Audio-Technica AT6012 Record Care Kit with Record Care Solution, Brush Pad, Storage Base, and Adhesive Tape

This brush seems to work very well, but I think there is an error in the instructions. It incorrectly says the arrow on the brush should point "in the direction the record is turning," and it shows the record turning the wrong way. The correct instruction would be to hold the brush in the orientation shown (arrow on brush pointing counter-clockwise with respect to the record) and either rotate the record clockwise (as on a running turntable) or hold the record still and move the brush counter-clockwise around the record grooves. The latter method is somewhat tricky to do without your fingers touching the record surface, but is easier on your turntable's motor, especially if the record is very dirty. It is also helpful to gradually rotate the brush so that you begin with the leading edge in contact with the record and end up with the trailing edge (the instructions fail to mention this). The brush seems to work just as well as my old 1970s Discwasher D4 brush, but it is easier to use due to its uniformly rounded surface, lighter weight and easier-to-hold shape. It's also less expensive than buying a vintage D4 brush on ebay. (By all accounts, the newer D4 brushes are to be avoided.) I have not tried the cleaning fluid yet, but judging by the absence of odor it does not have a lot of alcohol like the current Discwasher D4 formula, so I think it's probably a good product. There is some debate about the amount of alcohol that is safe to use, so in recent years I've used a home-made solution of mostly distilled water with only about 5% isopropyl alcohol and the minutest trace of unscented laundry detergent. The AT6012 solution has even less alcohol odor than mine, so it should be safe to use. The ingredients also include another, unidentified "organic solvent," but again there is no detectable odor, so I guess there can't be too much of it, whatever it is. I would definitely recommend this brush, but be aware that the instructions show the record turning the wrong way.

This thing works very well. I don't fill the reservoir but I keep distilled water in a small water mister and spray the pad before use. It cleans the record very well and cuts down on the static charge. Easier to use than my old dishwasher system.

I have tried a number of different methods to clean my albums over the last 35 years, and I even had one of these many years ago. When my current Memorex cleaning system (which is probably 15 years old) starting showing signs of over use, it was time for a new cleaner. I thought about getting the Spin Clean system, but then thought it was too much overhead and hassle to set up every time I wanted to quickly clean an album. I take care of my vinyl, and usually only need a touch up or some dust removed, and I look at the spin clean to be better used when deep cleaning might be needed, and is definitely not a routine maintenance system. I like to give my records a quick brush before every use, so a hand held brush is ideal for that. What I like most about this system is: - The pad is generously sized, allowing the pad to be rotated during cleaning to always expose a new part of the pad. It is simple to use and meets my requirements well. - It is simple to use, quick and easy. What I don't like, and why I docked it one star: - It does not come with a storage box. For $17, you would think it would come with a sealed box - and NOT the cardboard product box - to store it in. You want this to remain dust free, so why not include something that helps that cause? - $17 is probably $10 more than what this should sell for - sure I did not have to buy it, it was my choice, but either way I can still express the displeasure of the price to help others. - The instructions, if you are new to this system, consider carefully what these instructions imply - they actually advise to use 4ml of fluid to clean an album - meaning you can only clean 15 albums total if you followed the instructions. (the bottle is only 60ml total). My advice - DON'T use the holes and squirt 4ml into the brush - first, it is way more than you need, and second it will take your pad forever to dry. I have found the best way to use this is to put a few drops, or a line of cleaner along one of the rows, of cleaner on the brush and use that part of the brush first to get the album coated, then use the dry portion of the brush to pick up the loosened dust or dirt. The bottle of solution should get you through cleaning 100's of albums. (assuming your albums are not trashed and you took care of them in the first place.... and if not, then you probably need more than this brush anyway). I would probably buy this again, and would recommend to anyone looking for a simple, time-tested solution to cleaning records. Thanks for reading!

Incredible brush kit the AT6012 Record Care Kit. I have no idea how I went all these decades listening to records without this and using just my vintage rinky-dink 70's era memorex brush. This brush will NOT fix skips from scratches. BUT, the skips I had on about 5-6+ records and counting were cleared from gunk in the grooves that this brush dug out. It's quite remarkable the amount of stuff this digs out of the grooves. Pro tip: don't bother filling the holes on the back of the brush where instructions tell you to insert drops of the cleaning solution and wait 5+ minutes. Instead, just squirt directly along the front perimeter of the brush for deep cleaning. PRO PRO tip: Go to Groovewasher dot com and get the largest bottle of their G2 record cleaning solution and keep a small/medium spray bottle filled with it next to your turntable with this brush, and spray the front of the brush where the arrow points to for a nice easy deep clean of each side. Don't forget to clean your stylus every so often, and possibly change it every several years depending on how much usage it gets. But hands down, I LOVE cleaning my records with this brush combined with the G2 in a spray bottle

