It sounds like the crowd at this cafe has the same listening preferences as you... human-made music. Great idea, and kudos for sharing your passion.
That said, a single spin with a damaged or incorrectly set up cartridge CAN ruin a vinyl record. A few precautions:
- bring a sliver of Magic Eraser + stylus brush and clean the stylus before each side; it only takes a second, will probably improve the sound and will definitely be safer for your records
- make SURE the VTF is set in the upper half of the range recommended for the cartridge; don't trust the dial on the tonearm, bring a VTF scale; more records have been ruined by too-low VTF than all other causes combined.
Enjoy!
That said, a single spin with a damaged or incorrectly set up cartridge CAN ruin a vinyl record. A few precautions:
- bring a sliver of Magic Eraser + stylus brush and clean the stylus before each side; it only takes a second, will probably improve the sound and will definitely be safer for your records
- make SURE the VTF is set in the upper half of the range recommended for the cartridge; don't trust the dial on the tonearm, bring a VTF scale; more records have been ruined by too-low VTF than all other causes combined.
Enjoy!