When do you change your needle on your juke.

[Dave27]

I was just curious how often you guys change the needles on your Juke Box. Also how do you know when to change it. I noticed side two records dont souund as good on mine and it appears the needle is shot......Thanks....Dave

 

[RetroHacker]

Same as with any turntable - when it starts sounding crummy

You'll notice more distortion with a worn needle, especially on the highs. Also be sure that the tracking force is set correctly - too light is actually worse than too heavy, and it'll wear on the records as the needle skates about in the groove. Without a force gauge, just adjust it so the needle deflects a small amount when the arm is on the record. You'll get used to how it's supposed to look.

-Ian

 

[Dave27]

Cool thankyou.

 

[CykoMF]

Has anyone here tried them 'magic eraser' sponges to clean their needles?

I did once so far and have to say it worked very well for me.
Just wondered what the long term results (if any) may be.

 

[Dave27]

Not me I ended up just buying new ones.

 

[CykoMF]

Well, they're not intended to restore worn out needles, but it sure took the gunk off of one that was in service a while.

Some jukeboxes no longer have replacement needles available.
What to do then?

 

[RetroHacker]

Some jukeboxes no longer have replacement needles available.
What to do then?

Replace the whole cartridge. You can get a brand new one for like $30 - I used the Shure M25C in my Rock-Ola. Jukes usually use the standard 1/2" mount cartridges - you just need to find a cartridge that can support the tracking force of the jukebox. The Shure M25C is really a DJ cartridge, meant for skip-resistance, and it supports a 3 gram tracking force. There are lots of other cartridge out there, including ones intended for broadcast turntables with heavy tone arms, etc.

-Ian

 

[Doghouse]

Many cartridges are just stuck into the carrier. I prised an old Shure M75 cartridge out of its carriage, did the same with the dud one on my Rock-Ola and swopped them over as a temporary measure until I obtained a complete S/H tone arm for a few quid and took out the original cartridge and used that. Couldn't tell the difference in the reproduction.
When replacing any cartridge, best to check the clearance of the gripper arm before playing "B" sides.

 

[Dave27]

The new needles are now installed in mine and it plays really nice.Changing needles only took a few minutes why would a person want to change the entire cartridge do certain ones sound better then the stock ones.

 

[RetroHacker]

Changing needles only took a few minutes why would a person want to change the entire cartridge do certain ones sound better then the stock ones.

Depends on the machine, and what cartridge was in there originally. It's very, very hard to get new needles for some cartridges. Also, the old cartridge may be damaged. In my case, the original cartridge had a broken needle, and buying a whole new cartridge was cheaper than a new needle for the old cartridge - and I wasn't sure about the functional status of the old cartridge - it was banged around a bit before I got it due to a missing screw - hence the broken needle.

Also, a newer cartridge with a more modern needle should sound a bit better, and be able to track lighter, and thus be easier on the records. Again - depends on the particular machine and situation. But in most cases, if you can get a new needle for the existing cartridge - go for it! That's how the juke was designed to work in the first place.

-Ian

 

[CykoMF]

The old NSM in my garage uses a double sided cartridge, with 2 needles. (One is reversed direction)

It's not so easy to find a replacement for.