LP 12 felt mat care

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Defender
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LP 12 felt mat care

Post by Defender »

just want to share a story to keep you away from doing the same:

I just got a new Linn LP 12 felt mat. It was delivered in a white paper/cardbox packaging.
Unfortunately during transport or during storage it was stored like an LP meaning not flat.
What happened was wrinkles on one side (gravitation made the felt sink down in the box).

So I was putting it on the table tried to move the wrinkles out as good as possible and thought it would settle with a continuous load of a record. It got better but still after 2 weeks the wrinkles are still there.
So today I thought lets give it a gentle ironing-wool setting covered with a cotton towel between the felt mat and the iron.

Outcome:
wrinkles away - hurra 😁
but now rollercoaster record spin - I must have changed the thickness partly even I was ironing the complete mat

So as I screwed up the mat anyway I tried to fix it with just steaming it without touching it - now the mat changed diameter but the records still run like a rollercoaster

Learning: dont iron it, dont steam it
Wait until wrinkles fade away naturally even if it takes a year.
beck
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Re: LP 12 felt mat care

Post by beck »

I am sorry to read about your loss Defender.

What does not kill you makes you stronger or should I say wiser! :-)
Playing cd’s…………
Defender
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Re: LP 12 felt mat care

Post by Defender »

thank you for your empathy

maybe I have to play that mat with some records which create the static effect ... maybe it gets thicker again

however dont worry - others have lost more in buying a new belt which sounded worst compared to the old one.
I have gained much more just because of this forum - just recently with torquing my arm screw
tokenbrit
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Re: LP 12 felt mat care

Post by tokenbrit »

Defender wrote: 2020-02-20 23:03 .. maybe I have to play that mat with some records which create the static effect ... maybe it gets thicker again...
Maybe tumble dry the mat for a short while without a dryer sheet to try making it thicker ... effectively a platter mat('r) fluffer? Just kidding... sort of ;-)

Live and learn. Thanks for sharing.
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ThomasOK
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Re: LP 12 felt mat care

Post by ThomasOK »

Don't feel too bad. I ironed a Linn felt mat once, it shrunk substantially. Can't win them all.
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Defender
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Re: LP 12 felt mat care

Post by Defender »

sometime you lose most times you win

I had a new Linn belt coming with the used Akurate Radikal which I bought. As this belt was more rough than the one I am currently using (I couldn’t even visually figure out which is the rough and which is the smooth side fir the old belt) it was clear to me this belt was one of the newer not so musical ones.
So I bought a new one it arrived but looked the same like the one which came with the Radikal. 😳

I measured all but they all have the same thickness (1mm) so it seems I have now 2 new belts of the most musical type. 😀
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ThomasOK
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Re: LP 12 felt mat care

Post by ThomasOK »

Might as well put it in a musical context:

"Some days the bear will eat you
Some days you'll eat the bear"
- "Eating the Bear" Joan Armatrading

"Sometimes you're the windshield
Sometimes you're the bug
Sometimes it all comes together baby
Sometimes you're a fool in love
Sometimes you're the Louisville slugger
Sometimes you're the ball
Sometimes it all comes together baby
Sometimes you're going lose it all"
- "The Bug" Dire Straits
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Re: LP 12 felt mat care

Post by Defender »

that made my day - I didn’t know that I even have that song on CD
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Tony Tune-age
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Re: LP 12 felt mat care

Post by Tony Tune-age »

How often do people replace their felt mat? I have replaced mine once, but not sure if or when to change it again.

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FairPlayMotty
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Re: LP 12 felt mat care

Post by FairPlayMotty »

No idea, I never changed mine.

I own an original sorbothane platter matter from the 80s. Seems too heavy to use.

Defender - the supplier should have given you a replacement. The original fault seems to have been inadequate packaging.
Everything is a remix: Copy, Transform, Combine.
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Re: LP 12 felt mat care

Post by FairPlayMotty »

Defender wrote: 2020-02-22 20:17 that made my day - I didn’t know that I even have that song on CD
Felt and other mats available on Aliexpress from £1. May be worth a look.
Everything is a remix: Copy, Transform, Combine.
Charlie1
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Re: LP 12 felt mat care

Post by Charlie1 »

I change mine if they start to look scruffy or fluffy.
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ThomasOK
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Re: LP 12 felt mat care

Post by ThomasOK »

No need to change them very often. If you don't have the newest, thinner type it is worth changing as it is more musical than the older, thicker mat. But that has been out a long time, probably at least ten years, so many people already have it. Otherwise if your mat has shrunk over time to no longer fill the platter surface or has become an oval I'd go ahead and replace it.
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Tony Tune-age
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Re: LP 12 felt mat care

Post by Tony Tune-age »

ThomasOK wrote: 2020-08-22 15:10 No need to change them very often. If you don't have the newest, thinner type it is worth changing as it is more musical than the older, thicker mat. But that has been out a long time, probably at least ten years, so many people already have it. Otherwise if your mat has shrunk over time to no longer fill the platter surface or has become an oval I'd go ahead and replace it.
That's what I thought Thomas, go ahead and order a new felt mat for me when time permits. And if possible, could you mark the better sounding side? I did purchase a new felt mat awhile back , but it was already smaller than the platter for some reason.

