Pro-Ject Clamp for VC E and VC S2 ALU

The Pro-Ject VC Clamp — The Part That Keeps Cleaning Fluid Off Your Labels

An aluminum clamp for Pro-Ject's VC-E and VC-S2 record cleaning machines. It is not a playback accessory and it never goes on a turntable: it screws down onto the machine's spindle to seal the record label while the record is being wet-cleaned and vacuumed.

That seal is the difference between cleaning a record and ruining its label. A vacuum record cleaner floods the playing surface with fluid and then draws it off, and paper in the middle of all that needs something clamped over it.

What It Does on the Machine

Sealing the Label

The clamp presses down over the label area and holds it against the platter of the cleaning machine, so fluid applied to the grooves cannot creep inward and soak into the paper. Without it, cleaning a record is a choice between a clean record and an intact label.

It also holds the record steady while the arm applies suction. A record that shifts under the vacuum arm cleans unevenly, so the clamp is doing two jobs at once.

Which Machines It Is For

Pro-Ject lists it for the VC-E and the VC-S2 — the aluminum screw-down type. Later machines in the range moved to a magnetic clamp that Pro-Ject describes as removing "tedious screwing of the clamp," so the two are not interchangeable parts.

Who Is This Clamp Best For?

• You own a VC-E or VC-S2 — this is the matched clamp for those machines
• Yours has gone missing — a cleaning machine without its clamp is a machine you cannot safely use
• You clean records with valuable labels — original pressings, signed sleeves, anything you would not want water-stained
• You want a spare — it is the one part of a cleaning machine that gets handled every single cycle
• You are looking for a playback clamp — this is not one; it never goes on a turntable, and hold-downs are in clamps and weights

How Do You Use It?

Put the record on the machine's platter, drop the clamp over the spindle and screw it down until the label is sealed against the platter. Apply fluid, run the brush, then vacuum. Undo the clamp only once the surface is dry.

Pairs Well With

What most cleaning machine owners keep alongside.

• Record cleaning solutions — for the dirt a brush cannot reach
• Record brushes — a pass before each side, while the record is held flat
• Record cleaning accessories — brushes, strips and the rest of the consumables
• Record cleaning machines — if you are still choosing one

Frequently Asked Questions

Will it fit my machine?

Pro-Ject lists it for the VC-E and VC-S2. Later machines in the range use a magnetic clamp instead of a screw-down aluminum one, so check which type your machine takes.

Can I use it on my turntable?

It is built for a cleaning machine's spindle and platter, not for playback. Turntable hold-downs are a separate category with their own fit requirements.

What happens if I clean without it?

Fluid reaches the label. Paper labels absorb it, and the damage — staining, lifting, wrinkling — is not reversible.

How tight should it be?

Enough to seal the label against the platter. It is a seal rather than a structural fixing, so firm contact all the way round is what you are after.

Is it the same as the magnetic clamp?

It is not. The magnetic type came in on later machines specifically to speed up the cycle; this is the aluminum screw-down clamp the VC-E and VC-S2 were built with.

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