Grado GF3

[Mark Davis]

I have a Grado GF3 that needs a new stylus.

I noticed there is this Black gunk in the base of the cartrigge when I pull out the stylist.

Should this be cleaned out before putting in a new stylus.

I thought I read something about this being a dampening material. If its supposed to be there is it damaged? See pictures.

Also is this a decent cartridge?

Thanks in Advance!

 

[Crab33]

I believe the black gunk is meant to be there and should be left.

The quality of this cartridge now really depends on the quality of the stylus that you fit to it. Original styli are no longer available but it seems that these old Grados will take the current Prestige range of styli. LP Gear suggest that the Blue stylus is today's equivalent, with the Red stylus being an upgrade, but you could in principle use any of the styli in the range from Black through to Gold. They also suggest the 8MZ stylus as a possible upgrade, which is extremely well liked on this forum.

 

[Redd House]

Leave the black stuff alone. It's there for a reason and you could easily bugger up the coils trying to remove it.
The GF3 is midway up the Grado G series line. That will be a great sounding cartridge with a new stylus but be aware that the current Grado replacement styli have bonded tips. There's a lot of consensus that there's really no difference between a Black3 stylus and a Gold3 stylus. Before buying a stylus I would read the coils with a DMM just to verify that one or both channels aren't dead. Should read around 700ohms each side.

 

[Redd House]

Honestly, I would have the existing stylus retipped before I'd buy any of Grados current offerings.
PM me if you need info on retippers I've used to improve on my Grados.

 

[Mark Davis]

Leave the black stuff alone. It's there for a reason and you could easily bugger up the coils trying to remove it.
The GF3 is midway up the Grado G series line. That will be a great sounding cartridge with a new stylus but be aware that the current Grado replacement styli have bonded tips. There's a lot of consensus that there's really no difference between a Black3 stylus and a Gold3 stylus. Before buying a stylus I would read the coils with a DMM just to verify that one or both channels aren't dead. Should read around 700ohms each side.

I Have DMM so just read between the pins for 700 ohms correct.

 

[Mark Davis]

Ohmed the grado out and I get 718 between two of the pins and OL between the other.

Tried every combination. I assume the cartridge is bad.

 

[Redd House]

Top and bottom pin, each side. Sounds like one channel is dead. Often, a fly wire to the pin inside has broken because someone squeezed the cartridge too hard. There's hardened glue inside the metal with the wires running through it. 9 out 10 times it can be fixed by a retipper but there's cost involved. I know that one guy charges $75. Then the cost of the retip.

 

[cafe latte]

Leave the black stuff alone. It's there for a reason and you could easily bugger up the coils trying to remove it.
The GF3 is midway up the Grado G series line. That will be a great sounding cartridge with a new stylus but be aware that the current Grado replacement styli have bonded tips. There's a lot of consensus that there's really no difference between a Black3 stylus and a Gold3 stylus. Before buying a stylus I would read the coils with a DMM just to verify that one or both channels aren't dead. Should read around 700ohms each side.

I agree, I dont have a black but I have a green and I cant see any difference apart from black paint on the cantilever of the gold.
Chris