Never Fails.... When Distortion Creeps In....

[fscl]

It never seems to fail.....

Unless you swipe the stylus every time you play.....and even then you're guessing?

The current stylus is sounding bad so I removed and installed my Technics to break in my EPS P22.

Nice mound of ??? crudded dust that can't be blown off....

Will edit and post before and after here from the QX3.



Happy cleaning....

Fred

[Ldg]

Say, Fred, do you know what rake angle you have for the stylus that accumulates crud ? Even if its just by eye, does the stylus shaft lean toward the front of the cartridge, or the other way, or is it vertical ?

[lanny]

That dirt has to come from somewhere. Ever clean your records using Disc Doctor and a vacuum RCM?

I clean my stylus every week or two, whether it needs it or not, and it never reaches the point where dirt buildup affects the sound.

[fscl]

Aaaaahhhhhhhh........ clean, after a nice 70% IPA brush off......

I'm sure she'll sound as nice as the EPC P 22 sounds (some cymbal harshness, hopefully will mellow out when run in)

Thanks for all the comments.

My daily player is a Technics SL - QL1 tangential.

So , by eyeball and thanks to P-mount geometry?, the stylus appears to be in the same line as the spindle centerline.

ld, backing into the VTA question, assume 15deg and using 4.125" tonearm length from VintageTechnics and using that Indian Chief, Sohcahtoa's ratio, I back calculate 1.06" from pivot to stylus.

This 1" drop is confirmed in the service manuals for the Technics linears and looks correct via eyeball.

lanny, I do not have a vacuum type RCM, everything's done manually. I swipe every LP I play with a D4 velvet brush and a distilled water IPA homebrew.

Over the years, I've come to accept the periodic fouling of the stylus as the source of bad sound. Consequently and paranoidically this has caused me to purchase replacement cartridges thinking the styli were worn and retiring the old cartridge/stylus combo before their time? Especially, in the golden days of the LP when just the stylus was sometimes as much as a new cartridge. Retired, until I got them under a scope.

The paranoia has resulted in a collection of cartridges which still sound very nice as it seems the poor sound resulted from the cleanliness of the stylus.

What's wonderful is the ability to confirm this with the QX3 microscope now after so many years.

Also, I have come to this dirty stylus finding? after running both pivoting and linear tts.



Which leads me to:

What are your stylus cleaning experiences? vs sound? vs number of LPs played? vs LP cleaning methods? Bluemoon23 how does your SL 10 sound now?

http://www.vinylengine.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=21033



Thanks in advance for any input / comments.

Fred

[lanny]

This is a pretty simple issue, Fred: the stylus is scraping crud off the record. If you remove the crud from the record before play, the stylus will stay clean.

Alcohol is not a very effective solvent for cleaning LPs. Try wet cleaning with Disc Doctor (or one of its imitators), which is basically a highly-specialized form of soap. It's important to let the fluid sit on each side for 15-30 seconds before removing it according to the directions. The cleaning action is chemical, not mechanical, and the brush is just an applicator. The idea is to loosen and suspend the dirt so it can be removed along with the fluid.

You don't need an RCM, though they do make the job easier.

[pivot]

The cleaning action is chemical, not mechanical, and the brush is just an applicator. The idea is to loosen and suspend the dirt so it can be removed along with the fluid.

You don't need an RCM, though they do make the job easier.

Without the vacuum of the RCM how does one remove the fluid and the suspended crud?

[fscl]

Thanks lanny,

Perhaps, it's due to buying and playing more used vinyl, though it did happen to my own new bought personal vinyl collection.

Is the crud dirt? or leaching plasticizers attracting dirt? I've hauled my collection coast to coast growing it while living / traveling / working. They never have been in a smokey environment, just experiencing temps from 95/95 deg / humidity to maybe 20 / 10.

The homebrew IPA is just a courtesy swipe with the D4 brush. Heavy cleaning is done with dishwashing detergent and thorough tap water rinsing. I was turned onto the DIY AK cleaning solution and I've been using that with good results, so I've suspended the dishwashing Modus Operandi for now.

I'm actually down on RCM machines. I've bought used vinyl from places that have one on full display and all of the records are impeccably clean when purchased. However, when I get them on the table, there were LOTS of ticks when played.

I then hand washed them with the dishwasher method and they became nicely clean and quiet.

