Stop/Start the platter when swapping records?

With a Rega you are not supposed to stop the platter when changing sides. In the five years that I owed a Rega I managed to destroy two albums because of it
One was a very rare promo copy of Barry Galbraith Guitar and the Wind from 1958.

 

In what way would it be good for the platter to start and stop every time you change side?

 

Have a hard time understanding how the felt map would destroy your records. Rega have used a felt map forever and ever and always told the user to not stop the platter. If you use a hard mat then I would understand it though. Or if your felt map is very dirty. I clean my mat every now and then and never put on dirty records.

 

Apparently you can damage the platter if you change LP while it is spinning.
I don't know, till now I never turn it off.

 

True all that, but I never said that it was the mat that destroyed my record.
The record fell from my hands as the mat produced a strong static electricity charge while I was trying to change sides. This caught me by surprise and then the record fell from my fingers and got badly scratched.
So, it wasn't entirely Rega's fault.
But still, even after spinning vinyl for almost 25 years and having used many different tables, the whole idea of removing the record while the platter is still moving makes me very uncomfortable.

 

Been turning off my TD160 for 37 years now.

 

I place my records directly on the aluminum platter of a VPI Classic, so stop and start is a must. I give the heavy platter a little bit of a push start before turning on the TT so the pulley and belt don't squeal.

 

I wouldn't do it (and don't).

 

With an acrylic platter I'd be much more comfortable stopping the motor when changing records. If you've got a Rega with felt mat, well it's not a problem unless you have massive amounts of static electricity, in which case you are possibly courting disaster.

 

Quick lift and place back, turntable speed not noticeably slowed, hard vinyl platter mat, no visible damage to vinyl, never slipped out of my hands on the Aura.

Quick, simple, and much better than stopping my high mass platter, and the waiting for it to regain accurate speed.

Having said that. I do not do this on the Garrard 401, as it seems to be much more sensitive, in terms of interrupting rotating speed, despite my thinking that it would be more resilient to this side changing.

The Well Tempered Amadeus on the other hand, turning sides is a breeze.

So turntable specific, rather than platter specific?

BTW, vinyl is a quite durable material and you really have to do quite a bit to damage it.

 

Hi just a quick question to the OP in case I missed it.
What type of TT are you running?
I'm reading all kinds of turntable replies but we might better help if you tell us what yours is?
Sorry if I missed it somewhere in the thread.

 

His profile says that he is using a Pro-Ject Debut Carbon.

 

Rarely bother to stop it -- unless I am packing records away and wondering what to play next. Generally do a needle lift and return, clamp lift, then LP up and over, clamp back, needle drop….it's pretty automatic by now and I am not sure I could unlearn it. My SME seems to age better than me.

 

Spinning - never had a problem. Ever.

 

I always Stop/Start to change records. Not worth risking any of my records for the couple of seconds it takes to do so. I have a VPI Scoutmaster.

 

When I get static, my mat usually comes off and gets dangerously close to my stylus! So you ain't kidding! I guess I should get a static gun.

 

i don't think we'll ever get a definitive answer on this...

i personally don't ever stop the platter, not sure if it's because of sheer laziness or the fear of messing up the power on/off switch by wearing it out potentially. there are of course going to be a lot of detractors to this which i understand but i would love to hear from people who used to never stop the platter while changing and had issues with damaging the motor etc later on.

how long is that start/stop button made to last btw?

 

I had huge problems with that when I had a TT with a felt mat. Even when the motor was off, the felt mat stuck to the LP and often came dangerously close to the stylus. I wound up replacing the felt mat because I figured it was just a matter time before I damaged something.

 

Next poster was right, Pro-Ject Debut Carbon

 

I stop my VPI Classic 2 every time. I can't really think of a good reason not to.

 

As with everything from your car to your computer. Start/stop shortens the life time of the product, increasing risk of damage to the components.

I have used a leather mat on my Rega to reduce statics but always went back to the felt mat. The bass is always getting compromised with other mats than the standard felt mat. I guess it's because the thick felt mat is a better support to the record. If a record is slightly warped I can see that the felt mat is still supporting it compared to the leather mat which cause a small separation between mat and record.

In terms of statics the best way to remove it is to clean the record in distilled water and put it back into a antistatic inner sleeve. Doing so will decrease static problems with a felt mat with almost 100%.

 

My precious LPs just have to suck it up.

 

What? How on Earth is it possible to destroy a record while stopping the platter?

 

Thanx! That worked well.

 

I always turn the motor off. Something about removing an item from something that is moving that makes no sense, almost as nothing good can happen. I mean....none of us would step out of a moving vehicle, would we? would we?