The concept that it is important to keep the stylus clean on any Beogram is so basic that on the surface it might appear unnecessary, even frivolous to bring up the subject.
Like so many of you guys, I take pride in keeping my vinyl records clean and the Beogram dustcovers are never, but NEVER left open. As such I was confident of the cleanliness of my six Beogram styluses.
I acquired a new record, “Missing You” by No Mercy and wanted to hear how it would sound on my bass-heavy amplifier. I cranked up the volume and was enjoying the music when the volume dropped along with distortion that was just unbelievable.
I had no doubt that my amp had bit the dust….. I mean NO doubt, so I turned down the volume before things could get worse.
But just on a caprice I tried the FM section and there was no problem there.
So I took out the MMC6000 stylus from my Beogram 8000 and got out my trusty 20X jeweler’s loupe. I didn’t need the loupe as there was a “hairball” of crud on the needle. With the loupe it was staggering to see the amount of garbage that surrounded the needle.
Once removed I was further shocked to find a small piece of broken black plastic wedged solidly between the needle and the shaft. All the brushing in the world with an artist’s paintbrush and alcohol wasn’t going to dislodge that piece of plastic….. that took a very sharp knife.
Once the unwanted debris and broken plastic was removed the amp returned to it normal self.
Enlightened I had previously made a mental note that my absolutely stellar Beogram 4000 and it’s vintage but superb MMC20CL stylus wasn’t sounding up to its usual lofty standard, so I inspected it and found more crud. Nothing compared to the MMC6000, a light cleaning was all that was needed to bring the 4000 back to where it should be.
Now energized on a mission of cleanness I checked my remaining Beogram 4004, 8002, and 4002. They were all remarkably clean, but I didn’t know that until I checked.
The point I am hoping to make is if it can happen to me it can happen to anyone, so periodically it is a good idea to check your styluses for cleanliness. I don’t know what to recommend for a inspection schedule as every household is different.
That said, if the stylus is clean, you will have wasted very little time….. and if the stylus needs cleaning, then it NEEDS cleaning.
Jeff
Location: Victoria, British Columbia
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