quote:

Originally posted by trancelova I have a Shure M4-77 cartridge and needle, and the needle seems to pop every couple of seconds on a record. Is the problem in the needle itself? does this mean the needle is busted? Or should I try and move the needle around and see if it got messed up? Have anyone else had problems like this? any suggestions are appreciated.

What do you mean by 'pop'? As in you hear popping and clicking when the track is playing? Or does it actually jump out of the groove?

If it's the former, that's normal. However, you can reduce that by cleaning both the needle and the record before playing.

If it's the latter, than there could be many reasons for that. Make sure you have the counter-weight on the back of the tone-arm adjusted correctly to be applying adaquate pressure to the cartridge so it holds the groove. Don't apply too much however, or the result will be excessive wear of both the needle and the record.

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I find if you're one of those people who cleans the vinyl with their sleeve before playing it, it can make it click and pop more, it must build up static on the record or something...