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How to clean vinyl records

Authentication methods

1. Verification code
2. Code by Email

Register on our website

How to get a login and set up 2-factor-authentication

Click Log in in the menu and then select Don't have an account? at the bottom.
After selecting Don't have an account? enter name, username, password, and email address in the form, then click Register. If the username is already taken you will need to enter an alternative username.
The site will notify you that "your account has been created and an activation link has been sent to the email address you entered. Note that you must activate the account by selecting the activation link when you get the email before you can login".
Open your email account and click the activation link in the email you just received from Digital Audio from Vinyl. If the link does not  work copy it into the clipboard and insert it into your browser's address bar.
If you click the activation link on the same computer where you registered in your browser then a new window opens with "Your Account has been activated. You can now log in using the username and password you chose during the registration".
Enter your username and password and click or tap Log in, then you will be presented with the following screen.

You will need to enable at least one of the additional authentication methods. You can enable both and make one of them your preferred (Default) authentication method, then you have a fallback method in case your default authentication method does not work or is not readily available.

1. Verification code

Click or tap Add a new Verification code (see image above), then you will be presented with the following screen.
 
First you need to install an Authenticator app on your mobile device. You can use the Google Authenticator app or FreeOTP app which both are available in Google's Play Store for Android or App Store for Apple devices.
Open the Authenticator app on your mobile device. In the Authenticator app, either scan the QR code or enter the key shown at Enter this key on the website. IMPORTANT: the QR code changes every time when you visit this page. If you do not complete the registration now you will need to scan a new QR code when you open this page again before you can continue with the registration.
Enter the six digit numerical key displayed in the app on your mobile device into field Enter the six digit verification code to verify the 2-factor-authentication has been correctly set up, then immediately klick Save at the bottom of the page.
You will now be taken to the following page which confirms that you have successfully set up 2-factor-authentication.
Verify that it says Multi-factor-Authentication is enabled on top of the screen.
Note that there is a section Backup Codes. You can Print these codes and keep them in a safe place to use instead of using your Authenticator app in case your mobile device is not with you. Note that each of these codes can only be used one single time.
In the section Verification code are Edit and Trash icons. You can click the Edit icon to rescan the QR code if you want to add it to a new mobile device, or you can remove the existing link to a mobile device in case you do not own that device anymore. After that you can Add a new Verification code.
Note that this can also be done after login by accessing My Profile, then Edit Profile.
You can now add another authentication method or access the site through the menu. If you access the site you need to enter the six digit code displayed on your mobile device one more time to complete the login.

2. Code by Email

Click or tap Add a new Code by Email (see the first image), then you will be presented with the following screen.


Enter the six digit numerical key you received in your email into field Authentication Code to verify the 2-factor-authentication has been correctly set up, then immediately klick Save at the bottom of the page. You might need to wait a few seconds until the email arrives in your inbox, and if not, please also check your spam folder. The code sent in the email will expire within 2 minutes, if you enter an expired code reload the page to receive a new one.
You will now be taken to the following page which confirms that you have successfully set up 2-factor-authentication.
Verify that it says Multi-factor-Authentication is enabled on top of the screen.
Note that there is a section Backup Codes. You can Print these codes and keep them in a safe place to use instead of using the code received by email in case you do not have access to your email at that time. Note that each of these codes can only be used one single time.
In section Code by Email is a  Trash icon. You can remove the existing link to your email in case you change your email address. After that you can Add a new Code by Email.
Note that this can also be done after login by accessing My Profile, then Edit Profile.
You can now add another authentication method or access the site through the menu. If you access the site you will receive another six digit code which you need to enter one more time to complete the login.
If you have more than one authentication method set you can select the preferred (Default) method by selecting the Edit icon in the preferred method section and then check Make this the default Multi-factor Authentication method.

