hard to say how long they last; depends on how much you use them, scratching, etc...i can say that mine generally last about 6 months. i haven't u[pdated to 1.6 ssl yet, so with that versions improved tracking, the life should be longer....

yes, there is a point at which the shits just wont work anymore...you dont want that to be any time that you're playing in a club/party/etc., so just buy another pair for $22 and call it insurance.

As long as you don't use the center (hole) of the record to get satisfaction, it should last you plenty. :P


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Now the real answer:
It all depends on how much you play, how often you clean your needles and how often you change needles when they're worn. A worn stylus will cause more wear on your record.

Sixxx any tips on how to tell when a stylus is worn? I mean I use my 44-7s a lot and change them every once in a while but is there a way to see if maybe you should be changing them sooner?

-Niche

i think if you take a look at your green calibration circles, you can compare what a brandspanking new one looks compared to a worn one

if u use relative mode compared to absolute the beginning of the records at least will last a hella of a lot longer.

my calibrations circles look fine, but they have little green dots around the lines...looks kinda like spray paint. R those ok?

thats slight record burn

so the record is slighly damaged? how do u know when the needle is bad

Use a magnifying glass to see how the tip of the stylus look. If it looks "flat" and not "sharp" enough after you clean it really well, time to get a new one. The good thing about Serato is that it's not actually picking up music from the record, so you really won't hear any difference. But, you will wear out your records faster.

Alright, so basically these records perform much like all other vinyl, good to know. The needles I have are only so-so when it comes to record wear. I'm going to look into the M-447 finally, that should help elongate the records life-span.

About the wear of the center hole... you can use those donut shaped stickers found in any Staples, Office Depot etc. The circumference of the stickers hole is the same of the one on the record. So, slap that baby on there to get your record firm on the spindle for a bit longer.

Thanks sixx.