I love buying used records, but often they are coated in dust and other artifacts. This tool is simple to use but very effective in removing that junk. Yes, the inner cap of the bottle is difficult to remove, but I managed it in one try - you have to dig your nail under it and then pull up. Be careful though, it will go flying and you may spill a little liquid. Then drop in liquid on either side of the velvet brush until you have used up one measurement. I found that dropping it in with the same light squeezes you would give an eye-drop bottle helped reduce spillage/overflow. Other reviewers complained about the small amount of cleaning liquid, but there are homemade refill alternatives (distilled water/isopropyl alcohol mixture) that you can find online. You do have to wait to make sure the velvet pad is then damp, but I found rubbing it with the brush cleaner (the blue strip on the storage base) helped to moisturize it faster. You then wipe the record in a counter-clockwise manner. At first, it seemed that I had just mushed the dust into one long pile on the record, but I found out that happened because my brush wasn't damp enough yet. When damp, the brush will pick up dust and you can rub it off with the cleaner. You are left with a beautiful glossy record! I found that I was able to clean at least 3-4 records (haven't tried more yet) with just one measurement of liquid so far, of course cleaning the brush off between uses. In particular one record that was very gritty and dirty I cleaned it and it sounded much, much better. I recommend this product to those who are new to vinyl and want to take care of their records. I'm not sure that it needs to be done very often. Perhaps a non-liquid brush should be purchased to dust off records in the meantime?

I had been looking for a decent way to easily clean records for a while. The discwasher trough method didn't excite me at all, and was pricey. I actually found one of the old brushes with the oriented fibers in an antique shop, but it was part of a console stereo deal, so I could not buy it separately. Enter this unit. I did not have super high hopes for any modern day brush, but I just cleaned about 70 platters and I could not be happier. Yes, the instructions are horrible, but this is not that difficult. First, you squirt the solution into the two top holes of the brush. Not drops, but actually squirt some in so the pad can get saturated. 1. I found that the little holes in the top work so you can squirt the solution in from the top, but it takes a bit of time for the brush to become really wet enough to clean. The first few minutes will not have the entire brush damp. Wait...The dirt needs the dampness to help stick to the brush, not just push it around the platter, doing more damage. 2. There is a direction arrow on the side of the brush, that is the direction you want it to flow across the record. It is just about wide enough to cover all the grooves in one pass. If you have the platter on a moving turntable, make sure the brush is aimed correctly, into the vinyl as it comes to the brush. In other words, make sure the brush is advancing across the circumference of the record using the arrow as a directional guide. 3. You will find, upon inspection of the brush, that there is a lot of finer dust in the fibers after one or two platters than you might think. This really digs out the dirt. That little blue plastic strip on the holder? That is for scraping off the dust out of the brush. Use it often, not harshly, and you will see the dirt ball up and it then can be removed. This is mandatory, or you will just eventually redeposit the dirt on a different platter! 4. The "magic solution" is nothing more than distilled water and 70% alcohol. After using up the little bottle, buy a small alcohol bottle and a gallon of distilled water, both about $1 each. Enough mix for a lifetime. 5. I went one step further. After cleaning the platter, I found microfiber kitchen towels that were a bit tacky, but not too tacky so it drags on the platter. White ones found at Wa&^%%t. Not in the auto section, where the really tacky ones are kept, but in the kitchen towel area. After cleaning, I lightly rotated the towel around the disc to pull off the excess water. A little back and forth fanning of the platter afterwards holding the edges quickly dried it and I could put it back into the sleeve. One tip: Your old sleeves may contain more debris inside the envelope than you might think. I aggressively took my sleeves and opened them downward, and shook them so some of it at least, came out. Sometimes nothing, sometimes a cloud of dust came out. Sometimes they were so bad I replaced them with new sleeves bought on Amazon. And make sure you have a sleeve inside your album cover. Cardboard is not nice to delicate vinyl grooves. I also started putting plastic outer covers on my albums to keep the covers nice and further help dust from invading. It also makes the record package look very cool. The results to me were rather dramatic. Not only did the music seem brighter, unfortunately also did the permanent scratches on the record. Most of my records were bought used, so others put scuffs and scratches in them. Obviously the brush does not help this matter, but does make the needle ride in the bottom of the groove cleanly and make music, not be busy digging out dirt and try to make music at the same time. But scratches are scratches, so you will hear them cleanly also...Luckily for me there is something nostalgic about a few scratches in a record. I don't mind it at all, and there is just no duplicating the original analog sound that vinyl produces. Your favorite old artist, be it Nat King Cole or Jerry Lee Lewis, vinyl is the best. One of my favorites in my collection is an original Sun recording of Jerry Lee Lewis, doing all his hits. Scratchy, scuffed, and the sound was heavenly after cleaning with this brush! Overall, this is a great brush and I would buy it again. Once you get used to using it, it takes more time to handle the platters and move things around than it does to clean any one side. Beats the pants off the silly wood glue method.

