Groove Clean Ultrasonic Record Cleaner Review

Groove Clean Ultrasonic Record Cleaner Review

If you’ve come to amass a large library of records, you’ve probably run into the issue of cleaning them all regularly. Sure, you know you should, that’s what keeps them sounding crisp and smooth, minimising audio issues like fuzzy, warped or pop-filled listening experiences. Even the standard record cleaners out there are only able to clean one at a time. Well, my friend, the Groove Clean ultrasonic record cleaner that we’ll be reviewing today might be able to help you do just that.

You can check out the product on its website. The mount for the records is purchased separately from the ultrasonic cleaner, so you could even get the mount on its own if you’ve already got an ultrasonic rig of your own!

The Groove Clean Ultrasonic Record Cleaner

The Groove Clean Ultrasonic Cleaning Rig

This record cleaner has some really nifty features that’ll help you clean your favourite vinyls in record time! Its ultrasonic cleaning system is among the newest on the market, being able to penetrate the smallest nooks and crannies in your record to push out whatever tiny bits of gunk that’s affecting the quality of your vinyls. The bath that spins your record through is able to not only take the standard distilled water that helps prevent static build up that’ll attract dust, but even whatever home solution or cleaning solution you prefer to use.

On the ultrasonic mechanism side of things, there’s not much to write home about as it uses a standard rig. Some vinyl enthusiasts have even pointed out that you could easily buy some other generic ultrasonic cleaning rig to replace it.

It also doesn’t have a lot going for it in terms of style. It has a very plain and industrial look to it, which I wouldn’t feel too proud of showing off next to my record shelf. It’s almost an eyesore, one that I’d be more likely to keep away in a closet till I need to. And I’m not much of a fan of keeping something as vital as this elsewhere, because then I’d have to figure out the whole process of taking the Groove Clean vinyl mount apart and then putting it back together again with every round of cleaning I have to do.

Ultrasonic cleaners are great, but I’m not a fan of the ones that look too much like laboratory apparatus. My recommendation would be to get something to cover it up so it fits whatever your set up is so you can leave it standing in an accessible spot.

The Groove Clean Starter Mount

This is the best part of the whole Groove Clean set in my opinion. Most ultrasonic record cleaners only accommodate one record at a time, meaning that you’ll have to replace them one by one, and if you’ve got a whole library to sort through or managed to get a good deal for a great stack of records, you’ll be in for a tedious cleaning session.

This record mount, also called a motor unit, differentiates itself by being able to hold 4 records at a time! These mounts are often either purchased separately or made by some vinyl cleaners to spin the record through the solution, and both options don’t commonly offer multi-record washing options. This stand ensures that you can easily blast through the cleaning process as fast as possible so you won’t have to worry about cleaning your records one by one.

One downside we do foresee, however, is that you will be replacing your cleaning solution in the ultrasonic bath a lot more frequently. Washing 4 records at a time means accumulating 4 records’ worth of dirt with each wash. The golden ration for replacing the cleaning solution is typically doing so after every 25th use. However, in this case we recommend it bumping it down to every 2 washes instead.

We do recommend that, with this rig, you keep your cleaning bath solution replacement nearby, prepared beforehand. That way, you still save on time when replacing the solution. This maintains efficacy of the ultrasonic cleaner, plus the speed at which you’ll be cleaning your records does offset the slight increase in amount of water you’re using!

But on the topic of record capacity…

What Size Ultrasonic Record Cleaner Should you Get?

You can’t just expect to get any other vinyl record cleaning machine and attach the mount to it in hopes of fitting a full 4 records to it. Ultrasonic cleaners can have varying bath sizes, and getting one that’s too small might not just prevent you from putting in more records, but will also result in a bath that cannot hold enough cleaning solution. And with too little cleaning solution available, the bath ends up being full of gunk before your record gets fully cleaned.

This site recommends that you try and get a bath that can hold 6 liters of liquid to 5 vinyl records (possible with custom mounts, but Groove Clean’s capacity for 4 records is solid enough). The bath for the Groove Clean can hold 6.5 liters, which is more than enough, meaning you could use the bath water for more rounds of cleaning before you have to replace it.

See this record’s c;leaning capabilities in action through this video!

Final Verdict

All in all, the Groove Clean ultrasonic record cleaner is a pretty solid product. Sure, the standard ultrasonic cleaner mechanism isn’t too special. But its designers have done a great job of making a stand that can support 4 records at the same time. It’s a great motor unit that does the job and really improves on the standard single vinyl record cleaning system that most cleaning machines use.

And if you aren’t already sold on the ultrasonic cleaning system, you’re missing out. It’s one of the newest cleaning systems employed for vinyl records, and is incredibly good at getting all the dirt out of the grooves. Its cavitation technique of pushing vapour bubbles using sound waves into tiny crevices isn’t just the best part about this system. Where traditional brushing might dislodge the dirt and have gravity push it back into some other groove, the ultrasonic bath ensures that the dirt ends up being pushed into the water surrounding it, making it a lot less likely for the dirt to find its way back in!

So, what are you waiting for? Check out the amazing Groove Cleaner website and tell us what you think of it in the comments below!

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