Spin Clean...can it damage records?

Have a new U-Turn tt w/ Ortofon red and bought a Spin Clean right before. Had a record problem when I first bought tt and discovered weight was only set at 1.0. Changed to around 2.0 and it seemed to correct it. However, problem has surfaced again.

It always happens near the end of an album side. The last one or two songs. A jolting skip and it will repeat a phrase over and over. It cannot advance. Now it's either a tonearm problem...or, could the Spin Clean brushes be doing it?

What could be wrong with a tone arm to cause this? Anything? It doesn't do it on every album but it's showing up more and more. I was running these albums thru a Spin Clean 5 spins one way, 5 the other and then cleaning them again with a Record Doctor. Could it be a combination of things? It's weird that it's almost always the last two songs. That is making me think Spin Clean maybe.

I played one album on a different tt with a Shure cart...no skip. Maybe I need to contact U-Turn again.

 

I would contact U-Turn first thing. The Spin Clean would have to deposit something for there to be a skip created. The brushes are not abrasive. It could be a misaligned AND damaged stylus, perhaps.

U-Turn should set you on the right path. They have amazing customer service.

 

Its not the Spin Clean.

 

I checked brushes they feel fine. In all my years of listening to records never had so many skips like this. I will contact U-Turn. Thanks

 

A Spin Clean - even one that is being used incorrectly - can’t damage anything in any way that would cause the problems you’re experiencing. What your description suggests is that the antiskate on the turntable is way out of adjustment.

Set the antiskate to zero, then try playing an LP again. You may find that everything is working perfectly. If that solves it and the stereo image is still nicely balanced, just ignore the antiskate setting on the turntable - leave it at zero.

 

U-Turn tables do not have antiskate.

 

Anti-Skate Note: When properly implemented, an anti-skate mechanism will offset the force applied to the stylus by the record groove. But to get the benefits of anti-skate, you need to correctly set the bias force using a test record (and ideally an oscilloscope). Otherwise, an anti-skate mechanism can actually do more harm than good. We decided to leave out anti-skate because channel imbalance and distortion were not significant in the Orbit’s tonearm. Check out the test below for more details!

 

. . . which is great then, IMO.

What’s left then? Binding arm bearings? Maybe the turntable platform somehow became seriously non-level? Maybe a physical object is impeding tonearm travel (a lid, a cleaning brush, a stray interconnect, etc.)?

 

Just got an email from U-Turn. They are sending packaging materials. Gonna send it back for repair.

 

Keep us posted.

 

There is an issue with the tonearm on your machine and U-Turn will definitely take good care of you. While it's away for repair, it would be a great idea to buy a cheap digital VTF gauge for $12 or so online to be able to precisely measure your VTF.

Also, FWIW U-Turn tonearms in their first iteration were unipivots and did not use anti-skate. Their tonearm 2, which has come on all of the machines for at least a year and a half now, is gimbaled and includes preset anti-skate. I have the tonearm 2 and have had no issues with anti-skate when using multiple different cartridges on the table. While I wish their machines included adjustable anti-skate, I have had no problems with it.

 

I really like the U-Turn. Sounds very good. I like the whole no-frills, simpler is better concept...makes sense to me. Also that it's a small Made In the USA company. I'm sure they will get it worked out. I even put their sticker in the back glass of my Chevy pickup .

 

Well, my U-Turn is on its way back. Got an email from folks there saying:

During your repair, we determined that the looping you were experiencing was the result of a bad ball bearing ring within the pivot of your tonearm. We replaced the defective ball bearing with a new one, and your tonearm is now passing all trackability testing with no issues detected. Everything is now in good working order!

Hopefully this will take care of it. I should have it in a few days.

 

Maybe ask a Gort to change the thread title then as the Spin Clean didn’t play a part?

 

The spin clean won't damage records however when a new record is cleaned, take care that there's not any little pieces of "vinyl" anywhere.

I've had new record that have little bits of hardened material break off the outside of the record or other similar material. If these get in the brushes when you spin a record through it you'll scuff or scratch it. Inspect the sleeves and jacket for bits of this stuff when you buy new or any used records.