Okay, so being the clumsy person that I am, I accidentally dropped the tonearm of my MMF-5 off the far side and onto the plinth (D'oh!). I have since replaced the stylus with a new one from KAB.

The problem is that when I put a record on, the cartridge rubs the edge and makes the beginning of each side skip! So the first song of each side is ruined. Could this be a problem with the stylus or could something else have gone wrong? I don't want to spend the $150 for a new stylus if I'll have the same problem.

Thanks in advance.

what cart. ,what replacement stylus ?
Did you change anything else like playingwieght ? Check this please .
If I understand you correctly the cart. is now to close to the record.
This means either the playingweight/styluspressure is to high or the suspension of the new stylusassembly is faulty.
Hope this helps .
Enjoy F.

Correct, the stylus is too close to the record.

It's a Goldring 1012 GX with the associated stylus (D12GX).

To assemble the stylus, I just snapped it in, and it looks like it's in there correctly, but I guess there's really no particular way for me to tell.

I just recently moved and re-zeroed the tonearm and even lowered the counterweight a tiny bit, so I don't think that's the issue.

I'm kind of a newbie, so if there's anything you suggest I try, I would be much appreciative.

once you've balanced the arm so it 'floats in neither up or down position above the record)..try setting the downforce to the lower end of the cartridge's tracking force range on a flat record near the edge. ..g-1012 range is approx 1.5-2.0gm downforce...about 1.7gm should be ok for testing ...
if the stylus still bottoms out several things could need attention :

first thing to bear in mind is the compliance rating for the cartridge and your arm's effective mass...
goldring's G-1012 is designed to work with an arm whose effective mass is between 6-12g
the G-1022 is even fussier having a narrower range of 5-11g


that suggests the cartridge has quite a soft suspension assembly that would mate best with a lower mass tonearm...say one whose effective mass was between 5 to 12 g
you need to find out the effective mass of your tonearm..it might just be that the arm is too heavy for the suspension of the cartridge...

you might find this thread helpful for getting some idea of compliance ratings for cartridges once you can determine your arm's effective mass

http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=71694


if your arm has an effective mass of between the 6-12g range of the goldring cartridge...hm..
other things to check might include..


1. stylus cantilever might be damaged
2. arm could be set for wrong vta
3. stylus rake angle could be wrong
4. a compliance mis match between the mass of the arm and the suspension of the stylus
5. downforce reading of the arm could be innaccurate ( try a shure sfg-2 for a reasonably accurate measurement)
6. antiskate could be set too high make sure its in the elliptical range if you arm has settings for spherical and elliptical
7. replacement stylus could be out of spec...
8. check for obvious things too like turntable not being reasonably level

any, all or a combination of the above could be contributing to the problem...
in addition to unforseen factors..

work slowly and extremely carefully when adjusting the above so you dont damage the new stylus

Thanks melofelo!

What's the stylus rake angle?

I bought the turntable new, and this is the cartridge and stylus it comes with, so I don't think that's the problem. The VTA was supposedly set at the factory, and had been working fine before I bent the other cantilever. I have the downforce set at 1.6 g, so that's probably not it. The turntable is pretty level, so I don't think that's it. I'm just afraid that I got a bad stylus, because it has been doing this since the first time I attached it.

If there's anything else that could be wrong, I'd love suggestions. Otherwise, I may have to drop some money on a new stylus :tears:

a good read up here on setting up your cartridge...
if your deck was working well before..
you probably wont have to worry too much about things like vta and sra till you've got the arm cartridge suspension matching issues fixed and at least used a good protractor to align your needle well and get the tracking force at least within range...


but i found it a good read for explaining some of the terms and issues i was previously unfamiliar with about my deck..

http://www.users.nac.net/markowitzgd/cartalign.html#sra

also the vinyl engine site is a minefield of useful info..
http://www.vinylengine.com/news.shtml


and some info on compliance matching

http://www.theanalogdept.com/cartridge___arm_matching.htm

if 1.6 g is within the recomended range for this cart. and the cart. is to close to the record then I think the replacementstylus is faulty. Have you got a way to check the pressure that's independent of the arm ? ie a stylus pressuregauge (the shure device mentioned by melofelo or the ortofon gauge are good starters.) You might want to check the stylusassembly for defects ,use a jewelers loupe if you have one .Look for a bent/crack/dent in the cantilever (the "aluminium " tube to wich the diamond is glued ) if you find any of the above it is dead.
Hope this is any help ,enjoy F.

if 1.6 g is within the recomended range for this cart. and the cart. is to close to the record then I think the replacementstylus is faulty. Have you got a way to check the pressure that's independent of the arm ? ie a stylus pressuregauge (the shure device mentioned by melofelo or the ortofon gauge are good starters.) You might want to check the stylusassembly for defects ,use a jewelers loupe if you have one .Look for a bent/crack/dent in the cantilever (the "aluminium " tube to wich the diamond is glued ) if you find any of the above it is dead.
Hope this is any help ,enjoy F.

Hmm...I don't have a jeweler's loupe. I didn't see any obvious bends in the cantilever, but that doesn't mean there's not one. I'll check for that. I think I may have to get another replacement stylus :thumbsdn: