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Hello,I have a couple of pictures of my cartridge I was attempting to post on here in order to get some advice for the more experienced inmates as to whether or not I had bent my cantilever. I really do not think I have, and it looks totally fine, but I tend to be a paranoid lad sometimes.
In brief, I had just picked up an LP from a shop and it needed a deep cleaning. I put it on my Nitty Gritty RCM and gave it an initial cleaning, but by the end of the first song I could see that it needed a deeper cleaning and perhaps several repeats, and I try to be careful about keeping my stylus clean and my records too. I figure that's cheaper than wearing out a cartridge.
Anyways, there must have been some heavy duty dirt in those grooves because after only a couple of minutes I could noticeably see the junk on my stylus. So I cleaned off my stylus with the Extreme Phono stylus cleaner I used (and I had to repeat it several times).
I removed the stylus (Goldring 1022) from the cartridge to get a better look at it, and as I was holding it in one hand, the soft flesh of my index finger in the other lightly (and accidently) touched the cantilever. It wasn't snagged or hit with any force or anything, but of course I'm exceptionally talented at worrying. I put the stylus back onto the cartridge body and everything looks fine. I can see absolutely no perceivable change in the direction of the cantilever. It appears to be centered and totally fine, but I had taken a couple pictures to get some feedback and hopefully reassurance.
So...if anyone can offer advice without a picture I'm interested. Otherwise (for now and/or future reference), how do I post a picture in my messages here? And finally, what sort of stylus cleaner do the inmates far more experienced than myself recommend? I don't think the problem is the cleaner, as my Extreme Phono stuff seems to be working great and has for the past four years since I got into vinyl (I'm only 24). But even though that LP appeared to be cleaned up nicely, it was leaving some icky stuff behind and it took quite some time for me to feel ok about the stylus being clean again. And the final bit of information is that it seems to still have a little trace of something on it (like a single strand of lint or something) that isn't coming off.
Anyways, I really appreciate everyone here and the help I've always recieved from those with life experience and perhaps more importantly, vinyl experience :-) Help!!!!!
Follow Ups:
I really do appreciate it! After getting into vinyl and spending a bit of time on the VA years ago, I've been gone for far too long. Looking forward to visiting more regularly and thanks again to everyone who assisted me in sorting out those issues.
...ever "wears out" a stylus. many (most?) folks move on to a different stylus well before the stylus is actually "worn out".what is your cleaning procedure? it is curious that you would clean your record and then be able to "noticeably see the junk" on the stylus. sounds crazy! i play "dirty" records and cannot see anything on the stylus with 30x magnification.
a function of the stylus or the cleaning?
post up the pic and we'll help allay your fears. it doesn't sound like you have reason to worry (other than cleaning those records the right way, one time! ;-))
If you could take a look at this I would sincerely appreciate it. I don't think there's any problem, but I want to post the links anyways.As for my cleaning procedure, I used the Nitty Gritty Cleaning Machine (manual model) with the Pure 2 fluid and the nylon bristle brush. I figured out that the reason I didn't get it clean the first time was that I just barely applied pressure with the brush. On the second cleaning I got those bristles down into the grooves and didn't worry because the record is old and scratchy anyways. With my more prized records and VG+ records I use a much more delicate approach, but of course in my experience most VG+ records don't have 40 years of dirt stuck in the grooves. I've noticed with 2nd hand records that how clean they are often times is related to how carefully they were handled and treated by previous owners...
Anyways, here's some links. You can see a little piece of lint or whatever to the left if you look closely. Then again, perhaps that's nothing to think twice about so long as the stylus itself is nice and clean. Two pictures of the same stylus.
http://s167.photobucket.com/albums/u137/1992guitars/?action=view¤t=Stylus2.jpg
http://s167.photobucket.com/albums/u137/1992guitars/?action=view¤t=Stylus1.jpg
Thanks again for your help. And I'm not just saying it to be polite...I really do appreciate the help and advice!
The links did not work for me.However, I am almost certain all is well. I am not sure if you know this, but it is OK to touch your stylus, as long as you are not rough.
As far as stylus cleaning, it is a controversial subject. Some cartridge makers specifically tell customers not to use anything to clean the stylus. The concern is that some chemicals may damage some glues that are used to bond the styli to the cantilvers, I think. I have started cleaning my Ortofon Jubilee sparingly
on that advice, and only with pure alcohol.
Thanks so much for the words of advice. I was not aware that it was OK to touch the stylus at all, and being a somewhat careful (perhaps too careful in some ways) person I just always assumed from horror stories I'd read on here that it was a super sensitive thing. Of course I won't make a habit out of putting my hands anywhere near the stylus, but it's good to know I'm probably worrying a bit too much over this most likely insignificant thing that happenned.Ok, trying the link one more time...
...you have anything to worry about.i know it's easier said than done, but try to enjoy the music and not obsess too much over cleaning (records and styli) & the mechanics of playing records. or at least be sure that you are getting equal parts musical enjoyment from it.
as said above, touching the stylus accidentally is nothing to get too worked up about -- just don't make a habit of it.
as Photobucket. It is free.
Then, for a single pic, just cut and paste the image URL into the Optional Image URL box below. For multiple pics, you'll need to add html tags in your post.
HenryMushrooms are the opiate of the mooses
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