Evidence of groove damage of TT setup?

Herman, I guess I was expecting possible answers such as: "Distortion in dynamic passages is never a symptom of improper tracking." or "90% of the time distortion during passages is due to groove damage.", etc.

I was looking for general guidelines.

I'm not playing it very loud at all so I don't think it's a systemic issue. I agree that I'll have to eventually make adjustments to see what helps but, was hoping to get oriented into the areas to look first; those that are typically the culprit in exhibiting these symptoms.

"Fatparrot is entirely correct about much older vinyl, especially rock albums..."

Hmmm, as it turns out, although out of character for me, that night I was listening to a few rock records I had just picked up second hand: Elvis Costello - 1977, Bee Gees - 1977, Boston - 1976, Billy Joel - 1978.

This Friday, I'll pull out some brand new stuff to make sure my system is still setup properly.

Doug; I've never encountered that advice before - and I don't get to say that too often - but, look forward to trying it!!