Type of repair Type of record Remarks Price in Euro
Crackles basic Any recording automatic removal, individual parameters, max. running time 50 minutes 9.95
Crackles and Clicks
(extended)
Vinyl single album automatic removal with individual parameter settings
maximum running time of 2 sides combined 50 minutes
optional sibilance reduction and scratch repair
Adding meta tags included
19.95
Vinyl double album 29.95
Vinyl triple album 34.95
Vinyl quadruple album 39.95
5 singles in one recording 29.95
Sibilance Any recording price is additional per album (or 50 minutes of recording) + 5.00
Scratches Any recording manual repair after checking through your audio
please let us know where scratches are located in your audio
on request
meta tags Vinyl record added manually if available online (you may provide us with your preferred name tags) included*
track files Any recording price is additional if track files are submitted instead of one or two recordings
maximum running time 50 minutes
+ 5.00

* not available for Crackles basic repair

Please note

Crackles and Clicks will be removed automatically over the entire length of your recording
Parameters are always set manually to best fit your audio recording
Other repairs such as Sibilance and Scratch removal is manually done at additional cost
For scratch removal we will analyze your audio recording and quote the required effort, as removing scratches depends on the location in your audio
Submitting audio and receiving one song is free. For Crackles basic repair you will receive approximately 4 minutes of repaired audio.
After approval of the free song you must purchase the repair to obtain the remaining songs
All songs will be provided with meta-tags (except for Crackles basic repair)
Please download and review the song provided for free before purchasing.
You will receive a corrected version according to your wishes within 30 days of purchase if you are not satisfied with the result after purchasing (repaired too much or not enough). This is possible only twice for the same recording.
Unfortunately, we cannot refund the purchase price if you are still not satisfied with the result.
Invoicing and payment is not handled through the website. When the free song is ready you will receive an email with payment instructions for purchasing the entire audio.

How To Clean Vinyl Records

This is the excellent article on vinyl record cleaning written by Matthew Hickey

Matthew Hickey - How To Clean Vinyl Records
Turntable Kitchen on Audio EquipmentMusicMusic FeaturesReviews

We’ve talked a lot about getting the most from your vinyl collection by building a solid hi-fi system. We recently posted a complete guide to buying the best turntable or record player. But, for optimal sound, keeping your records clean is just as important as having good equipment. The purpose of this post is to teach you how to clean vinyl records to get the best sound from them.

You know those pops and clicks that many people associate with vinyl records? Unless your record is scratched or scuffed, the culprit is the dirt and dust that has collected in the grooves of your records. Get rid of the dirt in the grooves, get rid of the pops and clicks.

So, how do you clean a vinyl record? Here are three methods for cleaning vinyl records:

Clean Vinyl Records With A Vacuum Cleaner

Perhaps the best way to deep clean your vinyl records is with a vacuum-powered vinyl record cleaner. The benefits of a vacuum cleaner made specifically for cleaning vinyl records is that it sucks up the dirt and dust that has settled into the grooves of the vinyl while simultaneously minimizing pressure and physical contact with the delicate record itself.

We’re NOT recommending using a normal vacuum cleaner on your records. There are many vacuum machines on the market that are made to clean vinyl records but you’ll get the most bang for your buck from the Record Doctor V Record Cleaning Machine.

There are fancier models out there – including the Pro-Ject Vinyl Cleaner VC-E – but they’re more than twice the price but offer the same results.

Clean Your Vinyl Records With A Record Washer

If you don’t want to shell out for a vacuum cleaner for your records, you can go with a less fancy record washer.

We like the starter kit from Spin Clean. It’s a manual system composed of brushes and rollers that uses an accompanying solution to clean your records. You simply insert the record into the cleaner, rotate it by hand a few revolutions, and you’re done.

It does involve a little more pressure on your records so it’s not quite as optimal as the vacuum based systems but it’s more than sufficient for most collectors. It’s also a good solution for someone who wants to deep clean very dirty vinyl records.

