New ultrasonic vinyl cleaner in the works: Humminguru

HayesWeighsIn said:
Hey everybody,

Ended up with a nice Amazon gift card for Xmas, so I'm planning to use it toward a Humminguru. I plan to get the dust cover with the unit as I'll be keeping it in my (semi-finished) garage, but anything else I should order with it? I just use distilled water with it, correct?

I haven't looked at hardly any of the 145 other pages of this thread, so apologies as things will inevitably be repeated.

I just couldn't bond with my Record Doctor. Something about all the manual aspects of it just made cleaning feel like a chore. The idea of placing an LP in once to wash, and once to dry sounds mighty appealing in comparison!
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I moved up from the Record Doctor to the Humminguru and have not looked back. I do still keep the RD for cruddy, moldy records I sometimes come across cheap.
 
Used my new Guru for the first time today. I felt like a baby calf walking for the first time, awkwardly pouring water into one container and then into another and trying to measure everything like it was my literal first time pouring liquids. I got a minute of high pitched squealing with my second record which I assume just happens sometimes and has already been discussed?
 
swamp said:
Used my new Guru for the first time today. I felt like a baby calf walking for the first time, awkwardly pouring water into one container and then into another and trying to measure everything like it was my literal first time pouring liquids. I got a minute of high pitched squealing with my second record which I assume just happens sometimes and has already been discussed?
Click to expand...
Very normal, you get used to it, now it sounds like music to my ears
 
swamp said:
Used my new Guru for the first time today. I felt like a baby calf walking for the first time, awkwardly pouring water into one container and then into another and trying to measure everything like it was my literal first time pouring liquids. I got a minute of high pitched squealing with my second record which I assume just happens sometimes and has already been discussed?
Click to expand...
As shortcut, there are 12” and 7” record water fill lines on the tank itself.
 
swamp said:
Used my new Guru for the first time today. I felt like a baby calf walking for the first time, awkwardly pouring water into one container and then into another and trying to measure everything like it was my literal first time pouring liquids. I got a minute of high pitched squealing with my second record which I assume just happens sometimes and has already been discussed?
Click to expand...
Welcome to the family. Yes, some records squeal. Some don't. No rhyme or reason to it.

As @Angsty mentioned, you can use the tank to measure the water and then just dump it into the main basin. If you're using G-Sonic or the Humminguru fluid, add one drop to the basin, then wash your records. You can reuse this wash liquid by decanting it from the tank back into the basin (using the filter in the tank lid).
 
kvetcha said:
Welcome to the family. Yes, some records squeal. Some don't. No rhyme or reason to it.

As @Angsty mentioned, you can use the tank to measure the water and then just dump it into the main basin. If you're using G-Sonic or the Humminguru fluid, add one drop to the basin, then wash your records. You can reuse this wash liquid by decanting it from the tank back into the basin (using the filter in the tank lid).
Click to expand...
I used the tank to measure but switched from planning to do a 12” to 7” after I poured into basin. It was a high pressure, high stakes change of plans that needed emergency remeasuring using that stick.
 
swamp said:
I used the tank to measure but switched from planning to do a 12” to 7” after I poured into basin. It was a high pressure, high stakes change of plans that needed emergency remeasuring using that stick.
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Brave. Careful not to overfill or the water can spill into the drying fans. 🙃
 
swamp said:
Used my new Guru for the first time today. I felt like a baby calf walking for the first time, awkwardly pouring water into one container and then into another and trying to measure everything like it was my literal first time pouring liquids. I got a minute of high pitched squealing with my second record which I assume just happens sometimes and has already been discussed?
Click to expand...
The noises are something of a mystery as there's not only no rhyme or reason for why it might differ from one record to the next, but also apparently differences from one machine to the next, as far as reports here would seem to indicate. As long as the record is rotating, just ignore the noise as best you can. In the event you have a record or two that won't rotate, search this thread for solutions to that occasional issue.
 
