Vinyl Revival with Keith Monks and Prodigy

Keith Monks Prodigy £795 

Why clean records at all?”

“Aren’t all record cleaners the same?” “Why does the Keith Monks go to such extraordinary lengths to clean records?” “Can’t you just wipe them with a cloth?” Just some of the questions we’re often asked, and in this section we hope to go some way to answering them. We’ll examine the concepts behind Precision Record Cleaning, why it differs from those of conventional cleaners, and how the ‘Monks Method’ not only pioneered the original principles but now actually exceeds their requirements.

Records love dirt !

The record groove is a superior medium for storing music. Unfortunately its shape is also very good at accumulating a whole host of very ‘unmusical’ contaminants as well: dust and dirt, grease from fingers, spills and the record production process, condensed film from fumes, and so on. Then during play, the friction of a travelling stylus creates static on the record, attracting even more airborne pollutants.

The ‘Monks Method’ avoids the 'tube and lips' method used by almost every other cleaner. True, these are fast and cheap but the technique falls short of Precision Cleaning, for reasons that have been adequately explored elsewhere on this site (specifically, they don’t leave the record dry enough). Anyone or anything can make a record wet - the whole point of real record cleaning is to totally remove the fluid, along with all the dirt dissolved or floating in it. If you don't, the record will often end up sounding worse than if you hadn't cleaned it at all.

There are many reasons why the Keith Monks is different – the Unique Features section rounds up the main details. Because it was designed for professional broadcasters, all Keith Monks RCMs use only industrial and medical grade components. This partly explains why only the ‘Monks Method’ can remove the fluid and dirt so completely. But this is only the start of the story.