Should I Brush My Cartridge After Each Use?

I agree with Viridian about the primary importance of record cleaning, but there is more to stylus maintenance than that. Even "perfectly" clean records (ie, wet cleaned and vacuumed) leave a deposit of vinyl molecules on a stylus. This occurs during every play.

If these deposits aren't removed they continue to accumulate. (Grunge bonds with more grunge.) The heat and friction of the stylus/groove interface burnishes these deposits into a hardened layer that becomes progressively more difficult to remove. Clean tracking and sonic performance slowly but inexorably deteriorate until it becomes noticeable. At that point the cartridge owner thinks he needs a new stylus or cartridge. He doesn't. He needs to perform proper maintenance.

JCarr taught me this and it isn't theoretical. I've seen/heard/tested it on two dozen styli that I've rehabilitated for friends. They dry brushed after every side, but the buildup was thick and getting thicker, as was their sound. I have seen this buildup on (and removed it from) $100 Shures and $8,000 LOMC's.

Note to Heyitsmedusty: when brushing/cleaning a stylus, brush only from back-to-front (the direction the record groove travels beneath the stylus). Don't go the other way unless you have a very light touch. You could damage your cantilever or suspension.

For the best/cheapest/easiest-to-use stylus cleaner, do a search here or on VA for "Magic Eraser".

Sorry to A'gon regulars for sounding like a broken record. I know you've all heard this 100 times.

Doug

Playing vinyl is not fun, it is a chore. Listening to vinyl is ......

When I was a kid I used to use my finger to clean the needle. Good thing it was my father's stereo(!) Sorry Dad.

Anyway, I notice that when I clean the stylus after every play the records sound better, clearer with a lower noise floor. Actually, I clean the cantilever and underside of the cartridge body too. I have done so for over 25 years, and never had a problem with any of my cartridges. I used to use a brush, but now I use "KING of SPONge" (same as le magic eraser, but with smaller pores). KOS, available at dollar stores, comes in different sizes and I cut it into small wedges and use the end corners to clean the stylus and cantilever.

Nothing personal Lidisfarne but Roy at Rega is famous for his Attitude about such things. He doesn't believe in using good wire either. I say, his loss, but don't make it yours, unless, of course, you want to. Using Linn supplied sand paper on your stylus is an equally bad joke. Those of us who care to go the extra mile get to enjoy the benefits. We wouldn't do it otherwise. It's like saying that anything better than CDs on a boombox is "taking all the fun out of" it.

I agree with Dougdeacon and Viridian. Careful brushing by itself does not do it. Tried extreme phono plus brushing and still got stuff on the stylus. Now having adopted the Magic Erasure, my ears hear a change and my eyes and magnifiers no longer see any build up. Just my experience.

Michael

Piedpiper - "Using Linn supplied sand paper on your stylus is an equally bad joke." I don't know if you've tried the Linn green paper, fwiw I've got it in my arsenal of cleaning stuff and sometimes it really does the trick. I think it might relate to what Doug noted "The heat and friction of the stylus/groove interface burnishes these deposits into a hardened layer that becomes progressively more difficult to remove". It seems like occasionally, or perhaps just over an extended period, the non-abrasive techniques run into something they are not effective against.