The classic record cleaning brush is something that I have been using since I got my turntable, used to clean off dust and supposedly also getting rid of static electricity. After building my record cleaning machine, dust on the records are a very small problem but because of that the static electricity is more noticeable. So I wanted to see if I could do anything to improve my listening experience by doing something about the static electricity.
The brush I have use conductive carbon fibre for the brush which in turn have a direct connection to the outer shell of the brush. I assume that the theory is that the static electricity can then be discharged through the one holding the brush. A technique that I have also read about is to slowly move the brush towards the center and let it touch the spindle to discharge it that way. Personally I did not feel that it did the job as well as I would have liked so I figured that I would try to connect it straight to ground and see how that would work out.
I covered a wire (1.5 mm² H07V-K 450/750V, quite the overkill) with blue paracord for a nicer look, mounted a cable lug in one end and a mains power plug with everything but the grounding plugs removed in the other end. Then I drilled a hole through the brush and connected the cable lug with the help of a small bolt and that is it.
So does this work better? I feel like it does, when listening to the records I have cleaned with my record cleaning machine, then put into new fresh sleeves, and using this brush before playing are very quiet. Regardless, this was a very inexpensive experiment using things that I already had lying around, if you already have an anti-static brush it should not be hard for you to try it out for almost no cost. Just be very careful when doing anything involving mains voltage!
