Empire stylus bent?
- Thread starter JtotheROC
- Start date
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Ilikevinyl
Cool Breeze
Welcome to AK!
Would get a new stylus. There's a huge Empire cartridge thread here. Guys will tell you the best replacement stylus.
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index...-running-vintage-empire-carts.468129/page-510
Would get a new stylus. There's a huge Empire cartridge thread here. Guys will tell you the best replacement stylus.
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index...-running-vintage-empire-carts.468129/page-510
Thank you!
Ilikevinyl
Cool Breeze
Your most welcome!
Hey Doug,
I thought about that I just wasn't too sure how exact it has to be.
I can eyeball things pretty well.... I'll give it a go, any tips other then don't break it haha
desertrat748
Super Member
I can’t agree more with Doug! Gently try and twist it to get it more aligned with the azimuth(?)
desertrat748
Super Member
I have had similar issues with Empire. Don’t worry about it too much. Try and gently twist it to align it vertically perpendicular and don’t worry about it being a little off to the one side. That is common with older empire suspensions. Welcome to AK. Doug is one of the best Empire knowledge leaders out there.
Should I remove the stylus from the cartridge before doing this or leave it in?
desertrat748
Super Member
I have adjusted mine with the stylus removed. Hold on firmly to the grip and gently, gently try to rotate the diamond by the cantilever. Don’t be surprised if it comes completely out. If so, gently push it back in and note the length of the cantilever before you begin to adjust. Try not to change overall length.
Good luck and let us know what is what when you finish. Don’t worry if the cantilever is still pushed off a little to one side. You can always adjust with some anti-skate.
This will be a tricky operation but it can be done. That cantilever is a hollow aluminum tube and very fragile, which is why they tend to bend in the first place. It can be bent back into a more suitable geometry but the process must be gentle and SLOW! I've used some wooden toothpicks, first removing about 1/4 inch from the end to give a bit of a more rigid feel to them and carefully placing each on either side of where it is bent. Then, gently applying force until I can see that the thing is moving in the right direction towards being more straight. Repeated exertions of force in this manner, just a small amount at a time, will generally get it moving as you would like. The tendency is to want to force it too quickly which can result in a kink, which means it's toast so be patient. Now, let's say you have it back to being about as straight as you think you can get it without doing more damage.....time to look at the position of the stylus in relation to the record surface.....this is when the above comments about turning it in the suspension to correct for azimuth come into play. You will in all likelihood NOT be able to get it perfect, so you'll have to live with it the way it is UNLESS your tonearm/headshell can be adjusted for azimuth and if so, you will be very happy about that because then you can adjust, using the mirror trick, to get as close to a perfect hourglass shape with the reflection as possible. Any imperfections in zenith might be corrected by loosening the headshell screws and turning the cartridge ever so slightly until the cantilever is as parallel to the lines on your protractor grid as you can get it. Not very scientific, but in these cases you're just trying to get close.....you'll want to do final adjustments using your ears and listening anyhow, especially in the realm of VTA and tracking force. Then you will be done and if all has gone well, enjoying the sound of what you surmised at one point might be a goner cartridge! Good luck amigo, and let us know how it goes....
