Should I Brush My Cartridge After Each Use?

I agree with Viridian about the primary importance of record cleaning, but there is more to stylus maintenance than that. Even "perfectly" clean records (ie, wet cleaned and vacuumed) leave a deposit of vinyl molecules on a stylus. This occurs during every play.

If these deposits aren't removed they continue to accumulate. (Grunge bonds with more grunge.) The heat and friction of the stylus/groove interface burnishes these deposits into a hardened layer that becomes progressively more difficult to remove. Clean tracking and sonic performance slowly but inexorably deteriorate until it becomes noticeable. At that point the cartridge owner thinks he needs a new stylus or cartridge. He doesn't. He needs to perform proper maintenance.

JCarr taught me this and it isn't theoretical. I've seen/heard/tested it on two dozen styli that I've rehabilitated for friends. They dry brushed after every side, but the buildup was thick and getting thicker, as was their sound. I have seen this buildup on (and removed it from) $100 Shures and $8,000 LOMC's.

Note to Heyitsmedusty: when brushing/cleaning a stylus, brush only from back-to-front (the direction the record groove travels beneath the stylus). Don't go the other way unless you have a very light touch. You could damage your cantilever or suspension.

For the best/cheapest/easiest-to-use stylus cleaner, do a search here or on VA for "Magic Eraser".

Sorry to A'gon regulars for sounding like a broken record. I know you've all heard this 100 times.

Doug

Ultrakaz,

Thanks for the tip on the KOS. I don't know if smaller pores would clean better, but they might reduce the risk of snagging the stylus.

Piedpiper,

We're on the same page re: the lazy, hazy, crazy Roy. Wire doesn't matter. VTA/SRA changes aren't audible. Scraping dirt against a plastic groovewall with a diamond chisel at hundreds of psi will magically clean the groove without damaging the plastic. As you said, whatever floats your boat.

Two seconds of ME (or KOS) after each side is enough to prevent all buildup, but it's nowhere near abrasive enough to damage a diamond - as Swampwalker pointed out. In fact, if a stylus is neglected and the buildup gets thick/stubborn enough, the ME won't even remove that.

Just last week I saved a ZYX UNIverse that hadn't been cleaned in a year. It sounded horrible and the owner was worried the cartridge was toast. The ME wasn't aggressive enough to remove all the baked on crud so I resorted to Linn's trick, a few delicate swipes with a sliver of 2,000 grit silicone carbide paper. Voila! Stylus looks like new, cartridge sounds like new.

As Jeff Jones said, you do what you have to do. For emergency rehabs a little tough love Linn style works wonders, and so does single malt!

Vinylrowe, if I told you "no accidents yet" I'd jinx myself. So I won't!

Zerodust is better than nothing, but it will not prevent or remove the buildup discussed above. Try this: glue a piece of ME to a quarter or a heavy washer (for weight). Place that on your platter and dip the stylus into it a few times with the cueing lever, just like you do with a ZD. It will clean better, guaranteed, and be just as safe. No surgeon's eyes or fingers required.