By way of example this helped me solve a 15-year-old problem with my GoldRing turntable that’s always been a puzzle - and I have barely used the TT because of it. On the inside half of the record, have gotten skipping and distortion … despite correct stylus force all the way through, good alignment and anti-skate. Could never get to the bottom of it. But when checking anti-skate again letting the tonearm float, found that the tonearm actually had drag when at the inside half of a record… but was very free to move on the outer half. The tonearm’s vertical shaft goes through a bushing in the anti-skate mechanism. That mechanism was screwed down unevenly (2 screws 180 degrees apart) .. and the bushing was tilted just a little relative to the tonearm shaft causing drag, but only when positioned at the inner half or so, so I never noticed that drag. We’re talking a tiny amount of drag on the tonearm, but enough to see when letting the arm float and skate. Caused major issues with playback quality, though.
The Shure test record I have used has a blank ungrooved area for anti-skating.I have had no problems with scratching when set on a blank disc.If you are getting scratching-your stylus could have a nick or break in it.Shouldn't affect the surface your are adjusting on.I used to have a Shure test record that was used to test the anti-skating of 20TT's without any grooving.AT and Shure cartridges.Was in the VOA studios.Eact studio had two Technics SL1200 TT's.
I used to think this was the way it’s done. But that record has no grooves so you’re over compensating the antiskate value. The proper way is to set the anti-skate the same as the VTF. If it’s 2 grams then you move the anti-skate to two, and so on and so forth.
That 'sweet spot' is WIDE on my Technics SL-1200 Mk II using this method. With the needle down on the grooveless record, I turn the AS down a little, the tonearm moves then stops....I turn the AS up a little, the tonearm moves the other way then stops. So there is a broad area where that 'sweet spot' lives using this method. Too broad.
Thank you I thought I was the only one who knew this on my C-10 the anti skate uses a fishing line with a weight and it says to put on the second notch on post it had 3 when I did when ever I play records the that never skipped were skipping so I checked it was pulling toward outer edge of record so I put it on the first post toward the tone arm housing and I checked it and it was stationary on my ATLP-120 I have to put it on 6 when my track force is at 1.5 grams I thought I WAS nuts but thanks for confirming I am not JRo
My Kyocera PL-601 also has the hanging weight but has 5 notches. 2nd notch was pulling towards the outer edge even though that’s what was recommended for my 1.5 tracking force. Moved to the first notch and it is perfectly centered now. 🤷♂️ At least now I feel like it is correct. lol
A 12" laser disc carefully centred on the platter works a treat. This is the only way to set anti skate bias. If you can't get it to work on your tuntable then upgrade to one that works
Yea this worked on some of my cartridges but not 1-Microlinear carts like the AT95vML nor the Nagaoka mp-110, this has to be done using obscure methods with such carts or stylus.
Im using the mp-110 on the at-lp7 too and im having a hard time to set this up too…the pressure is 1.75 on the cartridge, but i need to set the antiskate real higher to the arm stand still and it is not perfect on all the surface…do you know why? It happened to you too? I was thinking that my turn table had issues…
I am pretty sure, this method does not make sense: If the tonearm doesn move to either side on a blank surface, a real record will produce pressure from the outer groove - which means too much skating. Therefore, I think on a blank surface you should aim for the tonearm to move slightly to the center. What do you think ? The only accurate method would be an oscilloscope and comparing L and R volume.
This theory, that a tone arm should be motionless on a groove-less spinning disc is absolutely incorrect according to a phonograph technician I spoke with at length. Actually doing as this theory advocates can cause irreparable damage to the record and stylus. Actually, Anti-Skate is supposed to add a very small (slight) amount of outward force (toward the edge of record) DEFINITELY NOT CAUSING THE TONEARM TO BE MOTIONLESS. With the proper amount of Anti-Skate applied, the TONEARM will still move toward the center of the groove-less disc but at a slightly slower rate of speed compared to the slightly faster inward speed of TONEARM movement if no Anti-Skate was applied.
I have an AT LP 120XBT-USB and I just upgraded my needle to the VM540ML and I am afraid if I do this technique it will ruin the needle. What do you think?
What am I doing wrong? Tonearm is balanced 2.5. Using Hudson acrylic platter no matter where I set anti skate it slides all the way across toward center.
You can always track at over 2g if you haven’t got a skate dial or old school DJ blu tack a coin on the head shell great on those 40year old reggae 45s! No joke honest!