Clean Your Vinyl Records By Hand

The best way to clean vinyl records without a fancy washer or vaccum? You easily clean your records by hand with just a brush, some cleaning solution, and a microfiber cloth. It is easy too. There are really just four steps on how to cheaply and easily clean vinyl records, DIY style:
Brush The Record
Wash The Record
Dry The Record
Repeat Until Clean

DIY record cleaning is really as easy as that! Here’s more:

Brush The Record

You’ll need a record brush. We use (and recommend) the Mobile Fidelity Record Cleaning Brush but there are plenty of good options. For example, we also have and often use the AudioQuest Record Clean Brush. You don’t need both but with exceptionally dusty records we’ll sometimes give both a shot before moving on to washing a record.

Begin by gently brushing the surface of the record in a circular motion (always follow the grooves) with the brush. Don’t use too much pressure here – you’re goal is to pick up larger dust and dirt on the record but you don’t want to damage the grooves.

Honestly, I recommend doing this step every time you play a record. I don’t wash my records often but I do lightly brush them before most plays. However, if you bought a record used, the record has been in storage for a long time, or it just looks visibly soiled and brushing is not cutting it – you’ll want to move on to the next steps for a deeper cleaning.

Wash The Record

Although some people use a combination of water and dish soap, we don’t recommend it. Instead, we recommend using a cleaning solution designed for use on vinyl records. However, not all record cleaning solutions are created equal. In particular, we recommend avoiding any that contain isopropyl alcohol. While it will clean the muck off your record, many people report that over time it’ll also damage the protective coating on your vinyl. If you are going to use a solution with isopropyl alcohol – use is sparingly.

So what is the best vinyl record cleaning solution? The archivists at The Library of Congress use a combination of a mild surfactant called Tergitol with deionized water. If it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for us. We think this is the best vinyl record cleaning solution. You can pick up a Tergitol-based concentrate from Amazon. You only need to add a couple drops to your water. You can pick up the deionized water from Amazon as well. Lightly spray the disc with the Tergitol solution and let sit for about 4-5 minutes. Then using a record brush like the ones we described above, lightly wipe the discs in the direction of the grooves to clean up the soapy mixture.

Repeat this process one more time using only the deionized water (so no Tergitol) to clean off any remaining soapy residue.

Dry The Record

There is no trick as to how you clean vinyl records with microfiber cloth. Using a soft microfiber cloth just gently pat the record dry. You may want to let the record dry for up to thirty minutes before returning it to it’s sleeve to make sure it’s completely dry. Excess moisture can cause the sleeve to mold and damage the record.

If you really want to protect your investment, place the newly cleaned records in fresh archival inner record sleeves like these ones from Mobile Fidelity.

Table of contents

1. Play and record your audio
2. Submit and register audio
3. Check sample file
4. Purchase your repaired audio

1. Play and record your audio

You play your records with your own equipment, which ensures you will receive the same audio quality you are used to. Making a digital copy of your analog audio records requires some preparation which is explained in this work flow document. The better you prepare, the better the results will be. Although we guarantee great results in cleaning and repairing your audio with minimal impact to the audio itself, it is still important to create a digital copy with the best possible recording quality to allow for the best possible end result.

Requirements to record analog audio:
clean your records
a high quality record player
a high quality stylus
analog to digital conversion
a desktop computer or laptop to run the recording software

I. Prepare your records (LPs and singles)

Make sure you have a decent stylus installed in your turntable. If you thought about changing or upgrading the stylus now would be the time to do that.

Decide which vinyl records you want to play and record to computer. Check the record's surface for dust, dirt, scratches, finger prints, etc.

Clean your vinyl. If you have no experience in cleaning read "How to clean vinyl records", which includes (almost) everything you need to know about cleaning vinyl records. Note that we are not affiliated with, or benefit from, Turntable Kitchen and this article in any way. There are many other guides available in the internet which you should have no difficulties to find.

II. Setup your recording station

You need to connect your turntable to your computer to be able to record from it. There are many different USB turntables available on the market, and if you own one you're almost ready to go. If you don't, don't worry, just get yourself a phono pre-amplifyer with USB output. There are many different models available, make sure it has a phono input available, and connects to your computer through USB. Our recommended choice for a budget phono pre-amplifier is the NAD PP 4, which allows sending audio to your amplifier and your computer at the same time.

