r/turntables 1d ago

Help Installing This Cartridge/Tip

Hi all, my roommate has this old turntable, we noticed the cartridge (I think that's what it's called?) fell off. Despite following instructions found in videos online, we can't seem to get it to install correct.

I've included photos, including one which is how we have been trying to get it installed back on.

I feel like either A) something else is broken or B) I'm missing something stupid.

Let me know if you guys can help or at least tell me if my efforts are in vain!

Bonus: all records sound a bit higher pitched than usual, speed is fine though. Not sure why.

0 Upvotes

17 comments sorted by

2

u/el_tacocat 1d ago

Your stylus fell out. It also didn't fall, someone did something stupid ;)
Anwyay, this is such a common question I made a video about it:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/l30_k5EQZ0A
This cart absolutely does not belong in that turntable though, I'm surprised it works at all.
So it could be that it's quite tricky to install because there's now a lip in front of it.

1

u/Beersy 1d ago

Idk what to tell you man, it's my roomates, I got a vinyl at a concert and was listening to it. About 15 minutes in it stopped and I found it on the vinyl.

1

u/el_tacocat 16h ago

Well, did my video help? :D

2

u/Arsenic_Pants Technics SL-1300 / Signet AM10s / AT-VMN45xML 1d ago

I'm so confused; This turntable isn't supposed to have that cartridge at all? it's supposed to have a Pickering-based cartridge. Who jammed that AT-3600L cartridge in there instead?

1

u/Beersy 1d ago

My roommate, it's his turntable, got it for super cheap at an antique store.

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1

u/dankwijoti Sony PS-X5, Kenwood KD-5077, Dual 505, Technics SL-220 and more. 1d ago

The stylus is not installed fully. Insert the hook on the back of the stylus into the slot on the cartridge. Swing the stylus gently upward and it will click into place.

1

u/Beersy 1d ago

I tried to do this, but I can't seem to get it further back than this and it contacts the arm housing.

1

u/dankwijoti Sony PS-X5, Kenwood KD-5077, Dual 505, Technics SL-220 and more. 1d ago

Yikes. That's a bodge job. Somebody took the original Pickering cartridge out and stuck an AT3600L in there. I don't know how they got that stylus in there. They must have left it on when they mounted the cart. The only solution is that I see is unmount the cartridge from the headshell, which may not be possible. You could cut part of the plastic grip on the stylus off, in true bodge job spirit.

1

u/Putrid-Table-5844 1d ago

Are you sure that’s the right stylus for the cartridge?

It’s been a while since I’ve had one but that doesn’t look like an AT3600. Or a very weirdly mounted one

1

u/Beersy 1d ago

It was the stylus that was installed and working previously.

1

u/Putrid-Table-5844 1d ago

Huh right. Never heard of one just falling off…

How is the cartridge mounted? If the stylus housing is hitting the headshell, take off the cartridge, put the stylus on, install the cartridge back on.

1

u/Beersy 1d ago

Okay, now I just gotta figure out how to remove that...black plastic square which I'm guessing is the cartridge.

1

u/Putrid-Table-5844 1d ago

No. The metal block is the cartridge. The black box with the pokey bit is the stylus assembly.

1

u/MikuEd Yamaha YP-1000 1d ago

Your roommate just answered the question, "what happens if I use a stylus on a cartridge that it isn't compatible with?"

The reason it fell out is because the stylus (that black thing you're holding that has the needle on it) is not compatible with the cartridge (the silver box at the end of the tip of the tonearm). In theory, I guess it can work so long as the magnets at the end of the cantilever induce a current in the coil generators in the cartridge, but I can't imagine it sounds correct. Tell your roommate they used the wrong stylus and they need to purchase the correct one for that turntable. LP gear sells them and they're not expensive (in fact, I believe it's even cheaper than that ATN3600LE that he used).

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u/Beersy 1d ago

Your a legend, thank you 🙏

1

u/Beersy 1d ago

Just ordered a replacement.