One single penny will add over 2 g of force! You can quickly get in the danger zone that way. Always use the proper tracking for us as per the manufacturer of the cartridge
@@Recordology real problem on new Rega planar 1 is tracking weight adjust is beneath tone arm, and you maybe have to uncouple tone arm to adjust tracking?
see i'll get a neutral anti skate in the center of the blank record but say I move it somewhere other than the middle which is where I calibrated it. it'll pull in a different spot so its not ever neutral across the whole platter.
You need to get an actual stylus force gauge so you measure exactly what the combined tracking force of the cartridge and the arm is, set the recommended tracking according to your cartridge and the set the rear indicator disk (this moves clock-wise or counter-clock-wise) on the back of the arm to whatever it is. Then you'll know where you are starting from. When I was doing this kind of thing in the 1970s the standard anti-skating test would be to take an older record for the test and place the stylus above a specific point on the record. Let the stylus drop and listen to what's playing. Lift the stylus and drop it again without touching it. If your anti-skating is set properly you should hear the same portion of music as before. Check it like this a couple of times. It should hit the same place every time. Btw, watch your stylus as time goes on. If it looks like it's being bent towards the middle or the edge of the record, it needs to be adjusted again.
I have a AT-VMN95ML cartridge on my turntable and the whole way adjusting the antiskate up to 4 still wants to pull in towards middle any ideas? Could my whole cartridge be out of alignment I bought it brand new and it had the 95e cartridge on from factory and I just changed the stylus to the 95ml
What could it mean if my stylus continues to pull towards the middle of the record regardless of what my anti skate is set to? If it’s set at 0 it pulls to the center, if its set to 4, still does the same. I recently moved my system to a different room and ever since this has been my issue. Everything is level too! I made sure to check that. I have a Crosley C100.
So my antiskate doesn't work right, both on the old table and on the new one, a Reloop 1000 mk2. I made sure I did all the steps correctly and in the end it only works when the weigh is set to 1 Gr. When it's at 3 Gr for example, and that's what I need for my cartridge , a Concorde Vibe, it just doesn't work, even with the anti-skate wheel in position 7, which is the maximum. I bought this table because the same thing happened to me in the old one. Any suggestion or conclusion? Should I return this one and try a new model from another brand? Should I leave the anti skate to the same value of the weight and let it skate ? Because Concorde Vibe says i need to apply 3 to 5 Gr... Please help :)
It's impossible for the anti-skate to be correct across the whole range of the disc when the tonearm strikes an arc, as all pivoted tonearms do because the groove gets tighter (and slower!) changing the angle of force on the stylus as the arm moves toward the centre. Setting the anti-skate as instructed in this video around the midpoint is a good compromise. It means at a couple of points somewhere on the record the anti-skate setting will be perfect and close for all the other points. Setting it very wrong means it might not be correct for any point across the arc of the stylus and in extreme settings may cause the stylus to be pushed out of the groove or at least off centre causing a tone of distortion. All AS does is counteract the force applied to the stylus tip by the record groove. You need a dynamically changing AS to have it correct across the whole arc... or a linear arm. Another way is to look at the stylus whilst playing a record from the end of the arm and adjust the AS until the stylus is central, you'll see it move left and right as you adjust the AS. Do it at a few points and strike a happy medium. Record-ology's way is easier and just as effective.
3:10 yes, it's a dirty method, because it's only accurate for conical and spherical styli. With other styli like elliptical, microline, fineline, Gyger or Shibata, this trick only gives you a rough indication to see if you're somewhere close to what you need. The most accurate way to set your anti-skate is by using a clean test record with an anti-skate test on it (those usually come with instructions how to do so). Back when I started into HiFi, I set the anti-skate the same way as you, but using an old laserdisc instead.
So my problem is I can get in inner of the record to antiskate. But the outer won't. And vise versa. I can't get it to antiskate through out the whole record
I experience the same exact issue. It appears the only time that the stylus is sitting directly in the middle of the groove is “ only” when in the middle of the record. Should you place the stylus at the beginning of a 12” LP/ Test Disc it pulls inward. Placing the stylus at the end of the test disc pulls outward. The objective is to be able to place the stylus anywhere on the test disc, and the stylus should not move regardless of position. This can be accomplished, but it does take patients. A DJ has posted a video on RUclips that clearly demonstrated this fact.
My anti-skate is weird. If I set it to anything, the tonearm rolls away from the spindle. At .5, it stays put, but still wants to drift to the edge of the "record" slightly.
