I’ve had my LP12 for about 30 yrs and my felt mat has come off only a hand full of times. However, I do use a whole house humidifier mainly for the benefit of my Montagnana cello. I think that and the use of my VPI record cleaner help reduce the static electricity.
Where is the best place to buy a new felt mat and how much are they. Mine seems to be shrinking in diameter.
Thx! |
Had the same issue with a VPI. Started using a wet-vac cleaner on my records and the static vanished. |
My felt mat has NEVER come off! And I live in the dry arid winters of Chicago. This is the first I've heard of it. I leave the platter running while I change LPs and even that doesn't generate enough static to cause the mat to stick to the LPs.
Here's something that I've been doing recently to pick up the dust on some LPs, and this might also take care of the static that some people seem to be suffering with: I take a Pledge "Grab-It" pad and while holding it folded, lightly place it on an LP as it spins for 3-4 revolutions. It can pick up quite a bit of dust and dirt, depending on how dirty the LP is. My Linn sounds good enough that I don't want to even try another kind of mat.
NOTE WELL: Pledge makes two kinds of Grab-It, one with a compound included that you don't want to use and another (in the blue packet) that has NOTHING added. It is simply a cotton cloth with anti-static properties. It works great and might also reduce the static problem with LPs. |
Or, if you've got some extra green burning a hole in your pocket, get a VPI record cleaner. After I clean a record with this and put it into a VPI non static record sleeve, there is no more static. I do not have to use a record brush anymore and the felt mat never sticks to the record anymore. Besides, the VPI makes the record sound really good, it cleans up the midrange and gets rid of of a lot of noise that I used to think was due to scratches - it was just dirt.
Mike |
I've owned three (3) lp-12's over the last 20 years. I can count on one hand the number of times the felt mat stuck to the record. Also, I agree with the guy that likes the felt mat better. It is. One in every crowd! |
I will add another reco for the Extreme phono donut mat on the LP/12. More detail w/o losing postive qualities. My Linn dealer likes it better than the felt mat. SC53 are you serious about your Linn dealer not servicing the table.. come on really?
One downside of the Extreme phono mat is that you really need to turn the table off between records since it has a sticky quality.
While we are on the LP/12. Another cheap tweek is to remove the bottom board. When you do this you can't use the stock feet. Go to target and buy the 3M clear round poly feet I think 1/2 or 3/8 inch in diameter and very thin. Stick them on the corners of the plinth. Again more quiet more detail. $2.00 investment. |
I've owned a Linn LP-12 for more years than I can remember, but the one thing I can remeber is that the felt mat comes off with each and every album. I've always believed(and maybe mistakenly so) that if another mat worked better, they would have been using it after all these years. It's kind of a quirky thing, but you don't fool too much with a classic--it's the way it is!! It seems as though a $5K front end ought to have more than a .25 mat, but who am I to judge. |
Hi, yes I too replaced it, after years of believing that nothing should be used instead of it, with the Extreme Phono Donut Mat. Never sticks to the record and TT sounds better! My Linn dealer thinks I have violated all Linn principles and may not service my TT anymore. If you stick (no pun intended) with the felt mat, then you have to raise the record you're taking off the platter a little bit, carefully peel off the felt mat with your other hand, and press it down on the platter while you tear the record the rest of the way off the felt mat. DO NOT allow the mat to fly off towards the stylus--for obvious reasons. Go to Extremephono.com and read about their replacements for the felt mat. |
I have the same problem with a rega p-25 and a ringmat 330, even after using it with a freshly vacumed record.Fixed it with a LITTLE scotch tape as Sidssp has recomended. The static is still there unfortuneatly I guess its not a perfect world. David |
Have you tried double-sided scotch tapes? |
I've had the same problem, Bu then I replaced the felt with the Extreme Phono Donut mat. Problem solved, and much better sound. |
I've got a funny story...Years ago a friend of mine went to put an LP on his Linn and found the felt mat had gone missing. It seems he had not noticed that it was stuck to the last record that he played a few days earlier. He couldn't recall what he had played and it took him over an hour to find it. |
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I can't imagine that static build-up is a good thing on a vinyl rig. I would suggest looking for another platter mat and working on leveling out the humidity level in your listening room. Sean
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Have a similar problem with a VPI TT, which static-clings the mat to the record after playing. This VPI has a thin (~1/16") black rubber washer approx 1" diameter, with the center hole just smaller than the spindle for a friction fit. Actually the washer is used along with the threaded record clamp. When the record is placed on the spindle it floats slightly at center, but then the clamp presses it down flat. Without the washer the record would be panned in the center. The washer also holds the mat in place, & although this thin mat still clings to the record when lifting away, at least it's held in the center by the washer. |
