Talk About Static Cling...

Providing a drain wire to ground (should probably be the same gound as the cartridge employs, such as the phono preamp ground post) from the platter bearing, as TWL suggests, may be of some help, but I'm guessing the mat might effectively insulate the record regardless. As to the question of why, after thoroughly treating both the disk and the TT prior to playing, there is still a mighty "kling und zap" to behold upon side's end, it's simply the result of the record's spinning motion having caused the static charge build-up to re-form anew when atmospheric conditions are favorable (read: dry). Just don't go experimenting with that stuff you add to the clothes dryer, though...

Which cartridge is used probably shouldn't make any difference, as the cart connection is always grounded if your ground lead from the TT is properly terminated. As for why conductive objects around the area may provoke no static discharge when touched, this is because of your relative lack of motion before touching them (in this type of case, it's not the object, but the person which is exhibiting static charge - the metal object being the ground drain). Just like rubbing a balloon on your shirt, scuffing your shoes accross the carpet, clothes tumbling in a dryer, or driving your car's tires down the road can all produce static build-up, it requires energy input in the form of relative motion to separate the charged ions in the air between + & - on the respective nonconductive surfaces, creating the voltage potential that attacts dust,or is released in a spark or a shock when grounded by a person's touching a conductive surface like a car door handle. I frankly am not sure if the static build-up on a record is solely due to the friction of the needle in the groove as it spins, or if the record's motion through the air alone is enough (in the car example, they say it's the road friction, but I wonder whether moving through the air is also a part of it, since I do believe that airplanes can develop a wicked static build-up in flight - but they also have rubber tires that come into play on take-off and landing, so who knows?). You may want to experiment by "playing" a record without the needle being in the groove for 20 minutes and checking the result. It's also possible there may be some difference in the severity of the problem stemming from the use of a dust-cover, if one is present, so try removing it as well if this applies. But a little added humidity (just a little, not enough to cause condensation), as TWL suggests, will always help and probably couldn't hurt if employed conservatively. You might simply try placing a bowl of steaming water in the listening space to produce some humidity silently. Good luck!

Ya know, the anti-static treatment that RCA touted in their vinyl formula back during the 50's & 60's really does seem to work. Is there something missing from newer vinyl formulations that should be reconsidered? It does seem to me that my most susceptible records tend to be the more recent editions.

P.S. - BTW, Bob B, I have always considered raising the dustcover during playback to be the most problematic position for this necessary evil. If you play your music loudly, it can really be set in motion up there, and it's wobbling mass transmits straight to the plinth. Better to remove it and all it's attendent resonances altogether during play, but if you have a dust problem like I do, you may want to try my solution of damping the closed cover by resting the bottom edge in front on a couple of sorbothane-type 1/4" washers, and then damping the top surface, which I accomplish using a spare soft rubber platter mat laid on top. A closed cover does also have the theoretical virture of somewhat attenuating the music's SPL within the confines of the stylus's working environment.

Neither the dryer sheet, nor the Endust -nor anything like them that would leave a residue - should ever touch the record, Mr. D. But what about everyone here's getting together to develop a vacuum chamber for LP playback? No air, no static - and no dust if there was! (And I just thought now, no airborne vibration reaching the stylus...Rockport is probably already at work on this - might only cost $100K or so...) Nighty-nite, champions all...

So it seems that static pervades the universe...