Is an anti-static gun necessary?

Mine works, and better than the Mapleshade Ionoclast IME.

Is it necessary? No one can answer that but you. Only you know to what extent static causes problems in your setup. I'm in New England, where static's often a problem, so for me it's useful.

I've got a zero-stat gun. It works well. Can't say that I'd die without it, but it is handy.

If you live in the north with the heat is drying out your air,it seems to be worth the little extra time.In the south close to the ocean,it may not be so useful.If it does what it is supposed to,besides the little static sparks making noise,it should help the LP from attracting dust,etc.Anti-static mats if they get along with your table?

Never hurts. Also think about getting a ion hair dryer, for less then $30 it will prove helpful. Lastly, keep the air moist, which means a top rated humidifier in areas with cold winters. The latter also saves tons of money on your heating bill.

I know many people are down on Gruv-Glide, but I think it works great and solves a lot of static and dust problems. I know there are some very experienced audiophiles who don't like it or think it's BS, but I think it's worth a try if you have static issues as I do.

Only for eliminating attraction of dust. Acoustically, static makes no noise whatsoever during playback. It is a myth.

I have horrendous static problems every winter, but I found the Zerostat to be little or no help (gave mine away). Raising the humidity is the only real solution.

Not a myth, Vanderheulen. A good mid-winter static charge and 20 per cent relative humidity can make my turntable sound like a machine gun ("pop, pop, pop") until I tame it.