Words and photos by Rafe Arnott. Photo above: The Ramar Record Brush.
The more orbits around our sun one travels, the more one comes to appreciate those objects made by hand with a commitment to quality, and a singularity of purpose in their design and execution. I’m speaking of rangefinder cameras, point-to-point wired valve amplifiers, idler turntables, small-batch whisky, bespoke road bikes… record brushes. I never thought I’d be including a record brush on a list of objet d’art, but after seeing one online, requesting a review sample, and using one, I’d be remiss to not include it. The Ramar Record Brush, designed and handcrafted by Rangel Vasev in Berlin, Germany is another fine example of what happens when an artisan focuses on making the best.
Having used at least a dozen different record brushes over the years, and currently having four under my roof, I thought I’d do a comparison since I was a little taken aback at how much better the Ramar “Red” brush was than anything else I had on hand, or could recall using (“Red” due to the wood housing’s chosen finish). I clean all my LPs with a vacuum-equipped record cleaning machine (RCM) made by Okki Nokki. It cleans albums without fuss and leaves nothing to be desired in this activity. As such, one would like to think a record brush supercilious, but dust, pollen and fine airborne particles (along with hair and other unknown crud) are just as enamoured with clean records as glass tabletops, so they still need to be cleaned before playing to avoid further noise being contributed to the act of a stylus being dragged through a groove. Also, over time, crud can gum up your cartridge and affect fidelity to the recorded event.
Many turntables have spun, and many cartridges have traced the arc of my record collection, but currently a Technics SL1210GR and a pair of Sl1200MK7 are in service, all of which are equipped with an LED track light for cueing-up the proper point on the groove regardless of ambient lighting conditions. These LEDs are mercilessly revealing, and make LPs you thought were pristine look like a man with beard dandruff was using them for a napkin. Even after a few sweeps with the my current stable of record brushes, there’s always particles left behind. Using the Ramar – even with one pass – reveals an LP surface as contaminant-free as just coming off the RCM. And while a completely pristine record surface is not a guarantee of silent running (vagaries of pressing quality, dubious care by previous owners of used LPs, groove wear from playback with improperly set up cartridges, worn stylus, etc.), it will help minimize many of the tangibles inherent with mechanical-acoustic playback.
Photo above: The Ramar not only effortlessly rids an LP of surface debris, hair or dust in one pass (not multiple ones), it is also able to effectively trap it all within the matrix of its multiple rows of goat’s hair bristles and coarse carbon-fibre ones.
Establishing a reasonable expectation of basic maintenance for the care and use of a record collection is the predication for even owning a record brush… unless you’re of the audiophile sect who sees these brushes as “damaging,” or causing “micro-abrasions,” but I digress. A lot of people won’t be bothered with brushes, and are happy to play LPs or 7-inch 45s as is. They simply drop the needle and enjoy every moment of the music. But there will also be those who value the music contained on these shiny black discs in a different way, and want to liberate the sonic art from impediment which a compromised playing surface could present. So, without seeming overly obsessive about the tea ceremony of vinyl playback, let’s continue with a comparison of these four record brushes.
"I love music and enjoy the way you listen to music on records. For me it's like a ceremony."
–Rangel Vasev
The record brush I’ve owned the longest, gifted to me by an old friend several years ago, is the Gemini antistatic carbon fibre brush made by Deema of West Germany. They are considered the “original” carbon flip-style brush which all other brands based their designs on. I’m sure they can still be found on eBay, or garage sales, Craigslist, etc. I’ve no idea what they’d go for… $5~$20 USD? There’s not much to this brush, just a plastic housing and flip-handle. I’ve not had much (or any) issues with static since I moved away from Rega and Linn and their associated wool platter mats, so in the context of recent memory, I can’t comment on its antistatic properties ( I used a Zerostat 3 gun with it when I using wool mats), but the semi-fine carbon fibre bristles do what one expects of removing most surface debris with a two or three rotation sweep.
Photo above: The Gemini antistatic carbon fibre brush made by Deema of West Germany.
The record brush I bought to see if it would improve on the Gemini was the Hunt E.D.A. Mark 6 Brush. This uses a soft, nap velvet/felt brush surface sandwiched between outer rows of carbon fibre bristles with a combination metal/plastic housing. An online search reveals they can be had for anywhere from $30~$40 USD. This design is touted as being able to “clean LPs twice with one pass.” Which I guess it does via the two surfaces, and in everyday use I found it to be slightly better than the Gemini, with some finer contaminants getting trapped by the velvet nap. I’d sometimes use one and then the other to great effect if an album proved particularly plagued with surface particles/dust.
