Protection for your records (Part 2)

Christmas shopping is complete and all presents are now wrapped so I thought I'd spend the spare time writing posts I've been meaning to for a while now.

Firstly a quick update on this earlier 'Anti Static Turntable Mat' article.

Now, I don't consciously spend time looking for these, they are merely a by-product of digging for vinyl but whenever they do pop up I have to buy 'em. In fact having said that, two of them were actually given to me when I found them tucked away in boxes of records at bootsales. Once the sellers realised what they were they were happy to give them away free of charge!

These two turned up sometime over the last year and I've finally got round to scanning them. First up is Warwick's (a U.K. budget Record label) version and below is an unbranded mat produced by a company based in Crawley called 'Trace House Ltd'. Maybe not as striking as the two in my original post but still nice vintage record paraphernalia all the same. There's no date on the Warwick mat but the unbranded one is dated 1976.



Check back tomorrow for some interesting 'private press' childrens school music...

Protectection for your records

I don't only collect vinyl. I collect all sorts of sh*t that relates to it as well. Like this Scotch 'Dustguard' turntable mat. I bought this for the artwork. The actual mat is about a quarter of an inch thick and completely useless, but take a look at that sleeve. Beautiful.

So what is the Scotch 'Dustguard' and how does it work? Well, it is scientifically designed for record protection, developed at 3M Technical Laboratories. The product is a result of years of experience by 3M in producing static control products for Industry. It is a unique formulation of conductive polyethylene, and by contacting the surface of a normally charged record the mat reduces the external electrostatic field, resulting in negligible dust attraction. Simple as that. What's more, it also includes an extra feature. A built in STROBOSCOPE which makes sure your turntable is running at the correct speed. Amazing!

Produced in 1977 and at a cost of £1.99. Bargain.


Dustguard 'Turntable Mat' (1977 Scotch U.K. 12")




UPDATE!!! Just picked up W.H.Smith's version of the Dustguard, complete with rip-off graphics (it also includes the amazing 'Stroboscope')! Interestingly, Smith's version was priced up at £2.50 which is 51 pence more expensive than the original Scotch product.