Arm does not track properly but skips across records

I suggest you begin by ensuring the turntable and tonearm are as near perfect as you can. The reproduction of sound from vinyl depends first and foremost on the operation of the mechanical components.

The correct stylus fitted correctly with the weight of the tonearm adjusted to the recommended value for the cartridge. There should be no friction vertically or laterally in the arm travel, though some high quality types are fitted with hydraulic dampers.

It is also essential the turntable runs smoothly at a consistent speed. Vinyl purists have all sorts of ways of checking the turntable speed is correct. Most turntables have rubber belts or wheels in the drive from the motor and a defect can ruin the quality of the reproduction.

Owning a turntable for vinyl reproduction is a suitable hobby for a keen amateur mechanic...

Once you are satisfied the mechanical components are in good order and functioning correctly there is only the electronics to consider.
There are two approaches. One involves putting a known good signal into the input of your record player amplifier and the other involves using the output from your turntable into a known good amplifier and speaker system.

These steps involve opening up the case of your record player and making and unmaking various connections.

Good luck!

Once adjusted to the correct weight for the type of cartridge then the arm should only jump on a bad record. If it keeps on jumping then either there is something wrong with the platter, being warped or a bad matt. Or there is something in the mechanism that is causing the jumps. Either of these two causes is possible if it does it in the same position on two different records.

Most of the answers to your questions will be solved by going into your computers audio set up. In windows you right click on the speaker icon on the taskbar. You can then set the recording levels correctly.

I suspect the belt is that slack that when the arm weight is on the record, the belt slips around the shaft of the motor. Does it start up again when the arm is lifted up? If it does then you need a new belt.

Hi, most likely a worn stylus or the tracking weight is set too lightly. Adjust the balance weight at the back end of tonearm forward slightly. If no weight adjustment available put a very small coin on the end of tonearm above the stylus. [email protected]

If your needle skips across the record, then there is only 1 thing wrong with it... it's broken, and needs to be replaced.

If after you've replaced the stylus, and problem persists, then you have something a little more serious... Tonearm damage. More than likely not, but just in case replace the stylus does not help.

Good luck!


- OPTiC
Master Tech
Digital Analog Therapy
Technics Repair : Technics Turntable Parts

Please describe the exact model number and what it's doing wrong (skipping, I suspect). The tonearm setup is critical for proper tracking. Do it again with extreme care if mistracking is your problem.

I found one model online and a review with some sample of music. Quite interesting...

http://www.everythingusb.com/ion_ttusb10_usb_turntable_13231.html

The author complained about some things that clearly mark him as a stranger to finer turntables. Complaining about having to assemble and position the 'rubber band', aka the drivebelt, and the tonearm counterweight shows that he underestimates the precision required to for a mechanism to properly track the microscopic undulations of the groove without skipping into the air or gouging it to death.

Some basics when recording from a turntable...
1) Place the turntable as far from speakers as possible on a solid surface that you will not touch during the recording
2) Keep the volume low enough that airborne sounds don't cause mistracking of the stylus *
3) Avoid anything that will cause vibration or movement of the turntable.
* If you have a subwoofer, turn it off.

Some advice after reading the articel: don't try to save recording time by playing the discs at 45rpm. The best tracking of the disc and recording of the minute details in the grooves will be at the nativespeed of the recording. Digital manipulation later only gloms up the accuracy you probably want.

In general, the fewer the conversions steps in the analog domain, the better; and the fewer the bit rate conversions in the digital domain, the better.

Please describe the conditions under which the noise happens. Is it always the same place? Whic is it - static or some other kind of interference? Read the following. If you're using high speaker volume to monitor while recording you could experiment with identifying it as the casue by cranking it up to see if you can make it worse.
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As with any turntable the following advice for this one will apply:

The tonearm setup is critical for proper tracking. Do it again with extreme care if mistracking is your problem.

I found one model online and a review with some sample of music. Quite interesting...

http://www.everythingusb.com/ion_ttusb10_usb_turntable_13231.html

The author complained about some things that clearly mark him as a stranger to finer turntables. Complaining about having to assemble and position the 'rubber band', aka the drivebelt, and the tonearm counterweight shows that he underestimates the precision required for a mechanism to rotate at a constant precise speed while properly tracking the microscopic undulations of the groove without skipping into the air or gouging it to death.

Some basics when recording from a turntable...
1) Place the turntable as far from speakers as possible on a solid surface that you will not touch during the recording
2) Keep the volume low enough that airborne sounds don't cause mistracking of the stylus *
3) Avoid anything that will cause vibration or movement of the turntable. (Tip toe)
* If you have a subwoofer, turn it off.

Some advice after reading the article: don't try to save recording time by playing the discs at 45rpm. The best tracking of the disc and recording of the minute details in the grooves will be at the nativespeed of the recording. Digital manipulation later only gloms up the accuracy you probably want.

In general, the fewer the conversions steps in the analog domain, the better; and the fewer the bit rate conversions in the digital domain, the better.

The only thing I can say is to make sure you set up your cartridges correctly - click HERE FOR INSTRUCTIONS on BALANCING YOUR TONEARM properly.

If, you've balanced your tonearm, and set up your cartridges correctly, then you should not have any problems. Unless, your tonearms are damaged. But this is highly unlikely. I just think you need to balance properly.

Another note, Ortofon Concorde have a design flaw, in that they don't connect very well to the Technics tonearm. The Concorde's, have short and stubby connections on the rear, making for poor connections to the tonearm. Ortofon has addressed this issue by releasing the Ortofon OM series cartridges, and mount them to standard Technics Headshell.

If you still can't figure this out, feel free to give our techs a call 24/7 @ 1.866.668.1596 ext 1 - they can walk you through setting up, and properly testing your tonearm to see if it's damaged or not.

- DJ PRO LAB
www.DJPROLAB.com

There are two main things that will influence the anti skate settings.

1) The Headshell Weight and Balance
Firstly, check the data sheet for the cartridge and stylus you are using. It should tell you the correct weight setting which will vary from one cartridge and stylus to another. If the stylus is set too light, it can skate across the disc. This can damage the disc and the stylus. The sound will also be thin and it is likely to distort on high frequencies. If the weight is too heavy, it will not jump but will definitely damage the disc.

If you are a serious vinyl user, get yourself a tone arm balance. This is a device that you place on the turntable and you rest the stylus on a plate which is marked in micrograms. You place the stylus exactly at the correct weight marking and then make adjustments to the turntable settings until the tone arm is balanced. It's easier than it sounds!

If you don't have the data sheet for your cartridge and stylus and cannot find it online, use an old disc that you don't mind damaging, set the weight on the light side and gradually increase the weight until it stops skating.

2) Platter Levelling
Secondly, you need to make sure your turntable us on a level surface. If you are a purist, use a spirit level. to do this.

There are other things that can cause skating and jumping, especially if you use the turntable as a DJ. For example, vibration (caused hopefully by dozens rocking to your music). DJs will often increase the headshell weight very slightly to overcome this and I have sometimes placed the turntables on a thick rubber sheet such as carpet underlay to improve shock absorption.