I had one of these 30 years ago when I was in High School. It has not changed a single bit since then. At some point, I lost it, so I replaced it with one of the carbon fiber brushes. There's really no comparison. This works so much better. The instructions are not good, but I've been using these so long, maybe I can help someone by explaining how I use it. First, it is not a deep cleaner. When I buy a used record, I use my spin clean (I'm in the process of building an ultrasonic cleaner, but that's another story), dry it, and then use the AT cleaner to get any fibers from the cloth off the record. Then each and every time I put a record on, I put 3 drops of fluid onto the plastic holder base and shake it gently to spread it out. I then rub the cleaning pad on the base to transfer the fluid. Then with my TT spinning and the tone arm in the up position, I start with the front pointed down, I rotate it slowly until the back is pointing down. Then I rub it quickly several times on the blue cleaner strip that's on the edge of the base to get the dust off. I know the instructions say to put the drops in the holes, but that takes forever, and wastes too much of the fluid. In my book, this is the best brush made to use for pre-play cleanings.

This is a review of the AT6012 Record Care Kit, and some instructions on how to use properly use the brush. I received mine yesterday, and so far I have used it on 4 problematic records; three I owned prior to owning a turntable with a dust cover, all victims of clumsiness at one point or another, and one brand new vinyl. The three older records showed a few fingerprints and smudges that were probably made while putting them back in their sleeves, and the new one had small bits of paper all over it from a split seam in the bottom of the inner sleeve. First, the directions on the packaging indicate that you should measure 4 ml. of the cleaning solution — perhaps with a syringe, but this is not included — and distribute it evenly into the two fill ports on top of the brush (cleverly named the "Sonic Broom"). For one, 4 ml of liquid is far too much for a task like this. The packaging claims that the liquid will be channeled from the fill ports and into the fabric only at the leading edge of the brush, but the entire pad is going to end up soaked if you dump 4 milliliters of anything into it. I know this because I actually did measure out 4 ml. of the cleaning solution in a syringe and put 2 ml. into each fill port; so much of the cleaning solution ended up on the record that I had to go over it again with a separate dry cleaning pad just to soak it all up. Unlike other larger cleaning brushes I've owned, there is a minimal amount of "padding" underneath of the outer cleaning cloth on this brush, so the solution isn't going to be soaked into the body of the brush; the plastic handle makes up the bulk of the brush. -------- HOW TO CLEAN YOUR RECORDS with this product: Ideally, the edge of the brush which will first come into contact with your records should be damp, but not completely saturated. The best way to accomplish this is to completely ignore the filling ports on the top and use the tip of the solution bottle to dampen a 1/8"–1/4" wide strip on the leading edge of the brush (indicated by an arrow on the side). You want the majority of the brush pad to remain as dry as possible. Start by making contact with the record using only the damp edge of the brush. If you're cleaning the record while it's on your turntable, be sure to place the record on top of a clean slip mat; you don't want to flip the record to clean the other side and end up with dust and dirt from the slip mat in the grooves of the side you've just cleaned! The packaging states to rotate the record underneath the brush so that it is turning in the direction the arrow on the side/bottom of the brush is pointing. This is opposite of the direction that my previous cleaning brushes have suggested, but it is nevertheless important to make sure you always rotate your records in the direction instructed by the packaging and make sure the brush is always oriented the same way. In theory, this will prevent dirt and dust that has accumulated on the brush pad from becoming dislodged and finding its way into the grooves of the record you're trying to clean. With the damp edge of the cleaning pad in contact with the record, apply light pressure — just enough that the bristles of the fabric can get into the grooves of your record, but not so much pressure that it is difficult to spin the vinyl — and rotate the record BY HAND two or three times. Do not attempt to use your turntable's motor to spin the disc under the brush, because this creates unnecessary stress on the motor and could cause problems down the line. Try to keep the edge of the brush perfectly straight between the center hole of the record and the outer edge. Keep rotating the vinyl, but slowly rock the cleaning pad away from the damp leading edge so that the dry area comes into contact with the record. This should soak up any of the cleaning solution on the record and grab any of the dust or dirt suspended in it. Do this until the record appears as dry as possible, then leave it alone for a few minutes to allow any remaining solution to evaporate. Once the brush has dried, use the rough strip of fabric on the edge of the "storage base" to comb any dust or dirt out of the brush. ...and of course, get a can of air duster to blow out the inner sleeves that you store the records in. Again, this is all pointless if your freshly cleaned vinyl goes back into a sleeve full of dust. -------- For those curious, the bottle states that the cleaning solution is composed of a "catatonic surfectant," an "organic solvent," isopropyl alcohol, and distilled water. No further details are given about the chemicals used or the percentages of each ingredient in the overall solution. ...but how well does it work? My initial impressions are that it works more than well enough for lightly dusty or fingerprinted records. It's important to temper your expectations with this product, though. It's not going to remove every single speck of dirt — especially from very old or heavily used records — but for vinyl that has been treated respectfully and stored properly, this should do a fine job of removing the occasional fingerprint or small bits of dust. One last thing: It's hard to know how much of the cleaning solution gets "left behind" after the cleaning process, but if you're using this to clean and play a large number of records on a stylus you care about, you might also want to invest in a stylus cleaning product.