Could you please explain, why tonearms (not this crap AT, but some Thorens or similar form the golden age of vinyl) have different antiskating scale for different stylus profile (spherical, elliptical, Shibata)? All of the stylus profiles have the same little point at the tip, right? Assume your methode is correct (it's not, but assume). If the arm is stationary, what moves it toward record center if you play a record? Yes, the outer record groove wall. In fact, in a groove, the stylus is balanced, if the skating force is the same as the drag force needed to move the mass of the tonearm. Then none of the groove walls are overloaded. This is why this methode doesn't work. With this methode you will strongly overcompensate the skating force.
Interesting comment....lol. Ok, so AT definitely isn't crap. The LP5 and 7 are VERY nice. But that aside, all of those styli types have very different "points." The only one that is round is the spherical / conical. Therefore the resistance is different for each. And yes my method is correct.
So I have an album of glen miller from my grandparents. The inner sleeves ask for 5 grams for stereo and 8 grams for mono, in 1950. Needless to say vinyl is simultaneously the most fragile and durable sound storage around. Any amount of playing is going to wear your records. Modern days with records tracking 2 or less grams means it will take a very long time to wear out the groove. If your needle is dragging dust through the groove or your needle is broken or worn it can ruin it in a couple plays. You can tell this is happening if you notice black dust appearing on your stylus after you play a record.
Not being neg,, but most know the table has to be level, But i would like to add that the tone arm lateral weight may come into play and if that is way off then this method may be ?? flawed ?
Your method is not going to give the best setting for playing normal records. The groove modulation will exert more force on the stylus than your flat disc and so your method will result in a lower setting than that which is correct. Proper test records provide the best solution.
So it's going to give the best setting for ABNORMAL records then? The fuck does that mean? There's way too many arm chair experts that don't know shit about tables on here.
I am sorry to be so negative but I was an expert on changers back in the 70 s and you millennial's are trying to find perfection in a technology that was never perfect to begin with. Know one ever talks about the inter grove distortion on every dick. You can hear it on silent passages in the recording if you up the volume. Just enjoy the recordings and and stop wasting money on trying to perfect something that is what it is. You will never improve in the sound you can't hear.
First of all I am not a millennial, I was born in the 70s. Second of all you’re barking up the wrong tree if you were trying to tell me about chasing sound on expensive equipment. This channel is specifically about entry-level products and how people can enjoy vinyl records for cheap. This was just a simple instructional video about setting anti-skate. And finally yes I am aware of phantom sounds from the next groove coming.
I'm glad you're keeping this turntable. You're enough of a vinyl enthusiast to own a table like this.
lol thank you.....
By way of example this helped me solve a 15-year-old problem with my GoldRing turntable that’s always been a puzzle - and I have barely used the TT because of it. On the inside half of the record, have gotten skipping and distortion … despite correct stylus force all the way through, good alignment and anti-skate. Could never get to the bottom of it. But when checking anti-skate again letting the tonearm float, found that the tonearm actually had drag when at the inside half of a record… but was very free to move on the outer half. The tonearm’s vertical shaft goes through a bushing in the anti-skate mechanism. That mechanism was screwed down unevenly (2 screws 180 degrees apart) .. and the bushing was tilted just a little relative to the tonearm shaft causing drag, but only when positioned at the inner half or so, so I never noticed that drag. We’re talking a tiny amount of drag on the tonearm, but enough to see when letting the arm float and skate. Caused major issues with playback quality, though.
Thanks for the Tutorial 🎶
Finally found a good tutorial! Thank you! 👍
Glad it helped!
Thanks for this! I got an acrylic platter from Hudson Hi-Fi and wanted to see if I could fix the anti-skate on my AT LP120 after a move.
The Shure test record I have used has a blank ungrooved area for anti-skating.I have had no problems with scratching when set on a blank disc.If you are getting scratching-your stylus could have a nick or break in it.Shouldn't affect the surface your are adjusting on.I used to have a Shure test record that was used to test the anti-skating of 20TT's without any grooving.AT and Shure cartridges.Was in the VOA studios.Eact studio had two Technics SL1200 TT's.
I used to think this was the way it’s done. But that record has no grooves so you’re over compensating the antiskate value. The proper way is to set the anti-skate the same as the VTF. If it’s 2 grams then you move the anti-skate to two, and so on and so forth.
Same here, i just found out that if you follow the same amount of AS with the TF it sounds a lot better.
