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STYLUS'S AND NEEDLE TALK

RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,782 Posts
edited March 2006 in Strut Central
My stylus's are burnt on my M447's. It's been 3 years. How often do you change your stylus? I was astonished at how expensive they are,Also, anybody own M44-g's? I'm looking for a more all purpose needle vs. SkratchmasterPickle shit. I'm not into learn how to skratch anymore. Just want to mix.
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  • CousinLarryCousinLarry 4,618 Posts
    My stylus's are burnt on my M447's. It's been 3 years. How often do you change your stylus? I was astonished at how expensive they are,

    Also, anybody own M44-g's? I'm looking for a more all purpose needle vs. SkratchmasterPickle shit. I'm not into learn how to skratch anymore. Just want to mix.

    you can put the 44-g stylus in the 44-7 cart and visa versa. Audio nut jobs may lash out, but it works and plays just fine. The shure white lables are supposed to be good but that more expensive then just getting a new stylus.
  • nrichnrich 932 Posts
    I think twice a year with regular use is pretty standard, yet I rarely follow that rule.
    I think the M447s have a better range/sound (more low end) over the other, but I am not certain of that.
  • bull_oxbull_ox 5,056 Posts
    Its styli[/b]

    And they're only like $25 to replace I think?

    Three years is a long time, were you noticing loss in fidelity or a decrease in tracking beforehand?
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Maybe this can help.
  • RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,782 Posts
    Its styli[/b]

    And they're only like $25 to replace I think?

    Three years is a long time, were you noticing loss in fidelity or a decrease in tracking beforehand?

    TTLab sells them at $35/each and both need replaced. I am a bedroom DJ who has used my tables probably 4 times in 3 years to gig... so yeh.

    Right now I am getting a lot of noise with my styli.
  • crazypoprockcrazypoprock 1,037 Posts
    i just bought shure white labels...not cheap but sound great and track and record very well.
  • JLRJLR 3,835 Posts
    For $89 the Audio Technica AT440ML is a great buy. Entry level audiophile. Micro line stylus.


    I'd like to self-quote me. If you've been using spherical styli cartridges, with a micro-line stylus you will hear details that you didn't even know were in the records grooves.
  • DORDOR Two Ron Toe 9,903 Posts
    I always say the same thing. Spend the money and get urself some ortofon's.




    I know they are a bit pricey... But well worth it.
  • RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,782 Posts
    I always say the same thing. Spend the money and get urself some ortofon's.




    I know they are a bit pricey... But well worth it.

    I was told that Ortofon are bad news for your records (plus they are ugly.)
  • crazypoprockcrazypoprock 1,037 Posts
    yeah, those track well because they are ripping into your records...the extent of the damage i don't know, could be minimal.
  • DORDOR Two Ron Toe 9,903 Posts
    I always say the same thing. Spend the money and get urself some ortofon's.




    I know they are a bit pricey... But well worth it.

    I was told that Ortofon are bad news for your records (plus they are ugly.)

    I've heard the same thing about shures. And it came straight from a shure rep.

    In reality, all needles do harm to your records.
  • DelayDelay 4,530 Posts
    I always say the same thing. Spend the money and get urself some ortofon's.




    I know they are a bit pricey... But well worth it.

    I was told that Ortofon are bad news for your records (plus they are ugly.)
    the OM Pros are your best bet. if you set them up right you hardly need any weight on them and they'll do minimal damage to your records. 2 replacement slyli: $50... but they come with 3 each.
  • DORDOR Two Ron Toe 9,903 Posts
    Oh and btw I agree. I don't like the long banana ones:







    I'm all about the ones you place on a headshell like the style I posted in my first post..

  • DelayDelay 4,530 Posts
    the shure 44s are great but skip like crazy if the spindle hole is too big on your record. i'm not about to put tape and shit on some raers.
  • DubiousDubious 1,865 Posts
    i've got the white labels

    replace the styli about once every 18 months...
  • prof_rockwellprof_rockwell 2,867 Posts
    i just bought shure white labels...not cheap but sound great and track and record very well.



    but I've been told from more than one person that the needles wear out quickly on these...

    If you want a good all around needle look at the Stanton 680s or 890s are a good alternative to Ortofon and Shures. And within the Shure line the M35 series are good as well. But the 447s are banging, even if you're not Scratchmaster Wikki Wik - light tracking and booming bass.
  • JazzsuckaJazzsucka 720 Posts
    To those of you who own the Numark PT-01 portable, watch out with the needle. I noticed the shit started to eat my styrene's only after three months of use. This came up when, after a bit of a noisy play through a perfectly minty looking copy of Isley's "I got work to do", the 45 was covered with a grey flaky dust, which I guess did not come from the grooves but WAS the grooves.
  • crazypoprockcrazypoprock 1,037 Posts
    i just bought shure white labels...not cheap but sound great and track and record very well.



    but I've been told from more than one person that the needles wear out quickly on these...

