Options for ridding records of static electricity

Get rid of the felt mat whatever you do. Watch what type shoes you wear during listening. Tennis shoes are the worst. Some use an anti-static mat on the floor at their TT (amazon) grounded to an outlet. US cleaning helps initially but not after several plays. There’s a spray called static-guard for the carpeted floor at your TT.

Replace that felt mat right now!
Try one of member Slaw (above) patented MyMat.
Your music will thank you for it......

The felt mat is one of the sources  I replaced the felt mat on my Rega with a suede mat second make sure the tables is ground to the phono stage 

Enjoy the music
Tom

Again, remove the felt mat. I'm using a Herbies mat on my Linn Axis.

The Zerostat is still a great solution for removing static from a record (there are directions on how to properly use it).
There's the Milty, and then there's the original Zerostat on Ebay. Look for a lightly used Discwasher Zerostat, the red one.

@masi61  The felt mat on the LP12 is certainly the cause of the static issue ( well one of them), unfortunately it is also the best mat IME for getting the best sound from the table. Replacing the mat will probably mean a reduction in SQ, and no more static issues. Alternatively, if you want to hear what many folks are saying is a great mat ( albeit, at a high price) the Collaro mat is supposed to be better than stock ( I have not heard it). 

Hi

The MyMat wasn’t developed as an anti-static mat. It was developed for superior SQ. Having said that, I haven’t had anyone request a return for any issue but one, that was a listener bias issue.

A felt mat is a no no for any TT. I personally use a Furutech DeStat as well. I believe their is a similar product made by ORB.

I’m not a proponent of the Milty.

Look for a forth coming review by a third party soon.

I have a double thick stiffer backed felt mat for my LP12. with a label indentation area. I pulled it off an old trashed lenco, IIRC. It was glued on, from the factory. Best felt mat ever, so far...

The LP12 needs a felt mat, overall. I've tried many a mat on an LP12, but keep returning to some form of high grade semi compresed felt.

There is a product called Tigercloth out there that is said to be very good. Haven't tried myself yet. On my list.

Wipe the clean lp before play.

@teo_audio,

Why is felt the best?

Would you be interested in trying a MyMat or two?

Felt is terrible for a mat. The only reason it gets used is for DJ stuff where it can act like a clutch- you can stop the LP but the platter continues to spin.

The function of the platter pad is to damp both the LP so it does not talk back to the cartridge as the groove is traced, and to also damp the platter itself. Felt simply can't do that; if high end audio reproduction is your goal, your investment dollar in the turntable as a whole will not be served by felt in any form.

@atmasphere ,

You're explaination equals my experience.

@atmasphere Ralph, this is where we disagree. The Linn felt mat is the best sounding mat for the Linn ( except for maybe the Collaro mentioned above). The Linn felt mat damps out the platter and is spec’ed for the table. While I suspect you have not really AB’ed a number of mats for the Linn, the unfortunate thing ( unfortunate, as the felt mat does incur static) is that of all the mats I have heard on the table ( and that includes rubber and vinyl) the felt is easily heard as being superior. Linn suggest applying a piece of double sided tape to the back of the felt mat to make sure it stays on the table, if one is concerned about that. Would a felt mat be the answer for most tables, definitely not; but with the LP12, I do think Linn know what they are talking about.

@daveyf ,

Certainly, you have not heard all mats.

BTW, The MyMat needs no dbl-sided tape.....what a cop-out

@slaw  Obviously, but of the many I have heard on the Linn, the stock is preferred. How many mats have others heard on the Linn table? This is the question from the OP, about the Linn LP12, not other tables. 

The question from the OP was suggestions on how to manage static.

The Linn felt mat damps out the platter and is spec’ed for the table. While I suspect you have not really AB’ed a number of mats for the Linn, the unfortunate thing ( unfortunate, as the felt mat does incur static) is that of all the mats I have heard on the table ( and that includes rubber and vinyl) the felt is easily heard as being superior.

@daveyf  This really strongly suggests that you are dealing with a resonance- and that the felt is part of the tailored sound as a result. I prefer to kill resonance and vibration entirely. I've had the good fortune to have a platter pad that does that really well (it was designed over a ten year period using many different turntables) and also master tapes- and the machines on which the tapes were made, as well as LPs made from the tapes.