I use an old laser disc I bought for a couple bucks. Usualy at good will or st vinies.
Was going to also recommend this. The polycarbonate of a LaserDisc is actually a better surface than a blank record side.
That 'sweet spot' is WIDE on my Technics SL-1200 Mk II using this method. With the needle down on the grooveless record, I turn the AS down a little, the tonearm moves then stops....I turn the AS up a little, the tonearm moves the other way then stops. So there is a broad area where that 'sweet spot' lives using this method. Too broad.
Thank you I thought I was the only one who knew this on my C-10 the anti skate uses a fishing line with a weight and it says to put on the second notch on post it had 3 when I did when ever I play records the that never skipped were skipping so I checked it was pulling toward outer edge of record so I put it on the first post toward the tone arm housing and I checked it and it was stationary on my ATLP-120 I have to put it on 6 when my track force is at 1.5 grams I thought I WAS nuts but thanks for confirming I am not JRo
My Kyocera PL-601 also has the hanging weight but has 5 notches. 2nd notch was pulling towards the outer edge even though that’s what was recommended for my 1.5 tracking force. Moved to the first notch and it is perfectly centered now. 🤷♂️ At least now I feel like it is correct. lol
A 12" laser disc carefully centred on the platter works a treat. This is the only way to set anti skate bias. If you can't get it to work on your tuntable then upgrade to one that works
Brilliant video.
Glad you enjoyed it
Thanks. Appreciated.
You're welcome!
Yea this worked on some of my cartridges but not 1-Microlinear carts like the AT95vML nor the Nagaoka mp-110, this has to be done using obscure methods with such carts or stylus.
Interesting.
@@Recordology Yea I said the same thing. not sure why. The Styllii are probably a different compliance or something.
Im using the mp-110 on the at-lp7 too and im having a hard time to set this up too…the pressure is 1.75 on the cartridge, but i need to set the antiskate real higher to the arm stand still and it is not perfect on all the surface…do you know why? It happened to you too? I was thinking that my turn table had issues…
@@FelipeMathies hi,did you find your answer?
I have just fitted an Mp-110 to my Technics Sl-1900 and had to increase the anti skate much higher also
I am pretty sure, this method does not make sense: If the tonearm doesn move to either side on a blank surface, a real record will produce pressure from the outer groove - which means too much skating. Therefore, I think on a blank surface you should aim for the tonearm to move slightly to the center. What do you think ?
The only accurate method would be an oscilloscope and comparing L and R volume.
😂😂😂😂😂😂
Any updates
This theory, that a tone arm should be motionless on a groove-less spinning disc is absolutely incorrect according to a phonograph technician I spoke with at length. Actually doing as this theory advocates can cause irreparable damage to the record and stylus.
Actually, Anti-Skate is supposed to add a very small (slight) amount of outward force (toward the edge of record) DEFINITELY NOT CAUSING THE TONEARM TO BE MOTIONLESS. With the proper amount of Anti-Skate applied, the TONEARM will still move toward the center of the groove-less disc but at a slightly slower rate of speed compared to the slightly faster inward speed of TONEARM movement if no Anti-Skate was applied.
which is why I use this method, then turn the dial just a smidge more
I have an AT LP 120XBT-USB and I just upgraded my needle to the VM540ML and I am afraid if I do this technique it will ruin the needle. What do you think?
What am I doing wrong? Tonearm is balanced 2.5. Using Hudson acrylic platter no matter where I set anti skate it slides all the way across toward center.
Hi, thanks for good tip. I have a glass platter, do you have any idea if it could work as the acrylic one?
You can always track at over 2g if you haven’t got a skate dial or old school DJ blu tack a coin on the head shell great on those 40year old reggae 45s! No joke honest!
One single penny will add over 2 g of force! You can quickly get in the danger zone that way. Always use the proper tracking for us as per the manufacturer of the cartridge
@@Recordology real problem on new Rega planar 1 is tracking weight adjust is beneath tone arm, and you maybe have to uncouple tone arm to adjust tracking?
What was the reading on the Anti-Skate control after you did that?
see i'll get a neutral anti skate in the center of the blank record but say I move it somewhere other than the middle which is where I calibrated it. it'll pull in a different spot so its not ever neutral across the whole platter.
I keep an old Laser Disc at home and at my shop, just for this purpose.
Do you find that, when using this method, the aktiskate and counter weight is often way different?
That’s my issue.
