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can record skips be fixed?

can anything be done to an lp which develops a repeating skip, which repeats until I get up and go blow on the tonearm to push it along? It pretty much renders those records junk. Often there isn't even a visible scratch or defect at that spot.
Disabling anti-skate seems to help; the lateral forces seem to push the tonearm past skips sometimes. Some cartridges and tonearms seem more susceptible to this effect than others, and it doesn't seem to correlate with "quality" - quite the opposite, as I have moved up the ladder of Origin Live tonearms and Lyra cartridges, the problem seems to have gotten worse.
Is this true of turntables as well, some are more resistant to skipping than others?
128x128lloydc
zenblaster
504 posts
 
There are places that you can have a skip/defect repaired. It's not going to cost you $25 though. The last time I looked into this a couple of years ago it was $200 to eliminate the groove breakdown. They can not replicate the modulation, just a microscopic groove repair that would guide the stylus to the next viable modulated groove and send the cartridge on its way. They won't even guarantee that it will not pop as the stylus passes the repair only that the cartridge will advance smoothly.
It would have to be a vinyl that is dear to my heart to drop $200- on it. I would rather listen to great album and negotiate a known skip, than sit through a mediocre pos.
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minkwelder
255 posts
 
I have successfully "regrooved" a skip by applying a small downward pressure on the headshell with my finger while the record was playing. It didn't always work, and you obviously wouldn't try this with a Lyra. If you have another turntable or another headshell with a heavy duty cartridge (DJ or scratch style) mounted, it may be worth a try.
bgpowell
70 posts
 
It depends on what is really causing the skip. If it is a piece of embedded debris, some serious cleaning might get it done. I had a couple of records that had a skip that I couldn't see a scratch or anything. I took a toothbrush and some record cleaning fluid (alcohol based) and scrubbed in the direction of the grooves. This worked, on a couple of lps, but did nothing for a few others. Worth a shot, you're not playing through on that section anyway.
racamuti's avatar
racamuti
362 posts
 
Try a magnifying glass and a round wooden tooth pick.
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