So, I know that there are some people on ASSEMblergames who are interested in vinyl, so I was hoping maybe someone could help me. My turntable has an issue where it skips repeatedly on the first track or so - it just plays the same 2 or 3 seconds over and over. But if I move the needle to the second or third track, it plays normally, with no problems. It appears that the needle is jumping over the surface of the record and then coming back down. I've tried adjusting the weight on the tonearm, but that didn't fix the problem. I've checked to make sure the needle is seated correctly, and there seems to be no problem there. I don't know what could be the cause. Any ideas?
Usually there is a rubberized pad covering the platter, check for damage that would cause the record to be tilted, the first track being at the edge would suffer far more than the inner ones if it is tilted. The needles do wear out and you should never use a mono needle for stereo record or vice versa so check that too.
I've got a record that always skips on the first track due to a warp on that outside edge. It doesn't seem like that big of a warp, but even with the weight at it's maximum it will always skip there. Take a close look at your record when it plays and, as Tokimemofan noted, perhaps there is an irregularity in your mat that is bending it enough to hop it up. This is assuming it does it on all records you try to play, is that correct?
Yes, it does this on every record I've tried. You guys could be right about it being due to the mat being uneven - that had occurred to me before. The mat is made of some type of fabric. I've tried flattening it, but that didn't seem to make a difference. Any suggestions on how to make it flatter (er, more flat)? Should I just get a new mat?
Even a horribly warped record should track this seems more like an ARM problem. Sounds like you have insufficient downward force , is your arm adjustable? Look a the back and search for a screw.
Hmm, what about anti-skate being so strong it is pulling the needle back towards the edge of the record? Does your table have any anti-skate functionality?
There's an adjustable weight on the arm. Even with it turned all the way down, the skipping persists. Yes, it has an anti-skate dial. Adjusting it has no effect on the skipping.
Make sure your turntable is level. You can change the mat, yes. Check the tracking as well as the anti-skate. Check your cartridge is level. Does the cartridge have adjustable weights? It sounds like a tracking calibration issue, really. You just need to set up the arm and cartridge properly. Look up the specification for your cartridge - it'll tell you the tracking force you should be using. One of these should help you balance the tonearm to start with: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGM5OG-_cvs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DV0Z00OWfdw
It's called tracking force, and the lower the better, with high quality cartridges the recommended value is about 1,5grams. The smart money is on the anti-skate weight, as someone already mentioned, or there is physical damage in the groove that makes it skip, this can be a scratch or a bit of dirt.
I've tried most of the things you guys have suggested to no success. I think the issue may be the needle - I think it's gotten bent out of shape. I saw a replacement needle on Amazon for $10, so I may try that.
Please post Make and Model Number Good idea to try a new needle. From what you are descibing about the tone arm, I'm guessing it is not a linear track? My Hitachi L70 linear track had an issue on skipping, I had to tweak the sideways movement motor slightly.
For those interested, I found the solution to my problem. First I replaced the stylus, and that didn't seem to help. Then I noticed that the mechanism that raises and lowers the needle (don't know what it's called) was loose. So I tightened it a little, and that seemed to solve the problem. I guess it was too high, which was causing the needle not to make sufficient contact with the record. Anyway, it's working fine now. Hopefully someone will learn something from this.