Cheers
Tony Tune-age
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Re: LP 12 felt mat care

Post by Freddy »

I use one of these to keep them clean from dust.

https://www.ikea.com/se/sv/p/baestis-kl ... lsrc=aw.ds
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Re: LP 12 felt mat care

Post by Efraim roots »

Freddy wrote: 2020-10-21 08:37 I use one of these to keep them clean from dust.

https://www.ikea.com/se/sv/p/baestis-kl ... lsrc=aw.ds
haha, you are a genius.. thanks, I'll try it :)
the players of instruments shall be there..
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Re: LP 12 felt mat care

Post by maffe »

I just put a record (crappy one) on and leave it there as dust cover for the felt mat. Keeps the felt mat clean, just remember to put the dusty side up every time, it do collect pretty much dust!
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Re: LP 12 felt mat care

Post by tokenbrit »

Maybe a crappy copy of this? https://www.discogs.com/Dusty-Springfie ... se/2036934 ;)

(not saying it's a crappy record :)
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Re: LP 12 felt mat care

Post by maffe »

👴🏻
🥁
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Tony Tune-age
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Re: LP 12 felt mat care

Post by Tony Tune-age »

Freddy wrote: 2020-10-21 08:37 I use one of these to keep them clean from dust.

https://www.ikea.com/se/sv/p/baestis-kl ... lsrc=aw.ds
That seems like a good way to remove dust from the felt mat. And it's never a good idea to iron, or wash and dry the felt mat either!

Cheers
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Re: LP 12 felt mat care

Post by Freddy »

Yes it works pretty good I think. The only worries I have about it is that if you have a fresh tape that is super sticky it may pick some felt material from the mat. You can roll it on your swetter a couple of times just to remove some stickiness.
Tony Tune-age wrote: 2021-02-28 23:35
Freddy wrote: 2020-10-21 08:37 I use one of these to keep them clean from dust.

https://www.ikea.com/se/sv/p/baestis-kl ... lsrc=aw.ds
That seems like a good way to remove dust from the felt mat. And it's never a good idea to iron, or wash and dry the felt mat either!

Cheers
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Tony Tune-age
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Re: LP 12 felt mat care

Post by Tony Tune-age »

Good point Freddy, thanks for the advice!

Cheers!
Freddy wrote: 2021-03-23 15:14 Yes it works pretty good I think. The only worries I have about it is that if you have a fresh tape that is super sticky it may pick some felt material from the mat. You can roll it on your swetter a couple of times just to remove some stickiness.
Tony Tune-age wrote: 2021-02-28 23:35
Freddy wrote: 2020-10-21 08:37 I use one of these to keep them clean from dust.

https://www.ikea.com/se/sv/p/baestis-kl ... lsrc=aw.ds
That seems like a good way to remove dust from the felt mat. And it's never a good idea to iron, or wash and dry the felt mat either!

Cheers
Tony Tune-age
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Re: LP 12 felt mat care

Post by Tony Tune-age »

I recently purchased a new Linn felt mat, because my previous felt mat was smaller than the platter (see pictures below). And in total, this is my third Linn felt mat. Fortunately, each new mat has sounded better than the previous felt mat.

Previous felt mat, smaller than the platter:
Image

New felt mat, fits the platter much better:
Image

Tony Tune-age wrote: 2020-08-22 16:47
ThomasOK wrote: 2020-08-22 15:10 No need to change them very often. If you don't have the newest, thinner type it is worth changing as it is more musical than the older, thicker mat. But that has been out a long time, probably at least ten years, so many people already have it. Otherwise if your mat has shrunk over time to no longer fill the platter surface or has become an oval I'd go ahead and replace it.
That's what I thought Thomas, go ahead and order a new felt mat for me when time permits. And if possible, could you mark the better sounding side? I did purchase a new felt mat awhile back , but it was already smaller than the platter for some reason.

Cheers
Tony Tune-age
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Re: LP 12 felt mat care

Post by springwood64 »

You can download vibration monitor apps to your phone, and I was using one while experimenting with different tweaks on my Quadraspire rack. I was interested in seeing the impact of different tweaks on the degree and nature of vibration transmitted by shelving.

Tunedem tests resulted in me ditching all of the tweaks, despite the differences I saw in the vibration monitoring.

However, it was interesting to see the impact of the felt mat on vibrations recorded by the phone: they drop down to near zero.

Remove the felt mat and record directly on the turntable (while playing digital music at high volume), and the phone records significant vibration transmitted by the platter. On the mat it's negligable.

I guess it's not surprising, but it is also quite cool to see the difference on the phone!
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Tony Tune-age
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Re: LP 12 felt mat care

Post by Tony Tune-age »

springwood64 wrote: 2022-02-01 08:26 You can download vibration monitor apps to your phone, and I was using one while experimenting with different tweaks on my Quadraspire rack. I was interested in seeing the impact of different tweaks on the degree and nature of vibration transmitted by shelving.

Tunedem tests resulted in me ditching all of the tweaks, despite the differences I saw in the vibration monitoring.

However, it was interesting to see the impact of the felt mat on vibrations recorded by the phone: they drop down to near zero.

Remove the felt mat and record directly on the turntable (while playing digital music at high volume), and the phone records significant vibration transmitted by the platter. On the mat it's negligable.

I guess it's not surprising, but it is also quite cool to see the difference on the phone!
That is quite cool to see the difference on your cell phone. The vibration monitor app could be a handy tool to have around for some people.

Cheers
Tony Tune-age
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