If the examination confirms your suspicions, replace the stylus at once. Stylus wear cannot be detected by the naked eye ; only a fairly powerful microscope will reveal it. It is important to use the stylus that is recommended for your particular pick-up, and to keep it clean at all times.

Handling and Storage

When you are not playing a record, keep it in its protective sleeve or sleeves. To leave it lying about uncovered is to expose it to the dust that is its ever-present enemy, and to run the risk of having its delicate playing surfaces scratched or damaged.

Never touch the playing surfaces of a record. Handle it only at the rim and centre. When removing it from its sleeves, use a cleaning cloth to take hold of it.

Clean every record both before and after playing it, using a good-quality, proprietary cleaning cloth.

When you replace a record in its sleeve, store it in such a way that dust cannot reach the record.

Store records vertically wherever possible. If they must be stored horizontally, make sure that the stack is straight, and do not place records of different sizes in the same stack.

Remember that more records are discarded through damage than are ever worn out by being played.