Static on felt mat

[mowntnbkr]

I notice my albums stick to the felt mat and then I can hear the discharge. What do you guys do to combat the static. I wash all my records with a records cleaner. Thanks for any input

[mas]

The goofy De-Stat gun - if you can still buy them.

I imagine that you could also use an anti-static "ESD" mat used for electronics under a felt surface to discharge static as well.

[oldtimer]

You can still buy'em and they will last pretty much your whole life. Wife has static hair? The gun takes care of it. Static in your clothes, yeah it works. And of course it works on your vinyl too.

[Islander]

The Zerostat gun is what you need. When you zap a record with the gun after playing it, you can put the record away knowing it's not a dust magnet, so that's a benefit, too.

[mas]

Zerostat - that's it!

[oldbuckster]

There use to be anti-static mats ................

[Blvdre]

For an ESD mat to work, there would need to be a path to ground, and the ground strap has to pierce the mat, so not practical. I would guess an anti-static mat specifically designed for turntables wouldn't have a path to ground per se, but would probably be constructed of a material resistant to building up a static charge. I suppose if you had a conductive mat/platter/bearing/suspension you could tie that to ground, thereby eliminating ESD build-up......um, yeah, look for a discwasher ant-stat gun as suggested.

[mas]

The ESD mat to which I referred would sit on a surface next to the turntable (or anywhere for that metter!) with a soft non-abrasive surface on which to set the record. Likewise, a grounded ESD wrist strap could also be useful (although I have never messed with it) in discharging static charges ona record.

I also would NOT be using a felt pad if I was worried about static on a turntable! I mean, why essentially have a strong static generator is your goal is to avoid static?

Of course I suppose one could play with a humidifier or any of the myriad ion generators out their to saturate the surrounding area - and if you were successful, without burning down the house, you might not have to worry about static in the vacinity of the TT. (And no, I am not sure what the effect would be on a magnetic cartidge, if any.)

[Blvdre]

Ok, I see now. That would be helpful, as the mat would discharge any ESD build-up on the record. A wrist-strap would dissipate any static that has built-up on yourself.

[LarryC]

It seems to me that you shouldn't be getting static build-up on your records as a rule. Fighting it before rather than after it builds is preferable, so a Zerostat seems like a backfill to me. I agree with the above comment that a felt mat is a real static-generator, and you should use something else. I think if your mat doesn't generate static electricity, you won't have it, or have to worry about draining it away.

The TD160 appears to be belt-driven. I know that rubber belts driving acrylic platters can build up a lot of static, and the solution is to shake the belt inside a bag with talcum powder. Works like a charm in my experience. The Thorens' drive and platter pulleys are probably metal, however, so probably not a solution in that case.

Also, is the humidity in your house extremely low, so that you get a lot of sparks jumping when you walk around the house? I can get episodes of big vinyl static when that happens at my place.

Larry

[Islander]

On my Technics turntable, the static buildup varies from none at all with certain records, to a little bit with most, to an extreme amount with a few records that almost glue themselves to the mat. Variations in ferrous material content? I have no idea.

The mat is a Plattermatter, one of those thick Sorbothane-type ones. I always use a carbon fiber brush to clean the disc before playing it and those brushes are said to remove static along with any dust.

[pierceb]

I have a dumb question related to this. Can static buildup on vinyl discharge through the stylus/cartridge (and subsequently through the rest of the system)? I quite often get a loud pop when I drop my tonearm down on a record. The pop occurs sometimes before the stylus touches the vinyl and sometimes a second or two after finding and tracking the groove. I have connected to different pre/amp combos and the popping is still prevalent.

Oh, I forgot to add...there is no felt mat or similar. Just acrylic platter.

-PB

[LarryC]

Yes, I definitely get that kind of pop if static has built up enough. Probably jumps from the vinyl to the stylus/cantilever or cart body. Acrylic platters seem to store static electricity but not drain it away because they're non-conductive. For me, that's the time to drag out the cotton gloves and the plastic baggie with the talcum powder, take off the belt and put it in there, give it a few shakes, shake the belt after you take it back out, and remount. The side of the platter can get a little powdery when you put the belt back on, but it works for me.

[pierceb]

Ah, interesting. What kind of Basis table you running Larry? I have a Basis 1400 with RB250 tonearm (with wire mod, no counterweight mod). I ran the system for about 6 months on SS receiver with no issues (at least I never noticed), then switched to Blueberry/VRD combo and almost instantly had pops. I've since switched back to a different SS reciever to see if the problem followed, and it did (but not near as prevalent or loud as with tubes). I thought it was going to be a grounding or cart related problem.

So just to clarify, you suggest putting talc on the drive belt only? Seems odd that it is the culprit, but I'll give it a try.

Thanks!

-PB

[oldtimer]

I have a dumb question related to this. Can static buildup on vinyl discharge through the stylus/cartridge (and subsequently through the rest of the system)? I quite often get a loud pop when I drop my tonearm down on a record. The pop occurs sometimes before the stylus touches the vinyl and sometimes a second or two after finding and tracking the groove. I have connected to different pre/amp combos and the popping is still prevalent.

Oh, I forgot to add...there is no felt mat or similar. Just acrylic platter.

-PB

That would freak me out.

[LarryC]

What kind of Basis table you running Larry? I ran the system for about 6 months on SS receiver with no issues (at least I never noticed), then switched to Blueberry/VRD combo and almost instantly had pops. I've since switched back to a different SS reciever to see if the problem followed, and it did (but not near as prevalent or loud as with tubes). I thought it was going to be a grounding or cart related problem.

So just to clarify, you suggest putting talc on the drive belt only? Seems odd that it is the culprit, but I'll give it a try.

Basis Ovation, an older model. Now I'm not so sure about the cause if they only came after you switched to the BB. Still, I need to powder my TT belt every year or so. Static apparently is caused by the rubber belt working against the acrylic, and the powder acts like a lubricant.