janradder

And, because the E and A on our keyboard was sticking, I decided to take it apart tonight and give it a thorough cleaning. Two and a half hours later, after cleaning each nook and cranny and key with rubbing alcohol and a Q-tip, the keyboard is shiny and new and works like a dream. And in spite of the length of time it took, it was a hell of a lot easier than taking apart the Mighty Mouse and cleaning it out like I did about a month ago.

As haddayr can agonizingly attest to, I can get pretty obsessive compulsive about cleaning.  One of my favorite things is to polish up scuffed boots or go to town on my guitars, picking out all the crud around the frets, using naptha to remove any difficult sticky crap, buffing the finish up nice so it shines.

Well, as she can also testify, I get especially compulsive and anal when it comes to records.  Today I have combined my two OCD joys as I purchased an enzymatic cleaning kit for my vinyl collection.  Starting on the first records, I was a little suspect about what the result would be, yet kind of hopeful after reading some online reviews by audiophiles.  After cleaning the first lp -- PiL's Second Edition -- I put the needle in the groove for a test drive.  The sound was absolutely, positively amazing!  Not only were all the tiny pops and crackles gone, the bass actually seemed to pop out of the speakers more than it did before the cleaning.  The high and low ends were both deeper and better heard.  I really couldn't believe it.

To put the cleaner to the real test, I set out to clean some old 45's that had been sitting in a stack, uncleaned in nearly fifty years (if they ever were cleaned, that is), covered in greasy fingerprints.  Before the cleaning the pops, hiss and crackles almost made the record unlistenable.   After the cleaning there was no longer evidence of any finger smudges on the vinyl.  When I put the single on the platter and dropped the needle, I could still hear some slight crackling (due to the fact that they'd been stored unsleeved in a stack most  of their life and had developed little nicks and scratches) but the vast majority were gone and the sound was incredible.  Needless to say, I am utterly delighted!