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Record broom

3

33.3rpm

pfm Member
Bought a lovely 401 recently that came with a Bib record cleaning arm (luckily not stuck to face plate). It has a roller and brush (which doesn’t seem to do anything) but the roller is a bit knackered. I like the idea of something else picking up the surface dust other than the stylus. Does anyone else use a ‘broom’ arm which looks decent and works that they can recommend? The Pro-ject Sweep-it ones look good but are they worth £60+?
 
Just keep your vinyl and your stylus clean, and use a decent dust brush before playing If you really need to. Those dust bug things are fairly hopeless.
 
I run a carbon fibre brush before play but I find the stylus is getting less clogged with the additional arm picking up some of the rest of the crud. I did have some decent results cleaning a couple of dusty records with washing-up liquid and a soft sponge, removed a fair bit of surface noise.
 
33.3rpm said:
.... I did have some decent results cleaning a couple of dusty records with washing-up liquid and a soft sponge, removed a fair bit of surface noise.
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Do you at least rinse it with demineralised water after that?
 
I use ipa and tap water, followed by a tap water rinse. The insignificant amount of water left causes no sleepless nights.


Pete
 
If you have rather soft water you will get away with it, but the question is why to save a few cents rather than do the job properly :rolleyes:
 
I think that your description of it as a 'broom' says it all. Why ever would you want to drag grit and grot around your precious vinyl for the whole time that it is playing ? ..if it collects it it accumulates it; concentrates it.

It is ,after all , either dragging it around all the time or it escapes under the brush to remain to be found by the stylus. Either option strikes me as a terrible idea.
 
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I use a Dust Bug (on both TTs) with the coarse brush* removed, so just the plush roller. Works better than a hand held brush which always leaves a line. I have tried the Tonar arm and it was useless.
*I can hear the brush "playing" the record.
 
I only ask because I usually have to lift the arm halfway through (most records) to blow a ball of fluff off the stylus. I can tell when as the sound is especially muffled. As I say, I do run a brush over all records before play.

With regard to washing, I think I may have had a ‘mixed result’ yesterday when I washed side b of ‘Animals’ and hope I didn’t actually add surface noise. I live in a hard water area and sounds like I should invest in a bottle of distilled water. Is boiled/cooled water similar?
 
If your record is very clean almost all the water runs off leaving next to nothing to evaporate and leave behind 1/5th of naff all behind.

You can also get the labels wet without harming them.


Pete
 
33.3rpm said:
Bought a lovely 401 recently that came with a Bib record cleaning arm (luckily not stuck to face plate). It has a roller and brush (which doesn’t seem to do anything) but the roller is a bit knackered. I like the idea of something else picking up the surface dust other than the stylus. Does anyone else use a ‘broom’ arm which looks decent and works that they can recommend? The Pro-ject Sweep-it ones look good but are they worth £60+?
Click to expand...

Not all BIB record cleaning arms are created equal, but by far the best is the Model 42.

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-bib-groov-kleen-record-128959801

If yours is one of these, then treat it to a new roller and brush, and don’t bother buying anything else as it won’t be as good.
 
wet clean the record properly.
don’t use a brush - if anything, they can induce static.

those ‘cleaning arm’ efforts belong in the 1970’s. avoid.

if you are getting a dusty stylus during playback, wet-clean clean the record properly
(as previously stated upstream)
 
Joe said:
I would say...if you have to lift the stylus halfway through most records ( even after cleaning before playing ) them you are in desperate need of a record cleaning machine.
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Seconded, depending on how many records in your collection. Thee is simply no sensible alternative. Once cleaned and (new) sleeved, no more static, no more crud and very little stylus care required, quite apart from extending the longevity of records and styli. Oh yes, a better s.q., too.
 
33.3rpm said:
I only ask because I usually have to lift the arm halfway through (most records) to blow a ball of fluff off the stylus. I can tell when as the sound is especially muffled. As I say, I do run a brush over all records before play.

With regard to washing, I think I may have had a ‘mixed result’ yesterday when I washed side b of ‘Animals’ and hope I didn’t actually add surface noise. I live in a hard water area and sounds like I should invest in a bottle of distilled water. Is boiled/cooled water similar?
Click to expand...


There are endless threads on pfm on how to clean records. Try reading a few.

Cheapest option - DiscoAntistat. Distilled water, 2 drops of washing up liquid per session, shake/mix the solution before using. Spin (carefully) to get rid of excess cleaning solution. Dry for a few hours.
If the record continues to throw up debris onto the stylus, repeat.
Consider spending a few hundred on a vacuum rcm if bothered.
I don’t use one of those, but then I have a well practiced technique, and clean hundreds of records a month.

The answers are on pfm.
 
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