Mr. Clean Magic Eraser

[BlueMoon23]

Hi guys,

I read on the other forums that Mr. Clean Magic Eraser would be good way to clean you stylus. I seem to have a bit of a problem with distortion on 70% of the records in my collection, so I thought maybe that the Magic Eraser would help. Its possible that distortion is permanent after I played them on my old turntable that did not have an original stylus.

I now have an TECHNICS SL-10, but I still got some trouble with distortion.

[maco]

Hi, the Magic Eraser works perfectly, cleans the diamond tip from all crust and dirt. Different techniques can be used : drop the needle several times on the Eraser or scrub the eraser ONLY from BACK to FRONT under the needle. You do not neet apply lot of force and be very carefully too! The diamond will not hook and will produce a scratching sound when you scrub the needle on the eraser. 20 year old needle tips are now translucend as the first day. No fluids, no hassle, just a light brush afterwards.

But even if magic the eraser will not fix a weared down needle and if 70% of your records sound distorted, maybe the issue could be cartridge misalignement ?
Cheers
Mario

[pivot]

I use a Magic Eraser and did find that it cleans as good as anything I have tried.

I assume you do the "cue down and just dip" method of cleaning and not try to drag the stylus through the material.

I have hit occassions with particularly filthy records that I required a wet cleaner and brush, lately I have been using Disc Doctor cleaner for that.

I did find that using the Magic Eraser did lower some playback distortion. I assume this was because it gets the stylus cleaner then my pervious method. It did not solve all distortion issues however.

If you have some records with damaged grooves perhaps a different stylus shape may help some. I found my switch to an AT 440MLa from a Longhorned Grado Red seemed to lower the preceived nose and distortion on many, not all, older records. I credit the line contact stylus on the AT for the improvement.

I am certainly not arguing that the AT is the only game in town. Other cartridges have line contact styly that may give similar advantage.

[fscl]

Using the Magic Eraser with the SL 10 tonearm in the lid is tricky and induces the "chill / fear" of the proverbial cleaning utensil vs cantilever / stylus faceoff.

I run a couple of SL-QL1s and I am surprised to see:


after a period of playtime, even with dust lid closed and a swipe of the D4 loaded with homebrew fluid on every LP.

When I notice distortion, especially on the inner grooves, I know it's time to take the cartridge out of the arm and use my blunt tipped artist paint brush and clean the stylus with a solvent. I then view my cartridge / stylus under the kiddie microscope to visually verify cleanliness / wear then reinstall. Voila, nice clean sound.

With a conventional tonearm, dipping the cartridge onto a ME is quite easy. The automatic features / overides of the Technics linears and the current tt mountings in the audio system make the delicate wielding of a Magic Eraser impossible for me.

As always Your Stylus Cleaning Adventures May Vary.

Good luck.

Fred and going to put on some FZ in honor of your avatar....

[CallMeJoe]

I use and prefer the Magic Eraser and we have several threads here about it, so it's not new to this forum. Just dip in and out 2-3 times for complete cleaning. Sticky Hands toys used as a substitute for the Zerodust cleaner also work well.

Seconded. "Sticky Hands" is my current preference.

[maco]

I assume you do the "cue down and just dip" method of cleaning and not try to drag the stylus through the material.

Well hmmm , I remove the headshell and actually drag the Eraser over the stylus, softly from Back to Forth, it does also raise the adrenaline level . Have done it with the half dozen carts, no missing tip so far. But I agree safest would be to cue down the tip on the Eraser. Also agree after cleaning distortion is quite less ..
Cheers
Mario

[BlueMoon23]

Thanks for you reply,s guys.


I will try to clean it with an artist paint brush, and possible get hold of new stylus. Is the AT 440MLa a good choice for a SL-10?

(Hi fscl, you got a lot of Zappa albums?)

[fscl]

BlueM23,

A few, I spun Hot Rats as the avatar commands.....

Currently spinning Chunga's Revenge

and looking at covers:

The Grand Wazoo;
Roxy & Elsewhere;
Overnite Sensation;
apostrophe(').

The guy was a genius, from Zappa spawned a few vinyl threads to George Duke, Jean Luc Ponty and even to Bronx homie, Bobby Sanabria, CD, Big Band Urban Folktales

Link here:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... d=12693603

"My thing has always been to show the commonalities we have ... It's not strange that I'm a big fan of maestro Tito Puente, but I'm also a big fan of Frank Zappa." - Bobby Sanabria

Naw, not too big of a fan.

The great part is that I bought all of the vinyl new MANY years ago and so they are well taken care of.

Caught Zappa plays Zappa last year at the Vibes festival in CT. So it was nice to hear the music performed live by Dwezil with some original band members.

Was living in So. CA when Moon Unit hit the charts w/ Valley Girl.... LMAO.

Happy listening.

Fred

[BlueMoon23]

Hi fscl,

Those are all brilliant albums! Its hard to pick a favorite Zappa album because he did so many great albums especially in the 70s.
I have yet to get hold of any Zappa albums on vinyl, because I already got most of them on CD, but I will be on the lookout for some.

I was also at a Zappa plays Zappa gig last year here in Norway, and they did an excellent, and very emotional concert. Ray White was a special guest, and did a fantastic version of The Illinois Enema Bandit.

Valley Girl is such a weird, but funny song.



Im not so familiar with Bobby Sanabria's music,but I need to check it out!

[fscl]

Bm23 writes:

Valley Girl is such a weird, but funny song.

OMG, "movin' to Montana soon, gonna be a dental floss tycoon....."



Like father like daughter / son......

Happy cleaning

Fred

[fscl]

BlueM23,

How does Dynamoe sound now?

Are you Hummmmmin"?

Inquiring minds want to know?

Check out my recent topic post:

http://www.vinylengine.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=21152

I am very interested as I also run a linear and would love to hear your input.

Fred

[BlueMoon23]

BlueM23,

How does Dynamoe sound now?

Are you Hummmmmin"?

Inquiring minds want to know?

Check out my recent topic post:

http://www.vinylengine.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=21152

I am very interested as I also run a linear and would love to hear your input.

Fred

Hi fscl,

What's new in Baltimore?



I borrowed my brothers SL-10, that got a Technics EPC 310 MC (T4P) cartridge, and I noticed very little distortion. I played one of my records that distorts the most , and it sounded like a different record.
You could hardly notice any distortion at all, so I guess a new, and better cartridge is the solution for me.

Hope you find a solution to your distortion problem.

Blue.

[fscl]

That Technics EPC 310MC is legendary !!!! :

http://www.vinylengine.com/library/tech ... 10mc.shtml

And the top of the line SL 10 linear at the time came with this cartridge with 10-60K Hz frequency response.

Perhaps you need a new needle? and you are experiencing stylus wear distortion especially if this is the same cartridge / needle and hasn't been touched since 1983!!!

Good luck.

Fred and picked up a Magic Eraser on "sale" because I'm running a conventional pivot tonearm now too. Can't wait to scope my cartridge and dip.....

[Gopher2k]

Do you guys feel comfortable using the magic eraser on more expensive cartridges?

I've used one for the last year or so on a Denon DL-103 without batting an eye, but just acquired a Koetsu Rosewood Signature and am a bit reluctant.

Any advice here?