Needle skipping help please

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kaleidoscope

New DJ
Sep 28, 2008
5
0
36
i do not beat juggle or mix. i only scratch. for some reason my technics needle keeps skipping grooves when im scratching. i am not pressing to hard, have adjusted the weight. first few weeks i got it, it was fine. then it started skippin just on the outside of records. now its skipping everywhere when i scratch. could it be bent??? it doesn't look like it is.

any help is appreciated
thanks
brandon
 
Agreed. Try a new stylus and see if it helps.

If it was matter of record edge only I'd suspect cue burn. But since it skips anywhere on the record, try a new stylus.
 
for some reason my technics needle keeps skipping grooves when im scratching.




stylus.

Just for clarification: by "technics needle," do you mean the needle on your Technics turntable, or do you mean a Technics needle on some other turntable?

I am assuming that you mean the needle on your Technics turntable; in this case: stylus. :)
 
its a technics turntable, stanton cartridge. it says D680 EL MKII. i took it to all the djs in town and they said its fine and just to adjust the weight. its not really helping much though it still skips one groove to the right.
 
i took it to all the djs in town and they said its fine and just to adjust the weight. its not really helping much though it still skips one groove to the right.

Concensus does not necessitate truth--in town or on these boards, which is why you should try every possible solution (start with the least expensive ones, of course) :)

Have you tried a new stylus?

Another suggestion (and less expensive possible solution) is to set your tonearm weight as far forward as possible and your anti-skating to 0 (if you have not adjusted it to that point already).

It could even be a crappy cartridge/stylus system.

Otherwise, your turntable is gimped. It likely isn't, because it's a Technics--that's why I was concerned. You see, I have gone through a pair of Gemini turntables that displayed symptoms like yours, but the only problem was that I did not chuck 'em sooner.
 
One thing you need to do FIRST is to go through a proper normal setup where you:

First: properly align the cartridge in the head shell, for center and overhang

then balance the tone arm with cartridge,

then set the tracking force and then anti-skate.

Once you know you have a good setup and everything works correctly there,

then move on to set up for scratching. Theoretically that should only be setting the tracking force heavier than normal.

Setup instructions should have come with the cartridge.

I am at the day job right now. When I get home tonight I'll look and see if I have a copy of the setup instructions I can pdf to the board. I also have used Stanton 680EL cartridges(but I dont scratch).
 
Just did some more research on this problem, two more things to consider. Stanton doesn't seem to be a popular cartridge for scratching from what I've found. Ortofon seems to be the one.

Another point I found was your scratching technique could be part of the problem.

try Googling: "Needle skips when scratching" you'll find a bunch of stuff.
 
i went back to my dj friend today and he said its because my stylus is EL. which means eliptical. which means its square on the back end. i need one thats AL. i dont think i need to get a new cartridge. where can i get a AL stylus? pssl.com? i dont want to pay for a new cartridge. just a new stylus thats not EL
 
i just bought the Ortofon OM Pro Kit Silver body and stylus Spherical online. anyone ever ran across this cartridge/stylus? how did it perform?