New Stylus distortion

Deanothfc said:
Ok guys, so I attached an image of the stylus, there was a bit of dust build up on it that I couldn't see with my old eyes.
I cleaned it gently with a brush, I can't find anywhere in my town that sells stylus cleaner, I sprayed the fine brush I used with Isopropyl alcohol and this seems to have done the trick. I played a well cleaned (what I thought was well cleaned) and the distortion has gone. Only tried 1 LP so far as I want to order an anti static brush (again can't find one locally!) and when album was finished there was a good build up of dust on the stylus that I wasn't getting with the 95E.

So I'm feeling slightly embarrassed that there's a good chance there is nothing wrong with stylus and my records are not getting a thorough enough clean. I do wet clean them before playing and use a microfibre cloth to remove the dust (or so I thought) its not an anti static cloth though.

Rookie error I know, and I apologise for being an idiot lol.
Im not sure if the attached photo is clear enough after being compressed, not pretty clear on my computer before attaching it.
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The Micro Line stylus fits down deeper into the groove than the Elliptical one and it will pick up all kinds of crud that is embedded deep in the grooves-- you're going to have to clean your records a lot better before playing them, and you'll have to clean the stylus after every LP side until the crud is all gone. I was surprised how much gunk my VM95ML pulled out of records that I thought were clean, even brand new ones were filthy. I ended up buying a record vacuum to get them clean.
 
Deanothfc said:
(...) Im not sure if the attached photo is clear enough (...)
Click to expand...

Yup, good enough. And looks good now, after your cleaning.

However, for me it would look like the azimuth could be a bit off - i.e. as if the diamond might be rotated a bit towards the outside rather than pointing straight down. Hence I'd suggest you to remove the needle from the cartridge body, after you've received your new loupe, and place it one a level surface, so you can properly check for the orientation of the diamond.

In case the diamond would indeed be rotated a bit towards the outside, it's usually possible to correct its orientation by carefully nudging at the V-magnet arrangement (i.e., the plastic bit at the other end of the cantilever with the two magnets) accordingly with a non-magnetic (& non-magnetisable) manipulator (like for example a wooden toothpick) - provided you wouldn't prefer to return it to have it exchanged for an exemplar with correct azimuth, that is. Because usually in such cases the whole (front part of the) cantilever assembly is rotated a bit, then. Whereas cases, in which the orientation of the diamond is incorrect in relation to the orientation of the V-magnet arrangement are rather rare. In such a case you should definitely rather return the needle for an exchange, though, because then you'd merely have the choice between incorrect azimuth and incorrect V-magnet orientation (which would have a negative impact on both channel balance and channel separation/crosstalk) or some sort of more or less foul compromise between these two.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini
 
Sgt Shultz said:
Really? Your earlier statement before my post.

"even after (dry cleaning) multiple times, I then dropped it in the US cleaner and it sounded like it was brand new"
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Yes, I should have said using both(dry and cleaning with that liquid and brush built into the cap).
 
bkatbamna said:
I was ready to throw away my original Shure M97HE stylus because of a fuzzy distortion that didn't go away even after dry cleaning multiple times. I then dropped it in the US cleaner and it sounded like it was brand new.
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I suspect that you are talking about immersing only the stylus once you have removed it from the cartridge and have, in fact, heard that in other places as being a very effective way to clean the stylus. When a cleaner like the one @Sgt Shultz mentions is used as he uses it, I would suspect that the stylus never accumulates enough detritus so that an US bath is not needed. However, if a stylus becomes "encased" with foreign matter and this is then "baked" on to the sides as they traverse the grooves of the record at significant pressure and heat, it might be a very different proposition to get it clean again and this is where the US cleaner might excel.....

Some of my ruminations: is there any potential for harming the stylus by dropping it in an US bath? Are there perhaps materials used in some makes of styli that might be more sensitive than others to being submersed in a liquid solution that can contain a variety of cleaning agents? Would it be best to just use distilled water for such purposes? E.g., some of the nude styli from Ortofon were said to be glued on the cantilever with a fastener that dissolved in isopropyl alcohol and the company cautioned against using it in cleaning their styli. These are simply questions I would ask and perhaps some of our more knowledgeable members, I'm thinking re-tippers for instance, might have a perspective on answering. It's good to know that things worked so well in your case, @bkatbamna and I imagine others will try this method as well. Just trying to make sure there aren't some glaring reasons why one should not in some cases.....
 
