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Options for ridding records of static electricity

I am getting back into vinyl, listening to “garage sale” finds and also new albums that I have been picking up. I have a nice old Linn Sondek LP12 with the felt mat. Every time I go to remove a record from the spindle or flip the record, static electricity grabs the felt mat and it sticks like a magnet. I have to very carefully flip the felt mat at the corner with my finger but one of these times I’m going to slip and smudge or scratch a record. 

I’ve seen the “Milty Zerostat” and seem to remember this product from back in the day. I see that it is still made and there is one eBay vendor that has them for $77. Is this my best bet? I thought Michael Fremor talked about these in one of his videos. 

Are there other products I should look at to reduce static electricity on my records? Thanks for any help you can give.
masi61

Showing 3 responses by teo_audio

teo_audio
2,197 posts
 
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.
teo_audio
2,197 posts
 
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.
teo_audio
2,197 posts
 
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.
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