Record-playing Rituals?

Hi,
I NEVER apply anything to my Linn Klyde. Matter of fact I've had nice tables since 1980 and have never put anything on any of my styli. I am a Linny (looney?) and follow the edict that anything added to the mass of the stylus is going to degrade sound, as it will inevitably slow down its movement.

I remove big dirt off the record only if needed with a carbon brush. Believe it or not I use a small bit of silly putty to clean my stylus every LP side (or so). I used to work at a Linn shop and I know I guy there who has sworn by Putty for over 15 years. He has verified its effectiveness by microscope and durability testing (all of our cartridges over the years).

If I really like the record I'll clean it with a machine.

I put new sleeves on all records.

That's it!!

No I'm not kidding about the Putty. It really works! I've used it for years and will continue to do so.

For deep cleaning you can put a pea size on the platter and lower the arm/stylus onto it to sit for a minute.

Linn used to reccomend a super fine plastic emery type "paper". It was made of plastic and came in sheets.

The theory is that the gunk that builds on the stylus is hard to get off and won't come off with the super huge fibers of a brush.