Needle on VPI Scout w/ JMW 9 skips....please help


I have just set up my first VPI Scout w/JMW 9 arm and new Dynavector 10x cartridge, sitting on a gingko cloud9. The cartridge was professionally installed and I was very pleased with the sound.

However, a few days later the needle started "skipping" (tracking the same groove) on a record that I have never had an trouble with before. I noticed it was happening on the last track (closer to the center of the record). I flipped the record over and the same problem occured in the same area of the record.

Perplexed, I pulled out another record and again the needle stated skipping. This has happened on a few records, and most importantly, I noticed the needle skipping closer to the inner half of the record.

My initial thoughts are either...
A)too little tracking force
or
B)too much anti-skating pressure (because the needle skips backwards, repeating most recently tracked groove)

Any help would be tremendously appreciated!
voodoochild

Showing 1 response by dougdeacon

It's not likely to be caused by inadequate tracking force, else you'd be mistracking any time you played a passage with heavy dynamics, regardless of location on the LP.

It could be just a simple antiskating misadjustment. I doubt it, but you should check. Start by setting A/S to zero, then apply the minimum needed for clean tracking.

Other possibilities:
Tonearm wire bent, twisted or hitting something?
Arm stub brushing a dust cover or other misplaced object?
Cueing support bar not lowering enough and armtube hitting it?
Optional anti-skate mechanism (if you have) hanging up?
Armtube not correctly seated in bearing?
Table not level?