Milty Zerostat Anti-Static Device

Given the chequered history of some early runs of this device, (one whose predecessor I originally bought last millennium) I've deliberately waited until mine had been in regular service for three months before granting it the above headline and that five star rating. I believe you'll find that a reading of my other reviews will confirm that my top "five star" rating is reserved EXCLUSIVELY for products that I sincerely feel 1) Represent value for money, 2) Wholly fulfil their intended purpose ...and... 3) Satisfy their target market... ...with NO reservations whatsoever. While it's certainly true to say that this is NOT a cheap item, I know of no other that performs this intended role as well as it does ...and I firmly believe that the key to its relative expense lies in item (3) above, ...the small size of that highly specialised target market. Sure, there's a whole galaxy of plastic-housed mass-produced items of far greater complexity out there ...and many of them do retail for far less... ...BUT... ...any one of those others can be guaranteed to sell in the millions, if not billions, whereas how many of us indeed exist who use items that can only have their successful operation restored by "squirting" a water-pistol like device at them to remove their destructive static build-up? Worldwide? Maybe some thousands. Possibly even tens of thousands. Not millions ...and CERTAINLY not billions. Although its operation is brilliantly intuitive, it's also true to say that the supplied instructions are a bit on the "sketchy" side, but for me, that's not enough to darken my fifth star. To my mind, just about their only key omission is any mention of aligning the "viewing hole" of the supplied "testing plug" so that the glow of its neon can actually be seen to confirm that the gun's "piezo-snapping" trigger mechanism is indeed delivering the static-zapping stream of ions required. For three full months now it has been, to the point where I feel it may be many years before I'll check again, ...probably only after (and if) I may feel that the response from one of my "targets" doesn't fully correspond with the superb performance that my new Milty ZeroStat gun has delivered so far.

I always wanted to get one of these. Finally broke down and got one! The cost was always my problem. When you are a teenager its like for about $100 do I buy more records? Or an expensive antistatic gun? My choice was always buy more music! So I kinda learned to live without it! I remember I had a cleaning record brush that would hold some fluid that dampened the brush from the inside so it would reduce static when sweeping off your records but sometimes you just needed something powerful like this Zerostat gun. But let me say it's worth every penny and I wish I had invested in one years ago! I recently got a new record that was so static charged that it wouldn't easily come out of the paper sleeve! It was horrible. But I used this gun with the record still in the sleeve first to loosen up some static and then once out of the sleeve I used it on both sides of the record twice and there is no static at all! What a difference! Wish I saved up my money for one of these when I was a kid. It's definitely worth having! The key is to very slowly squeeze the trigger handle in and then out again. I do both sides twice and it gets rid of all the static! I'm impressed on how well it worked! Very happy 😊 Buy one now! Don't wait till your 45 years old like I did! Lol 😂

The trigger worked for about 5 pulls, then went limp. Unfortunately I was a week late to return

You're going to feel so stupid every time you use this thing. As you SLOWLY (does anyone read directions?) pull the trigger back and then SLOWLY let it back out a few times while moving around the record and stylus you're going to remind yourself that you A) Look like a moron B) and Spent $80 on a toy gun that is using the same basic plastic molds and technology since the 70s. But heres the thing: It works. They sell these silly plastic things for $80 because the Milty really does remove a huge amount of static charge from your record and stylus. Especially if you dry clean before playing, the last thing you should be doing is hitting everything with 3 or 4 complete pulls. The pops and clicks are suddenly diminished greatly (depending on the source of course), clarity is enhanced a bit and your record isn't charged and collecting as much dust. I consider the Milty essential to use on every album after dry brushing. Expensive and loses a star because of the cheap plastic feel of the thing, but any vinylhead should be using one of these.

