Talk About Static Cling...

Zaikes, yes I do not have a turntable mat that could do exactly as you say. Mine is a bare platter that makes contact with the record. If the mat is electrically isolating the record, grounding the bearing housing will not cure the problem. Perhaps a humidifier would be in order in this case.

Interesting question to post. I would think that the stylus running over the vinyl is causing a static charge to build up. The cartridge windings might be providing enough isolation so that the static does not disharge back through the phono section. Out of curiosity, I would try connecting a multimeter, set on DC, between a freshly played LP and a good ground. See if you can read a dicharge voltage down to zero volts. Grounding an LP during playback might bleed off the buildup. You could try some copper "tinsel" like you see on printers. But I don't think you would want it to contact the grooves. More likely the center section of the LP.(very softly) Then run a drain wire to a good ground. I've run into static problems with lift trucks, water in PVC pipe and double insulated power tools. It can be a challenge to cure. Humidificaton is the best cure. But I doubt you will want your listening room to smell like a gym locker room. Good luck, I'd be interested to know how anybody makes out. Bob D

Thanks for the input. I have tried grounding the spindle sump to no avail. Will try a dehumidifer, but I do not get any discharge from touching anything else metal so I am skeptical that it is atmospheric conditions in my home. I will also try Mrderrick's thought and change cartridges to see if that makes a difference.

Which cartridge is used probably shouldn't make any difference, as the cart connection is always grounded if your ground lead from the TT is properly terminated. As for why conductive objects around the area may provoke no static discharge when touched, this is because of your relative lack of motion before touching them (in this type of case, it's not the object, but the person which is exhibiting static charge - the metal object being the ground drain). Just like rubbing a balloon on your shirt, scuffing your shoes accross the carpet, clothes tumbling in a dryer, or driving your car's tires down the road can all produce static build-up, it requires energy input in the form of relative motion to separate the charged ions in the air between + & - on the respective nonconductive surfaces, creating the voltage potential that attacts dust,or is released in a spark or a shock when grounded by a person's touching a conductive surface like a car door handle. I frankly am not sure if the static build-up on a record is solely due to the friction of the needle in the groove as it spins, or if the record's motion through the air alone is enough (in the car example, they say it's the road friction, but I wonder whether moving through the air is also a part of it, since I do believe that airplanes can develop a wicked static build-up in flight - but they also have rubber tires that come into play on take-off and landing, so who knows?). You may want to experiment by "playing" a record without the needle being in the groove for 20 minutes and checking the result. It's also possible there may be some difference in the severity of the problem stemming from the use of a dust-cover, if one is present, so try removing it as well if this applies. But a little added humidity (just a little, not enough to cause condensation), as TWL suggests, will always help and probably couldn't hurt if employed conservatively. You might simply try placing a bowl of steaming water in the listening space to produce some humidity silently. Good luck!

It could be the slippage of the record against the mat. Record clamp makers claim that the record travels less rotational distance than the platter/mat does during playback, because the record slips slightly if not firmly coupled to the rotating platter. With a felt mat, especially, this sort of friction might be a considerable source of static electricity buildup. Does a sorbo-gel mat provide better traction for the disc? I've never used or touched one, so I don't know. I know they are primarily sold for absorbtion dampening characteristics, but maybe they provide better traction at the same time.

Have any of you with record clamps or sorbo-gel mats experienced less static as a result of using these tweaks?