Record Brushes

[Ed.P]

I use the Bergeon 4657 blower. Try to rarely touch my stylus as well and use the blower on that instead.

Bergeon 4657 Rubber Dust Blower

Keep watches clean and dust free with the Bergeon 4657 rubber dust blower. The durable design and fine point tip make cleaning easy and effective.

www.esslinger.com

 

[Tuckers]

So, I have been salivating over this Japanese artisinal brush. It just looks sooo perfect, exactly the right width, fine hairs to get into the grooves, very soft but springy.

Finishing Brush from Goat Hair

 

[tima]

Like many of you I have used a variety of record brushes over the years. More recently I used the Analog Relax brush mentioned by Neil and Bill for a while and thought it was a good product, until it lost a bit of fiber stiffness.

Currently what I'm using is the best brush I've ever used, which is quite an endorsement. It does not look exotic, its fibers are highly effective and it is handmade. It is a finalist in MF's brush evaluation.

It is the Hart Mk6 Brush. The company used to sell these on ebay and they used to have a Web site. I can find neither. In the US it is available through the Cable Company for $100. That seems like a lot of money to me for a record brush (notwithstanding the $300+ one from Germany - hah) but it is the best at doing its job as I have encountered.

 

[bonzo75]

 

[treitz3]

Like many of you I have used a variety of record brushes over the years. More recently I used the Analog Relax brush mentioned by Neil and Bill for a while and thought it was a good product, until it lost a bit of fiber stiffness.

Currently what I'm using is the best brush I've ever used, which is quite an endorsement. It does not look exotic, its fibers are highly effective and it is handmade. It is a finalist in MF's brush evaluation.

It is the Hart Mk6 Brush. The company used to sell these on ebay and they used to have a Web site. I can find neither. In the US it is available through the Cable Company for $100. That seems like a lot of money to me for a record brush (notwithstanding the $300+ one from Germany - hah) but it is the best at doing its job as I have encountered.

View attachment 152805

Hey, Tim. I believe it was you who had mentioned something about this brush a while back, which actually prompted me to order one out of curiosity. I must concur with your observations here. I don't know how many LP brushes I have had over the decades (lots), but this one is top notch and its effectiveness blows away any other that I have tried. If that was you, who in fact informed us about this, it is much appreciated. If by no one else, then most definitely by myself.

Tom

 

[Kingrex]

Hey, Tim. I believe it was you who had mentioned something about this brush a while back, which actually prompted me to order one out of curiosity. I must concur with your observations here. I don't know how many LP brushes I have had over the decades (lots), but this one is top notch and it's effectiveness blows away any other that I have tried. If that was you, who in fact, informed us about this, it is much appreciated. If by no one else, then most definitely by myself.

Tom

I bought that thing. I don't like it. My thought is, I wash my records. There is no embedded dust and dirt. There is nothing that needs a stiff bristle to clean. I am merely wiping superficial pieces of lint that jumped on the surface when removing it from the new plastic sleeve and placing it on the platter.

If I had a record as dirty as when Fremmer dropped his on the floor durring the review, I would be using a ultrasonic to clean the record, not shoving grit into the groove with a brush.

I repurposed that brush to my wash station and tried it with liquid cleaners. Then I tossed it out at the record doctor brush works better for the hand cleaning part of my wash process.

 

[Tuckers]

My current favorite brush is the Record Lab Brush. it leaves a record perfectly clean, and de-stated. Nothing else comes close.

https://www.turntablelab.com/products/turntable-lab-triple-operation-vinyl-record-cleaning-brush

 

[treitz3]

I bought that thing. I don't like it. My thought is, I wash my records. There is no embedded dust and dirt. There is nothing that needs a stiff bristle to clean. I am merely wiping superficial pieces of lint that jumped on the surface when removing it from the new plastic sleeve and placing it on the platter.

If I had a record as dirty as when Fremmer dropped his on the floor durring the review, I would be using a ultrasonic to clean the record, not shoving grit into the groove with a brush.

I repurposed that brush to my wash station and tried it with liquid cleaners. Then I tossed it out at the record doctor brush works better for the hand cleaning part of my wash process.

Fair enough. We all have our own observations on products. You didn't like it.

For reasons that are unimportant for this post, my vinyl rig has been down for about a month or two. I went to go test something after hooking some things back up and listen. The LP had been sitting on the TT for this entire time, and I didn't feel like going through the normal thorough cleaning ritual, just for a test. When I first dropped the needle, snaps, pops, ticks galore. Even though I had gone through the cleaning ritual prior to placing the LP on the TT a month or two ago.

So, I lifted the needle back up and wiped the LP, wiping it towards the sides (with the peripheral ring still on). I did this once with my old brush. Same things heard. This time, I tried it with the brush mentioned. I could visibly see the debris on the bristles (unlike the other brush), so I did it once more. Same thing, visible artifacts that were removed. Dropped the needle after that and heard sonics from the LP, as if I had gone through the thorough cleaning ritual again.

I had forgotten where I ordered it from (It isn't labeled at all, as you know), so I came on to search the threads to find out what I had ordered.....and came across Tim's post above. That was what I had ordered and while I may very well be incorrect with my memory on this one, I believe it was him that had initially wrote about it back when I ordered it. Hence my post.

