Can I Degauss my vinyl ?

I once colored the edge of a CD with a green felt tip pen, and was amazed at how much better the CD sounded.  I then removed the green, and it sounded better still.  I reapplied the green, and even more improvement!  I removed it again and was amazed at the increased clarity and atmosphere.

At that point, rather than assuming that each step actually made a real difference, I stopped believing in nonsense.  Audio memory is flawed.

Ok I have been using my hand held demagnitizer (tape bulk eraser) on these particular versions of records in my collection that have accentuated treble ( The Who- Who's Next MCA masterphile, Tommy, Sell Out , Ted Nugent CSF and the Dixie Dregs Industry Standard and the initial results are in. YES! a resounding yes. Positive. Eye opening or should I say ear opening. At first I was skeptical having heard about it from a Michael Fremer review about 8 years ago. The curiosity finally overwhelmed me. Boy I wish I had known and tried this earlier. The single best tweek I have experienced bar none. After treatment every note was the most profound note ever struck until the next one and the next one with me anxiously waiting for that next note. It was like analog on acid with me hearing a whole new sonic landscape. I can now imagine how it is justified by spending 3 grand on a dedicated device. My procedure is as follows with a Radio Shack bulk eraser. To protect the record I laid it on an album sleeve with another sleeve on top to protect the record as you need to get as close as possible with the unit. I used the unit as I would on a tape deck. I also did both sides.
  Ok ok I'm being serious now. Back to earth and not the way over the top and dramatic description as the above. I might (BEING THE KEY WORD) might have heard a high frequency mellowing on CSF and the Dixie Dregs. The science states that there is practically nothing on the record that would react to any degree. I might try a couple more.
I also have diminished hearing and it was hard to tell.
Oh well it was fun.

Since the last post on this thread has anyone tried a tape head demagnitizer and were the results positive?

I have always tried to keep an open mind assuming there is a reasonable scientific or engineering reason to support a particular tweak. But I don't think I will be degausing my records anytime soon.

As I said, I am and always have been a skeptic when it comes to this issue. But then we have the many who say they do hear a difference before vs after using a degausser. Their collective testimony does not convince me, because of the element of subconscious bias, but it does more or less cause me to try to keep an open mind.

Lewm:

You mean iron contaminents in the vinyl? Even if there were, one would have to draw a connection between the amount of contamination and the properties of the vinyl. Seems a very big stretch to me.

Dhl, I think there is unanimity on your major point, if the underlying assumption is valid, but the question is ARE there in fact ferrous materials present in the pot from which LPs are generated? One person on this thread claimed that there are.

Demagnetizing anything that does not contain iron is pure hocus pocus. A demagnetizer will not affect (I mean REMOVE) static charges either, although it might move them around.

Same with demagnetizing CDs. They only contain Al (or maybe gold) films that are uneffected by magnetic fields.

Reminds me of that AS review back in the 80's claiming photons have an impact on speaker wire...

Don, I instinctively agree with you. But the fact is that the vinyl either does or does not contain ferrous particles that are or are not magnetizable. These are questions that can be resolved, up or down. I am curious to learn whether there is any merit at all in that claim.

As to the "electromagnetic" property of a rotating LP carrying electrostatic charge, if that does happen it ought to be correctible by any good anti-static method, as you suggest. You don't need a $2700 Furutech if that's the major issue.

To completely remove the static on a record just use a conductive carbon fiber brush (in which the fibers are connected through the metal handle to your hand (body)). This drains static charge, and removes dust particles effectively in two rotations. There are several makes. I use an old DECCA brush.

I do not believe there is "magnetic" vinyl or carbon black in records that could possibly cause an audible change. These "improvements" and "explanations" are "power of suggestion" and "imagination" to sell BS products!

These "differences" in sound playing the same side over again are probably due to subtle amplifier warmup or cool down effects, and vinyl material, deforming and relaxing, in sensitive high resolution speakers IMO!

If you listen to the same record over again it always sounds better the second time!

Rodman, Thanks for the URL. Yet another, totally different, explanation for why one should demagnetize LPs.