Deanothfc said:
Ok guys, so I attached an image of the stylus, there was a bit of dust build up on it that I couldn't see with my old eyes.
I cleaned it gently with a brush, I can't find anywhere in my town that sells stylus cleaner, I sprayed the fine brush I used with Isopropyl alcohol and this seems to have done the trick. I played a well cleaned (what I thought was well cleaned) and the distortion has gone. Only tried 1 LP so far as I want to order an anti static brush (again can't find one locally!) and when album was finished there was a good build up of dust on the stylus that I wasn't getting with the 95E.

So I'm feeling slightly embarrassed that there's a good chance there is nothing wrong with stylus and my records are not getting a thorough enough clean. I do wet clean them before playing and use a microfibre cloth to remove the dust (or so I thought) its not an anti static cloth though.

Rookie error I know, and I apologise for being an idiot lol.
Im not sure if the attached photo is clear enough after being compressed, not pretty clear on my computer before attaching it.
Click to expand...
I am surprised that cleaning you stylus was not the first recommendation as an issue like yours it is the most likely problem.
Isopropyl alcohol is the best stylus cleaner there is. Potions in bottles have unknown additives. Some are even water bases and water is the last thing you want near your cart.
Epoxy what your stylus is glued with can be used to repair petrol tanks so a damp alcohol stylus brush is totally safe for cleaning your stylus and it evaporates in seconds unlike some water based ones.
Get yourself a spin clean like rhe disco antistat cleaner if you are on a budget. Toss the included fluid and google the online fluid recipes.
All the best
Chris
 
Also the dead wax anti skate method does not work correctly on a Micro line or micro ridge. The tip of a ML is tiny and it does not touch thr groove walls the sides do so the friction thr tip has on dead wax has nothing to do with the friction the side contact patches have.
Chris
 
Fishead said:
I suspect that you are talking about immersing only the stylus once you have removed it from the cartridge and have, in fact, heard that in other places as being a very effective way to clean the stylus. When a cleaner like the one @Sgt Shultz mentions is used as he uses it, I would suspect that the stylus never accumulates enough detritus so that an US bath is not needed. However, if a stylus becomes "encased" with foreign matter and this is then "baked" on to the sides as they traverse the grooves of the record at significant pressure and heat, it might be a very different proposition to get it clean again and this is where the US cleaner might excel.....

Some of my ruminations: is there any potential for harming the stylus by dropping it in an US bath? Are there perhaps materials used in some makes of styli that might be more sensitive than others to being submersed in a liquid solution that can contain a variety of cleaning agents? Would it be best to just use distilled water for such purposes? E.g., some of the nude styli from Ortofon were said to be glued on the cantilever with a fastener that dissolved in isopropyl alcohol and the company cautioned against using it in cleaning their styli. These are simply questions I would ask and perhaps some of our more knowledgeable members, I'm thinking re-tippers for instance, might have a perspective on answering. It's good to know that things worked so well in your case, @bkatbamna and I imagine others will try this method as well. Just trying to make sure there aren't some glaring reasons why one should not in some cases.....
Click to expand...
I put the stylus in the bath without the cartridge. The "dirt" was some fuzzy type lint that just didn't want to come off. I didn't try magic eraser though because at that time I didn't have one.
 
bkatbamna said:
I put the stylus in the bath without the cartridge. The "dirt" was some fuzzy type lint that just didn't want to come off. I didn't try magic eraser though because at that time I didn't have one.
Click to expand...
Get a stylus brush and gently brush stylus with damp stylus brush. I have seen some huge goop balls on customers stylus. Some sent for a retip when they just needed a clean.
The worst seem to be when people use the various gel type cleaners where you lower the stylus onto a pad and raise. These leave a residue which crud mixes with and it builds up leaving a cement like ball that literally needs chipping away as cleaners won't touch it.
 
cafe latte said:
Get a stylus brush and gently brush stylus with damp stylus brush. I have seen some huge goop balls on customers stylus. Some sent for a retip when they just needed a clean.
The worst seem to be when people use the various gel type cleaners where you lower the stylus onto a pad and raise. These leave a residue which crud mixes with and it builds up leaving a cement like ball that literally needs chipping away as cleaners won't touch it.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I would never use goop type cleaner. Cleaning my records with an ultrasonic machine has alleviated a lot of dirt on the stylus.
 