How to connect is explained with the PP4 as an example, other USB pre-amplifiers would be connected in a similar way:
Connect the turntable RCA cable to input 1 for a Moving Coil stylus, or input 2 for a Moving Magnet stylus. If you don't know what the difference is you most likely have a Moving Magnet stylus. Set the input selector 3 to MC (Moving Coil) or MM (Moving Magnet).
Connect the ground wire from your turntable to connector 5. This avoids an earth loop and the earth humming sound.
Connect the line output 6 to the receiver and set the input selector 4 to phono.
On the other side of the device which is not visible in the image connect the USB connector to your desktop computer or laptop.

On your desktop computer or laptop:
Download and install Audacity, which is a free, open source, cross-platform audio software. 

III. Play and record your audio

Now that you have made all preparations you are ready to record your audio:
Prepare your record on your turntable.
Open Audacity on your computer and set the recording input to your USB connected turntable or pre-amplifier, which is likely called "USB Audio CODEC". Do also check that the recording channels are set to "Stereo".
Click the Pause and Record button, then play several parts on the record to adjust the recording level. You need to make sure that the peak level remains within -6 to -3 dB, but never exceeds 0 dB, as this would result in clipping of the recorded audio. Recording levels can be adjusted mechanically at the turntable or pre-amplifier, or through software in Audacity.
Play the first side of the record. When finished, click the Stop button in Audacity and select File > Save Project in the menu, which saves the recording as Audacity file.
Repeat above steps for the second side of the record.
Check the result. Make sure the entire length has been recorded, that you did not start too late or stop too early. You might also want to listen to the result, which you can do from within Audacity by clicking the Play button.

Step 2 - Submit and register audio

I. Register on our website

To be able to submit and register audio you first need to register on our website. The sign up steps required to register an account and set up 2-factor-authentication are explained in Register on our website (click the link). Find out more about this requirement in the FAQ section.

II. Submit audio

Once you have decided to try our service you will need to give us something to work with. Please first go to Submit Audio to upload your recordings, then tell us about it in the next step.

Acceptable file formats for the uploads are Audacity3 files, Waveform audio files or Lossless Audio encoded files, with file extensions .aup3, .wav, .flac, or .alac.
Compressing your audio with 7-Zip or a similar compression tool is recommended if you opt for Audacity3 format files, as the compressed file would be 2-3 times smaller. Compressed file extensions should be .7z, .zip, or .gz. 7-Zip is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
First select you desired Server Location where to keep your uploaded files and from where to download the repaired files. All servers are owned and managed by Bethico, and your uploaded files will only be stored in the location selected.
Now select Add files and select your recordings. You can select all files at the same time, then hit Upload to start the file upload. The required time to upload depends on the file size and the upload speed of your internet connection. A typical 250 MB size file will take 4 minutes to upload on a 10 Mbps upload speed connection, but many internet service providers in Europe still throttle the upload speeds to below 10 Mbps, in which case the upload will require more time.
Make sure that files uploaded have different file names. We recommend a naming scheme to easily identify the recordings: {artist name} - {recording name} - {LP side number}, for example "Beatles - The White Album - side1.7z".
Once all files are uploaded you will find them listed on the upload page.

III. Register audio

Now that your recordings have been uploaded to our server you will need to let us know, and give us some further information. Click Register Audio in the menu and fill out the contact form. This menu entry is available only after you have logged in to our site.

