tonearm issue

I experience a similar issue on a few records; dropping the needle right at the beginning of the track grooves solves the problem every time.

I also use the Riverstone which is excellent, inexpensive and comes with 2 weights for verification of calibration.

and remember to check for level side to side and front to back. Put the level on the platter, not the plinth.

@thejeenyus54 

Could you explain what was done when the arm was serviced. Was it rewired ?

A good test is to balance the arm/cartridge to zero, and set the antiskate to 0, so the arm is floating, and then you can see straight away if the arm has a tendency to swing one way or the other.

I know from being an SME distributor some years ago that often re-wiring had not been dressed correctly where the wire goes from tube to vertical column resulting in excessive pull on the arm one way or the other.

Good tip. I'll try that. It was rewired but not this time. I've had this for 25+ years. The re-wire was 10 years ago. The service was on the arm lift this time. The adjustment screw for that mechanism was stripped.

It's something, patience and good methods are needed.

Back to basics, you need to check/re-check everything. I use several levels simultaneously (check that they agree with each other first, some are a speck off)

mine and friend's TTs

I once found a platter that was not properly seated on the spindle. off/on, done

I once found a TT that was sitting in a plinth, unfastened, another: one screw of 3 tight, the other two snug but not tight. An arm not really tight on the arm board, mechanic's elderly father forgot to tighten the wheel nuts om my wife's MGB, 

recently found two removable headshells not perfectly parallel with the tonearm, put little 10mm diameter bubble levels on the headshell, and acrylic block with lines behind the headshell, not the arm for VTA

adjustable feet to level the plinth, I shake rattle and roll them to see if they settle different than they just were, and re-check after a few days.