Grado MF1 Stylus Bent...

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#21
Re: Just making sure...

Modernaire said:


I just want to make sure that at this time I'm talking about replacing ONLY the STYLUS for now, NOT the cartridge which again is an older Grado MF1.

According to http://www.gradolabs.com/frameset_cart/stylus_hist.htm the recommended STYLUS replacement is the Silver...but again, the BLACK, GREEN, BLUE or RED Styli can be used with my older MF1 Cartridge instead of the expensive SILVER, should be good right?
Click to expand...

Can't see the problem with using any of the styli.

Modernaire said:

The tone arm is a basic S-shaped, black tonearm with a Denon removable headshell. Nice.

I don't think I want to do a tonearm upgrade, looks and works great and maybe this turntable doesn't need that.

You used the BLACK cartridge with the Linn turntable right? That cartridge, is it using the BLACK stylus? Thats the stylus I'm considering using as a replacement for my ruined one, instead of the SILVER STYLUS.
Click to expand...

No. A Linn LVX+ arm on a rebuilt SystemDek IIX, Black cartridge/stylus.

The Denon arm. Inspect the bearings for play, if you find play
adjust them for zero play if you can. I'd fit a magnesium headshell.
I'd also remove the usual rubber washer on the headshell and
semipermanently bond the headshell to the armtube using
thread locking compound (Threadlock/Studlock)

🙂sreten.
 
#22
Got it!

Hey guys, I know its been a while, but I finally got a deal on a brand new Grado Prestige BLACK cart and stylus!

It sounds fabulous! I like the bassy-ness of the cartridge. I do.

And I forget who told me or if it was in another thread that the messed up MF1 stylus would break, well, the cantilever didn't but the actual sylus did, it just was gone when I was cleaning it with a stylus brush.

It just fell off, I think that when I smashed it with the stylus protector clip, it was loosened, as a result I was getting these bad highs, very hissy and harsh at times.

Then the left channel was bad, I thought it was the used record, and thats when I cleaned things and the stylus tip did an exodus!

Anyway, I'm really happy with the Black for now 🙂

The rubber washer on the headshell, on this Denon Dp 30L, it was brittle and came off. How does this rubber washer or adding thread locking compound affect the sound? I'm really curious!

Seems like a small thing...

Okay, I want to extend my thanks again for you guys dealing with my newbie questions and experience, and for guiding and hipping me to alot of stylus/cartridge/tonearm and turntable info! :clown:
 
#23
Re: Got it!

Modernaire said:
The rubber washer on the headshell, on this Denon Dp 30L, it was brittle and came off. How does this rubber washer or adding thread locking compound affect the sound? I'm really curious!

Seems like a small thing...
Click to expand...

Ideally you'd undo the screw holding the headshell receptacle
in the end of the arm tube and pull it out, and then replace
but using threadlock to lock it it place, then the threadlock on
the end face would work much better.

The purpose is to minimise the the resonant "break" of the
headshell arm connection, to make the arm act more as one
unit, make it more like a fixed headshell arm.

🙂 sreten.
 
#24
sreten said:


Ideally you'd undo the screw holding the headshell receptacle
in the end of the arm tube and pull it out, and then replace
but using threadlock to lock it it place, then the threadlock on
the end face would work much better.

The purpose is to minimise the the resonant "break" of the
headshell arm connection, to make the arm act more as one
unit, make it more like a fixed headshell arm.

🙂 sreten.
Click to expand...

Oooohhh...hm, hmmm, as one, yes, makes sense.

So does it NOT being "as one", the headshell and tonearm, does that cause somekind of effect on the audio? The sound pickup if you will?

And isn't that stuff sticky and messy? What if I want to later get another headshell for interchanging?

You know, one headshell to use on USED records/thrift store finds and another headshell for NEW and MINT records?

Both headshells would of course have the same cartridge/stylus from the same manufacturer. I say this because I checked the balance and tracking for the Black as opposed to the MF1 and I didnt have to balance my tone arm.

Wouldn't that be a messy and time consuming change?

I just wonder since I haven't done that before. Does it make a big difference in the audio?

What about just modifying a sticky plastic, you know the kind that you put on things that you don't want to slide from say a desk top or dash board.

