when should i replace my record needles?

Question

I have Shure M44-7 needles. How do I know when I need to replace them?

Answer 1

The M44-7 was designed not to skip under heavy stresses (such as scratch DJing) so one huge indicator is if the needle can no longer stay in the groove of your records (even if you're just queueing up the record). Other indicators are poor sound coming from your records and larger grooves on your records. One further note is that you should make sure that everything is set up correctly on your turntable, sometimes an unlevel tonearm, loose cartridge, etc, can cause skipping.
Do not increase the tracking force higher than 3 grams in order to force the needle deeper, this will increase the wear on your records!

If you have been DJing regularly (3 times a week, 12+ hours) then I would recommened switching out at least every six months. That's already a stretch, but if you're a DJ, you already spent all your money on records. =D

Answer 2

I'd say August of 1975 would be a good time.

:-D