O.K. Fess Up. Come Clean. Sing Like A Canary.


In the last several days I have gotten myself involved in a couple of threads regarding lifting (or forgetting about lifting) the stylus at the end of play. One individual was considering getting rid of his existing turntable, and replacing it with an older semi-automatic model.

He considered himself "lazy & forgetful".

Another individual was very upset with himself because he allowed himself to forget about the stylus for "20-30 minutes" after play.

He considered himself a "moron".

Am I another "lazy and forgetful moron"? Or is this just something that happens on occasion when you choose to endure the world of analog?

As of late, this does not happen to me anymore. I installed a "lifter". Problem solved. But before this point?

I can recall sometime back, arriving home after a weekend in Manhattan with my better half. It was Sunday evening about 11:00pm. We had left the previous Friday evening. We walked through the front door, I put down the bags and noticed something out of the corner of my eye. I looked over at my stereo and exclaimed "Uh-Oh".

Needless to say, I turned on the lights, walked over to the stereo, and as I looked down at the turntable (my head now spinning in a circular motion in unison with the rotating LP), had realized that this phenomenon had been in occurence over the last 50 hours or so.

I then cued the stylus, placed the tonearm on it's rest, turned off the turntable in disgust, sighed, and silently acknowledged the fact my NEW $800.00 Grado was toast.

Alright. I admit it. I can and did admit to such a mistake. Well, the word "mistake" sound a little extreme. Let's call it an "inopportune loss of mental focus". Now..... Let's see who else will step up to the plate.

What is the longest period of time that you have forgotten your stylus in the "rotating circle of death"?
128x128buscis2

Showing 2 responses by dan_ed

I never have done this, but I can certainly understand how it could happen. I grew up with a TT and trained myself long ago not to let the needle ride the lead out groove to the bitter end. Even if I nod off during a LP side I am awakened as soon as the music stops at the end. I also never leave the TT cover on while I spin and never finish a session without putting the cover back on, turning off my phono stage and hitting the standby button on my pre. This has become my ritual and the reverse of this procedure is how I start a listening session.

Buscis2, how does your lift sound when it makes contact with the tonearm? I have never used one but I have thought about adding one as insurance. I have heard from some users that there can be a loud thump when the lift comes up and makes contact with the arm.