At any rate, felt isn't going to work if you want to get rid of static. A spinning LP made of plastic acts very much in the same way as a Van de Graaff generator but if the LP has a low dielectric constant with respect to the metal platter, static charges can drain off without popping or the like. 

Managing static on the LP12 is not going to happen with a felt mat, we all agree with that. BUT, the question the OP has to answer is if he wants to impact his SQ by going away from the felt mat, or if he wants to do away with static ( although I don't know if any mat will 100% solve this problem). The issue with the mat sticking to the LP ( and yes this is an annoying aspect that we all have with the felt) is addressed by Linn with their double sided tape suggestion. 

@daveyf ,

You continue to not understand the OP's  post 

@slaw  Let's see if the OP wants to diminish his SQ or wants to diminish just his static. I think maybe you misunderstood some of my points.

IF the OP wants to continue using the Linn's stock felt mat, the Furutech DeStat III is imo the best solution for static. Much better than the Zerostat, but considerably more dough. Not ridiculous though---under $300 I believe (I got mine for less on ebay).

I wish you well @daveyf  

All I can contribute at this point is, no matter who you choose to believe, you should try stuff for yourself.

Here we go again. Masi, static electricity is created by the stylus rubbing the groove of a material (PVC) that falls at the very bottom of the triboelectric series. Within 30 seconds of the stylus rubbing the groove thousands of volts of static electricity are created. Yes, the Zerostat will neutralize static but you would have to continually squirt the record while it was playing, a bit impractical. The problems with static electricity are that it can discharge into the cartridge causing snaps and pops while playing but worse it pulls dust and pollution deep into the groove where your stylus runs over it and with a total of about 20,000 PSI grinds the stuff right into the vinyl permanently. The absolute best way to deal with this problem is to use a conductive sweep arm that is connected to ground. This discharges the record during play so static does not build up and it clears any incidental dust away from the stylus. Along with the conductive sweep a dust cover that can be used during play is crucial. Most dust covers are unfortunately awful which is why they have such a bad rep. The dust cover can not be attached directly to any structure that the platter and tone arm are attached to. Examples of good dust covers are the SOTA suspended turntables, the Linn and the suspended Thorens tables. The dust covers are attached to the plinth. The platter and the tonearm are mounted on a suspended sub chassis inside. In this case the dust cover makes a sonic improvement as it attenuates the volume of sound getting to the record and tonearm and any resonance from the dust cover can not be passed through to the platter and tonearm. With odd shaped turntables and turntables that are not suspended the best way to create a dust cover is to make a platform of glass or plexi just larger than the turntable and hinge a dust cover to it then just place the turntable inside. This assumes that the turntable has decent feet. There are several companies that will do this for you. 
How does this work? I never have to clean a record I bought new and I do not buy used records. The only record cleaning device I have is a spin clean. I use it on records people bring to listen on my system. 
I also use anti static inner sleeves on all my records. I never leave records out. There is no smoking anything inside my house. 

my lp12 platter is damped, it is not stock. I has a near zero mass addition that drops the residual ring out of it by probably ......4+ magnitudes in length/tail (time). (the magnitudes thing, it is just a number I'm throwing out there. It is just that the residual ringing is extremely damped, in the correct way) 

Even with that, the felt mat still sounds best on this LP12. think of the LP12 as a set piece, and it makes more sense.

Did you feel static? I think I FELT it.

my lp12 platter is damped, it is not stock. I has a near zero mass addition that drops the residual ring out of it by probably ......4+ magnitudes in length/tail (time)

Damped and near zero mass addition?? The only way I know of to do that is by making the platter into two bits so that one bit robs the other of energy at its resonance point. That way the two are anti-resonant, but even then it really helps to apply additional damping. And a felt pad would will be a static and sonic issue! Felt, in a word, sucks, when it comes to LP playback.

Ralph,
a very low mass addition to the platter, it is. Maybe..oh...30 grams worth. Considering the mass of the platter, that extra mass is, er, negligible.  Very outsized effect.

I’m not arguing the issues of felt, either way. It just tends to work best for the Linn LP12, overall. Tried lots of mats, including the rare methacrylic barium types, etc, and the felt ended up going back on it.

I agree that felt platter mats have not been good in my experience, but I never owned an LP12, and it's just possible that felt may sound good on an LP12 platter.  Dust covers suck, too.  Just couldn't resist contradicting Mijostyn. He knows how I feel about dust covers.

