How do you clean your needle Turntable
JP33
Posts: 1,348
I do not have a clue......please respond.......thank you.....Joshua
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Re: how do you know if you need a new needle for turntable?
by Longest Road » 06 Dec 2011 10:53
OK, I own a 50,000+ record shop, so I may have this one kinda right. It really depends if you take care of your stylus/needle/cartridge, is it a smoke free house (yes, it does matter), speed (again, it matters, are you spinning your prized 1993 X-mas single at 45 on repeat all day?" and if you clean your vinyl with an anti-static like a "Audioquest" anti-static record cleaner PRIOR to spinning the black circle. Is it a bent or straight arm belt drive or a POS Crosley from Target (Sorry to all the Crosley owners, although they make good home record cleaners . I guess if you don't want to get all technical or want a complicated answer (PM me for the complicated answer, with make, model, drive system, etc...)look at the needle. First off, does it have a dust bunny the size of a grape on it (don't laugh, I have had people bring in tables to my shop and say "It just does not sound right!". Well, it could be that HUGE ball of S&%T on your needle. SO Anti-static will save some life. I generally run a Toshiba Belt Drive Fully Auto bent arm SR-F451 in the shop all day. I clean my needle EVERY COUPLE OF HOURS, or I would go bankrupt on needles, and the wife (warden) will NOT be living in an alley. This is not hard, just get a very small brush, (the one that comes in the "Discwasher" record cleaning system is good, and also a cheap way to clean your vinyl. When cleaning the needle, first GENTLY knock off the dust ball, then GENTLY, without disturbing the needle angle, brush the needle IN THE DIRECTION THE RECORD SPINS, or right to left. If you want a good understanding of "Gentle", turn on the turntable first. If it sounds like you are paving a asphalt road when you brush the needle, lay off a bit. This solves about half of all "High Frequency Loss" problems. If its diamond, every 750 hours is OK. Take a look at Needle Doctor's web site, they also will help. Also, and this is obvious, if the needle is "Crushed" or angled too far into the cartridge, it's toast. DON"T bend it back out, total waste of time. Later Skater, I have customers buying Neil Diamond albums that I need to berate.
Longest Road
Posts: 162
Joined: 29 Aug 2001 05:22
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I don't smoke in my house but I am curious on why that would make a difference?
Cleaning the needle or stylus? Get the stylus cleaning kit, additionally, the carbon fiber cleaning brush is a cheaper alternative to that Audioquest referenced in the first reply.