u/GlobalDiptera7781

I have a Technics sl 1300 mk 1 turntable. When I play any record, it will start looping the track after a few seconds of playing. However, when I apply slight inward pressure from the outside of the tonearm (not down onto it) it will stop the loop and continue to play the record correctly. Any ideas as to what is causing this and how I fix it?

My suspicion is it’s one of two things: failed/broken anti-skate or horizontal tonearm bearing stiffness.

For the record, when tonearm is balanced (tracking force set to 0) and I lightly blow on it, it does not move horizontally.