Random Q: do I have a damaged/bent stylus if a certain record (Toots and the Maytals' Pressure Drop picture disc) goes silent at several different times? I checked the stylus force scale at the different test points, and it's right in the middle of the cartridge specs.

Every other record plays fine, except some new records play slow and/or some carve out a thin hair of lacquer/enamel the first time. This always makes me think some sort of damage is happening from a misaligned cartridge. But, other good quality and used records don't do this and work fine.

It's an AT microline cartridge.