[jtwrace]

What brush do you guys recommend?

MD says this is what they prefer: http://www.musicdirect.com/showproduct.aspx?ProductID=7193&SEName=hunt-eda-mk-6-carbon-fiber-brush

Thoughts?

[Miney]

Not bad...  I use one of these to sweep off the big stuff before the real cleaning on the Nitty. 

I kinda like Wayner's method with the spray bottle and Discwasher brush.

Wouldn't mind test driving one of these.

[decal]

I use the Hunt brush, it works as good as anything else I've tried.

[Letitroll98]

Wouldn't mind test driving one of these.

I have all of the brushes available and unavailable on the market, and I have to say your instinct is correct, this is the best dry record brush available today.  Possibly even better than my unabtanium "Parastat" brush.  However I would spend the $16 more for the corded version (same web page, just click on the box to the right) as it drains static away as well.

[jtwrace]

That good huh?

[Quiet Earth]

  However I would spend the $16 more for the corded version (same web page, just click on the box to the right) as it drains static away

Do you know if there is a 1 meg (or similarly high value) resistor built into the cord?

[Photon46]

Here in Florida excess static electricity isn't an issue most of the year. That said, nothing I've used works better than this lo-tech cleaning solution: a folded micro-fiber cleaning cloth. I bought a pack of them for $5 at an auto parts store and wash them separately from all other laundry, no fabric softener in the wash cycle. Works WAAAY better than all those fancy cleaning brushes and I think I've tried them all. When the air is dry and static is a problem, I hit the vinyl first with an anti-static film cleaning brush, then use the cloth. I've read some people who say excess pressure with a micro-fiber cloth could leave micro-scratches in the vinyl. Well, don't use excessive pressure. I've never seen any evidence of abrasion myself.

[ptmconsulting]

Still have my trusty Diskwasher brush that I bought 30(?) years ago. Works just fine as a dry brush after cleaning on my VPI 16.5.

[rollo]

  Lets not forget the Maplehade brush. Grounded as well. Uses extremely fine metal for brush.
   My recco either Acoustic Sounds or Mapleshade. Knowing how anal Pierre is about clean I would lean towards Mapleshade.



charles

[cheap-Jack]

Hi.

What brush do you guys recommend?

Thoughts?

I brush off tiny debris on my LPs using the duster I DIYed, for a couple of years now. It cost me next to nothing. Yes, you may say it again, I am 'cheap'.

On an old blackboard duster (with a hard plastic handle), glued on a thin layer of dense nylon felt. That's it. It works!

I don't need any costly whatsover hi-tech brush plus consumable anti-static fluid. 'Cause I wet play.

c-J

PS: Yes, I am a die-hard DIYer. Not many vendors can grap my money. 'Cause I know the 'tricks'.

[Letitroll98]

That good huh?

From the Music Direct web site, nee Stereophile:
"This large-handled brush has soft bristles of both natural hairs and conductive synthetic fibers, and makes dusting LPs nearly foolproof." Stereophile Recommended Components, October 2008

It sort of depends on what you are trying to accomplish.  Of course you're trying to lift loose impediments from the waste area without moving your ball...oops, wrong website.  I meant to say remove from the LP surface, but then what?  If you want to use a wet, or semi wet (damp), brush like the Dishwasher or Parastat, then one assumes most of the dust sticks to the moist brush.  Whether that happens or not, and does it cause any other problems, is a perennial topic for debate.  But you asked for best dry brush, these are used by sweeping at about a 45° tangent to the grooves (more or less) then dragging the debris to the edge of the record where it dumps onto the plinth.  The largest pile of debris, thus the best brush, has always been the Acoustech Big Record Brush in my experience.

It's then quite easy to see why Vacuum Record Cleaning machines are so popular.  The cleaning solutions lift the debris into solution and the vacuum lifts it all off.  Then brushes are used to remove only very light dust particles before each play.  You didn't ask about this, but it sort of finishes the argument that no brush is good enough alone.

 

Do you know if there is a 1 meg (or similarly high value) resistor built into the cord?

No, nothing like static charge bracelets used in labs and such.  It's suppose to go to the regular turntable ground.  You would be better informed to say whether this is effective or not.  For $16 I ordered the cord.

[WGH]

I use a Watts Parastat I bought around 1977, it works great. The special fluid is long gone but a spray bottle with a distilled water/isopropyl alcohol mix works just as well. I can't imagine a record brush better than a Watts, different yes, but not better.



From Vinyl Engine:
"It has a central hand made brush supported by two velvet covered rubber pads.

"The brush is closely packed with over 30,000, 0.006" diameter pure nylon bristles finely pointed to an average tip radius of 0.00025" and firm enough to probe down into the groove without harming the record in any way.

"The short pile plush of the pads has a similar filament radius and will collect all dirt, dust and pollution dislodged by the brush.

There happens to be one available on eBay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/vintage-1960s-The-PARASTAT-Model-MKIIA-Record-Cleaner-Cecil-Watts-Manuals-A-/390415580946?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item5ae694ff12

Wayne

[Berndt]

On my second hunt.
I'm happy.

[cheap-Jack]

Hi.

It's then quite easy to see why Vacuum Record Cleaning machines are so popular.  The cleaning solutions lift the debris into solution and the vacuum lifts it all off. 

