How to Stop a Record Player - How to Properly Stop Your Records
Listening to Vinyl has surged in popularity over the years. A younger generation has found joy in physical media and it has been a bridge between generations in sharing their favorite music, both old and new.
Let’s face it though, vinyl is less convenient than digital media when it comes to stopping your favorite tune. Record players don’t have a pause button and trying to stop a record improperly can damage your record.
We have all heard the old sound bytes of a record needle being pulled across a record “screeeeeee”. As a kid we might have laughed at what was a funny sound, but as someone who listens to vinyl that sound should make you cringe. So how do you safely stop a record player?
Lift The Record Players Tonearm
The first step of properly stopping your vinyl record is to lift the tone arm. Many modern record players have a little lever that will assist you in doing so. Due to the tonearm and needle not touching the record, there is no longer any sound.
However, if you look at the record on the platter you will see the vinyl is still rotating.
Stop the Record Spinning
While this might seem a little obvious, there are various ways to do this depending on what type of record player you have.
Stop Button
Some record players have a start/stop button on the record deck. This is a very easy way to stop your record player once you have the tonearm lifted.
RPM Selector
Other record players have a RPM selector. This allows you to choose between 33 ⅓ or 45RPMs. Some turntables only turn when a RPM is selected, simply moving it from a RPM to the neutral position will stop your record from spinning.
Auto-Stop on Turntables
The two methods mentioned above are manual ways of stopping your records and can be done in the middle of a song. However, many modern turntables have auto-stop functions which are meant to protect your records.
The auto-stop on your record player will automatically stop your record spinning when you complete the side of a record. If you are busy preparing dinner and can’t wash your hands before stopping your record, this will prevent the needle from endlessly spinning, damaging both your record and cutting the lifespan of our needle.
The needle will still be touching the record so if you are truly done listening to your record you still need to return the tonearm to its resting place.
So How Do You Stop a Record Player?
Stopping your record player is very easy. To summarize, all you need to do is:
- Lift the tonearm.
- Stop the record platter from turning
And there you have it! Now you can stop your record player from playing without damaging your records.