I have yet to see or be able to find scientific evidence that the stylus tip, which is made of diamond, we hope, is the major cause of static charge build-up, but the idea that it is one of the causes is appealing, I admit.  I tried to find where diamond sits in the triboelectric series, and I cannot find any table that lists "diamond".  However, all tables do list vinyl near the bottom of the list of materials that accept an electron (become negatively charged), as Mijo says.  Do you know what materials ARE listed at the very top of the list of materials that lose electrons (become positively charged) most readily?  Human skin and air.  Since it's impossible to play LPs without exposing them to our skin (unless you wear gloves) and the air around us, is it not just as plausible that LPs acquire negative charge from either or both of those two sources?
Years ago, the Shure Corporation published a lengthy white paper on static charge vis a vis the LP.  That paper should be read by anyone interested in the phenomenon.  In that paper, they said they looked for evidence that the stylus tracing the groove is a cause of static on LPs, and results were negative.  Unfortunately, they failed to describe the relevant experiments.  Whereas, they did describe many other experiments in detail, and the results are interesting.

@mijostyn. The LP12 is best played without the lid. I don’t know of anyone who listens seriously to the Linn that plays it with the lid on...easy to hear how it impacts the SQ negatively. 
BTW, for those who don’t know, the Linn LP12 platter is actually a two piece unit, consisting of an inner platter/spindle and an outer platter, I don’t think it rings at all.

@slaw 


“Now, since the crazy guy from My Pillow is out there endorcing Trump's prophecy, I'm ashamed.”

A highly inflammatory political/religious slur.

Not cool. Not professional.

@wolfie62,

That's the same reaction I've had over the past 4 years.

OK - I have brought this up before and it always created a strong reaction. Gruv-Glide will totally eliminate the static problem. I will not speak to whether it improves the sound or anything else. It stops the static. I no longer use it because my Basis table has a grounded spindle and it doesn’t seem to be a problem. I have never noticed any degradation in any record I used it on, and when used on a well-cleaned record, I never noticed any problems. This product is still being sold and if it hurt records or sound, I’m sure we’d be hearing about it. So you have your choice - you can fight with static, fool around with ion guns or any other PITA rituals or use GG and end the static. Your choice. Last thing - don’t confuse this with Groove Lube, which, IMO, is a sticky, horrible mess, notwithstanding the fact that I respect the guy that makes it. If you search here for Gruv Glide, you will see the pros and cons and people who were very relieved to have the issue resolved so they could relax and actually listen to music.

@mijostyn. The LP12 is best played without the lid. I don’t know of anyone who listens seriously to the Linn that plays it with the lid on...easy to hear how it impacts the SQ negatively.

Actually I do not know ANYBODY with any half way serious system  that plays with the dust cover in position and down on their TT.

Except Mijo.........

@slaw How do i go about trying your mats
Thanks, Mike

Fruitloop
Just click on his name and select message user.
He will hook you up I am sure.
If you look at my system, you will see a picture of my Avid TT with cover on it and the mat on the platter is one of Slaws MyMat 

https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/6466

@chayro  I second the suggestion for Gruv Glide, it is a really excellent product that seems to work as advertised. It does indeed knock back static initially, but one will find that with repeated playings, static still will build up, particularly with the LP12 felt mat. Nonetheless, one could re-apply Gruv Glide and this would work.

@slaw Nice to know that you are a manufacturer of mats, explains a lot. Too bad i did not realize this before.

