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Koetsu Rosewood - Best/safest way to clean stylus

I have a Koetsu Rosewood Signature and have been cleaning the stylus using LAST (I think that is the brand) liquid with a brush, followed by using the cueing to drop the needle onto a Magic Eraser 4-5 times. I think this works pretty well, but I worry about the liquid... having read about liquid wicking up the cantilever, etc.

Could using liquid damage the cartridge? Could dropping the cueing down onto the Magic Eraser "grab" the needle and damage the suspension as I raise it? It seems like the only safe way to use Magic Eraser because I don't trust my hands to be steady enough to do it any other way.

Is there another cleaning method that has actually been proven (via microscope) to clean the needle safely and be safe for the cartridge?

Thanks
montaldo
montaldo OP
203 posts
 
Millercarbon, don't worry. Duane can take you to the airport.

Lewm: Yes there can be no more than VTF force while it's going down. It is going up we are wondering about. You would think there would be nothing to "catch", given the shape of the stylus. Unless the cantilever gets below the surface of the ME. Not sure. I feel a little like Slaw in that I do seem to sense a catch when I raise the cueing. But it may be the sound that creates that illusion for me, not something physically catching. I'm going to do the experiment with a very small square of ME and see if it catches and picks up the square, even momentarily.

Amazing and pathetic I am willing to spend time on this, but I am!

cleeds
6,226 posts
 
For those of you fearful of the Last stylus cleaning fluid, here's something that may keep you up at night: I occasionally use it with a Signet electronic stylus cleaner. It has worked like a charm on a variety of phono cartridges for decades. But I know the concept gives some people the willies.
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
The other thing I like about the Woody Allen metaphor is he's the uber anti-audiophile. All his movies are in mono. Sound quality it seems is the one thing he does not worry about.
slaw's avatar
slaw
23,377 posts
 
@cleeds ,

While it doesn’t keep me up at night, I have wondered about the pos/neg effects of an US stylus cleaner?
cleeds
6,226 posts
 
slaw
While it doesn’t keep me up at night, I have wondered about the pos/neg effects of an US stylus cleaner?
The positive effects are that it gets your stylus super, squeaky clean. That same stylus vibrates when it's playing an LP, which I think it can't distinguish from the electronic cleaner. I'll stop using it if I ever discover any negative effects, but that hasn't happened yet after decades of periodic use.
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