Turntable/Vinyl Skipping on Playback

Hello,

As per the title, for some reason that I can't deduce, my turntable begun to skip/jump when playing records. When I started out listening this evening, it was perfectly fine. But after going to change sides on one particular record I noticed there was some dust collected on the stylus tip so I attempted to clean it off with the brush provided with the cartridge, it proved a bit tricky to remove as one piece of dust just kept clinging to it but I managed to remove it. Obviously I try to be as gentle as possible when cleaning the stylus tip due to it being fragile, that's a given.

But after this point, I noticed that all my records that I have played seem to be skipping on playback, there is a noticeable jump on each rotation of the platter (and you can actually 'see' the jump happen as the cartridge/arm follows the record on each rotation). I re-seated the platter and mat and took the headshell off the arm and detached the stylus from the cartridge, gave it another wipe with the brush and wiped the cartridge down and re-attached everything but it still seems to be happening.

My turntable/cartridge is a Technics SL-1210MK2 & Audio Technica AT440MLa.

Any ideas on why this is happening/what could be causing it?

Thanks for your help.

 

Any chance you bumped the counterweight? Tracking too light will do stuff like that.

 

without the needle on the record do you see anything happening with the platter out of the ordinary? If you manually advance the needle to the middle of the record and the drop it down does it happen? Any wires dragging? Can you post a picture or video of this? Perhaps Pics from the side and front of the cart so we can look for something there?

 

Check to make sure the table is level -- with a level, not eyeballing it. Check to make sure the tonearm cable isn't binding. Check the tracking weight with an accurate scale. Clean that stylus (I like Zerodust myself).

 

I've took a short one minute video that hopefully displays the issue, I've not got the steadiest of hands when taking pictures/video so apologies.



Everything was fine until I cleaned the stylus, no skipping problems at all. There was always a slight movement in the cartridge when tracking records but that happened with my old player as well and I read it was normal to have a bit of movement, nothing was skipping or jumping like this though. I've not touched the weight at all, as you can see from the video, the player is against a wall so there is no easy access to the back of the table to be able to knock it.

 

Is it audible, or just what can be seen in your video?
A worn out or damaged suspension (stylus) will cause it to "pump" like that; too loose
Or as someone else has pointed out, tracking too light
The record and or the platter (mat?) appears to be slightly warped as well

Just going by what I can see in the video, the record is warped or the mat is not "flat" for some reason (can't see enough to say any more than that)

 

Got to agree with analogman. Seems the record is warped. Suspension appears fine, and the bump is in the same spot every time on the record. Is this with every record? Does it do it in the middle of the record? When moving the tonearm is it free and easy?

It's odd looking for sure....have another cart to test with?

 

Is that LP off center? I don't spend a bunch of time looking at my discs as they play, but that one looks a bit warped and off center and playing at an increased pitch.

 

I dont think its an issue with warpage. If it was then you would probably need to return about 90% of the new vinyl produced at the moment. I feel it is perhaps a setup issue of some sort...

 

That's the thing, there was always a slight 'bump' when playing records (this applied to my old player also, which was a Rega P1 with Ortofon cart), but it wasn't anything audible and I read up on it and it said that some slight movement of cartridge on playback was fairly normal so I never paid much attention to it. But yesterday after cleaning the stylus, the skipping/jump became more apparent and actually became audible when playing records, they would skip when it hit the 'bump', this was for multiple records. I detatched the actual styli/needle part of the cartridge and cleaned everything, then reattached it, so everything is snug, and the tracking is actually just set to the maximum point at which the weight can turn, as that seems to be the most stable point for the arm/cart after testing.

I took the mat off the platter and tried to play a record without, it was still happening, so I don't believe it's an issue with the mat. But as mentioned, I did take the platter off completely, make sure there was no issues with it or underneath and re-seated it. I'm not sure how I would find out if the platter was warped.

I played a couple of records, everything was fine. Then I played one side of a record, went to swap it over and noticed the dust so cleaned the stylus, flipped the record over and that's when I noticed the audible skipping. The thing is, as you ask, as the needle moves toward the middle of the record, the jump/skip actually lessens and it no longer becomes audible. Moving the tonearm is fine, it's fully free/easy to move etc.

 

I don't know what's causing it specifically; you have the table there in front of you so you should be able to determine the "what" better than I can with a video clip
But whatever it is, that's why your arm is "pumping"
It IS one of the following: warped record(s), warped or cock-eyed platter, lump in your mat.............whatever
After saying all of that, if you are certain that everything is flat then there is a problem with your arm's balance OR your stylus suppression is screwed up
Don't exactly know what this means either; whatever it means, with the arm and cart you have, nothing should be at it's "maximum point"?
I assume by "tracking" you are talking VTF? If the weight is all the way forward (towards the arm's bearings) then your set up is wrong
" and the tracking is actually just set to the maximum point at which the weight can turn"

 

Re. the weight issue (and yes, I mean the VTF), I basically just set it to the point at which the arm didn't swing back and would balance of it's own accord, I always assumed that was the way to do it. I took onboard the suggested tracking force/anti-skate etc. but if the arm keeps swinging back, I just adjusted until it would sit comfortably on it's own.

