Static Charge is produced when your LP is being rubbed by another insulator material.
There are many instances of this when we play or deal with a LP.
When we put the LP on the turntable platter there are two sources of building up static charge:
1. You rub the LP surface with a brush in a hope to remove the surface dust. No matter what kind of brush you use static charge immediately increases as you rub.
2. Unless you use an anti-static turntable mat or a metal top platter, static charge slowly build up with the rubbing of LP bottom with the platter surface. If you are using an anti-static mat, make sure your metal spindle or platter is properly grounded otherwise it will only make matter worse.
3. Static builds up when you clean your LP on the VPI cleaning machine. This problem we will discuss in our Wild Fi column at a later stage.
 |
To
resolve item (1) we suggest a non-contact way of
removing dust by using a hand blower.
This is the best way to blow away dust from the LP surface without incurring static charge. |
| Point (2) is more tricky as many nice sounding turntable mats are static prone. For those table which does not require mat the platter is usually made of insulator material. We have to live with this fact. However, there is one way of lessening static charge. |
| After playing the LP
but before you lift it from the platter you can grab
the metal spindle with your thumb and 2nd finger for
a while to let the static electricity discharge
through your body. You should notice a lesser amount of static attraction when you lift the LP from the table. |
 |
Please do not overlook static charge. Other than giving you the unpleasant pops while playing a LP it also attracts dust particles to form sticky glue on your LP surface.