[hcsunshine]

hi y'all, I recently had some vinyl records professionally cleaned and they came out really nice. though two of them had some pretty deep scratches to begin with. I was wondering if playing these records could cause damage to my stylus. maybe it would just cause some wear. I wouldn't think some rough vinyl could ruin a diamond tip. there was some pretty serious crackling noise when I played them. if you're wondering why I played them at all, it was a project I was doing for my brother- transferring them to digital (two records  were only played once each) replacing this particular stylus would "only" cost me about $70, but I was just making sure before I played any of my good records with this stylus for fear of damaging them. thanks, john

[griffithds]

I certainly would not use my best cartridges (or cartridge tips),to play this type of record.  I do have cartridge tips (lower priced but still good quality), to do what you did for your brother.  To answer your question.  Years ago, I did have a tip pop off while bouncing through or over a record which had one of these  deep scratches.  Can I say for sure, that it was this scratch that caused the tip to separate itself from the cantilever?  No.  But I do not plan on pressing my luck with that possibility again!
If your cartridge is a M/M, then buy yourself a cheap replacement stylus and use it for the playing of these damaged records.
The problem with damaging a diamond tip is that you may not realize it is damaged until 'after' you have played several of your very good records.  You will have damaged those records without knowing you were doing so.