It may be OK for those affordable vinyl guys. But not many average vinyl Joe Blows can afford a few grands for a hi-tec vacuum cleaner, let alone the consumable cleansing fluids which keep on grapping our hard-earned cash.

"Popular"??? I doubt it very much, IMO.

My big question is : do we really NEED to vacuum clean our vinyls so often given a not so dusty indoor environment & the vinyls are stored back into their sleeves immediately after use?

FYI. I collected many hundreds of pre-owned LPs from thrift stores, most being decades young. I bathed & scrubed them hard in ozonated steam distilled water (available in 4-litres bottles cheapie from local drug stores) &  then hung them dry.

That's what I have done for ALL my LPs, used or new before I play them the first time. So far so good.

Do I need a vacuum cleaner? NO! I can build one cheap if I need one. But I don't think I do need one at all.

c-J

[S Clark]

Do I need a vacuum cleaner? NO! I can build one cheap if I need one. But I don't think I do need one at all.

In my case a vacuum was night and day. Washing in the sink with soap and brushes and a distilled water rinse does not even come close.  I can't speak for you, but I suspect that the "I don't need one" assessment is not for those looking for for the quietest playback...  and instead of "thousands", vacuum cleaning can be had new for about $150.
Sorry, this thread was about dry cleaning, but my experience is opposite Cheap-Jack's position.
Scott

[cheap-Jack]

Hi.

(1) In my case a vacuum was night and day.

(2) Washing in the sink with soap and brushes and a distilled water rinse does not even come close.

(3) I suspect that the "I don't need one" assessment is not for those looking for for the quietest playback... 

(4) and instead of "thousands", vacuum cleaning can be had new for about $150. 

(1) So please tell us how "night & day" difference is it with a $150 'lo-tech' vacuum cleaner?

(2) I never use "soap". Always ozonated steam distilled water only. So no residual left in the LP grooves.

(3) With wet play since day one years back, tracking  statics never exist on my vinyls. Surface noises are drowned to undetectable.

(4) Don't foget you got pay forever cleansing liquids. The expenses are snow-balling.

FYI, my audio den is down in my house basement, 10-ft sub-grade. Quieter  than a graveyard. The only noise that drove me nut there was the clicking of my old wall clock at the far side wall of my den, which I finally replaced with a digital clock. LP noise????

c-J

[S Clark]

It sounds like your vinyl was cleaner than mine to start with, and I can't judge "wet" play as I've never tried it.  so you may be right that vacuum may have no advantage for you.  But I stand by the "night and day" evaluation.
 
In my case, I had used a Disc Washer and Zerostat for decades, but found that my records would eventually pick up ticks and pops- not horrible, but enough to reduce my listening pleasure.  I had read of those that had used a soap and water scrub with a light brush (soft toothbrush), followed by a tap water rinse, followed by a distilled water rinse, then dried with a microfiber towel.  I'd say that this got perhaps half of what the Disc Washer missed, but if a record was pretty noisey, it was still very noticeable.
 
Being cheap (we do agree on that), and after much reading(mostly  by John-The Chair Guy and moderator of this circle), I got the manual vacuum cleaner from KABUSA for about $150.  This uses a separate vacuum (the one we already used) to keep cost down.  Using a solution scub, towel blot, distilled water scrub, vacuum routine, my estimate is that 90-95% of tics were removed... and in some cases even more.  So my experience is that a vacuum routine reduced noise by half over a Disc Washer or even a wash in the sink.  I call that a night and day difference.  I highly recommend a vacuum cleaning device and rate it as the single best purchase I have made to improve my vinyl experience- more than TT, cartridges(possible exception is a mono cart for mono classical), preamps. 
Scott

I forgot to address cost of fluids.  A gallon of cleaner cost me $30-40 delivered (I use Phoenix), a gallon of water about a buck.  Both have cleaned probably 500-600 lps and I've got more than half of each left.  That comes down to $.04 per record.  I alway put them in a new sleeve, so I'm in for another $.20.  For about a quarter, I've got a clean record that will stay clean for lots of plays. 

[Rischa]

Apologies if I'm hijacking this thread, but, regarding vacuum cleaners, how much truth is there to the claim that they cause static in vinyl? I've read this on the Stereophile website, and in the Music Direct catalog. What are the physics at play that cause static? Does the act of drawing moisture out of the grooves create a static charge?

And, a question I've been meaning to post here on the forum (this seems as good a place as
any), why do my 180 gram records carry more static than my lighter weight records? Most of my vinyl is vacuum cleaned before I play it, but I only have static problems with heavier weight records.

[S Clark]

When you vacuum moisture from the groove, it's still a high humidity microenvironment so, and I've never had any static on a newly vacuumed record.  They are more neutral that an lp that I've used a Zerostat on. 

[vinyl_lady]

Back on topic . . . (mostly)

Jason, I have both the Hunt and an AudioQuest carbon fiber brush and I find that both work about equally well (I also have a Parastat from the early 70's and an original Discwasher). After cleaning with the Loricraft I apply LAST Record Perservative, zap it with the Zerostat and use either carbon fiber brush to remove any seen and unseen dust particles before playing. The technique I use with the Audioquest is a slight, smooth upward twist of the wrist as I pull the brush toward the edge of the record and any dust particles fall on the plinth. I am satisfied that my records are as clean and static fee as possible when I drop the needle into the groove.

Enjoy! Vinyl is special

Laura