Thanks for the tip, looks like I'm going to add DD to my cleaning arsenal.....

Fred

[lini]

Without the vacuum of the RCM how does one remove the fluid and the suspended crud?

Well, for example on a popular manual cleaning kit like the Knosti DiscoAntistat you'll find that it has a pretty big washing container that takes quite a lot of fluid, so the dirt on the record can disperse into that fluid. Hence, even if one just lets the fluid drop off and dry, the dirt concentration well already be reduced to quite a high degree. And then one can of course perform additional steps to improve the result, like an extra rinse after the main wash or putting the record holder into an electric screwdriver-drill for faster and more powerful fluid removal by centrifugal force...

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

[pivot]

I'm actually down on RCM machines. I've bought used vinyl from places that have one on full display and all of the records are impeccably clean when purchased. However, when I get them on the table, there were LOTS of ticks when played.

Fred

Just because they have an RCM doesn't mean the they know how to use it or maintain it.

RCMs are not the solution to all problems and if not used right can cause more issues then they solve. They are like any other tool no better then the person using them. Jack the Ripper and Dr. Christiaan Barnard both used the tools called knives for instance.

I will never go back to Discwashers after my experiance with a Nitty Gritty. There may be something better but I have not used it yet.

[zerospin]

G'day all, I'm not sure if I properly understand the OP's question but in my case, before I properly got my overhang set up correct, my stylii were picking up a large amount of crud, causing severe playback distortion during the playing of one side of a record.

So it might be worth checking on overhang. Regards, .

What ? no link this time?

fscl wrote:

I'm actually down on RCM machines. I've bought used vinyl from places that have one on full display and all of the records are impeccably clean when purchased. However, when I get them on the table, there were LOTS of ticks when played.

Fred

At my local record shop there is a RCM in plain view, but that's reserved for paying customers. The guy at the front counter is usually cleaning new arrivals with lighter fluid. If you want it cleaner, you got to pay him 2.00 for RCM treatment.

[fscl]

Lighter fluid?

Didn't dawn on me to try that stuff. Didn't have kerosene at the time but worked well on a bicycle chain.

Why try? because I have a feeling that lighter fluid would still do a good job getting into the grooves.

We'll see on a thrift store special.....

Fred

[andyr]

What's wonderful is the ability to confirm this with the QX3 microscope now after so many years.

Fred

Hi Fred,

Can you tell me more about your QX3 microscope? Where can I get one and how much?

Regards,

Andy

[lanny]

Without the vacuum of the RCM how does one remove the fluid and the suspended crud?

See the instructions at http://www.discdoc.com/

The fluid puts the dirt into suspension, so removing the fluid takes the dirt with it. The link above recommends using a diaper or lintless toilet paper to absorb the fluid. I use toilet paper to remove the cleaner, then an RCM to remove the rinse water.

Excessive scrubbing pressure will result in more surface noise. More than one revolution under an RCM vacuum wand will add a static charge. The RCM's purpose is to remove the bulk of the liquid, not to make the record completely dry. For that, I let them sit in a dish rack.

Not only are clean records quieter, they also track better and deliver more resolution.

[fscl]

Links? Links? We don't need no stinkin' links.... Yeah, I tried hitting that little white ball around for 3+mi and I just can't COPE. Maybe when I get older like in my 70s.

OH, those kind of links......:

1. Digital Microscope: http://www.intel.com/support/intelplay/qx3/
2. RCM Used Record Cleaning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbPWan9TcO4
3. Adventures in Digital Microscopy: http://www.vinylengine.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=19396

Comments:
1. The QX3 is no longer available but comes up frequently on eBay, where I snagged mine. I believe there are newer models on the market which are still available. See Comment 3.
2. I bought 2 PREX used at waist level pricing.... $7+, John McLaughlin, My Goals Beyond, Jimmy Smith, Plays Fats Waller. Both LPs were impeccably clean but snappy on the table. I ended up manually washing these and they quieted down quite nicely, however, I wasn't a happy camper on initial play. The $1 bins are where it's at though (low on floor), just tough on the back.
3. This topic in "off topic" name some other digital microscopes, QX5, etc... What I love about the scope is the ability to inspect my styli and more importantly, take a picture / print the condition of the cartridge / stylus when they are rotated out of active duty.

Fred and happy surfing / ebaying and linking..... yes, and I used to march in Arnie's Army.....Fore.....