How do we treat all those fine things?
To clean the vinyl there are various cleaning machines available in different price categories. There are also products available to clean the needle, devices to demagnetize or re-flatten the record, devices to demagnetize the arm and element, and even demagnetizing using a mobile system. In short, also room for creativity here, i.e. time’ .
Now we have our record player on the top of our rack, but what to do with our vinyl? This is where we see the first spoilsport, putting away vinyl. To this end cabinets are available in the stores, coming in all forms, sizes and prices, but those are rapidly filled. Open storing is an option, but not recommended because the fact is that records need to be flat, and stay flat. Nothing more annoying than an arm going up and down. Even worse, that is pernicious for your needle and the final quality. Displaying in specially designed sleeves on the wall is also an option, but this is also limited. To much caboodle! But then again, this is an excellent solution for Collector items.
Now which are the most important advantages of vinyl as compared to other sound storage mediums?
Here’s some examples: The supplied posters, text books, photos of performances and/or artists have normal dimensions, and the dimensions of a sleeve also visually and physically ensure a stronger link with the performer. Even the smell of records has something that’s hard to describe, and indeed offers an extra dimension (and then we’re not talking about records having been stored for years in a humid attic or wet cellar! And then the tone…. Stop. I said I would not enter into details.
Obviously we also see disadvantages. As yet you always have to get up from your easy chair in order to turn the record. Some records quite often tend to creak (this indeed depends on used hardware) and randomly selecting your preferred song is impossible. If you want to keep this collection for a long time and get the best out of it, cleaning your records is also a must, and this will take you quite a lot of time. Adjusting both the arm and the cell requires the necessary basic knowledge and is better be left to an experienced supplier. Then storage and weight can be a showstopper in many living rooms.