Photo below: The Hunt E.D.A. Mark 6 Brush.
A friend recently lent me the original ‘70s Discwasher record brush with D4 cleaning fluid. The fluid had long since dried out, but the velvet/felt nap was perfect and the large hollow wooden housing is very comfortable in the hand. These original Discwasher brushes can be found online (eBay, Etsy) for anywhere from $40~$100 USD depending on their condition as they have developed a bit of a cult following. The Discwasher looks to have the largest surface area for cleaning, but because its brush is rounded, the others are able to make better effective contact with the LP. That said, the Discwasher compares well for effectiveness in clearing a record of any hair, floaties or dust that might be presented when playing the vinyls. But again, it’s a two or three pass proposition.
Photos below: The original '70s Discwasher brush has earned somewhat of a cult following, which has driven prices up on auction sites.
If you’ve read this far, you either identify as someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder, or you think I have it, and you sympathize with my struggle. Be that as it may, the Ramar record brush clearly bettered all of these brushes in daily use. The Ramar not only effortlessly rids an LP of surface debris, hair or dust in one pass (not multiple ones), it is also able to effectively trap it all within the matrix of its multiple rows of goat’s hair bristles and coarse carbon-fibre ones. This is where all the other designs fail, as they consistently leave behind particles at the end of the sweep. This then requires you to clean the brush and do another pass to get what was left behind the first time. The bespoke, artisanal nature of the Ramar’s hidden, magnetically-attached alloy and wood housing, and the level of detail paid to its fit and finish is on a level comparable to handmade wooden turntable plinths, tonearms and cartridge bodies I’ve spent time with.
Rangel Vasev, the man behind designing, engineering and building each Ramar brush, also included his “Angus” stylus brush which elevates stylus cleaning abilities to another realm of competence. The Ramar “Red” (or “Joni” or “Tina” depending on your chosen finish) retails for roughly $325 USD (and $55 USD for the “Angus”). A not inconsiderable sum, but when lensed through the prism of how the brush was designed, researched, developed and how each is individually built by Vasev, this price is exceedingly reasonable. I caught up with Vasev via email at his home in Berlin to talk about how the Ramar came about, and the challenges he encountered in turning his ideas into reality.
Rangel Vasev Q&A
Resistor Mag: You mention on your website that it was a fascination with, and admiration for, vintage Japanese hi-fi gear which was part of the nucleus for the idea of the Ramar brush. Can you explain that further?
Rangel Vasev: “I love vintage hi-fi gear. Especially the old Japanese equipment. It all started with my Sansui system from the ‘70s. These look (at least for me) not only incredibly good, but play superbly well, and what is very important for me, feel very well. By that I mean the materials used – lots of wood, aluminum, stainless steel; the haptic of the buttons and knobs – it just makes me want to press the buttons and move the switches. And at some point I wanted to buy a record brush and just enjoy my record collection. But there was the problem, I just couldn't find anything that looked good and worked well. It was like a flash of inspiration. I thought to myself "Wow, you can spend $500,000 on a record player, but have to settle for a cheap piece of plastic for record maintenance.” There was just nothing. Then I thought it would be cool if I made my own record brush and started researching what brushes were already out there, what their pros and cons were, etc. Pretty quickly I found that the vinyl community is very divided when it comes to the type of fibres used for the brushes: carbon fibre or goat hair."
Rangel Vasev: "Some say that brushes with carbon are the best, others swear by brushes with natural fibres – especially goat hair. And so I came up with the idea of combining the best properties of the two, to achieve the best cleaning effect. I wanted to build the brush so that it doesn't look like a brush, so that you don't immediately see – “Aha, that's a brush!” But create an object that makes you wonder, what it might be, what is inside. So I have visited several hi-fi stores and fairs, where almost all dealers and exhibitors tried to hide the record brush quickly after cleaning the record. Nobody wanted to show or even leave this cheap plastic piece next to the record player. I did not want my brush to be hidden. I wanted to create a brush that would be proudly displayed and always lie next to the player. After hours of listening to records and staring at my equipment, I came up with the idea for the design. Square and simple. Your imagination should try to figure out what is hiding in this box. Is it even a box?”
Photo below: The Audio Technica VM760SLC moving-magnet cartridge, like all stylus needles, benefits greatly from a contaminant-free groove to track.
