Over the years there have been devotees of “wet playing” records - either with the old Diskwasher, or through other methods to leave a barely traceable bit of moisture in the grooves for playing the record. Even I did it for a while in the 20th Century. It did admittedly make for quieter playback, but have we learned anything since those days to either support its use, or determine it does more harm than good? @tima, @Neil.Antin, I’m of course interested in your thoughts on this, as well as from others. Neil, apologies in advance if there’s already something in PACVR about it.
“Wet playing” records
- Thread starter tony22
- Start date
Tony,
Wet playing will avoid any static issues since the moisture will dissipate any static. The wet play can also damp (slow) the stylus response that could benefit badly worn records. But, at the groove level there is likely going to be a mist formed that can get into the cartridge which for moving magnet may not be too bad; moving magnet is a pretty robust design. But the same cannot be said for a moving coil, which is not as robust a design, with some with delicate wires exposed and inside is very delicate. For a moving coil I cannot see anything but a bad outcome. Otherwise, the book makes no mention of wet playing (nor will it ever LOL).
If you had an old record that you wanted to transfer to digital, then wet playing with a robust design moving magnet with cheap stylus could be an option but understand that the aluminum cantilever (unless anodized) could be subject to corrosion, but if using a cheap replaceable stylus, it could just be a price to pay.
Take care,
Neil
Wet playing will avoid any static issues since the moisture will dissipate any static. The wet play can also damp (slow) the stylus response that could benefit badly worn records. But, at the groove level there is likely going to be a mist formed that can get into the cartridge which for moving magnet may not be too bad; moving magnet is a pretty robust design. But the same cannot be said for a moving coil, which is not as robust a design, with some with delicate wires exposed and inside is very delicate. For a moving coil I cannot see anything but a bad outcome. Otherwise, the book makes no mention of wet playing (nor will it ever LOL).
If you had an old record that you wanted to transfer to digital, then wet playing with a robust design moving magnet with cheap stylus could be an option but understand that the aluminum cantilever (unless anodized) could be subject to corrosion, but if using a cheap replaceable stylus, it could just be a price to pay.
Take care,
Neil
Thanks @Neil.Antin. I guess that’s why, back in the day before I was using MCs primarily, it never seemed to cause an issue. 
I stopped this sort of thing a long time ago.If you do it (shudder) use distilled water.
If you do it (shudder) use distilled water.
And/Or inexpensive vinyl
There was years ago , like 40+, a product from Lenco. The lencoclean system was a hollow plastic arm and reservoir tipped with a tound soft bristle brush. Likw a liquid filled tonearm. It laid down a thin layer of special fluid while the record played. Only drawback was, once used on said record it needed to be used all the time. All the residue on the record would be settled into the grooves and dried so it made play back horrible unless you re applied the lencoclean system. And the fluid itself was pricey as I recall. Thanks but I'll stick to tried and true Discwasher. And in extreme cases cheap white glue lol.
Along with a cheap cartridge / stylus (as Neil kindly mentioned in his post above).
If you think about the pure mechanics and physics of the reality of what the stylus is doing in the grooves of the record, with the local dynamic forces and local high temperatures going on within this micro & molecular level environment, the last thing you want is a wet record i.e. free moisture in the grooves !
Hey, I’m not endorsing it!
Never did it, never really understood it.Similar threads
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