It's a great product. It looks just like the picture and works like a dream! Leaves all my records spotless and shiny, and maybe I'm just imagining it but it seems as if they play better too! Highly recommend as a cleaning tool.

Ho comprato questo sistema di pulizia dei dischi in vinile (LP e 7") della Audio Technica, perchè nei vari siti internet di audiofili questo prodotto era segnato come tra i più affidabili, ma in Italia purtroppo non era importato da nessuno. Ma noi per fortuna abbiamo Amazon, che ha tutto. Appena l'ho visto nelle sue pagine mi sono tolto la curiosità e l'ho comprato, anche per il prezzo non elevatissimo del prodotto. Audio Technica è una grande casa di apparecchiature Hi-Fi, che fa molto per gli audiofili di tutto il mondo, soprattutto per quelli appassionati di vinile, con giradischi e puntine di grande qualità, non poteva tradirmi con questo suo AT6012 per pulire i vinili e infatti non l'ha fatto, sono rimasto soddisfattissimo dei risultati e vi spiego il come e perchè. Arriva a casa nella sua confezione di plastica che contiene una boccetta di plastica di liquido antistatico da 60 ml, una spazzola di plastica bianca con velluto blu scuro bombato, con scanalature che entrano nei solchi del vinile pulendoli, nella parte alta ci sono due buchini dove mettere due-tre gocce di liquido che scende nella spazzola da passare sul vinile. La spazzola ha anche la sua base, anch'essa bianca, dove riporla finito l'uso, ma anche per pulirla dalla polvere, ha una striscetta pulente su un lato, strusciando la spazzola sopra ritorna pulita per un altro uso. Facile da usare a secco, basta posare l'LP nel piatto e farlo girare, poggiare la spazzola bombata con la freccia disegnata verso il bordo esterno del disco e poggiarla sul disco dal lato inclinato che raccoglie la polvere e poi oscillandola dalla parte opposta finisce di raccogliere tutta la polvere lasciando il disco pulitissimo, pronto per essere ascoltato. Se invece il disco è molto sporco e pieno di elettricità statica, invece di usare i buchini in alto della spazzola, consiglio di passare una striscia di liquido direttamente nella spazzola lungo il lato senza freccia (non lascia aloni asciugandosi), poggiarlo sul disco per una decina di giri e poi oscillare la spazzola dal lato asciutto e lucidare il disco, subito pronto per l'ascolto. Incredibile Audio Technica AT6012! Bastano questi pochi passaggi e non si ascolteranno più nè scrosci, nè ticchettii di elettricità statica, ma solo purissima musica del vinile! Da usare anche su i vinili nuovi, che ho notato sono strapieni di elettricità statica. Sono favorevole ai lavaggi dei vinili nelle vaschette apposite, nella lucidatura con spray appositi, ma quando si mette il disco nel piatto prima di ascoltarlo una passata di questa spazzola con liquido è l'ultimo tocco finale per la migliore purezza del suono! Consigliata agli amanti del vinile! Grazie ad Amazon per la spedizione entro i tempi stabiliti e l'imballaggio perfetto. Cinque Stelle!!!

No es clara la cantidad de líquido qué hay poner. Las unidades de la botella no corresponden. La etiqueta tapa texto.

Estupendo para limpiar los vinilos y existe recambio de líquido así que muy bien

Used after I had already cleaned my old record collection. Then after using my lps were a lot clearer and no more static. Excellent product.