I’ve been using the Dust Buster from Vinyl Passion for a few months now and thought it about time I wrote a few words about it. It’s £21 from Missing Link/Vinyl Passion.

What is it?

It’s a pot of sort of gel-like stuff that is designed to get the crap off your stylus quickly, easily and safely. I’ve used a few things in the past for stylus cleaning duties and whilst I ended up using the old favourite Magic Eraser – it works well enough –  I was never comfortable with it and lived in fear of the diamond or cantilever getting ripped off one day.

I’ve also used a brush and alcohol, but again I was always wary of the scare stories of the glue being compromised and the diamond dropping off at some point.

How’s It Work?

Dead simple. Remove the screw lid of the pot, lower your stylus into the middle of the pot, lift up your stylus and that’s it. The stylus doesn’t stick, the cantilever isn’t ripped off and all the gunk that was on your stylus is left on the Dust Buster’s gel. If it gets dirty you can wash it off apparently.

Does it Work?

Yep. I’ve not got a microscope to check, but looking at the stylus it looks as clean as I’ve seen it when I’ve used the other methods of cleaning.

Unlike the Magic Eraser there is no fear of ripping off the stylus cantilever and there appears to be nothing left behind other than a clean stylus with which to play your records.

Conclusion.

It’s quick, it’s safe and it’s cheap and as such represents a bit of a no brainer for me. The main consideration is that playing your records with a dirty stylus may well degrade them over time and so a clean stylus is essential. With the dust buster you can afford to clean your stylus as often as you want, between each side if you choose and this will extend the life of your valuable discs.

No scores but highly recommended.

Stuart Smith