LAST - then and now?

I know part of this is the cleaning on a Keith Monks machine they got before applying LAST

Yes, I've found that use of a quality record cleaning machine prior to applying LAST is an absolute necessity. Otherwise, the LAST seems to dramatically increase tics and pops, presumably by "cementing" into place any minute detritus which may be present in the grooves.

I should qualify that by saying that much of my listening is to symphonic music with wide dynamic range, the frequent soft passages making tics and pops more noticeable than on typical pop recordings with narrow dynamic range.

Regards,
-- Al

>>Last has been and still is a valuable help with keeping my collection alive. After 30 years in high end and with a $30K analog rig<<

That's nice.

When you get to 50 years and $150K in analog gear, we can talk.

Good luck to you.

I do not use LAST myself, so I have no opinion as to whether it produces sonic improvements or not. However, I am curious as to how this stuff is supposed to work. According to a post above, the LAST people say it alters the chemical composition of the vinyl surface. I do not see what relevance this is. A stylus picks up vibrations from the record grooves. This is a mechanical process. What does the chemical composition of the vinyl surface have to do with this? The undulation in the record groove is there or it's not, no matter what the chemical composition of the surface is. The only thing I can think of is that it may harden the surface, therefore reducing wear or making light scratches less likely. Another possibility is that it fills in gaps caused by scratches, thereby reducing pops. But it can't do this since LAST says it does not coat the record. So does anybody know how this product is supposed to work?

My dealer says that it is important to clean a record before and, especially, AFTER applying LAST preservative. Simply put, the record will sound better if you do. I have tried this. And my ears have corroborated it. Apparently, it does leave some sort of residue. . . Neither of us have, ever, been able to tell if it really works, however. To do so, one would have to play identical copies of a record--one treated and one not--an equal and high number of times over several years. And who wants to bother to do that?
As far as the LAST record cleaner is concerned, he says that it contains a harmful solvent and recommends Walker Audio's multi-step cleaning system, instead.
Now, with LAST's stylus preservative, I believe that A.J. van den Hul likes it mainly because he has found that it does no damage--unlike, apparently, everything else.
As far as I know, he has never, actually, said that it works.
By the way, imho, the best way to preserve one's stylus is by having it set up properly.

LAST is one of the best products to have ever come down the pike.

I had a "test" case for exact comparison as I never used to treat Sheffields, MoFi's, Direct-Discs, etc based upon mofi's advice not to use anything. I used to treat my "normal" records and have over 30 years worth of albums spinning on the same exact system. No comparison, the LAST albums held up much better and NOW I treat my UHQR's, Mofi's, everything else with LAST.

Maybe if you have 150K system you won't use it. I'll never know, but I have never left vinyl, have only a meager SOTA Cosmos MKIV and fidelity research arm and cartridges, and I suffer gladly with using LAST.

Have Fun!