Your Thoughts And Experience With Last Record Preservative.

The improvement Im noticing is on used records. Havent tried it on new ones yet.

 

That would be the idea, but you can still stop the wear and get an improvement in used records so why not.

 

My bottle arrived today, so I treated about ten albums with it. My choices were problematic records, both used and new, which have evidenced pops and crackle even after multiple trips through my Spin Clean.

It has reduced (not eliminated) pops and crackle on the used ones, taking them from bad to decent. There is no perceptible loss of high frequencies, which I know worries some folks. No added veil whatsoever, just a smooth clear playback with less surface noise.

It's not a miracle worker. It doesn't reverse surface wear, but I didn't expect it to do so. So far, for my needs, it's a success.

Right now I'm 'dropping The Smiths' "Strangeways, Here We Come," and after that I'll see what kind of difference it made to the new vinyl.

 

Just finished up listening to side 1 of the most recent U.S. reissue of Nick Drake's Five Leaves Left. Again, appreciably quieter as far as pops and clicks than before. Not perfect but I'm no longer unhappy with it.

So ... result! I'm glad I picked this stuff up, and I'll continue treating all new vinyl with it (after cleaning, of course) as well as used stuff which seems too crackly.

 

Good stuff Ben, pretty much my observations.

 

thought i would add to this post since i started it last year. i am still using LAST and have treated well over 100 lp's. i am still very happy with the results as it really does seem to quiet the crackles and pops especially on used lp's. glad everyone else who has tried it seems to have the same results.

 

I'm one of those folks... Have you 'dropped some cymbals and compared the spectrum before and after yet, Ben (we still need to hear something from your new cartridge anyway )? In my mind the stylus will get pulled up the slopes more easily when groove friction is reduced, instead of following the sharp twists and turns of the (fixed height) cutting head. Too much understeer in driving language. Reducing record friction takes an edge off to my ears - similar to the difference between a cleaned and uncleaned (otherwise perfectly pressed) new record. (I understand you're using it mainly for noise reduction on used or noisy records, which is a valid reason of course.)

 

My needledrop computer is going bluescreen of death on me if I push it too hard. I think I need a new power supply. Unfortunately, one of the things guaranteed to crash it is uploading files bigger than a photograph. So no needledrop samples at the moment, I'm afraid.

 

BSOD....I sure don't miss those days.

 

I stumbled onto this thread a couple of weeks ago, and I just wanted to thank everyone who contributed to it because you all convinced me to buy this "liquid magic" in a bottle.
My 2oz bottle and kit arrived today, and I've tried it so far on 3 of my albums that are in various condition.

1. Led Zeppelin II (early US press, has the Gold sticker on it): this is the worst sounding album in my collection. Horrible case of the "rice krispies" throughout the entire album (doesn't sound like groove damage though). I've cleaned it multiple times in my SpinClean (love that thing!), and even tried some Phoenix with Enzymes cleaner on it, but nothing made it listenable. I applied the Last Preservative to it today, and...I couldn't believe my ears! It was finally listenable! By no means did it get rid of all the snap, crackle, and pops, but it easily reduced them all by 70-80%. The big test for me was the song "What is and what should never be" with its mix of quiet and loud parts. The quiet parts still had pops, but they were much softer. During the loud parts, only the worst of the pops could still be heard (and before, even the loud parts were overrun with the "rice krispies"). Very happy now!
2. ELO - Out of the Blue (US Stan Ricker cut): This album has always sounded great, but a couple of songs were problematic when it came to noise: "It's Over" and "Starlight". This stuff eliminated the softer pops, and softened the louder ones. Again, amazing results!
3. Queen - Sheer Heart Attack (UK 1st press): One of the best sounding albums in my collection, it's 100% perfect throughout, so I took a chance to see what effect this stuff had on problem-free records. I'm happy (and relieved) to report that there was zero loss in sound quality. Now, I can't say it improved it any, but the important thing for me was that it didn't adversely affect anything in anyway.

So, yeah, I'm thrilled! Even though it was $50 for a 2oz bottle, I'll slowly but surely be applying this to every record in my collection (200+) no matter how many bottles it takes.

