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Tonearm Noise

Hi. I am curious if anyone can tell me if it's normal to hear a loud noise when lowering or lifting the tonearm. The sound my tonearm makes is similar to a mike being tapped or dragged, however, once the stylus hits the record its very quiet. Do I need to apply lubricant or oil to it to reduce friction, I've read somewhere here that doing so will create more problems because oil or lube will attract dust. if it helps my TT is a Nottingham Interspace Jr with a Interspace arm. Thanks.
rangefinder
ldvalve
21 posts
 
i think your problem is more likely grounding issue . also check all the headshell wires to make sure they are tight fit to the cartridge pins.
john_tracy
341 posts
 
Yes, you will hear a noise in your speakers if you tap on your tone arm. It is like a microphone! You cartridge is a transducer and very sensitive to vibrations. It turns mechanical vibrations recorded in the groove into an electrical signal. Even very tiny vibrations. If it didn't make noise through your speakers when tapped on the arm I would suspect a dead cartridge. DUH.
rangefinder OP
18 posts
 
John, I don't tap my tonearm. Like I said when I move the arm a sound comes through the speakers it didn't do this before. I'm handle the arm very gently and as you know NAS arms don't have finger lifts so I have to hold the shaft when to operate the table. Also, there there is no sound when my finger touches the shaft. its just when I move the whole arm that the noise becomes audible.
fleib
1,124 posts
 
**I did change the cartridge clips to JA Michell premiums before I packed the Nott when I moved to a new place.**

Who soldered those clips? Maybe a ground came loose or something like that. Hopefully it's not inside the arm. Perhaps you should start with the most obvious suspect.
Regards,
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