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I accidentally dropped my needle on the slipmat

Z

zunde

Well-Known Member
I have a BIC 40z changer. The player didn't drop a record onto the platter when the tonearm swung over and it dropped the needle right onto the slipmat. Did this cause any damage to the needle? I have played a few records since and nothing sounds too different, except maybe a bit more static. Or maybe it's just in my head.
 
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A 40z you say - and it doesn't sound different? No, I don't think so. No damage. Don't lose hope though, if you want damage and something real to worry about try dropping your stylus on this BIC 940:

Lpi6Nqh.jpg
 
tnsilver said:
A 40z you say - and it doesn't sound different? No, I don't think so. No damage. Don't lose hope though, if you want damage and something real to worry about try dropping your stylus on this BIC 940:

Lpi6Nqh.jpg
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Actually the outer part of my slipmat is just like that, with all those grooves. That's where the needle dropped- but yeah I don't really hear any difference between before and after.

What I've noticed on my 40z is that the changer mechanism works fine unless I have the max 6 records stacked. If I have 6 records stacked the first one won't drop the first time I hit play- but if I stop the table and then hit play again it works. Otherwise it works fine. Guess it's the weight or angle of all 6 records being on there where the clamp doesn't quite release. Still love this table though- got it for $10 off facebook marketplace and it even came with the original 45 stacker and adapter
 
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zunde said:
Actually the outer part of my slipmat is just like that, with all those grooves.
Click to expand...
I meant the chopper part. You got to admit it's the stupidest mat design in turntable history. I'd understand it if they had a proprietary stylus like B&O and I'd consider it a brilliant (though diabolic) marketing plot to promote cart sales, but a chopper design for no reason at all? It appears to had been done for spite! :crazy:
 
Usually if you damage the stylus this way the diamond disappears. Once you drop the arm it'll go skating all the way to the center, don't ask how I know this!! Remember, it's diamond, they're pretty hard. Just be sure your cantilever isn't bent.
 
Every once in a blue moon, a genuine BIC mat designed without the ridges comes up for sale. My home-made mat is equally dangerous for a needle, so I have to be careful.
 
FYI -- it's only a "slipmat" if it's made of felt. Any other material, such as rubber or cork, is designed to grip the platter rather than slip on it. :)
 
Hajidub said:
Just be grateful the changer didn't drop the record after the tonearm!
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That was actually the first thought I had when it happened, just waiting for that record to drop while I was moving the tonearm back out of the way!
 
When I have had changer mishaps, usually what happened was that, while the needle was still on one record, the changer dropped one or two records on top of the tonearm. The big looser was always the record under the needle which usually got a terrible scratch or gouge. After about the third time something like that happened for me, with different changers, I stopped ever stacking records, and decades have passed since then.

Maybe I would stack records again if I had one of those 1950s dedicated changers for 45's only. 45s are a lot lighter, and the kinds of 45s I'd buy would probably already be in bad shape. I would probably only buy them to demonstrate the vintage changer with. I'd probably be running a ceramic cartridge that took 5-dollar replacement needles, and I'd have a couple of spares handy.
 
illinoisteve said:
When I have had changer mishaps, usually what happened was that, while the needle was still on one record, the changer dropped one or two records on top of the tonearm. The big looser was always the record under the needle which usually got a terrible scratch or gouge. After about the third time something like that happened for me, with different changers, I stopped ever stacking records, and decades have passed since then.

Maybe I would stack records again if I had one of those 1950s dedicated changers for 45's only. 45s are a lot lighter, and the kinds of 45s I'd buy would probably already be in bad shape. I would probably only buy them to demonstrate the vintage changer with. I'd probably be running a ceramic cartridge that took 5-dollar replacement needles, and I'd have a couple of spares handy.
Click to expand...

I certainly understand the hesitation to stack records- there's a lot of stuff to go wrong! TBH I usually just play one record at a time like you- I think it's just that every once in a while I just like to watch the changer operate. :p Believe it or not ever since I disassembled and cleaned the old dried grease out and relubed this table (following YouTube videos on the advice of a fellow BIC owner on here) it has worked absolutely perfectly unless I stack 6 records- and then I just have to hit play a second time to get it to drop the first record. Thinking of filming it in action and posting to YouTube... :D
 
I do understand the appeal of stacking records. When it works right it is fun. There are even record sets designed to be played on changers, where side 2 is on the next disc, not on side b of the first disc. To hear them the way they were intended you need to stack them on a changer. I say, let the brave, have that fun! I'm just too cautious for that.
 
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