Although I have a recently upgraded home audio system that costs more than a late model used Lexus (yikes I hope my wife doesn't read this!) I don't consider myself an audio snob-I don't subscribe to the $100 (or 10x that) per meter cable klans who argue on the blogs out there. But I have re-discovered vinyl and absolutely have a BLAST listening to and in many cases ripping it in hi res WAV files into ProTools to use with my Oppo player, JRiver Media Center, and such. After doing a couple of hundred LP's into PT without it I could kick myself for not getting one sooner. When used right it takes a VERY noticeable amount of static pops and clicks out of the equation, and almost more importantly it drastically cuts down on dirt and gunk build up on my cartridge. I Spin Clean all my vinyl and keep them in Mobile Fidelity inner sleeves, yet junk can still find it's way to the stylus even if I only play them one time to rip them. Key phrase above is "when used right", as there is next to no instructions for this thing. Hell I might not even be doing it the best way, but what I do is hold the LP about a foot away from the gun, and while slowly squeezing the trigger all the way in (@ 30 seconds) I rotate the gun around the record working into the center label. I repeat the process from in to out on the release. If you do it too quick (and that seems to depend on how much static is on the LP) you'll hear a noticeable static click. For GP if that happens I start the process all over again, but at the rate I do it rarely does. I also zap my cartridge before each long listening/ripping session and as mentioned I very rarely get any dirt or gunk cling. (though of course I dap the stylus with a dry Magic Eraser after each vinyl side-a great tip I read on the cable klan blogs mentioned above... It's @ $100. For a casual vinyl fan that may seem like a lot, but if you are archiving as I am or just want the best possible experience with what you have, think of this as a hi tech Rain X for your sonic windshield. It's crazy, but I can't recommend it enough. 5-stars.

I was a skeptic at first. Oh boy was I wrong!! Long story short (I have a discerning ear to say the least), this gadget virtually erased the harshness and clicks and pops from old vinyls I've had since I was a teen and didn't really know how to handle this type of medium. Even after proper cleaning and handling my records did not sound right. I wasn't happy. This gadget made a big difference in my listening experience, night and day... even for foreign pressed releases. Try it for yourself. It worked wonders for me. If it doesn't, Amazon's return policy is generous.

I was dubious about this product. But I kept seeing people talk about this product and how fantastic it is at removing static from a record's surface. When you think about it, it makes sense too. You are dragging a diamond through a PVC groove. Think of it like a static buildup and discharge when you touch someone. You get that audible *SNAP* as the electricity arcs from one subject to another. Now think about that on the surface of a record. A record that has a lot of static charge to it is going to transfer that charge into the needle. It's also going to make a sound. Then that sound is sent through a preamp, then an amplifier and then played through speakers. You are going to hear that, no doubt about it. So using this gun on a record prior to playing is going to remove that static. Then the only thing you need to worry about when it comes to snap crackle pops is dust in the groove, and that can be brushed out. An anti-static gun is even going to help you clean your records. The static is strong enough to not only attract dust into the grooves but the static will HOLD it there. So take the record out, shoot both sides of it a few times and then place it on the platter and give it a once-over with a brush and you're golden. Is it expensive? Yes it is. But it's the most important tool you'll have in your record cleaning arsenal, for the price.

The positive results are in part a placebo effect. The other issue at hand is that while the gun may reduce static initially, the results are extremely short lived. So short that I would argue that after using the gun, the static (on a metering level) is down to zero, but take a couple of steps or place it on the turntable, and the static values skyrocket. So yes, in a lab or test setting, it does do what it is intended to accomplish, however, it's not practical since it does not keep the static away for very long. With that said, the placebo effect comes in for some. Because good money was spent and because it is a nifty looking gadget, I feel that some people may convince themselves that it actually works better than it does. I've tested dozens and dozens of anti-static products such as ionizing fans, pads, brushes, sprays, and lights. I've used all sorts of static meters and readers to test the results. Spent close to $1000 on products. I have indeed found the ultimate solution, but I can tell you, it is not this anti-static gun.