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noob TT setup question

I can't find an answer to this question in the archives - as I'm not quite sure what to search for - but sometimes when I drop my needle onto an LP (on the outer edge) it "jumps" into the first track. Like, it skips from right to left (looking from the front) without slowly/cleanly tracking onto the first groove.

Is this a setup issue? It doesn't happen all the time, and I've not noticed it occurring with any sort of pattern (like, only on 180 gram LPs or something like that).

The table is leveled, VTF is within the manufacturer's range, and I set azimuth with a Fozgometer. Initial cartridge setup was with a Mint protractor designed for my table/arm.

Thanks for the help!
jerico
jerico OP
131 posts
 
Hello Doug - thank you for that very informative post! I will pay attention to "guiding" the stylus and see how I fare with that. FWIW, the table sounds great - add this doesn't happen too often, so it doesn't feel like an egregiously bad setup.

I did check the tone-arm wire though, to make sure the force was going the intended direction.

Cheers!

- J
hesson11
237 posts
 
You might just want to check (if you haven't) to see whether your cartridge is "bottoming out" by means of a collapsed suspension. I sure hope it's not, but it's worth a check.
-Bob
mmakshak
589 posts
 
Anti-skate comes to mind, but I agree it should not be used to "fix" this problem.
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