Stylus Cleaning Schedule?


Ok, I have read in Robert Harley's "The Complete Guide to High End Audio", that you should clean your stylus every album side.

How many of you actually do that?

I like my albums and think I take care of them pretty well. I use a RCM to clean them. But I honestly don't clean my stylus that often. I pretty religiously clean my stylus before every listening session. Most sessions consist of listening to 2 to 6 album sides, usually on the lesser end of the scale unfortunately. (I use the Last stylus cleaning fluid. I put it onto the stylus cleaning brush and then clean the stylus to avoid getting too much cleaning fluid on the cantilever. Sound about right?)

(By the way, I like Harley's book and have gotten a fair amount of knowledge out of it, although I may not actually agree with absolutely everything in it. I recommend it to anyone interested in this hobby.)
kurt_tank
You really should clean or dry brush the stylus before every side. Both the stylus and your records will last much longer. Playing a dirty stylus is like dragging sand paper inside the grooves.
Unless you are competely rinsing off the DD fluid (which I am not sure is possible), you can expect to dredge up residue.

I clean my stylus with LP9 every album, but not every side. I also use a RCM.

Happy listening,

~Fx
After VPI-ing my records once in-a while I found that I only need to dry-brush after the whole record played or even two of them.
I wash the stylus with liquid every listening session.