Fishead said:
I suspect that you are talking about immersing only the stylus once you have removed it from the cartridge and have, in fact, heard that in other places as being a very effective way to clean the stylus. When a cleaner like the one @Sgt Shultz mentions is used as he uses it, I would suspect that the stylus never accumulates enough detritus so that an US bath is not needed. However, if a stylus becomes "encased" with foreign matter and this is then "baked" on to the sides as they traverse the grooves of the record at significant pressure and heat, it might be a very different proposition to get it clean again and this is where the US cleaner might excel.....

Some of my ruminations: is there any potential for harming the stylus by dropping it in an US bath? Are there perhaps materials used in some makes of styli that might be more sensitive than others to being submersed in a liquid solution that can contain a variety of cleaning agents? Would it be best to just use distilled water for such purposes? E.g., some of the nude styli from Ortofon were said to be glued on the cantilever with a fastener that dissolved in isopropyl alcohol and the company cautioned against using it in cleaning their styli. These are simply questions I would ask and perhaps some of our more knowledgeable members, I'm thinking re-tippers for instance, might have a perspective on answering. It's good to know that things worked so well in your case, @bkatbamna and I imagine others will try this method as well. Just trying to make sure there aren't some glaring reasons why one should not in some cases.....
Click to expand...

A clean stylus lasts way longer.

The OP's original post was rather misleading in stating the issue started when he swapped stylus to a " brand new" ML.
 
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bkatbamna said:
Yes, I should have said using both(dry and cleaning with that liquid and brush built into the cap).
Click to expand...

Well of course it didn't work, the brush in the cap is only to wet the other brush. The brush in the cap just has long soft nylon strands that are not designed to clean the stylus.
 
Sgt Shultz said:
A clean stylus lasts way longer.

The OP's original post was rather misleading in stating the issue started when he swapped stylus to a " brand new" ML.
Click to expand...

I would imagine that when one takes the time and cleans the stylus with every record played such as you do, it will stay much cleaner and require less effort to remain so. I try to do that as well and believe it to be good practice, both for the stylus to last longer and also because a clean stylus does less damage to my records. So, very much in agreement there Sarge...... Still, I'm curious about the cleaning of styli using the US method......isn't there now also a device on the market designed to clean just the tip of the cantilever, in other words the stylus? Seems I read about that somewhere and it would eliminate the concern about immersing the entire apparatus......I would think there would be good purpose for such, even though regular cleaning takes care of the bulk of it, wouldn't think it would hurt to do the US cleaning once in a while to get it back to like new condition in terms of cleanliness?
 
Fishead said:
I would imagine that when one takes the time and cleans the stylus with every record played such as you do, it will stay much cleaner and require less effort to remain so. I try to do that as well and believe it to be good practice, both for the stylus to last longer and also because a clean stylus does less damage to my records. So, very much in agreement there Sarge...... Still, I'm curious about the cleaning of styli using the US method......isn't there now also a device on the market designed to clean just the tip of the cantilever, in other words the stylus? Seems I read about that somewhere and it would eliminate the concern about immersing the entire apparatus......I would think there would be good purpose for such, even though regular cleaning takes care of the bulk of it, wouldn't think it would hurt to do the US cleaning once in a while to get it back to like new condition in terms of cleanliness?
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Like you I understand the value of my vinyl, it's more than my equipment, so clean records, clean stylus.

I would also be hesitant to put my Grace, Pickering, etc stylus into an ultrasonic cleaner. And really most of the cartridges I use have fixed stylus and ya......I'm not about to drop something like the Grado wood body cart into one.

See my last post, apparently bkatbamna wasn't using the stylus brush correctly.
 
Yes, I did see that and perhaps he/she will respond.....maybe just clarify how it was being used and if as you suggest, used improperly will not gain desired results. And I too have a few carts that would be very difficult to treat with US cleaning but after looking, I see that there are at least two devices, one from Hudsons and another from Flux HiFi that claim to use "vibrations" and "cavitation" action to clean the stylus and only it, not the entire cartridge, are impacted. I've also read that these cannot be considered true US cleaners though so I'm still researching......will report back if I find anything more conclusive. Carry on, amigos......
 
"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood......." Take yer pick, Sarge......I know which way I'm goin'!
 
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