Vinyl Record Care for Game Soundtracks: Cleaning, Storage, and Playback

Quick answer

Clean each record before and after every play with a carbon fiber brush, then wet-clean with a record solution when you hear crackle or see fingerprints. Store game soundtrack vinyl upright, sleeves vertical, away from heat and direct sun. Set your turntable on a level surface, balance the tonearm to the cartridge maker's tracking force, and keep the stylus clean so you don't grind dust into the grooves.

A game soundtrack on vinyl is a collectible and a listening object at the same time, and those two jobs pull in different directions. Display it on a shelf in the sun and you risk a warp; handle it like a museum piece and you never actually hear the music. The routine below keeps both goals intact.

The steps are ordered the way you'll actually use them: first-play handling, routine cleaning, deep cleaning, storage, and finally turntable setup. Each step includes the mistake that causes the most damage, so you can check your habits as you go.

Why game soundtrack vinyl needs a slightly different routine

Most vinyl care advice assumes a record that gets played often and replaced easily. Game soundtrack pressings are often limited runs, colored variants, or boxed sets with printed inner sleeves, which changes two things. First, replacement is hard, so prevention matters more than correction. Second, decorative packaging adds paper, ink, and sometimes a printed sleeve that can scuff a record if you store the disc inside it.

That means your routine should protect the disc first and the packaging second. Keep the outer sleeve and any art print or insert, but move the record itself into an anti-static inner sleeve if the original inner is plain paper or printed card. This one change prevents most of the surface noise people blame on the pressing.

• Keep the original inner sleeve even if you swap it out, since it's part of the release.
• Colored and picture-disc pressings show scuffs more easily, so handle them by the edge and label only.

Cleaning tools that are worth owning

You need very little: a carbon fiber brush for dry dust, a microfiber cloth or velvet brush pad for wet cleaning, a bottle of dedicated record cleaning solution, and a small stylus brush. Distilled water matters if you mix your own solution, because tap water leaves mineral residue in the grooves that sounds like permanent crackle.

Skip anything abrasive, including household glass cleaner, paper towels, and dish soap. They strip or scratch the groove walls. If you only buy one thing, buy the carbon fiber brush; it handles the daily dust that causes most of the noise you hear.

• Label your cleaning cloth so it never touches anything but records.
• Replace cleaning solution caps tightly; evaporated solution leaves a concentrated film.

How to clean vinyl records without damaging them

For routine cleaning, place the record on the turntable and let it spin. Hold the carbon fiber brush so the tips rest lightly on the surface, and let the record turn two or three rotations while you draw the brush slowly toward the label. Then tilt the brush outward to lift the dust line off the record. Never press down; the bristles should barely touch.

For a wet clean, work on a clean, soft surface or a record cleaning machine. Apply a small amount of solution in an arc following the grooves, not in circles across them, and wipe with a microfiber cloth in the same groove direction. Let the record air-dry completely before playing. Cleaning in circles across the grooves is the most common mistake and it pushes grit sideways into the walls.

• Clean new records too; pressings often ship with mold release residue.
• If a record still crackles after two wet cleans, the issue is likely the stylus or the pressing, not more cleaning.

Storage that prevents warps and scuffs

Store records vertically, like books, with enough support that they don't lean. A stack of LPs lying flat puts weight on the bottom few and can warp them over months, especially in a warm room. Keep the shelf out of direct sun and away from radiators, vents, and windows, since heat is the main cause of warping.

Use outer sleeves if you want to protect printed jackets and box sets, and keep the record behind the jacket rather than inside it so you don't scrape the jacket art each time you pull the disc out. For boxed soundtrack sets, store the discs in their inner sleeves inside the box, upright, rather than stacking the box on its side.

• Aim for a shelf that's roughly two-thirds full so records stay upright without being squeezed.
• Check stored records once a season for any sign of bowing, especially in humid climates.

Record player setup for clean playback

Set the turntable on a level, solid surface that doesn't share a floor with heavy foot traffic if you can avoid it. Balance the tonearm so it floats, then set the tracking force to the range the cartridge manufacturer specifies, and set anti-skate to match. Too little tracking force causes mistracking and more groove wear than the correct setting, which surprises people who assume lighter is always safer.

Keep the lid closed while playing to reduce dust settling, and clean the stylus before each side with a dry stylus brush, brushing from back to front. Replace the stylus on the schedule the manufacturer recommends, or sooner if you notice distortion on inner tracks. A worn stylus damages records far faster than any cleaning mistake.

• If one channel sounds dull, check the cartridge wires and stylus before blaming the record.
• A cheap, level surface beats an expensive, wobbly one every time.

Your seven-step vinyl care routine

1. 1. Handle by the edge and label: Pick up the record with your fingers on the outer edge and your thumb on the label, never touching the groove area. Hold it over a soft surface in case you fumble it. Checkpoint: if you can see fingerprints in a light, you touched the grooves.
2. 2. Swap to an anti-static inner sleeve: Move the record out of a plain paper or printed inner sleeve and into an anti-static one, keeping the original sleeve stored with the jacket. This single step prevents most paper scuffs and static-attracted dust.
3. 3. Dry-brush before every play: With the record spinning on the turntable, rest a carbon fiber brush on the surface for two or three rotations, then tilt it outward to lift the dust line away. Mistake to avoid: pressing down on the brush, which just pushes dust deeper.
4. 4. Wet-clean when you hear noise: Apply record cleaning solution in an arc along the grooves and wipe in the groove direction with a microfiber cloth. Let it dry fully before playing. Checkpoint: crackle that survives two wet cleans usually points to the stylus, not the record.
5. 5. Store upright, out of heat: Shelve records vertically with light support, away from sun, radiators, and vents. Don't stack them flat for long periods. Mistake to avoid: a sunny display shelf, which is the fastest route to a warp.
6. 6. Set up the turntable properly: Level the deck, balance the tonearm, then set tracking force and anti-skate to the cartridge maker's specification. Keep the lid closed during play. Checkpoint: too little tracking force wears grooves faster than the correct setting.
7. 7. Clean the stylus and track its age: Brush the stylus dry from back to front before each side, and note the install date so you can replace it on schedule or at the first sign of inner-track distortion. A worn stylus is the most expensive mistake in this list, so replace it early.

Soundtrack releases worth setting up your routine for

• UNDERTALE Original Soundtrack: The soundtrack to UNDERTALE, available on two CDs, with a track list that includes Once Upon a Time, Snowdin Town, and Bonetrousle. If you already know this score on CD, the same handling habits apply to any vinyl pressing you add: keep discs in their sleeves, clean before playing, and store upright so a long album sequence stays quiet across both sides.



• Commandment Stone Pin: An official Cult of the Lamb hard-enamel pin designed by Tony Kuchar, about 1.3 inches tall, that comes preassembled. Small enamel pins are a useful reminder that collectible care is mostly about storage and handling, the same principles that keep a soundtrack shelf in good shape.
• Snake and Otacon Plush Set: Officially licensed Metal Gear Solid plushes designed by Nina Matsumoto and Eyes5, each fully posable and about 10 inches tall, with removable glasses and jacket. Display pieces like these compete for the same shelf space as records, so plan a shelf layout that keeps soft goods away from sun and heat while leaving your turntable on a stable surface.

Vinyl record care comes down to a short, repeatable routine: clean before you play, store upright and cool, and keep the turntable and stylus in specification. Do those three things and a game soundtrack pressing will stay quiet and flat for years of listening, not just display.