How do you stop all that skippin when your scratching

[dj bshock]

some days my turntables are fine and i can scratch and stuff then other days my needle just skips and skips and skips and its soo annoying. So what exactly should i do to fix this problem?

[Buffalo Ill]

Make sure your turntables are level.
Make sure the feet are screwed into the turntables properly.
Balance your tone arm and ensure the correct amount of weight is applied.
Clean (vacuum or shake out) your slip mats. (Same for your records - if they're dusty, you'll need to use more force to hold onto them).

Most likely, you just need to be more gentle with your scratching. You should use LITERALLY NO down force with your record hand. The friction between the pads of your fingers and the record should be enough to scratch. DON'T press down on the record.

DON'T add extra weight to the tone arm/needle. It'll wear your styli and your records and is not necessary.

DO you have your TT's flipped 90' battle style?

[Hippie]

Also check your antiskate, tonearm height and cart mounting settings.

The cartridge manufacturer should have the recommended settings for your carts printed somewhere on their website and in the instructions.

[Lineypirate]

What turntables are you using? I've owned my fair share and found the cheaper ones are more likely to skip as the platter is plastic or a light metal construction and bounces when you get violent with your scratches.

As for making them stop skipping, all the above advice definitely applies. Level off your TT's using a spirit level, balance off your tonearm correctly according to the tracking weight, if your TT has a height adjustable tonearm make sure it is correct and set your antiskate to 0.

If you've done all that and it still skips you might want to buy a skip proof record. These have scratch samples recorded in the same place on different grooves so if the needle skips the sound will be undisturbed!

I found a helpful video on old youtube too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIpRQ29PQS8

Anymore questions feel free to ask!