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-- Question about stylus, care and feeding of vinyl, calibration of deck, etc.

Question about stylus, care and feeding of vinyl, calibration of deck, etc.

Before I start, I tried searching but came up with bunch of random stuff and while I'm sorting through it, perhaps someone could be kind enough to point to some of the answers to the questions (if they've been asked before). Any help will be much appreciated.

So, I got a Stanton ST-150 turntable and just picked up Ortofone Concorde Archiv stylus - as I want to rip some of my newly acquired vinyl to HD. I also have a Stanton 680HP Cartridge that shipped with my TT, however I haven't used it.

I also picked up Numark HDX for a bargain price - $400 and would like to use it's HD for messing around with ripped vinyl tracks, instead of wearing out actual records. I know it's not perfect, but it will take me time to learn the basics and I think it'll do my vinyl better if I avoid practicing on some of the rare vinyl pieces I purchased (The Quest C#, Blackeight - The Silence, Trouser Enthusiasts - Sweet Release - just to name a few).

I wanted to get some input from you pros:

1. Where can I find a concise guide to properly setting up tone arm: e.g. height, conterweight, anti-skid adjustment and other adjustments? Keep in mind that main goal is to get the best possible sound, not so much for scratching/mixing. The stanton setup guide was mostly crap and confused the hell out of me.

2. Now, next is what is the optimal turntable settings and tuning procedure for optimal performance in a mix environment - e.g. queuing up, slowing down, mixing, etc.

3. Taking care of vinyl - what to buy, what not to buy? I wanted to get a vinyl cleaning kit but not sure what's rubbish and what's good. Do I need brush? Cleaning spray, etc? What about storage of vinyl? E.g. Paper or Plastic question: Some records don't come with a plastic/paper inlay sleeve - just the external sleeve. Should I purchase plastic vinyl sleeves/inlays? Is it worth the bother to buy plastic sleeves to for the record to preserve it or most of "electronica" records won't be considered collectible enough to freak out over some white label cover condition?

4. Some of the vinyl I have has a bit of warp on it - it may be just a small area - like one end has warped "hill" about an 1 - 1.5 inches (3 - 4cm) long... and some of the vinyl I bought from ebay had pretty serious warpage - 1/4 of the record would be pretty uneven. Playable, but with noticeable sound difference. So, the question is - for those smaller warped records - is it normal or should I be more discriminating in my vinyl choices and not purchase anything that's not perfectly flat? What's the "acceptable norm" for record warping before it should not be purchased?

5. Are the styli/cartridges I have right now - e.g. Concorde Archiv and Stanton 680HP considered good? I know that for audiophile level quality, I'll need to spring for some serious cash. I'm not that rich and crazy about my vinyl... yet - however, I'd like to get the sound to come out as good as it can possibly be, without breaking the bank.

Just some questions, hopefully some of you pros can help a vinyl n00b.

Thanks in advance!

Re: Question about stylus, care and feeding of vinyl, calibration of deck, etc.

>Turntable Setup LINK<

>Technical, alot of good stuff (recess has posted on here before too) LINK<

1. In regards to your tone arm setup, you should reference your turntable and cartridge manuals as they provide suggested measurements.

3. My cleaning kit consists of some lighter fluid and a brush I stole from my dad (he doesn't really play his records anymore) to get dust off the record.

4. Sometimes I can't tell if warp is an optical illusion or not because the record will sit perfectly flat on a surface, but when it's on the platter it kind of has this hill you're describing. No audible sound changes so I don't care.

5. I'd recommend getting the same cartridges for both decks just so they sound even. I have, and have only used Ortofon Qberts. They are for scratching (I don't treat my records nicely when I play them) but sound good even at high volumes.

lighter fluid????to what light the records on fire and throw them as a flaming frizbee or something???

^ nah it is actually ok at cleaning them, but have heard of it making them more brittle (claims from some people), but to be honest I wouldn't worry to much about it.

Re: Question about stylus, care and feeding of vinyl, calibration of deck, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by emc^2 [quote] height

So the tonearm is near flat when the needle is on the record. Some prefer it a little higher, but I adjust mine so they are just about flat. No, I don't use a laser level or anything, hence "just about flat".

quote:

conterweight

Adjust the weight so it free-balances. Move the ring so it's on zero, as you are now at zero grams (balanced) tracking force. Move the weight so it's at 3 grams, putting 3g on the needle, as recommended for your arkiv.

quote:

anti-skid adjustment

zero.

some people prefer to actually adjust the antiskid. the proceedure here is simple; use a one-sided record, put the needle on the side with no groves, spin it, adjust anti-skid so the needle hovers in the center of the record.

quote:

other adjustments

Place record on platter, place needle on record. enjoy the music

quote:

Now, next is what is the optimal turntable settings and tuning procedure for optimal performance in a mix environment

another gram of tracking force so it doesn't skip as easy with aggressive cueing or etards bumping/dancing close by

quote:

3. Taking care of vinyl - what to buy, what not to buy?

http://www.gruvglide.com/ -- unless you plan on routinely dipping your records in used motor oil, that should be all you need. Those black pads are like magic, especially with a little of the spray on them. even dry they are excellent for removing dust and are very gentle.

quote:

Do I need brush?

A small brush for cleaning the needle tip is handy. Your ortofons should have came with one.

quote:

Some records don't come with a plastic/paper inlay sleeve - just the external sleeve.

Some feel that the paper is abrasive and will put micro-scratches on the vinyl. They are probably right, but it's a bit anal for me. Personally I get annoyed by the plastic crap.

quote:

most of "electronica" records won't be considered collectible enough to freak out over some white label cover condition?

bingo.

quote:

So, the question is - for those smaller warped records - is it normal or should I be more discriminating in my vinyl choices and not purchase anything that's not perfectly flat? What's the "acceptable norm" for record warping before it should not be purchased?

If you already own it, and you can cue it without jumping the needle, good enough.

As far as buying vinyl, if i'm hand selecting it and it looks warped, I don't see any reason to buy it. Most records are basically flat, and should be that way. I don't see any reason in paying for a poor pressing.

quote:

Are the styli/cartridges I have right now - e.g. Concorde Archiv and Stanton 680HP considered good? I know that for audiophile level quality, I'll need to spring for some serious cash. I'm not that rich and crazy about my vinyl... yet - however, I'd like to get the sound to come out as good as it can possibly be, without breaking the bank.

Your ortofon archiv's are fine. The archiv is actually one of ortofon's better sounding tips, however not one I would purchase for mixing. They were designed for recording vinyl, and are an eliptical tip so they wear in the vinyl faster than a spherical cartridge. They are certainly not what you want for scratching.

Ortonfon offers a wide range of tips that will fit on their standard cartridge. Eliptical tips, like the arkiv and nightclub-e are best for recording. Spherical tips like the DJ-S and scratch are better suited for mixing and scratching use.

My personal favorite is the scratch (red) tip, it is beefier and more durable than the pro, nightclub or DJ-S tips, but doesn't have the reduced high-end response of the q-bert tip. All around it's a solid tip with a clean, balanced response pattern.

Honestly, vinyl isn't as picky as most people make it out to be. the differences in sound between cartidges and adjustments is minimal, and pretty much not even notable to the untrained ear, unless you've got something really out of whack or have a badly worn out tip.

Now quit fussing over the little things and go mix some records

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