 

Good stuff JEwe.
I haven't noticed any loss in the high end. I'm not sure what that's about. Ill keep an ear on it.
I guess I'm getting maybe a 20% Quiter playback with LAST on most records , I'm very happy with that.
Do any of you guys slowly and calmly apply the liquid to the brush?Or or you squeezing it on in a mad rush given it evaporates so quickly ?

 

I've only read the last page or so, but I'm a bit surprised. I am or was a long time LAST user, and I never expected it to do anything for snaps and crackles. My impression was always that it simply gave the sound more focus. Less high frequency hash. The reduction in intermodulation distortion can certainly be heard, and the promotional material back in the day used to say it was measurable. It just plain cleans up the highs. A thorough record cleaning does this also. Together, they really upgrade the sound of good records. I never played crappy, snappy, pop-y records, so it never occurred to me that LAST would improve this, and I can't necessarily think of a reason why it should. But if it helps, that's just icing on the cake.

I say I was a LAST user because I haven't spun LPs in some time. I intend to get my TT back in gear and do some needledrops, but I'm not buying vinyl and never bought used vinyl, except for a few I found at garage sales (and then usually wished I hadn't). So for me the point was to improve the sound of records in new or extremely good condition. And that it does.

 

Ha! Applying that damn stuff to the brush gives me conniptions. I'm doing no more than 5 records at a time because I can feel years coming off my life as I wait to accidentally knock the bottle over.

I would say I'm probably in the middle. My mad rush is getting the cap back on the bottle and then the brush to the vinyl as fast as possible.

 

Anyone know what happens to LAST if you vac. Wash a LP? Does LAST need to be reapplied?

 

No problem. I'm glad you're happy with the results.

 

You should be fine using a vac wash, Spin Clean or even a sonic wash. The Last formula bonds with the vinyl. The reason they say it lasts 200 plays is because it would take literally 200 plays for the stylus to wear through the added molecular layer of the Last.

 

Thanks Ben. I suppose same goes for asp lying heat to vinyl..when dewar ping?

 

Heat of course causes chemical changes. I would de-warp before applying Last.

 

Or reapply after dewarping?

 

I wouldn't apply it before dewarping at all.

If you've already applied it to a record that needs to be dewarped, you might as well dewarp it and see how it plays. If it plays fine, I wouldn't reapply the Last.

When I talk about heat causing a chemical change, I'm talking about the possibility of the dewarping process causing "orange peeling" which would render the album unplayable. We have no idea if the Last fluid could cause that. It probably won't, but we can't know for sure.

I'm afraid you may have to be the guinea pig who tests this out....

 

Ok thanks. Ill be sure to report any problems.After dewarping I hear no issues so far.

 

In thirty years of using LAST, I've never noticed a reduction in high frequencies. The only tonal balance issue I've heard is LAST can make a record a hair warmer. Why, I don't have the slightest idea.

I also have to admit I've never conclusively heard the reduction in surface noise some folks are reporting here. With some records, maybe yes, they are less noisy, but I always credited that to buffing the record, which I know is good for it. I would never discount someone else's experience so if LAST makes your records quieter, then that's great news.

What I hear with LAST is how well it keeps my records pristine. They don't get nearly as noisy after multiple plays.

There's one other thing, and maybe it's an illusion. I've written how I've fooled myself over hi-fi issues many times. This may be one of those times. It seems when I pull out records I LASTed back in the '80s, ones I haven't played much since then, that those records are in stellar shape. They are quiet and sound amazing, more than other records I own from the '80s on which I didn't use LAST. Why this difference would occur, again, I don't know. But I sure do like the result.

 

Regarding buffing, though ... a court ke of us have tried records we've repeatedly run through our Spin Cleans. The brushes on the Spin Clran, besides dislodging dirt, also perform a kind of wet buffing.

Using the Last brush shouldn't then provide that much more buffing than a record that's only gone through the Spin Clean.

 

Same thing for me as I use a VPI. Whatever works for you, Ben.

 

Wow, weird mistyping error in my last post!