    .

    could be...i've had mine for over a month now and they still look brand new so no complaints from me...they seem quite durable. i mean...you should replace any needles after 3 to 6 months no?
  • DubiousDubious 1,865 Posts
    i dotn think the needles wear out that quick on the whites at all..

    for one they dont skip even when the weight is on like 2gms.. so they track very lightly.

    what i have noticed it that unlike other carts ive had in the past, stantons, mm47's... there is less a gradual decline..

    with the stantons i was always like "man these carts sound like shit i wonder if they need to be replaced?" whereas the whitelabels literally just sounded kinda ass one day and i knew immediatly that it was time to replace them.. id had them for approx 18 months at that point.. regular daily usage on alot of pretty dollar bin 12"s .. played gigs with them a good 10 times over that period..

    so id say that's pretty good wear.. though YMMV.

    the one thing you will notice right away is they sound AWESOME... definatly the best DJ carts i've ever used i nterms of sound quality.. heads and shoulders over mm47s (which i always found to have a weird boomey dead sound)
  • crazypoprockcrazypoprock 1,037 Posts
    the only weird that i have noticed with my white labels is that one of them responds to records with slight warps differently than the other...one of them plays thru warps fine...that is, warps that can be played through. the other one just jumps back each time and i don't get it...i haven't adjusted anything on them, both are identical and i keep the 1200s set the same too...any ideas why this happens?
  • DubiousDubious 1,865 Posts
    the whites are pretty nitpicky regarding settup

    double check EVERYTHING... especially the level of your decks... the slightest thing off and they can go funky...

    have you tried switching the good one and the bad one to the opposite decks and repeating the experiment?
  • crazypoprockcrazypoprock 1,037 Posts
    oh yeah, i've switched them...i work at a recording studio these days and my troubleshooting skills are quite good!

    but the white labels don't have much on them to adjust right?
  • IronfeetIronfeet 516 Posts
    Well what has worked for me in the past is keeping old Toe Nail Clippings and just replacing the old Stylus with the Toe Nail. What you should do is Pull out the old stylus and insert a Toe Nail clipping into the hole where the stylus goes and just makesure to point the toe nail down and your good to go for about 4 months. If your really lucky and have Toe Nail Fungus then that should last a year or two...

    I change my needles 1-2 times a year... Playing dirty records don't help either, make sure to wipe them down 1st with the record bursh and always clean your needle with that brush... I remember a friend of mine spining at a party and he didn't clean off the needle next thing you know needle just slide to the end of the record, actually quite funny...
  • DelayDelay 4,530 Posts
    see all this high maintanance shit is for the birds. those ortofons are the best all around needles. sound/cost/durability/versatility. believe me, i've been through all this shit.
  • GnatGnat 1,183 Posts
    the shure 44s are great but skip like crazy if the spindle hole is too big on your record. i'm not about to put tape and shit on some raers.
    SOOOO true.
    see all this high maintanance shit is for the birds. those ortofons are the best all around needles. sound/cost/durability/versatility. believe me, i've been through all this shit.
    so if I were to switch from the 44s to the crazy looking jawa-transport vessel lookin ortophones, which one should I get, the nightclub or what?
  • DelayDelay 4,530 Posts
    OM Pros work just fine. all the bodies are the same making ortofons interchangable. you can get nicer styli for the same bodies later on.
  • dCastillodCastillo 1,963 Posts
    OM Pros work just fine. all the bodies are the same making ortofons interchangable. you can get nicer styli for the same bodies later on.

    quession.

    I have an ortofon black from ages ago (1999?), can I put a pro stylus on that thing?
  • Sweet_PremiumSweet_Premium 368 Posts



    I tried these in a shop a while ago. Sounded great imo, but it seems like everyone
    has got different points of view on them. Anyone that has got them and can tell me a bit more?
  • sonofsamsonofsam 680 Posts
    see all this high maintanance shit is for the birds. those ortofons are the best all around needles. sound/cost/durability/versatility. believe me, i've been through all this shit.


    co-sign... after using shures and stantons for nearly 10 years, i copped ortofons about a year ago, and they are great... i dj with them 3 or 4 nights a week, and i have never had any problem at all... i haven't even changed the styli yet, and they came with a couple extras... i don't remember which model they are off hand, but they are all black and headshell mounted... i can't really comment on the effect they have on records because i only really play records once these days


  • prof_rockwellprof_rockwell 2,867 Posts
    OM Pros work just fine. all the bodies are the same making ortofons interchangable. you can get nicer styli for the same bodies later on.

    quession.

    I have an ortofon black from ages ago (1999?), can I put a pro stylus on that thing?

    absolutely. But Ortofon has a disclaimer saying that while you can interchange stylii with different cartridges, there may be mixed results and they are not responsible, blah blah blah
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