Russ I said:
The noises are something of a mystery as there's not only no rhyme or reason for why it might differ from one record to the next, but also apparently differences from one machine to the next, as far as reports here would seem to indicate. As long as the record is rotating, just ignore the noise as best you can. In the event you have a record or two that won't rotate, search this thread for solutions to that occasional issue.
Click to expand...
I read another forum (Steve Hoffman I think) where they speculated the wailing could be from the direction of the ultrasonic waves aligning a certain way, seemingly at random, to cause that noise. I know nothing about how any of this works so no idea if that makes sense as a theory.
 
swamp said:
Used my new Guru for the first time today. I felt like a baby calf walking for the first time, awkwardly pouring water into one container and then into another and trying to measure everything like it was my literal first time pouring liquids. I got a minute of high pitched squealing with my second record which I assume just happens sometimes and has already been discussed?
Click to expand...

Russ I said:
The noises are something of a mystery as there's not only no rhyme or reason for why it might differ from one record to the next, but also apparently differences from one machine to the next, as far as reports here would seem to indicate. As long as the record is rotating, just ignore the noise as best you can. In the event you have a record or two that won't rotate, search this thread for solutions to that occasional issue.
Click to expand...

Every record I've ever cleaned in my Humminguru makes the high-pitched noise.

Most every record I play after running through my Humminguru makes no noise at all.

It's a fair trade.
 
swamp said:
Used my new Guru for the first time today. I felt like a baby calf walking for the first time, awkwardly pouring water into one container and then into another and trying to measure everything like it was my literal first time pouring liquids. I got a minute of high pitched squealing with my second record which I assume just happens sometimes and has already been discussed?
Click to expand...
The first couple I did were very high pitched and loud, but since then it's been a normal level of noise and nothing too annoying.
 
HayesWeighsIn said:
Hey everybody,

Ended up with a nice Amazon gift card for Xmas, so I'm planning to use it toward a Humminguru. I plan to get the dust cover with the unit as I'll be keeping it in my (semi-finished) garage, but anything else I should order with it? I just use distilled water with it, correct?

I haven't looked at hardly any of the 145 other pages of this thread, so apologies as things will inevitably be repeated.

I just couldn't bond with my Record Doctor. Something about all the manual aspects of it just made cleaning feel like a chore. The idea of placing an LP in once to wash, and once to dry sounds mighty appealing in comparison!
Click to expand...
Wise decision my brother!
 
Testing the first record...

Luckily I already had a couple gallons of distilled water and some IPA and dawn.




Noise-wise it's loud, but not too bad. With my headphones on playing a game I can barely hear it...and I'm sure I'll get used to it.


But I just put side A on and it looks pretty clean. I need to find a good record to do a before/after comparison, though. But so far this is dead silent...even in between songs.
 
Two things.

1.) The Humminguru has made hunting for old records fun again and even though I was already impressed by most of my old Japanese pressings, this is giving them a whole other level of life.

2.) You know what really chaps my ass? A record just finishes the dry spin and you go to take it out and juggle it slightly leading to you putting a big fat thumb smudge on what was moments before a glorious glossy finish. 🤬
 
Hemotep said:
Two things.

1.) The Humminguru has made hunting for old records fun again and even though I was already impressed by most of my old Japanese pressings, this is giving them a whole other level of life.

2.) You know what really chaps my ass? A record just finishes the dry spin and you go to take it out and juggle it slightly leading to you putting a big fat thumb smudge on what was moments before a glorious glossy finish. 🤬
Click to expand...
Ah, yes. I always use the palm of my left hand and a microfiber cloth in my right to remove the record from the HG. Holding the record with the microfiber cloth basically acting like an oven mitt, I then slide the disc into its inner sleeve.
 
Gotta say I'm impressed with the DIY ultrasonic so far.

I've used it for a few records I haven't spun in a while. It won't work miracles on everything, but it does quiet records down considerably.

I have this weekend off and will be trying to get my rotation set....also pulling/cataloging records that will need to go in.

A byproduct of having it is that it has gotten me to listen to some stuff I haven't listen to in years.
 
Do any of you note what records you've ran through the ultrasonic?

I was thinking about making a note in Discogs on ones I clean - that way I don't need to do it again when I next get it out to play.
 
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