I still think a $20 device that can demagnetize vs a $2500 device that can demagnetize....hmmmmmmmm???? Think I will stick with the lower cost option.
Am I the only one using the TV degausser? Don't tell me I am a trail blazer here. I am so radical I use a steam cleaner for my records...oh no !!!

Another reference/confirmation, regarding carbon black: (http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue47/classic_records.htm)

I did some internet research. Apparently the electrostatic charge on the surface of an LP can act like an electromagnet with respect to the stationary cartridge, when the LP is in rotation. I guess I can buy that idea. However, if you do a good job with a zerostat to remove charge from the LP surface, then there should be no problem, in theory. So why would one need also to degauss? Still keeping an open mind.

So Joe, do you also use a zerostat prior to playing an LP? Have you compared the beneficial results of the Furutech with vs without first using the zerostat. Then, do it the other way around. Use the zerostat then either do or don't use the Furutech. It would be of interest to learn whether the Furutech is beneficial after using the zerostat.

(http://www.elusivedisc.com/prodinfo.asp?number=COSO5005-45QPC)

If you have the money get the Furutech Demag. My wife bought me one for Xmas. Works very well. It is expensive, glad I got mine as a gift. If you have a large collection it is worth it IMO. Many artical abought the Furutech mostly positive from audio reviewers.
The black particals that go into making of records can become magnitized over time.
I like my Furtech a lot, works very well on CD's also and looks great. Looking great does not mean it works but it does help with the price. Very well built.
Have not tried it yet on cables.
See if you can get one on loan? I'm sure you will keep it once you hear the improvment.
Joe Nies

Thanks Elizabeth for the instructions. I feel better now. like many tweaks this may only be a small improvement but I feel that many small improvements will add up to a better sound at my ears.

I'm not sure what it is demagnetizing either. Some of the static charge will cause a magnetic field, and maybe some of that is reduced.

Getting back to what would be my concern is the damage one of those TV units can do. Make sure you use it several feet, maybe at least six foot, or more to be safer, to reduce the risk of causing any damage to your electronic gear, plus something else in the area. Especially your turntable. Some watches may still be at risk too.

I had a large one in the 60's, and it was potent. I imagine the smaller ones still have a potent field around them also. Some do it yourself people did cause problems to a lot of things back in those days, using one of these.

Elizabeth, Thanks, but I was not asking for instructions. I was merely pointing out to the OP that he or she needs to know how to use an off the shelf degausser, properly. The product I was trying to think of is the Furutech, where it looks like a waffle-maker, and you simply insert the LP, close the jaws around it, and press a button. That device gradually increases and decreases the field intensity so as to mimic the act of moving a handheld degausser to and from the LP surface, for $2,700!!!

Blue Skies, there has been at least one good, informative thread on this issue. You may be able to find it by doing a search here. The sum and substance of it was that those who degauss mostly think they can hear a difference. Those who use very expensive degaussers are happy. Others who use cheap ones are also happy. There was one post with very good instructions on how to use an inexpensive handheld degausser to good effect. You have to be careful, because those devices can magnetize as well as demagnetize. They only demag when used correctly. At least one of the expensive ones dedicated to LP use is programmed to avoid the undesired result. That's why you pay the big bucks. (Cannot recall the brand name.)

As for me, although I am a determined and aggressive foe of static electricity, I prefer not to enter the weird wild world of "magnetic" LPs.

So, I still do not know if anyone in vinyl land is trying the
degausser. There are no directions so am unsure about the best method to use this device. I do use the zerostat for static but as Elizabeth said that is a horse of a different color. I think you need to do both sides.

Zerostat takes care of static which I assumed the poster meant.

I must be missing something here. How can vinyl become magnetized? Statically charged I can understand, but magnetized? Degaussing is the process of reducing or eliminating a magnetic charge. Vinyl, being non-ferrous, should not be able to become magnetized so how would a degaussing device be doing anything? Do they also remove static charges?

Isn't that what a zerostat does? Although for 100 bucks it is arguably a little on the expensive side.

How is it that vinyl can become "magnetized"?. Static electricity can be a problem, but I fail to see how a record becomes magnetized. Sounds like voodoo to me!!