Milty Zerostat question...

Admittedly I buy most of my Vinyl from Charity Shops etc but many are to the naked eye in VG+ NM condition. I thoroughly clean them with L'Art Du Son in a Knosti Disco AntiStat machine and leave to dry. Then I use a Carbon Fibre Brush to remove anything else.
My question is, I can still hear some pops and clicks, especially during quiet parts, track intros etc. Would the Milty eliminate those as another step or are these impossible to remove as they are used records and may not have been handled correctly. I'm a bit confused as to whether these noises are acually static noises or damage to grooves. The gun helps to remove static to prevent more dust build up but can it improve sound quality just bu using it then playing?

 

The pops and crackles may well not be anything to do with static and hence the Zerostat (which I personally think is very expensive) will achieve nothing. Personally only a Record Cleaning Machine with a vacuum unit will be the most effective. I use an Okki Nokki but I have heard good reports of the (relatively) new Pro-ject RCM at £299. L'Art Du Son has a good reputation as do other solutions. Personally I use Bio-Ethanol/Distilled Water at 50/50, with a couple of drops of Dishwasher Rinse agent. This also renders the vinyl completely static free (for life). After cleaning put into a new anti static sleeve, I use MoFI ones but the choice is yours. Cardboard sleeves often used are a disaster. I do the above with brand new vinyl, mainly to remove any static as otherwise the felt mat on the Linn LP12 is attracted to the album. It works for me but sometimes nothing will remove the pops and crackles if they are permanent groove damage.

 

Yeah the Zerostat won't help unless those pops and ticks are a result of static.

The grooves might be ok, especially if you only hear the pops and ticks in quiet parts and intros. Essentially, this is what every record buyer experiences!

You might be able to remove some or all of those ticks and pops if you have a vacuum type record cleaning machine. But there's still no guarantee they'll be eliminated.

 

you can't remove them all...

 

If you notice a correlation with humidity (low humidity and more record ticks) then the culprit may well be static and a Milty could help.

Personally, I keep a small moistened sponge on the turntable, near the tonearm rest, if the humidity is low and that is sufficient to alleviate most static issues.

 

So, at what indoor relative humidity does, in your opinion, a turntable become "sponge-worthy"?

 

I think you'll have to ask Elaine Bennett?

(From the old series, Seinfeld)

I agree with the others that those noises are probably burnt into the used vinyl.

 

Generally below about 45% is where I start to feel, see, and hear static electricity. More dust is attracted then, too.

 

I used to use a Disco Antistat like you before buying a Clearaudio Smart Matrix, I think the trick to getting a record really clean is letting it soak in the cleaning fluid and after cleaning them with LADS giving it a clean or rinse in dem water with a drop of liquid that breaks surface tension. Some Knosti users use Photoflow I used a few drops of dishwasher rinse aid. Some albums I did that way were so silent upon playback, that I thought the volume was all the way down. It is not really realistic to expect, dust, grime, nicotine, skin particles, mould even, to be gone after 30 turns of your Knosti, let it soak.

For RCM users, I can recommed Todd the Vinyl Junkie's Vinylzyme Gold, perfect stuff. I have a last tip for you if you want to try a nice gadget, there is a gadget called Furutech Destat, it is said to kill static electricity by ionizing air. I think this retails for $400/500.00.
But you could also try a portable air cleaner/ionizer operating off a wall wart, I tried and although not a night and day difference, but it improves sound and removes static electricity. But to get your vinyl clean, let it soak, throw away the carbon fibre brush and buy the Mobile Fidelity Record Brush, fantastic brush, I also used a carbon fibre brush, no good. And although it says on the box that it can be used for wet cleaning, don't it is not true . Oh to wrap it up, I assume that you put your cleaned vinyl in a new antistatic inner sleeve?