how do you know if you need a new needle for turntable?

Longest Road wrote:

DewieCox wrote:

cmalisze wrote:

I just bought 4 albums off of some guy on craigslist. I believe they are original pressings of The Beatles "Magical Mystery Tour" " Hey Jude" any way to tell? The jackets are not in the best of conditions. I also got "The Concert for Bangladesh". Any ideas on how to tell their date? Thanks

google the catalog number

If you google the catalogue number for, say Hey Jude, which is SW-385, it won't tell you what pressing it is, it will just tell you the album name. Especially with The Beatles/The Who/The Doors/The Stones, who all had multiple pressings of the same album, value can only be determined by the label AND the matrix AND the jacket AND, in some cases, the sleeve. Google will not give you an accurate answer. Hi-Fi

IC....Works well enough for some stuff.

Longest Road wrote:

So here is my Festivus story. The wife and I, both being Buddhist, celebrate Festivus, which is tomorrow. We also celebrate whatever holidays we like, so, really, every day is a holiday. But now to the Fd up part....

I had to move my shop to a "less savory" part of town because the economy sucks and I did not want to fire anyone, so we moved. And last night, I was the last to leave the shop, and was going to buy my wife a Festivus gift, when i was robbed, AT GUNPOINT!!!!! I told the guy he can have the money and all the rest, but he took everything, including the thing I cared about the most, my PJ20 Patagonia Refugio bag, which was a gift from my wife I'm not sure what this world has come to. That just plain rots.

I guess that will be our meditation for the day, on possessions....or lack there of.....and that Hi-Fidelity is still here to answer all your vinyl needs questions, but to take a gift from my wife is LOW....

Sorry, just had to vent, I am still a bit shocked, thats why I am a little late answering today's questions :( Sorry

:( :( So sorry to hear that. It's just stuff, and I'm glad you are ok, but it still sucks. Happy Festivus to you, hope you and your wife enjoy your day the best you can.xo

Ok Hi Fi since you asked

I'm looking to acquire a turntable probably in the next few months. Never had a turntable before and I don't have a lot of space or a souped up sound system, just the sound bar that came with my new TV which has OK sound.

I want something decent but not too pricey, and it also needs to be aesthetically pleasing. I came across this at CB2 (yes, I know, they sell furniture, but it's red!!): http://www.cb2.com/electronics/accessor ... ion=search

Question 1: Would this be suitable for my needs, or will I just get laughed off this forum for good if I get that?

Question 2: I haven't been paying much attention to this threads but I know you're bored so maybe you won't mind re-answering.. I thought I wanted something that can convert to MP3 but it seems not all of them do this. Is there a disadvantage to having a turntable that also converts to MP3?

Hope this keeps you entertained for awhile (and I really did mean to ask, I just have been low on funds so I'm probably not going to purchase for awhile but always good to do research).

Thank you

Longest Road wrote:

Suziemay wrote:

Ok Hi Fi since you asked

I'm looking to acquire a turntable probably in the next few months. Never had a turntable before and I don't have a lot of space or a souped up sound system, just the sound bar that came with my new TV which has OK sound.

I want something decent but not too pricey, and it also needs to be aesthetically pleasing. I came across this at CB2 (yes, I know, they sell furniture, but it's red!!): http://www.cb2.com/electronics/accessor ... ion=search

Question 1: Would this be suitable for my needs, or will I just get laughed off this forum for good if I get that?

Question 2: I haven't been paying much attention to this threads but I know you're bored so maybe you won't mind re-answering.. I thought I wanted something that can convert to MP3 but it seems not all of them do this. Is there a disadvantage to having a turntable that also converts to MP3?

Hope this keeps you entertained for awhile (and I really did mean to ask, I just have been low on funds so I'm probably not going to purchase for awhile but always good to do research).

Thank you

Dearest Mr. Green Jeans, You will need to pre-amp that deck, although it says it has one. Ultimately, you will need A.) Powered speakers, or B.) a pre-amp (I run a BBE FJB-200X) between the deck and any unpowered speakers to get any sound. I have a serialized set of Bose 301 Series 2 from the late 70s that I rehabbed and sound awesome. Only newer model decks will convert to MP3, but they are not as concerned with the sound output as much as they are the MP3 quality sound. Give me a day (Yes, I will be in the shop on Saturday, my wife is working) and I will compile you a list of 3 or 4 god decks at a good price (not from my shop) Cool? Off to the Festivus celebration. In the famous words of Mr. Chow, "You gonna F&%K on me??"
Have an awesome day. High-Fidelity OUT

Wow, awesome! I don't understand much of what you just said but I will look into it. No rush on the list since I probably won't be getting one anytime soon.

