Gruve Glide

Even though the stated purpose of Gruve-Glide is to reduce static, I've always thought that it acted as a lubricant on the grooves. I get better imaging, and a more 'liquid' sound.

I use it sparingly on an LP-12 with a Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood MkII cartridge. When I bring an LP over to one friends house, who has a VPI TNT with a Van den Hul cartridge/needle, he gets a collection of 'stuff' on his needle (residue?) It seems the more the needle conforms to the shape of the groove, the less Gruve-Glide you need.

Colitas, YOU ARE HEREBY BANISHED... at least until you wash all your precious vinyl.

A GroovMaster (sic) is a doohickey you can buy from a guy on Ebay. It consists of two discs, each with an embedded O-ring slightly larger than a record label. Make a sandwhich with an LP between the two discs and clamp everything together with the threaded bolt that goes through the center hole (supplied with the GM).

Voila! Your label now has a waterproof seal and the knobs you tighten the bolt with serve as handles so you never touch the vinyl. Very useful for hand washing and vacuuming. Useless if you have a RCM.

You can either bid on ebay for it or just email the seller. Last time I heard he'd sell one direct for $40 + s/h.

Dougdeacon, I have heard of this same type of contraption, called a UFO. No, not out at Area 51 either. I will go to E-bay immediately!

I saw the ufo too. It's butt ugly. I'll stick with the GroovMaster. I swear by Gruve-Glide.

Saw the UFO, too. Seems like it is designed to float in a sink of water such that the record doesn't come in contact with the sink.(?) It is the same principle as the Groovmaster and uses o-rings to seal. The only advantage I can see is that it might give more to hold on to while cleaning. I suggested to Mr. Groovmaster that he make both "handles" on his item longer so that it is easier to hold on to when cleaning "side B". He thanked me for the suggestion but I don't know if he ever incorporated it into his product.

I have used and not used Gruve-Glide. I used to have a real issue with static and it helped tremendously in that regard. I, too, feel that its intended effect is as a lubricant but I am not sure that I hear any sonic difference when using it - but the reduced static was very helpful, indeed.