Every one of us vinyl heads would absolutely love to do the thorough cleaning ritual every time we listen to an LP, but on the occasion where the LP sits overnight on the TT (from, say, an unexpectedly interrupted listening session), this would allow one to get an estimated 95% of the noise from artifacts on the LP off the record, without doing the time consuming ritual. This estimate is solely based upon what I heard when I used it today. I was not impressed. I was very impressed. So much so, that I will be ordering another one for when this one wears out. Why? None of my other brushes would have been that effective, based upon experience.

In fact, I think I can finally throw the rest of them in the trash after hearing the effectiveness of this one. I could use that space for other LP accessories anyways.

Tom

 

[Kingrex]

I have never washed a record twice.
I use the carbon fiber brush to knock dust off.

I also use the carbon brush to wipe the needle at times. I also use a thin sliver of magic eraser. Thin and floppy. If I poke it by accident, it bends and wont break the cantilever.

 

[AudioHR]

My current favorite brush is the Record Lab Brush. it leaves a record perfectly clean, and de-stated. Nothing else comes close.

https://www.turntablelab.com/products/turntable-lab-triple-operation-vinyl-record-cleaning-brush

Interesting!

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

I would say that any kind or type of brush, physically stroked across a record surface will cause surface static which in turn attracts more dust particles that is buoyant in the air to be attracted to the brushed record. I have tested quite a few brushes (even connected to an earth srap around my wrist whilst holding the brush or connecting the brush itself direct to an earth cable that is attached to the earthing system in my home) and when I measure the surface static with my Electrostatic Fieldmeter (FMX-003) that static charge is always higher after brushing the surface to remove surface dust with a brush.

Even the thread through the nozzle of my Keith Monks RCM creates a surface static charge from a rinse cycle when parts of the record surface being vacuum dried has no rinse water (pure demineralized water) left on it and the buoyant dust particles attach themselves to the record surface unless I discharge the static on the record surface before I put it in the sleeve.

So I only use a carbon record cleaning brush if I have a lot of dust particles on the record before I undertake my cleaning regime on it. After it has been cleaned, surface static removed (I currently use a Furutech destat III) it goes straight into a clean / unused anti-static sleeve.

Then when the day comes I want to play it, I carefully remove it from it's sleeve using a record mitt, place it on the platter, clamp the record down, do a once round with the Furutech destat III, (static platter), start the platter spinning, check with static with my FMX-003 and any surface dust that may have it's way onto the record surface I use my Giotto manual mini hand air blower to blow them away.

I would still like to invest in a CSPort IME1 someday but haven't yet mainly due to the high purchase cost (£1,500+ in the UK) vs it's effectiveness etc. (I was considering in purchasing one a couple of years ago, but didn't get a reply back from the UK CSPort Dealer / Importer who was selling them when I showed interest in buying one, so never bothered after that) !.

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

Bought these two items from Amazon yesterday for blowing away surface dust from my records, tonearm etc. which has been designed and built for cameras and camera lenses etc. Fully rechargeable. With the added kit I have bought for it, I can turn it into a mini vacuum cleaner as well.

Will report back on the performance etc. when they have arrived and I have used them a few times.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CSK7ZF7R?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CY59CY82?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

 

[TooCool4]

Interesting Bonesy Jonesy, let us know how you get on with them.

 

[Zuman]

Like many of you I have used a variety of record brushes over the years. More recently I used the Analog Relax brush mentioned by Neil and Bill for a while and thought it was a good product, until it lost a bit of fiber stiffness.

Currently what I'm using is the best brush I've ever used, which is quite an endorsement. It does not look exotic, its fibers are highly effective and it is handmade. It is a finalist in MF's brush evaluation.

It is the Hart Mk6 Brush. The company used to sell these on ebay and they used to have a Web site. I can find neither. In the US it is available through the Cable Company for $100. That seems like a lot of money to me for a record brush (notwithstanding the $300+ one from Germany - hah) but it is the best at doing its job as I have encountered.

View attachment 152805

I also use the Hart brush, but it gets me irrationally angry. Its aesthetic design is tacky, the hairs fall out at a ridiculous rate, and the adhesive that connects the fiber backing to the brush structure doesn't hold. I'm annoyed that it is so imperfect, considering that it actually does its job better than anything else I've tried. After using it, I follow up with the Analog Relax brush and the Kirmuss KA-B1 (and sometimes a photographer's squeeze-bulb blower). They'll get most of the Hart's hairs off the surface.

 

[tima]

I also use the Hart brush, but it gets me irrationally angry. Its aesthetic design is tacky, the hairs fall out at a ridiculous rate, and the adhesive that connects the fiber backing to the brush structure doesn't hold. I'm annoyed that it is so imperfect, considering that it actually does its job better than anything else I've tried. After using it, I follow up with the Analog Relax brush and the Kirmuss KA-B1 (and sometimes a photographer's squeeze-bulb blower). They'll get most of the Hart's hairs off the surface.

Here's a tip: Fasten a piece of painters tape to your rack with the sticky side up. Dip the brush on the tape before and/or after you use it. Been doing this for years -- I never get brush hairs on a record.

 

[Zuman]

Here's a tip: Fasten a piece of painters tape to your rack with the sticky side up. Dip the brush on the tape before and/or after you use it. Been doing this for years -- I never get brush hairs on a record.

Great idea! I'll try it!