How often clean stylus and which product?

[Otherchuck]

Greetings all,

I haven't played much vinyl in the last 30 years, but I got back into it a few months ago and so got a new Ortofon Super 5e cartridge to replace my worn Ortofon LM20. I am very much enjoying reconnecting with my old vinyl! I have two stylus cleaning products: (1) My old Discwasher carbon fiber brush that I wet with Groovewasher SC1 fluid, and (2) Audio-Technica AT607a Cartridge Stylus Cleaner that I apply with the flexible brush under the cap. I probably use the carbon brush once per 8-10 albums, and I use the AT fluid much less frequently (I think I have only used it once in the last couple months). I see there are gel products that you can dip the stylus into, but I don't have that product.

Is that stylus cleaning policy acceptable? I usually clean my stylus just as kind of a matter routine maintenance, as opposed to me waiting until I hear distortion from accumulated crud. I clean my vinyl every time I play a side, and the lounge where my turntable is is pretty clean, so I really almost never hear crud-related distortion. I worry a little about cleaning the stylus more often than necessary because I worry about inflicting unnecessary wear (though maybe I needn't worry too much about that). And what about those gel cleaners? Do they tend to be preferred to other stylus cleaning products? If so, is there a particular brand that is recommended?

Thanks for any stylus hygiene advice!

Otherchuck

 

[tima]

Is that stylus cleaning policy acceptable? I usually clean my stylus just as kind of a matter routine maintenance, as opposed to me waiting until I hear distortion from accumulated crud. I clean my vinyl every time I play a side, and the lounge where my turntable is is pretty clean, so I really almost never hear crud-related distortion. I worry a little about cleaning the stylus more often than necessary because I worry about inflicting unnecessary wear (though maybe I needn't worry too much about that). And what about those gel cleaners? Do they tend to be preferred to other stylus cleaning products? If so, is there a particular brand that is recommended?

Imo that stylus cleaning protocol is definitely old school -- stylus cleaning has moved on.

A critical element in stylus cleaning is stylus inspection. You want to inspect your stylus before and after cleaning. A 10X jewelers loupe should work well with a small LED flashlight. I inspect the stylus before each record and clean it if it is dirty. That often depends on the record previously played. If you start with a clean record you may not need to clean the stylus for the next play. Clean record + clean stylus is a complementary relation.

Another useful tool is a soft 00 size artist brush, either with stiff bristles or cut off to give the bristles some stiffness. Upon inspection with magnification you can often simply brush off any accumulation on the stylus without using fluid. I try to avoid cleaning liquids on the stylus.

I tried a few gel cleaners (Oznow, etc.) and do not recommend them.

There is a lot of discussion here about stylus cleaning. You can find much of it by searching this forum using the search terms "stylus cleaning", in parentheses.

There are descriptions of my tools and methods at the two links below. Feel free to follow up if you have questions.

How do you clean your stylus?

I recently acquired a new cartridge. In the past I have been using a few different methods to clean my stylus, including the Last stylus cleaner fluid, the Onzow Zerodust bubble cleaner, a Flux HiFi electronic ultrasonic cleaner, and now SPT treatment. I was told by my dealer NOT to use the...

www.whatsbestforum.com

How do you clean your stylus?

I also use the Magic Eraser, but I very gently rub the stylus sides from back to front once or twice and occasionally dip the stylus before each play. I follow this with a dip into the Onzow to remove any residue or white dust from the ME. Stylus looks brand new and I've never had a problem...

www.whatsbestforum.com