HAPPY FESTIVUS and have fun with the missus

Longest Road wrote:

Merry Christmas from High Fidelity!!!!! As some of you know from the vinyl help thread, I own a vinyl shop and am Buddhist, but in the spirit of keeping the wifey happy, Tiffanys it was. NOT THE GIRL SINGER, the store. And I scored a signed copy of Mumford and Sons Sigh No More, obviously on vinyl. We saw them at a club show in Philly. Two of them had come into my Vinyl shop (not in Philly) and we hit it off. COOL DUDES. The next morning, 2 front row tickets to the Philly show were under the shops door, with a hand written note and backstage passes, Well, I bought the vinyl at the show, and we went backstage after the show, and me not wanting to bother, I kept my distance and just kinda hung out. Well the wifey disappeared for a bit, which is odd, because SHE IS NOT BRAVE. She came back smiling, so I could only assume she was being sneaky, but I had no idea. Anywho, Marcus and Winston saw me a bit later, and we had a hell of as time of it. Enough said. Kindest Regards and Rahng Dbang Bod

Absolutely awesome!!!!!! What a cool thing to be done by a band. Could not have happened to a better guy!

Longest Road wrote:

OK people, Hi-Fi is up early to unscrew all the weekends internet sales and answer all of your "I got a new turntable and I don't hear anything coming out of the speakers....or the famous, how do I hook this thing up to that thing (Go ahead and giggle now).....HI-Fidelity is planning on setting a new personal record of 7 hours of work today (NOT likely, I gotta get out of Dodge City before dark, or else I might get robbed for my Safeway bag that I now have to carry my shit in after the last robbery , so ask away and I will do my best to unscramble the egg. I owe someone a list of decent decks, which I have, that I will post at a more reasonable hour. HI FIDELITY IS ON THE JOB!!!!!!
And for your morning enjoyment, another clip from the shop

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V_-iZYIofU

If that goes on in the shop then I am moving there and going to be filling out an application ASAP.

Love this thread...

A co-worker of mine has a used Gemini XL-200 and claims it only needs a new needle. He will sell it to me as is for $40. Since I know Jack Squat about turntables, is this a good deal? I can't seem to find the needle online...much less find out how much that is.

What else would I need with an additional $200 budget to get my ears to smile? I'm thinking a receiver and headphones maybe? Again, I'm completely new to all of this...be gentle.

This thread is good stuff. Thank you to High Fidelity(the venerate of vinyl?) for the laughs and sharing of your knowledge. Very sorry to hear about the vermin that robbed you :evil: I have been interested in Buddhism for years, but haven't actually got around to sitting much, but isn't that the hardest part?

As with Suziemay, I'm also diving back into the vinyl world and buyng a turntable soon. I've been reading about some of the entry level pro-ject, music hall and rega's among others and would love to get your thoughts. I have serious space issues, so I'm going to just be buying a turntable and some powered speakers to keep my better half happy.

I get that you don't want to plaster your store name all over here, but yours is the exact kind of place I'd love to shop! I have family out in MA, and I thought I remember from a few pages back that you're out east somewhere.

MK1980 wrote:

What if you're getting static in just one channel? Also sometimes that channel cuts out altogether and i have to lighly tap the front right hand corner of the deck to get the signal flowing to that channel again? It's the right hand channel. Is it the needle or is it something far more costly to repair?

Hola amigo, you got problems, and it isn't the needle. There are at least 4 wire leads coming from your needle, right , left, ground, power, etc... and if you have to karate kid (not recommended) that old girl to get the right channel to work, we have a loose connection, or, hopefully, a loose right speaker wire. First check that. Its most likely not that, but start at A, and move to Z. Send me the make and model, I will pull the schematics and we will fix this in the morning, after meditation. I'm guessing its a loose connection somewhere between the stylus and the board. Try looking at the underside of your stylus/cartridge to make sure that all the underwires are affixed securely. loosly fiddle with them, DON'T PULL, and see what happens. If you are cracking the shiat out of the right corner, that may be it. If not, I can explain how to pull the table and re-solder the right channel. NO BIG DEAL, NO PANICKING! Todo esta bueno amigo. Later skater, Hi-Fi

Hi-Fi is tired, good night my friends.