Save the Life of Your Stylus

Lets remember we are working at a micro level even under ideal conditions. lets say with a new and clean record, the stylus tip will collect some airborne foreign matter. if this deposit is allowed to build up and harden on the stylus, the high polish of the stylus will eventually be replaced by a rough surface which will in turn contribute to an increase in surface noise and distortion. Therefore we have to keep not only the record clean but the stylus as well. In practice the condition of the stylus is an excellent inductor of the condition of the record.

Most cartridge manufacturers have provided little or no information regarding the proper methods of stylus cleaning. However, with the advent of ultra-lightweight tracking cartridge and increasing use of the elliptical stylus, this most important consideration is that the stylus must never be allowed to build up and accumulation of "goo" and pollution so that a coating is formed around the surface, riding in the grooves of the record. Therefore, the stylus should be inspected and cleaned after each playing session and immediately after playing any record which may have received applications of anti-static fluids.

If this procedure is used, no deposit will build up or harden and the stylus will remain perfectly clean to the end of its useful life. There are various types of stylus cleaning brushes and fluids available, some of which are more effective and useful than others. Testing the effectiveness of a cleaning tool is a simple matter of viewing the stylus under a microscope of X10 magnification. The choice of cleaning fluid must be carefully checked, as some pickup cartridges can be damaged by the chemical reaction. in general frequent dry cleaning by the use of a brush with a short bristles is the safest course to follow.

When cleaning the stylus, the pickup cartridge is self securely and the brush or pad is stroked across the stylus in a forward motion. in the case of an elliptical stylus, the cleaner should be stroked across the stylus in a 45 degree angel, from right to left, and left to right.

Your phonograph record or stylus or "needle" does not have a sharp point but rather it is a cone with a smooth ball shaped tip. When playing records the needle vibrates in the grooves at an astonishing rate to produce dynamic forces, and only a first-class needle can give first-class reproductions. The vibration which start sound reproductions also start wear of the needle, as it travels through miles and miles of grooves. The damage to a needle, is only visible under a microscope, and it is frequently difficult to note the deterioration audible. Check your needle often, and keep track of its playing time. Avoid damage to your valuable vinyl records.

A diamond needle will play approximately 1000 hours.

Vinyl Record Care and Maintenance
Cleanliness is absolutely mandatory if the optimum sound capability of the vinyl record is to be realized. A clean record will not only sound better, but last longer. It has long been proven that repeated playing of dirty phonograph records can cause permanent damage to the vinyl. Preservation of your valuable or irreplaceable records requires careful cleaning. Not to mention that stylus wear is greatly accelerated by playing dirty records, and with high price of cartridges these days, playing dirty records can lead to significant and unneeded expense.

Visit These Squidoo Lens For More Information on
Vinyl Record Care and Maintenance
The Vinyl Record

Vinyl Record Care and Maintenance
Cleanliness is absolutely mandatory to achieve the best sound quality of your vinyl records. A clean vinyl record will not only sound better, but last longer. It has long been proven that the playing of dirty records will result in a rapid deterioration of quality and degradation of the original recorded sound, or simply can cause permanent damage to your vinyl records.
Read More

Grading Your Vinyl Records
The following is the grading system first developed by Goldmine Records. Virtually all methods currently in use for the grading of records, is based in some way, shape, or form, on this system. Rather than offer some variation of the original system first developed by Goldmine, Fox Music Company will display the Goldmine record grading method in it's entirety.
Read More

Vinyl Records.., What Are Vinyl Records..??
Vinyl records were introduced and marketed as the unbreakable record, unlike its shellac counterpart of days gone by, that would break at the drop of a hat and becomes more brittle over time.
Read More

David Stone Martin and the Art of Jazz
In the world of jazz there is one artist collected the world over who has never played an instrument not even a note of music but has left his mark on the jazz culture. Illustrator David Stone Martin was one of the most prolific and influential graphic designers of the postwar era, with his signature hand sketched graphics with two or three primary colors, perfectly capturing the energy and spontaneity of the jazz idiom.
Read More


What Type of Records Do You Collect??
Vinyl Record Collectors come in as many shapes as sizes and generations as the vinyl records they collect. Why do people collect records??
Read More


What Is A Phonograph Record??
A phonograph record is an analog sound medium that consists of a flat disc record with an inscribed modulated spiral groove usually starting near the outside edge (lead-in) and ending near the center of the record (lead-out).The audio content of the record is contained within the spiral groove which extends for more than a half mile. The groove itself is actually narrower than the thickness of a human hair yet
Read More

Lenny Bruce the Charlie Parker of Comedy
When once asked to describe jazz, trumpet legend Miles Davis sarcastically but saliently replied, "You can sweat it down to four words: Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker." Now trying to apply that same old-school, new-school trailblazer to comedy is somewhat more a problem.
Read More

Static Electricity and Your Vinyl Records
Because static electricity plays such a major role in the problem of vinyl record cleaning and that we have repeatedly referred to the malice effects of static electricity, we feel an explanation of this phenomenon is in order.
Read More

Audio Rarities
Fox Music is a Indie Record Store Located in the Heart of Watertown Wisconsin in the Downtown Historic District on the corner of First and Main Street. Our online location Fox Music Company - webpages where you can find and search by Artist, Album or Song - Read Reviews, Bios or Listen to Audio Clips of new release and back catalog tiles and a whole lot more......
Read More

Don't Forget To Take The Fox Music Company
Indie Record Store Picture Tour
Hosted on flickr (yahoo images)...and of coarse you must stop and visit with
Tyson and Boogie
the Record Store Mascots or... is it "Mas-Cats"