All fields are mandatory. To obtain help hints on any of the fields click the Register button at the bottom of the form before filling out fields. Further information is available in our Frequently Asked Questions section.
Artist & LP: artist and album name.
File Names: enter the file names of the uploaded files, one per line. If you can't remember the exact file name, first go back to the Submit Audio page and click the icon to the left of the file name, which copies the name to your clipboard. You can then paste it directly into the File Names field.
Repair clicks and crackles: select if you want all clicks and crackles removed.
Repair scratches: select if you need scratches removed. Please indicate in the remarks field whether there is just one scratch, a few, or many, and where they are located in the recording, so we do not accidentally overlook these. Also, we will need to pay special attention to scratch removal and inform you prior to the restauration process whether the removal will have any cost implication.
Repair sibilance: select to repair sharp "hiss" sounds in the vocals of your recordings. Please indicate in the remarks field the approximate locations or song titles or numbers where you noticed sibilance which you want us to reduce. Sibilance can not be removed, but it is possible to reduce it's disturbing sounds.
Create MP3 audio files: select to have MP3 audio files generated from your recordings, with full meta data tagging.
Create lossless FLAC audio files: select to have lossless FLAC audio files generated from your recordings, with full meta data tagging. Please note that while we are able to read Apple Lossless Audio Codec files we are not able to create the repaired audio in this format.
Name or number of song to receive free of charge: we will send you one song from your recordings in MP3 format free of charge before you need to make the decision to place an order with us. If you don't like the result you don't need to do anything, we will cancel your request, and remove the files 30 days after they have been uploaded.
Remarks: please give us as much information as possible about your recordings. It will make our job easier and improve the result to meet your expectation.
Send me a copy of the email: This option is preselected to receive a copy of your order. If you discover an error in the order or want to make a change, please contact us immediately. Please understand that orders can no longer be changed if we have already carried out the repair following your request.
In addition to these fields your registered name, username, and email address will be added to the message.
Your current IP address will also be recorded when sending us a message through the contact form. We use this with the sole purpose of detecting abuse of our website and will never use any of your private information for anything else than contacting you during the course of repairing your audio. Please also visit our Privacy Policy page on how we use and protect your data.

Step 3 - Check sample file

After you have submitted your recordings and registered it through our contact form we will repair your audio. This will normally take not more than 24 hours, after which we will make one song available for you to download and check whether you are happy with the results. Please note the following:
We will provide you with the song you requested when you registered your audio.
You will be able download a file which will not work by itself. You will be able to create the repaired song by combining the downloaded file with your recorded file. The file to download will appear in your file list where you uploaded your recordings before, named after the song with file extension "btc".
Download this btc file either by clicking Download or by clicking on the file name.
After the download has finished you need to click Create to create the repaired song. After click you are presented with the Create your audio files dialog.
First open the file you just downloaded, after which the song file name will appear in the box next to line 3 of the dialog window. Second, open the audio recording where this song is part of, which will initiate creation of the the repaired song. Third, click on the song file name to save the repaired file to your download folder. You need to follow these 3 steps in sequence.

Enjoy listening to your repaired song.

Please note that we will not offer to repair another song for free from the same album. If you like the result and want other songs or the complete album to be repaired you need to purchase one of our album repair options. You find the price list through a link in the next chapter of this workflow.

Step 4 - Purchase your repaired audio

You need to place an order to repair all songs of your audio recording. Please refer to the Price list for options. Please consider the following to obtain your repaired audio:
You will receive an email from us when the free song is available as a link in your upload area (please note that this is not a download link for the repaired song, it is a download link for a file with which the repaired song can be created).
This email will contain payment instructions should you chose to purchase the repair of your audio recording.
After payment kindly send us an email with confirmation details of your payment, after which you will receive a link for your repaired audio recording in your upload area (please note that this is not a download link for the repaired audio, it is a download link for a file with which the repaired audio can be created).
We will keep your uploaded audio and the repaired audio on our servers for 30 days. During this time you may request to redo the repair one time for free should you not be fully satisfied with the result. For example, if you wish to have more or less of the recorded irregularities repaired you can ask us to do so, as the level of repair is always a trade off between removing irregularities and preserving the best possible audio quality of the original material.
If you do not request a repair within 30 days your recorded audio and the repaired audio is removed from our servers.
If you require more than one redo repair we will let you know if there is any additional cost involved.
Please consult the "Frequently Asked Questions" section for further details.

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