Resistor Mag: How many iterations, or prototypes did you go through before settling on the basic design of the wood surround and magnetic cover? There must have been a lot of experimentation with carbon fibre bristles, goat hair and other materials.
Rangel Vasev: “For me it was that the functionality of the brush comes first. Then I had to design it so that it also looks excellent. This applies to all individual parts of the brush except for the basic shape. The idea of the square wooden block was clear from the beginning. That was the goal I wanted to achieve. Then it was a matter of implementation. The development up to the production of the first brushes took about two years. I can't say how many prototypes I built. But it was a lot, I have a shelf full of the parts. I had to learn a lot about carbon fibre, about goat hair, about aluminum and how to use the materials. A lot of ideas just turned out to be ridiculous. It was just wrong to use the materials that way. And I had to learn all that the hard way. I had a lot of experience with wood and woodworking, but zero idea about brush making. That’s all changed.”
Resistor Mag: You also produce an excellent stylus cleaning brush – the "Angus" – how much research and development was involved in this venture? What materials did you settle on for it?
Rangel Vasev: “Also the idea to develop a stylus brush was established from the beginning. It was important to me to design the two brushes as one unit. I know how annoying it is when you just can't find the small brush. With our brush you always know where the stylus brush is. Here, too, I had countless prototypes made. We worked with a small company from Berlin specializing in 3D printing. I was there so often that at some point we seriously considered moving in the same building. The idea with the magnetic holder came at some point when I realized that everything else was too complicated to implement. In the end, it not only has to work, but you also have to be able to produce it. When you look at the brushes now and see how they both work together, it all looks very simple. But I can say it cost me a lot of sleepless nights to figure out.”
Photo below: Clean grooves are happy grooves.
Resistor Mag: Designing and manufacturing products of a bespoke nature is not only a labour-intensive, technically challenging and inherently risky business proposition, but in my experience, it must come from the heart to be truly successful. Is the Ramar a labour of love inspired by music and high fidelity?
Rangel Vasev: “Music has always had a special place in my life. As a teenager I dreamed of becoming a rock star and played in a rock band. At some point I realized that, unfortunately, I am not such a good musician, and I gave up this dream. I played guitar and bass only at home and with friends. During my studies and working life I had even less time to make music, but I never stopped listening to, and enjoying music. Unfortunately, I never had a big record collection, but I picked up a new record every now and then. At some point the time came to fulfill my dream and buy a vintage record player and amplifier. Then I also wanted to get a record brush... that's how the idea for Ramar came about. I love music and enjoy the way you listen to music on records. For me it's like a ceremony. On the one hand, I enjoy relaxing from everyday life, on the other hand the music playback, as well as the pleasure of looking at the beautiful equipment is enormously important to me. With Ramar I try to implement my philosophy of how music should be listened to. Right now I am working on the development of some new products. My goal is to create a brand that stands for innovation, quality and aesthetics. I want to design and manufacture high fidelity accessories with clean lines and attention to detail that will contribute further to the enjoyment of records.”
Photo below: The new "Tara" record brush is wrapped in gold. Says Vasev, "Then, by chance, I came across Christo's idea of wrapping objects. He covered the Reichstag building here in Berlin years ago... I decided to wrap a brush."
Resistor Mag: You just launched two new, metal-skinned brushes, the “Christo” and the “Tara.” Can you describe the idea behind them, and the difference of these designs from the “Red” (which I have for review), and your other wood-bodied models?
Rangel Vasev: “I have the great fortune to be able to pursue my passion professionally. In my studio I listen to records almost constantly. One of my favourite artists is Gregory Porter, and my favourite song is "Everything you touch is Gold.” After listening to his album 10,000 times I thought that what we touch with our brushes – our records and in the broadest sense the music on them – is as valuable to us as gold. This thought moved me to think, how can I implement this idea of the value of music and records? Then, by chance, I came across Christo's idea of wrapping objects. He covered the Reichstag building here in Berlin years ago. He started wrapping objects in the ‘50s. The two ideas (although very different) somehow came together and I decided to wrap a brush. Tara (the "golden" one) also implements our love and passion for music and records. I don't want to compare myself to artists like Gregory Porter or Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Although the idea behind their art is very different from my idea with the brushes, their art has inspired me. That's all. The brushes differ only in appearance. They are the same brushes, only the new "Tara" and "Christo" are wrapped. The functionality and effectiveness is equally good.”
Order your Ramar Record Brush or Stylus Brush HERE.
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