just my luck...

[sleeperbold]

I just bought a Pioneer PL-4 from a friend and I realize that the stylus is broken. I am having a really tough time finding a replacement. It's my first record player and I would be most appreciative to any advice. Can any brand of stylus be attached to the arm? I read that one of the members put a grado black? stylus on his. Any affordable suggestions? Thanks guys and gals.

[JoeE SP9]

What kind of cartridge and what model is it. Almost all moving magnet cartridges have removable replaceable stylus (needle) assemblies.

[JohnMichael]

From my search of Pioneer ttables it looks like your table accepts standard mount cartridges. You could certainly replace the cartridge with a Grado cartridge. If the cartridge has no markings or name it would be hard to find a stylus. If the cartridge is old you might be better off with a new cartridge. Hopefully you received the instructions that show how to mount a cartridge if you have never done it yourself. If you have an audio store locally that sells cartridges most that still sell them will install. Some good sources for cartridges and set up tools along with advice are www.needledoctor.com and www.turntablebasics.com.

If you can find any markings on the cart or post a picture we might be able to help further. Welcome to AudioReview.

[dean_martin]

I don't know your turntable/arm, but I would imagine the first question you should answer is whether the tonearm accepts standard mount (a/k/a 1/2 in.), P-mount or Pioneer proprietary mount cratridges. Once you answer that question you can begin your search. (I would give JohnMichael the benefit of the doubt on his conclusion that your arm accepts standard mount carts because he knows his stuff. But confirming this for yourself and noticing the differences may give you more confidence in selecting a new one.) If the arm accepts standard mount or P-mount cartridges you should have no trouble finding a replacement. If it only accepts some proprietary or special mount made by Pioneer then it may be harder (but not impossible) to find a replacement.

I agree that it's probably better to replace the cartridge rather than the stylus/needle that is part of the cartridge especially if you're considering something around $40-50 like the Grado Black. BTW, the Grados come in both standard mount and P-mount versions. (I recently put a Grado Black on a Technics that only accepts P-mounts.)

A budget would also be helpful in making recommendations.

[sleeperbold]

Thank you for your promt replies, I believe that my current stylus is the stock one, I have attatched some pics, I hope they help. I did not find any identification markings on it anywhere. As far as budget, anything under a 80bucks or so would be fine. thanks again.

[JoeE SP9]

Hi, Sleeperbold. If you can determine what make and model your cartridge is you should be able to get a replacement stylus at www.needledoctor.com . An alternative would be to replace the entire cartridge. You will need a stylus protractor to align it properly.

The information below is where you can get a stylus protractor to align cartridges. I got this from www.enjoythemusic.com .

This protractor tool is used for your vinyl turntable to insure proper alignment of the cartridge on your tonearm. This version is printed on a high quality cardboard sheet 4 inches wide by 7 inches long (DL or a C5 envelope for my European and overseas friends). All i ask is that you send your request with a self addressed stamped envelope inside that will fit the protractor to the dude nearest to you. Below is the listing of the locations where it is available for free:

Mike Clapperton
P.O. Box 2133
Link Hills
3652
Natal
South Africa

Melbourne Audio Club Inc
P.O. Box 27
Forest Hills Vic
3131
Australia

Sead Lejlic
Alipasina 45-a
71000 Sarajevo
Bosnia and Herzegovina

Tony Maresch
5th Floor, 6075 Yonge St.
Toronto, Ontario
M2M 3W2
Canada

Jacques Daigneau
46 avenue du bois de verrieres
92160 Antony
France
Hartmut Quaschik
Strassl ins Holz 19
81829 Munich
Germany

Dr. Lucio Cadeddu
Dept. of Mathematics
University of CAGLIARI
Via Ospedale 72
09124 Cagliari
Italy

Paul K K Chin
156, Holiday Park,
Bakam, 98000 Miri,
Sarawak,
Malaysia

André Huisman
New Line licht en geluid
Kanaalweg 100 b
8861 KJ Harlingen
Netherlands

RJ
392 New Brighton Road
New Brighton
Christchurch
New Zealand

Geir Braendvik
Department of Philosophy
P.O. Box 1020 Blindern
N-0315 Oslo
Norway

Gerry Kaimo
n/a records
910 W PSE Bldg.
Exchange Rd.
Ortigas Center
Pasig City 1605
Philippines

Iain A F Fleming
8 St. Magdalenes
Linlithgow
West Lothian
EH49 6AQ
Scotland

Melvin Ang
43 Jalan Haji Salam
Singapore 468831 Ashley Chua
BLK 319, Shunfu Road
#03-10
Singapore 70319

Claudio Rodil
Felipe Campos, 18
Primera Planta
28002 Madrid
Spain

David Lundin
Bunkegatan 10
331 52 Värnamo
Sweden

James Chang
11F, No. 216, Wen Lin North Road,
Taipei, Taiwan

Teeranut Vanitchayanguranont
45/10 Damrongrug Road
Klongmahanak Pomparb
Bangkok 10100
Thailland

Dr. Simon Busbridge
Dept. of Mech. and Manufct. Eng.
University of Brighton
Lewes Road
Moulsecoomb
Brighton BN2 4GJ
U.K.

Todd Warnke
922 Oakwood Drive
Castle Rock, CO 80104
U. S. A.


Prodanovic Aleksandar
Santiceva 2
21420 BAC
Yugoslavia

[JohnMichael]

Thank you for your promt replies, I believe that my current stylus is the stock one, I have attatched some pics, I hope they help. I did not find any identification markings on it anywhere. As far as budget, anything under a 80bucks or so would be fine. thanks again.

My initial thought is that you have an Audio Technica cartridge. If you pull down the removeable stylus assembly and look at the end of the cantilever opposite the needle and if you see two small magnets at a 45 dgree from each other it is an AT. Needle doctor would have a stylus for you and you would not have to remount the cart.