Record is dirty AFTER playing?

[pgiampi1]

I played two records back to back today - a first pressing of a Blue Note record from 1955 that had just come in the mail, followed by a later "New York USA" pressing from the early 60s that I've had for a month or so and have cleaned 2-3 times because one side has considerable distortion in some portions involving loud saxophone, etc.

The 1955 record played like a dream, even though it was marked up and I didn't clean side A before I played it. There was a background crackle but compared to the fidelity throughout, especially after the very beginning of the side...whoa, just awesome.

I then played the other record, and noticed after playing the second side - the side that has been giving me trouble - that it was covered in little dust balls. When I got one between my fingers the crud was a deep grey color but not necessarily black. There was also some on the stylus, which I took off with Magic Eraser.

I checked the other side of that record, and there was maybe one or two of the same thing. I then checked the record I played first and didn't find any of that crud anywhere.

MY QUESTION is, is this crud just dust and dirt being brought up from the grooves that I haven't been able to get out with my brush? OR, is this actually some sort of shaved off pieces of damaged record grooves? I am leaning toward the former because I thought that, if the grooves were being cut into with the needle, it would come out as more of a solid shaving, or as sticky residue on the diamond. The reason I ask is because I purchased a used Technics SL-1700 a few weeks ago and have been satisfied with it...I'm pretty sure the cartridge on it is an AT-440...and the owner, who seemed to know plenty about audio equipment, said there was plenty of use left in the stylus. I'm sure some will say "just change the stylus" but that's too expensive for me right now...I would like to get a year out of this one unless I see/hear some major issues. So what do you think? Crud, or carnage?

[pgiampi1]

And yes, I did brush off the records before I played them. I didn't wet clean side A of the first record...I wet cleaned the B side of the first record but waited an hour or two...and I had cleaned the second record the night before. These dust balls could not have been on the surface of the record before I played it, I'm pretty sure.

[Rob998]

What did you clean the record with? Could it be some kind of residue from the dried cleaning fluid?

[pgiampi1]

I don't think so. I used the fluid that comes with the Audio Technica cleaning brush - it's just like most homemade fluids...distilled water and alcohol. This stuff was dry and crumbly like dust or dirt...but the color kind of made me think of vinyl...

[Rob998]

Maybe it needs a deeper cleaning then? Or perhaps the record is degrading in some way. I would presume that if the stylus was so damaged that it was shaving visible vinyl residue from one record it would be doing it to others too.

[pgiampi1]

A very logical answer. I have a feeling that you're correct...that I'm loosening this junk that has set in the record but I am not getting it out, so it is starting to arise from the grooves upon playing. I've noticed that this same record has a skip near the beginning before I cleaned it, but that the skip no longer occurred after I cleaned it (though a pop did occur). Obviously this record is filthier than it looks.

To be cautious, I think I'm play some of my crummier records next just to make sure that the stylus is not the issue.

[pgiampi1]

It must be crud coming out of the record - I washed again and am playing right now...the LP sounds better with almost every play (it's the A side of Jimmy Smith's "Midnight Special" by the way...Stanley Turrentine plays some pretty loud stuff on the first cut and it used to just sound disgusting...now it's buzzy but I think in an appropriate way...plus I can pick out the ride cymbal and quiet guitar comping crystal clear). I suppose if the record were degrading, it would only be getting worse!

When I flick at the dust balls, I see white powder on the disc. Another sign that it's probably not the vinyl, though I don't know if that holds up to the science of the substance.

Will triple check by playing another LP but most say that when a record sounds poor due to a worn stylus, it's already too late - the record is worn now too. However, I'm not having that issue so I think I'm okay.

[Tedrick]

Yep, it sounds like your stylus is dredging up dirt and dust that is embedded deep in the grooves that the AT brush is simply unable to get to. To get records really clean, you need something like a Spin Clean, aa a minimum, or one of the vacuum-based record cleaning machines. Yes, the RCM's can be a bit pricey, but if you're really serious about vinyl and have lots of records, once you've used an RCM you'll wonder how you ever got along without one.

[pgiampi1]

Fair enough. I would just be relieved to know that it has more to do with dirt and less to do with damage. Thanks for the replies!

[E.Man]

Yep, it sounds like your stylus is dredging up dirt and dust that is embedded deep in the grooves that the AT brush is simply unable to get to. To get records really clean, you need something like a Spin Clean, aa a minimum, or one of the vacuum-based record cleaning machines. Yes, the RCM's can be a bit pricey, but if you're really serious about vinyl and have lots of records, once you've used an RCM you'll wonder how you ever got along without one.

+1.

From experience.

[Ottermel]

Did you put the records back into their sleeves after playing the first time and on subsequent plays?
It could be the plastic "dust" from the sleeves too.