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Post new topic Turntable stylus help
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Author Topic:  Turntable stylus help
Jerome Hawkes


From:
Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA
Post  Posted 29 Nov 2012 3:41 pm    
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Ok guys, I am one of the younger generation without much turntable experience. I have aquired a large collection of steel related & classic country LPs but I think a few have fried my stylus from possibly being in poor shape - but then I hear the stylus is far harder than the vinyl records.
Anyway I have 3 good cartridges - grado, shure and denon - I'm getting some distortion now even on clean records. I switched to the denon i had tucked away as a spare and it plays fine so its not in the equipment.
Can you replace / send off for a new needle, using the existing cartridge? Or just as well buy a new one - but man, these ain't cheap and impossible to find.
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Michael Maddex


From:
Northern New Mexico, USA
Post  Posted 29 Nov 2012 5:04 pm    
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Radio Shack stores stock dozens of phonograph needles and replacement cartridges. Click here to check it out. HTH.
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Tim Marcus


From:
San Francisco, CA
Post  Posted 29 Nov 2012 5:54 pm    
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you may not have the tone arm balanced properly - too much weight on the needle will make records sound grainy and ruin it faster.

lots of into on how to do it online:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id7xXUs-cho
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Curtis Alford

 

From:
BastropTexas, USA 78602
Post  Posted 29 Nov 2012 6:38 pm     needle
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Try Needle Doctor they have a good stock.
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Dave Grafe


From:
Hudson River Valley NY
Post  Posted 29 Nov 2012 7:43 pm    
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Keep in mind that a bad needle can destroy "clean" records in a single pass, the distortion you are hearing may not be the needle at all....

Use the proper needle for the disc being played, as different needle profiles were used during different recording eras.
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Howard Steinberg


From:
St. Petersburg, Florida , USA
Post  Posted 1 Dec 2012 5:56 am    
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A company called "Jico" has styli for many different cartridges. In some cases it's cheaper to buy a new cartridge and stylus. The Shure M97xe is a decent all around cartridge and can be found for about $50. There are also some good deals to be found on Audio Technica cartridges. Proper mounting and alignment is critical. Easy to do on tables with a removable head shell and the proper mounting tool. It can also be your worst nightmare on tables that don't have a removable head shell Good luck!
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Jerry Overstreet


From:
Louisville Ky
Post  Posted 2 Dec 2012 9:13 am    
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http://www.parts-express.com/cat/turntable-phono-needles-styli/2074
These folks carry a wide selection of styli and also complete cartridges.
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Ray Thomas

 

From:
Goldsboro North Carolina
Post  Posted 3 Dec 2012 10:56 am     Records
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Jerome, your buddy from Goldsboro, I have did a rather large amount of these. The one who mentioned the weight is right, Balance the arm and then crank in just enough weight so the needle wont skip, I never used real expensive cartridges and needles, I know all will not agree but I don't think there's that much difference in the big dollar ones and the regular ones, also clean the records as best you can, I use windex, get ready for a jam in Kannapolis 2 March.
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