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Stylus just falls off?

A couple of years ago, I had a Van den Hul Grasshopper serviced and upgraded at the factory. A few days ago, I had it mounted by a well-respected local tech. I went to his shop today and listened to the cartridge. Then we disassembled the turntable for transport back to my home.

After the tonearm was removed from the turntable and placed on a shelf, I noticed that the stylus was missing from the cartridge. It is clear that no one and nothing touched the cartridge as it was moved. It seems that the stylus just fell out.

Has anyone experienced anything like this? (My understanding is that the stylus on these cartridges is easily removed and replaced, so perhaps it was not properly affixed to the cantilever.)
jimjoyce25

Showing 1 response by tobes

tobes's avatar
tobes
436 posts
 
Just to be clear - has the stylus fallen off the cantilever, or has the cantilever broken off the cartridge?

The stylus is usually attached with adhesive to the cantilever, so it's possible the adhesive has failed....but in over 30 years of vinyl listening I've never had this happen to me (though I've heard of it happening). I have however broken a few cantilevers through carelessness/lack of attention.

If the cantilever is totally undamaged, and assuming you haven't been using any dodgy solvents to clean the stylus, then I'd say you have grounds for a warranty repair by VdH. No idea what VdH's policy would be on this.
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