How do you properly stop a record?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by nickelz24, Mar 30, 2009.

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  1. nickelz24

    nickelz24 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Honolulu,Hawaii
    Hi guys. I have a question about stopping a playing record. Is it better to hit stop on the turntable? Or lift the needle up? I've been hitting stop and my father said to lift it up instead. So what is the verdict? :D
     
  2. Key

    Key New Member

    Location:
    , USA
    Turn it off. Nothing is cooler than that gradual slowed down effect :)
     
  3. nickelz24

    nickelz24 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Honolulu,Hawaii
    haha, seriously? any other opinions?
     
  4. BigManAndy

    BigManAndy Active Member

    i first lift the needle with the cue lever, then hit stop, then lift/flip the record
     
  5. therockman

    therockman Senior Member In Memoriam

    Use magnets, they work good and are fun.
     
  6. Chris Schoen

    Chris Schoen Rock 'n Roll !!!

    Location:
    Maryland, U.S.A.
    Right. :agree:
     
  7. nickelz24

    nickelz24 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Honolulu,Hawaii
    Haha...you guys crack me up! But come on, does it really matter which one? I've been hitting stop all this time, then my father walks in and says, "hey what are you doing?!?!". He proceeds to tell me that lifting the needle is safer. Honetly! I'd like to know in order to protect my records as much as possible.
     
  8. John Buchanan

    John Buchanan I'm just a headphone kind of fellow. Stax Sigma

    OK, dragging a diamond through a vinyl spiral creates heat and stopping the record then lifting the arm up allows the hot diamond stylus to rest on one spot, with potential for vinyl damage at that point. Lift the arm first then stop the turntable.
     
  9. goldwax

    goldwax Rega | Cambridge | Denafrips | Luxman | Dynaudio

    Location:
    US of A
    Listen to your dad.
     
  10. Chris Schoen

    Chris Schoen Rock 'n Roll !!!

    Location:
    Maryland, U.S.A.
    Yeah, like my dad used to say to me - "Shmart like ya fatha, you big dope!" :D
     
  11. Coldacre

    Coldacre Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Melbourne
    do an Elvis and point your gun in the general direction. enough noise!!
     
  12. erniebert

    erniebert Shoe-string audiophile

    Location:
    Toronto area
    I life the needle off first and then stop the record.
     
  13. DaveN

    DaveN Music Glutton

    Location:
    Apex, NC
    Yep. Needle up first. Then stop the platter. I do this primarily for the safety of my vinyl. So long as the needle is in contact with the record, anything can happen. For instance, you could misjudge the finger-lift and accidentally scoot the needle across the grooves. Lifting the needle takes all of that out of play.

    (I never thought of the 'hot stylus tip' idea. Interesting.)
     
  14. BigManAndy

    BigManAndy Active Member

    never thought of it that way. but ya know what, as crazy as it sounds, it makes 100% sense.

    thats why we say thank you for cue levers. i had a TT that was really 100% manual without a cue lever for a couple weeks before i returned that POS. with that i ran the needle into the runoff and stopped the table and picked up'd the needle. only because my hands are so shaky that it would be almost guaranteed to send the needle flying across the record. glad thats over now.

    moral of the story, make sure your TT has a cue lever!
     
  15. Taurus

    Taurus Senior Member

    Location:
    Houston, Texas
    I use the cueing lever to lift the tonearm first, and the platter automatically stops when the tonearm is moved over & placed on its rest.

    BTW I never use my hand to manually lift up a tonearm, that just seems like an accident waiting to happen.
     
  16. Taurus

    Taurus Senior Member

    Location:
    Houston, Texas
    In the 30 years I've been involved in this hobby, I have never heard of a stylus becoming hot enough to damage vinyl.
     
  17. pharmboycu

    pharmboycu Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Okay, further question-- should you always let the record play through the entire side start to finish or is it "okay" to lift using the cueing mechanism in the middle of a side/song?
     
  18. Taurus

    Taurus Senior Member

    Location:
    Houston, Texas
    I've lifted tonearms from every part of an LP for three decades with no ill effects that I have noticed. :) IMO vinyl is tougher than it looks.

    The only time I have noticed vinyl sounding bad simply from being played is when it has been played on a REALLY inexpensive turntable. And specifically, that would be what I would actually call a "record player"* i.e. the cheapos that used a ceramic cartridge which required much more tracking force than a magnetic or moving coil cart & which always seemed to have visibly "chunky" styluses. Scary! These haven't been sold for years now AFAIK, and usually came with those all-in-one systems or inexpensive console stereos (though by the late 70s both of these types of systems could also be equipped with relatively decent turntables w/magnetic cartridges).

    * and almost always of the changer variety, where vinyl was stacked on top of one another :eek:
     
  19. fmuakkassa

    fmuakkassa Dr. M

    Location:
    Ohio
    Pick up the arm first then turn off the TT.
     
  20. vinylman

    vinylman Senior Member

    Location:
    Leeds, U.K.
    If I'm playing more than one disc, it's cueing lever to lift the arm, then just take the record off the platter - no need to stop the TT.
     
  21. 2002ss335

    2002ss335 Member

    Location:
    Ohio, USA
    I would only lift between tracks, the stylus does not come straight up from the groove. The noise you hear is it scraping the edge of the groove.

    Regards,
    Todd
     
  22. CaptainOzone

    CaptainOzone On Air Cowbell

    Location:
    Beaumont, CA, USA
    We used to call those "record erasers".
    I just lift the tonearm and set it down manually. And I don't stop the 'table between records. Remnants of my DJ days. Haven't scratched one in a long time.
    Of course I don't have any of those high-dollar discs some of you folks have.
     
  23. MMM

    MMM Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Lodi, New Jersey
    Just when we thought we'd discussed everything. :shh: :)

    I haven't used the cue lever in years. Lift the tip of the arm's finger lift with one finger, with your thumb nearby. Right after its raised, also put your thumb on top and move the arm over to its post. When you raise the tip of the lift with only your index finger (instead of immediately grabbing it with both your finger and thumb), you should never damage a record - the arm will go straight up, instead of pulling to the side. Never once slipped doing it this way, even after a couple of drinks.

    I lift it while spinning. If I'm cueing up a song that's not at the beginning of a side, I keep the platter stationary while doing it, then give the platter a push and start it up.
     
  24. Parkertown

    Parkertown Tawny Port

    By hand, and I don't stop the tt from spinning...

    I'm usually real steady...unless it's just been too many drinks...

    Oh, and never, ever play a record backwards...just cuz you wanna hear that backwards part in the Beatles record, or Pink Floyd's The Wall...

    Do it in the digital domain...
     
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