Get a stylus cleaning brush and a small bottle of stylus cleaning fluid. Apply a drop to the brush and gently wipe the diamond tip from back to front several times. This should remove any debris. Do this after playing a side of an LP. Keep your LP's clean and your TT covered when not in use! I myself also use LAST Stylast preservative after cleaning - claimed to lubricate and extend diamond life. Never use your finger on the stylus!
Wrong way to clean a stylus!
First time posting. Have read thousands of comments however. I feel like a complete idiot. I shall explain. I have a Marantz TT-15S1 with the original cartridge without a cover of which the LPs tend to attract dust and dog hair while hanging out between sessions. There was a tuft of dust/dander on the stylus that I couldn't get off that was creating some serious skips. Dabbed with felt like paper, still there. Wiped gently with lens cleaning cloth, still there. Got the can of compressed air and tried to blow it off. No luck. Put the straw in the can of compressed air for a more directed shot and wouldn't you know it but the straw flew out of the can like a bullet and took the stylus right off the cartridge. Now, I feel like a complete dumbass and have to spend hundreds on a new cartridge. Thought I would pass along my personal comedy of errors. Maybe others could discuss theirs so I don't feel so bad?
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I once scratched a precious record when the plastic straw flew off a compressed air canister and dug right into the vinyl. I have never used a compressed air canister since without holding the straw as I do it. Sounds like you had a slightly more expensive lesson. With that auspicious debut, welcome to the forum. |
Oh well, sorry to hear about your misfortune, but if you're looking for support through numbers, I still recall driving home from a bicycle club ride and hitting the garage door remote to whip right in like Batman into his "Bat Cave". Only thing I forgot was the bike on top of the car held tightly by the rack. "Smash, Pow, Boom, Crunch!" Wow, just like the Batman show. |
parrotbee, I have used “green paper” since 1988 when I bought my LP12 and provided by my dealer. No harm to any of my cartridges. Few but Linnies know of it. In lieu of green paper; I have been told the “striker” portion of a cardboard matchbook cover could be substituted. Have never tied it because I have “green paper” Also have tried and used just about all the other methods on the market. |
Dominic at Northwest Analogue in the UK says clean. your records, not your stylus. I think that the Green Paper method is atrocious - I have spoken to several cartridge manufacturer and universally all think this is ludicrous unless you have a microscope sharp enough to see each face of a shibata stylus and the hands of a precision engineer to then use the said paper. Nearly all cart manufacturers I spoke to said the Audio Technica cleaning machine was good, likewise a very soft brush to remove dust. I have used Lyra LPT but you have to be very careful in using it. Also worth using are the frequency sweeps on the George Cardas test record |
According to Soundsmith, using Blu Tack is the best way to clean the stylus. https://www.sound-smith.com/how-care-new-or-soundsmith-rebuilt-cartridges Has worked for me so far. |
