[bbchem]

Hi, guys,I have a shelter 301 cartridge and needle. Up until a few days ago it was playing beautifully, yesterday I tried it and it was having some distortion beyond the record and did not sound right. I think my wife might have touched the needle while dusting. Can this be fixed? Does anyone want to purchase it for the cartridge and maybe fix the needle?

Bill

[ricmon]

Bill I had a similar problem with my Blackbird.  At times it would play realy crappy.  Well some where along the way I damaged the cat and sent it to the SoundSmith.  When the cat was ready Pete called me and gave me a chastisement.  He said my cart was so dirty when I sent it to him he could not see the stylus and required an extensive cleaning .  After that talking to I'm odsessed with cleaning my cart and perform a cleaning after each lp.  Maybe thats all thats wrong with yours. 

Good luck
Ric

[Wayner]

You need a tool that you can get from rat shack. It's a 3 piece magnifier and it will let you go to 50x. It's only about $12. I would remove the cartridge and examine the cantilever for any damage, like being bent, odd shapes and then look at the stylus for grit or dirt. Also, since the lovely was busy dusting on the table (forbidden at my house), did she hit the counterweight and accidently change the VTF or hit the anti-skating and change the setting? Recheck everything first before going to the next step of replacement.

Wayner