Its like a rubber mat with semi-sticky/tacky yet cushiony material.



.::
 
#25
SY said:
Bite the bullet and get a new stylus. The bent/straightened one might sound OK, but not compared to an undamaged one.
Click to expand...


The "repaired" stylus will probably never be the same, with invisible fatigue on the cantelever... worst case is that it could just collapse catastrophically.

I have a source for good used Grados. We pick out the ones with decent stylus (ignoring the ones with none or obviously bent) about 1/2 that have been traded in with very little wear. These can be had for between $10 & 20 USD depending on model (ie the $20 ones are F1+ which were $75 in the late 70s so figure they wuld be twice that new now-a-days).

dave
 
#26
planet10 said:


The "repaired" stylus will probably never be the same, with invisible fatigue on the cantelever... worst case is that it could just collapse catastrophically.

I have a source for good used Grados. We pick out the ones with decent stylus (ignoring the ones with none or obviously bent) about 1/2 that have been traded in with very little wear. These can be had for between $10 & 20 USD depending on model (ie the $20 ones are F1+ which were $75 in the late 70s so figure they wuld be twice that new now-a-days).

dave
Click to expand...

Dave, thanks for joining the thread! Yes, it didn't collapse, but like I said a bit earlier on this page, the stylus did fall off but on the stylus brush...whew!

So I got a new Black!

But I'll keep you in mind if I ever need a replacement stylus for a secondary cartridge! Thanks!


:clown:
 
#29
Modernaire said:


Oooohhh...hm, hmmm, as one, yes, makes sense.

So does it NOT being "as one", the headshell and tonearm, does that cause somekind of effect on the audio? The sound pickup if you will?

And isn't that stuff sticky and messy? What if I want to later get another headshell for interchanging?

You know, one headshell to use on USED records/thrift store finds and another headshell for NEW and MINT records?

Both headshells would of course have the same cartridge/stylus from the same manufacturer. I say this because I checked the balance and tracking for the Black as opposed to the MF1 and I didnt have to balance my tone arm.

Wouldn't that be a messy and time consuming change?

I just wonder since I haven't done that before. Does it make a big difference in the audio?

What about just modifying a sticky plastic, you know the kind that you put on things that you don't want to slide from say a desk top or dash board.

Its like a rubber mat with semi-sticky/tacky yet cushiony material.

.::
Click to expand...

Simple answer then is don't do it.

You can experiment with the headshell washer, doesn't do any harm.

🙂 sreten.
 
#31
SY said:
what do you do about the old suspensions? If these carts are really 15-20 years old, the rubber has to be pretty beat. (I do have a mod suggestion that might help that matter)
Click to expand...

You'd think it would be a problem -- one i've had on other carts -- but these seem to be fine... i'm using one of the F1s myself. It could be the nature of the Grado, the rubber ring the cantelevr rides in sits in a protective "bath" of magnetic "gunk". My sample size of working cartridges is about 10, but it is more than double that if you include units kicking around with broken stylii. I also ran a Grado Signiture of similar vintage up until a couple years ago when it went off with one of my Linns (should have kept that one)

I would be interested in the mod...

as an aside, any idea where one can get Ehtlene Glycol Monobutyl Ether (Butyl Cellusolve)?

dave
 
#32
For a while, Joe Grado was reputedly using latex sliced from condoms for his suspensions/dampers.

Here in the US, butyl cellusolve and the closely related butyl cellusolve acetate are available from nearly every chemical supply house. I would assume the same in Canada, though that may be tougher out in the boonies. A somewhat less toxic alternative you might wish to consider (though BC and BCA aren't terribly toxic) is Dupont's Dibasic Ester (DBE), available from any Dupont distributor. Very similar solvent properties, a little less flammable, and very, very low toxicity.

Anyway, get yourself some Permatex undercoating compound, mix it 50:50 with a low viscosity (say 300-500 centistoke) silicone oil (Dow-Corning 200, for instance), then paint this on the back of the stylus assembly, where the magnetic goop was. Let it dry, then reapply the goop before reinserting the stylus assembly. We used to do this to G1s and FTE/GTEs with great results.
 
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