I'm not really sure where I could go from here to figure out the cause of the problem. As mentioned, previously, the arm did 'pump' slightly but caused no distortion in sound quality etc. But after the stylus cleaning, that's when I heard some distortion but it seemed to dissipate as the record progressed and tracked through to the middle. Can this 'pumping' issue cause any problems? Will it damage anything, eg. stylus or record? Or is it something I can just ignore? I did pretty much ignore it previously until I started noticing some distortion, the 'bump' as the platter went round would cause the sound to distort. As mentioned, I don't think it can be the mat as I removed the mat and the issue was still occuring.

 

The only way to set VYF is with a gauge. No other method will come close.

 

Re the VTF you said that you "set it to the point at which the arm didn't swing back and would balance of it's own accord..."
That sounds like a description of setting anti-skate, where horizontal movement of the arm is managed. Setting VTF partly involves the vertical balance of the arm.

I have the same table and cart and never have the counter-weight at "the maximum point at which the weight can turn..."

 

I set VTF on this table using the basic directions from Technics, no gauge, and never have tracking problems with several different carts.

 

1. Determine what the clearly visible "bump" is
That IS a large part of it; something is not flat
That arm is NOT going to stop doing what it's doing until you identify and resolve that issue
The record?/platter?/mat? is not supposed to be "going up and down" like that
I don't care what it did "before"

2. Purchase some sort of scale (I like the beam type from SHURE, but this is a topic that will incite a 200 page argument) or, buy a digital scale; I don't care
Either way, check and set your VTF to the appropriate value

Your turntable provides for reasonably accurate VTF setting WITHOUT a scale of any kind, so you can disregard "Step 2" if you'd like

FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS IN THE OWNER'S MANUAL CAREFULLY (if you don't have one, they are all over the internet for FREE)
I prefer checking VTF with a scale even if the arm already makes provision for setting it without one, your choice Having a scale will also confirms the arm's markings as accurate

NOT MUCH TO WORRY ABOUT being as your deck is a Technics "1200" but I have no way of knowing what your arm has endured during it's life; the provisions Technics has allowed should be more than fine for the purposes of accurately setting VTF unless the arm has been damaged in some way or has on it an incorrect counterweight

Going from what I can see in your video, what I have just typed above will solve your problem, if it does not, you have damaged your stylus

 

The actual counterweight numbers, the black plastic ring with all of the numbers on it just turns around on the weight itself, it's not glued/stuck down. So basically there is no way of actually knowing what to set the weight to (unless this black plastic part is supposed to be like that). So the only real way I could set the VTF was to just adjust until the arm remained steady and floated freely over the platter.

 

You turn the antiquate setting to zero and adjust the arm counterweight until the cartridge is just floating neutrally above a record. Then turn only the black plastic ring to 0. Then turn the counterweight in until the black plastic ring is showing the correct VTF from your cartridge specifications. I'd suggest towards the maximum VTF. Then reset the antiskate at the same setting as the VTF.
The black plastic ring is zeroed when the VTF is zero, then the scale on it can be used to set VTF i.e.
If you are trying to track a cartridge at zero grams (= free floating), it will skip.

 

Get a scale. The abovementioned Shure is fine and so are some of the inexpensive digital scales. It's really the only way to make sure you're setting the correct downforce. If the arm remains steady and floats freely over the platter that's the first step -- getting the arm and cart balanced -- but then of course you have to set the downforce. Obviously if the arm floats over the platter it's not going to track a record.

Start with the tracking force recommended for the cart by the manufacturer -- if it's a range pick a value in the middle of the range, say 2 grams or whatever it may be, and start there. And set the downforce with the anti skate set to zero.

Also, don't set the anti-skating by seeing how the arm moves when it's balanced and floating above the platter or resting on the cuing lever -- the arm shouldn't move right or left anyway when it's floating above the record balanced if the turntable is level and the bearings are fine. Anti-skating needs to be set with a record spinning and the stylus in the groove. There may be a recommended setting for a given tracking force that you can just set it to, or you can use a test record with an antiskate test track.

 

As Analogman mentioned, the stylus suspension may have stiffened to a point in which it no longer works properly. Got a spare fresh stylus to try ? Or another headshell with a different cart ?

 

I was trying to say antiskate. Damn autocorrect.

 

quietlife ,check while playing a record, if the underside of the armtube touches the top side of the arm lift platform.
If so, you may lower the arm lift mechanism if there is such adjustment.