I know like to take out the innersleeve and record and store it behind the jacket in a polybag. Cuts down on ringwear. Also, lining the bottom of your shelves with some nice corrugated cardboard before placing the LPs on it doesn't hurt.
I also clean my records every time I play them.
It never ceases to amaze me how many people don't seem to get that you can own a record your whole life and never once touch the playing surface during handling. It's so easy!

Thanks heaps, guys.

Very informative bunch yee Sonic board is.

if my records were my children i'd probably have them taken away by social services.

It's because you're too punk rock for this?