Koetsu Rosewood - Best/safest way to clean stylus


I have a Koetsu Rosewood Signature and have been cleaning the stylus using LAST (I think that is the brand) liquid with a brush, followed by using the cueing to drop the needle onto a Magic Eraser 4-5 times. I think this works pretty well, but I worry about the liquid... having read about liquid wicking up the cantilever, etc.

Could using liquid damage the cartridge? Could dropping the cueing down onto the Magic Eraser "grab" the needle and damage the suspension as I raise it? It seems like the only safe way to use Magic Eraser because I don't trust my hands to be steady enough to do it any other way.

Is there another cleaning method that has actually been proven (via microscope) to clean the needle safely and be safe for the cartridge?

Thanks
montaldo

Showing 1 response by larryi

I've used two liquid cleaners--LAST and Lyra--for many years and have never experienced any problems.  They are solvent based, so it does make sense to follow Lyra's instruction of not playing a record immediately (Lyra says wait 10 seconds) in order to allow any softened adhesive to re-harden.  

With any liquid cleaner, it makes sense to be careful with application and not slather it all over the place.  Capillary action can, at least in theory, cause a liquid to migrate up the cantilever, regardless of whether it is a hollow rod or something solid, and that is what one is trying to avoid.  This is a concern that was raised with the LAST stylus preserver more so than their cleaner because the cleaner is volatile and will evaporate before it can reach very far.  The stylus preserver does not evaporate and it is sticky in consistency.  The concern is with this sticky stuff gumming up the suspension of the cartridge if it gets that far up the cantilever.  Again careful and judicious application is in order.

I would be a bit cautious with the sticky cleaners, like the Zero Dust, that one is suppose to dip the stylus. Because the cartridge suspension was never meant to be pulled in the opposite direction of playing a record, I would take care to very slowly lift the needle out of the goo.  I know someone who pulled the cantilever out of his cartridge using one of those things.