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Does LAST Preservative DULL sound?

Got one cautionary message from another respondent via email that LAST Preservative could ruin Lp's leaving a "dulling effect".All I knew was I tried it and have been happy after head tech at VPI told me he wouldn't live without it.Said he'd have people who brought LP's to him at shows that they had treated since new with LAST.He said one should clean LP first to remove chemicals used by by LP manufacturers as reslesing compounds.At these show he'd spin the LP's and would inquire how many times it had been played and many replied "hundreds" whereas to his ears (because of the LAST Preservative)his guess was maybe half a dozen.So here was a reccomendation from somebody you'd expect to be "in the know" with no interest fincailly or other wise reccomnding anothers product.So even though I have heard many positive comments about LAST's Preservative even from folks wo use Disc Doctor cleaner or another "power"(pre) cleaner or like myself who use home brew(with alchohol which is another debated aspect of Lp care- does it "dry" LP's or leach out platcizers etc) but would like to hear if anybody else has found this very expensive product to harm the sound of LP's.I myself have not experienced it (using both their Power Cleaner and Preservative plus my homebrew which I was off with a second clean with hot water before applying the Preservative.But I know dulling could be a posibility with everything except purified water.I myself used Touramat on scratched LP's and it acted as a "lubricant" which in fact made clicks and noise less obstrusive.Comments on LAST products especially the Presevative,especially if you concur that it can harm,wel I'd really like to hear from you as would others who are "true believers".Think after my Vaccuum machine the LAST Presrvative is the one thing I couldn't subistute or make changes with so was as you can imagine taken aback by this individuals cautionary tale.
As ever (with improved spell checking it is hoped)
Chazzbo
chazzbo
elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
This is a typical problem for successful products in the Audiophile culture.
Anything that gets rave reviews, consistently, will attract the "Guru Rejection" group.
This means some folks who consider themselves "Gurus" of Audiophillia will naysay it, just to show that they are above the mundane crowd.
So... Out of the blue, after hundreds of testimonials praising a product, suddenly strange messages like this posting appear... wondering if the product perhaps does something BAD in some mysterious way.
I am not knocking the person who posted the query about LAST! I just wanted to mention the odd way this arises in products that have a long term acceptance and are still praised after years of use.
Personally i would not worry about it. If you can't hear a problem, and some folks you really trust say it is not a problem, then the naysayer can be pretty safely ignored.
my $0.02
rcprince
2,830 posts
 
Nice response, Elizabeth. FWIW, from my experience, the stuff works, I recommend it.
larryi
1,972 posts
 
I can say that it does not appear to have any long-term adverse effects. I've been using it since it was introduced. No records show any signs of wear, the stuff is not sticky so it won't cause problems with holding dust, etc.

I do clean all records, particularly brand new records, very thoroughly before applying the last. I also buff the record quite a bit more than recommended, because the product does leave a few visual markers (dull blotches on the run-out area) if the record is not thoroughly buffed.

After application, the record feels smoother and there is obviously less friction when a brush is passed over the record. Static buildup is also significantly reduced.

The big negative is cost. I buy it in the big bottle ($160), which makes it significantly cheaper on a per once basis, but it still is quite expensive.
blkadr
731 posts
 
I will not comment on the effects of the LAST products because I do not use them. I would like to say that the argument that the LAST treatment reduces the "openness" of the sound of vinyl and "smooths over detail" have been around for many years. I also know people who swear by LAST and treat all their vinyl.
Some "tweaks" have no effect, some have obvious effects but no always positive. Then there are the ones that seem to make subtle differences and there is a divide in opinion on the merits of the changes. This seems to be one of the latter.
The opinion that this may be the typical reaction of the "tweak police" may be valid. It may be the case that LAST has beneficial effects of protecting vinyl at the expense of a slight reduction in high frequency information. I dont know. Whatever your opinion is on the product, remember this debate is not new, and as they say "dont kill the messenger".
kurt_tank
1,188 posts
 
While I no longer use it (for various reasons, mostly due to cost and convenience, and the fact that I now have a RCM), all of the records I treated with in almost 20 years ago sound great.
(In fact, becasue of this, I have seriously been thinking of starting to use it again.)

My two cents worth.
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