A mat will do absolutely nothing to contain static. Lewm you answered your own question. The electrons are coming from the air. The stylus rubbing the groove enhances the transfer of electrons. Because diamond is not conductive there is no path to ground.
I have owned two Linns in the past. All you have to do is put felt pads at the front corners where the cover contacts the base. The cover should not contact the base anywhere except at the hinges and the felt pads. (you can get them at Home Depot.) I suspect the reason why people think things sound better with the dust cover off is because the echo they get adds a tube like distortion and a false sense of space. If you use the dust cover and pay attention to image specificity you will notice that the individual instruments are better defined. Just play a good recording of a string quartet. I use ESLs and subwoofers. The system is very sensitive to just about anything. Now even if you think there is a slight degradation in sound quality, record preservation is more important. When you play a record without a dust cover and no path to ground dust is pulled into the record rapidly where it is ground into the vinyl. This is a great process for the record cleaning industry. A conductive sweep arm costs 20 bucks. If you have trouble setting it up message me.  Play some new records with the dust cover on and a sweep arm. Watch what happens. No static build up, no dust, records stay perfectly clean, no build up on stylus. You might have to clean all your old records once to see the same effect on them but you will and you will never look back. 
The problem comes with turntables that are not suspended and vibration of the dust cover is passed directly to the structure that has the platter and tonearm attached. Making a usable dust cover for these tables is a bit more complicated and expensive but it can be done as I talk about above. If I ever manage to get a Dohmann Helix I will have to go through that maneuver as the whole darn turntable is suspended. 
Another advantage of using a dust cover all the time is limiting exposure of the tonearm to dust. Dust is the enemy of delicate bearings that are not sealed. Interestingly this is the one area where uni pivot arms have a distinct advantage not that I would ever buy another one.  

Woops, I forgot to mention. Putting ANYTHING on your records is plain silly. You will just grind dust into the stuff and make mud. Just watch what happens to your stylus. It will gum up faster than ever unless it is the same hoax perpetrated by Last which is just a type of Freon that evaporates entirely. Great racket. Turns all your money into vapor. 

@mijostyn  If you cannot hear what the dust cover does negatively for the LP12 SQ, there is little more to be said. The use of a product like Gruv Glide is beneficial in many instances, and like chayro stated above, it will minimize the build up of static. YMMV.

I think the kindest thing to say here is that in Mijo system to his ears he hears no degradation in SQ with the dustcover on and down.
And we certainly cannot gainsay that as we are not there.

However if you use a little bit of statistics you will see that vastly more members do hear degradation in SQ on their TT with the dustcover on and down.

Nuff said imho. 

I’m not a proponent of products like Groove Glide as the actual installation process involves static charge.

We take care and time and expense in cleaning our precious lps. Why in the _ell do we want to then add another product in these freshly cleaned grooves? Makes no sense.

@slaw  The actual installation process of Gruv Glide involves static charge, do explain? 
Most folks use Gruv Glide on noisy pressings to reduce back ground hash, it also secondarily helps in reducing static build up on the vinyl. Personally, i see little reason to use it on pristine vinyl, but it makes plenty of sense on less than pristine vinyl...if you ever used it that is..............

I'm referring to the application process.

Mijo, We have the air and our own skin, both of which are high on the list of solids that like to give up electrons and take on positive charge. On the other hand, we have vinyl which likes to take on electrons and negative charge. When we play an LP, we touch the vinyl thereby transferring any electrons stored up in our bodies due to walking across carpet, etc, to the LP. Then too, the vinyl moves with respect to the static mass of air in the room which would create a frictional effect at the LP surface causing electrons to rub off on vinyl. And I haven’t mentioned the act of removing an LP from its sleeve, which if made of paper will also confer electrons on the LP. So we have two or maybe three sources of electrons available to the vinyl. Why then do we need the idea that the inert diamond stylus is the primary suspect in the process of building up charge on an LP???? Where does that idea come from?

Thank you for spurring me to consult the Triboelectric tables, available in abundance on the internet, from which I get the data to support my claim. One of us should get hold of a static charge meter. Then measure the charge on an LP surface prior to play, after play, and after letting it just rotate on the platter for 20 minutes or so, with the stylus at rest. Compare numbers. It’s a very tricky experiment to do correctly, though. The Shure Corporation paper on static charge talks about the problems of proper measurements.

@slaw  So, spraying the Gruv Glide onto a felt pad and then wiping it around the album involves a static charge?? Please do explain further..

@daveyf,

You just proved my point in your question.

I’m not a scientist, but my logical mind understands this. I believe all of us have a logical mind. Whether or not we choose to use it, is up to us.

When two dissimilar objects come in contact with one another, there is an energy produced. This same principle is used in automobiles today. The energy from braking is transformed to charging batteries. Get it?

The process of rubbing a circular felt pad on a record certainly would create static, except for the fact that GG stops it when it is applied.  And no, I don't particularly like the idea of applying a coating to the record, but I am suggesting GG as a potential fix for someone who is unable to enjoy vinyl records due to static buildup. Or they can try something else. It is only one of many solutions and the OP has a choice.