The Record Friend

Does the job, easy to set up, bit pricey

I received this today and have already washed about 30 albums. I'm very pleasantly surprised at how effective this cleaner is, as I was sceptical before I bought it and had been considering taking the leap and buying a vacuum record cleaner. I'm glad I didn't. The Big Fudge cleaner really works. The main proof for me was a 45 year old record I have which was virtually unplayable because of the amount of crackling and pops it had. Visually it looked fine. After three washes with the BF the record is now playable and almost crackle-free.The Big Fudge is cheaper than the Spinclean and the spare parts are also significantly cheaper (about a third of the cost). I generally don't like Made in China products, but this one works and is reasonable value, even if I also buy some spare parts to have just in case. The other big bonus is that it comes with an in-built record drying rack that'll hold ten records.TIP: With very crackly records I've found that several washes gradually reduce the crackles. If you keep each part of the record sitting in the solution for 20-30 minutes, then do a quarter turn until the whole record is done, then this, for me, has reduced extreme crackling to an absolute minimum.

Generally a good product. Cleans vinyl well but the rubber band on the rollers are not the most robust and wear relatively quickly. If you clean a lot of vinyl, you need to be aware that the rollers may need replacing as, when the bands on the rollers age, they do not allow the records to rotate smoothly.

The Big Fudge record cleaner is a very user friendly device. Essentially your placing the record, on it's side, into a bath and then rotating it both left and right to ensure it's cleaned. The record is wedged between soft cleaning pads on either side of the disc and is kept in position by grooved rollers on each end. Although very dirty records may need multiple cleans one or two goes is enough for most discs. What shocked me was the amount of crud that came off records that, superficially, appeared to be totally clean. Just follow the instructions and change the water and cleaning fluid regularly and you can't go wrong.

Excellent price and very quick delivery.

Worked fine the first time I used it but the second time the rubber band on one of the rollers came off. I tried to put it back on but each time I use it the band comes loose damaging my vinyl. Think I will just throw it in the bin and spend a bit more on a better made one.

Cleans well, unfortunately after about 30 odd records both rubbers on the rollers perished & ended up breaking one of my records. There must be an easier and safer way of protecting your collection.

As a collector of 50s and 60s vinyl singles some of the records I have purchased are lets say unloved, years of dust and fingerprints make the overall look dull .I've been checking out all that Amazon and beyond has to offer, there's a massive choice out there. Being a a careful shopper I look for value for money and good customer reviews, and whilst some users have had negative comments I find the functionality of unit really simple and easy to use ens does a remarkably good job. I have attcheda few photos which I hope will impress some prospective purchasers.The whole thing is really well designed and works amazing.My one and only negative would be I would have liked a spare set of pads and rollers ,just in case .I like to keep my vinyl clean ,but the bowl in the gallery has the residue from 30 of my clean records.One last thing ,its not made in China!!!