You need to get an actual stylus force gauge so you measure exactly what the combined tracking force of the cartridge and the arm is, set the recommended tracking according to your cartridge and the set the rear indicator disk (this moves clock-wise or counter-clock-wise) on the back of the arm to whatever it is. Then you'll know where you are starting from. When I was doing this kind of thing in the 1970s the standard anti-skating test would be to take an older record for the test and place the stylus above a specific point on the record. Let the stylus drop and listen to what's playing. Lift the stylus and drop it again without touching it. If your anti-skating is set properly you should hear the same portion of music as before. Check it like this a couple of times. It should hit the same place every time. Btw, watch your stylus as time goes on. If it looks like it's being bent towards the middle or the edge of the record, it needs to be adjusted again.
nice bit of anti skating there,and not a hint of thin ice to be had....cheers..ade
Very helpful!
I have a AT-VMN95ML cartridge on my turntable and the whole way adjusting the antiskate up to 4 still wants to pull in towards middle any ideas? Could my whole cartridge be out of alignment I bought it brand new and it had the 95e cartridge on from factory and I just changed the stylus to the 95ml
Could be a defective anti-skate mechanism
What could it mean if my stylus continues to pull towards the middle of the record regardless of what my anti skate is set to? If it’s set at 0 it pulls to the center, if its set to 4, still does the same. I recently moved my system to a different room and ever since this has been my issue. Everything is level too! I made sure to check that. I have a Crosley C100.
The lp120 is also Hanpin.
So my antiskate doesn't work right, both on the old table and on the new one, a Reloop 1000 mk2.
I made sure I did all the steps correctly and in the end it only works when the weigh is set to 1 Gr.
When it's at 3 Gr for example, and that's what I need for my cartridge , a Concorde Vibe, it just doesn't work, even with the anti-skate wheel in position 7, which is the maximum.
I bought this table because the same thing happened to me in the old one.
Any suggestion or conclusion?
Should I return this one and try a new model from another brand?
Should I leave the anti skate to the same value of the weight and let it skate ? Because Concorde Vibe says i need to apply 3 to 5 Gr...
Please help :)
So, is the anti-skating correct if the arm is in the middle of the disk? What happens if you place the arm at another point on the disk?
In my experience there is a slight variance.....but these are extremely minute details.
It's impossible for the anti-skate to be correct across the whole range of the disc when the tonearm strikes an arc, as all pivoted tonearms do because the groove gets tighter (and slower!) changing the angle of force on the stylus as the arm moves toward the centre.
Setting the anti-skate as instructed in this video around the midpoint is a good compromise. It means at a couple of points somewhere on the record the anti-skate setting will be perfect and close for all the other points. Setting it very wrong means it might not be correct for any point across the arc of the stylus and in extreme settings may cause the stylus to be pushed out of the groove or at least off centre causing a tone of distortion. All AS does is counteract the force applied to the stylus tip by the record groove. You need a dynamically changing AS to have it correct across the whole arc... or a linear arm.
Another way is to look at the stylus whilst playing a record from the end of the arm and adjust the AS until the stylus is central, you'll see it move left and right as you adjust the AS. Do it at a few points and strike a happy medium. Record-ology's way is easier and just as effective.
3:10 yes, it's a dirty method, because it's only accurate for conical and spherical styli.
With other styli like elliptical, microline, fineline, Gyger or Shibata, this trick only gives you a rough indication to see if you're somewhere close to what you need.
The most accurate way to set your anti-skate is by using a clean test record with an anti-skate test on it (those usually come with instructions how to do so).
Back when I started into HiFi, I set the anti-skate the same way as you, but using an old laserdisc instead.
What's very important when using your method is: make sure the turntable is 10000% level.
So my problem is I can get in inner of the record to antiskate. But the outer won't. And vise versa. I can't get it to antiskate through out the whole record
Interesting.......I believe you should set it to the middle - its likely a rule of averages.
@@Recordology ahh. Ill try that
@@Recordology could it possibly be that your table isn’t level?
I experience the same exact issue. It appears the only time that the stylus is sitting directly in the middle of the groove is “ only” when in the middle of the record. Should you place the stylus at the beginning of a 12” LP/ Test Disc it pulls inward. Placing the stylus at the end of the test disc pulls outward.
The objective is to be able to place the stylus anywhere on the test disc, and the stylus should not move regardless of position.
This can be accomplished, but it does take patients.
A DJ has posted a video on RUclips that clearly demonstrated this fact.
My anti-skate is weird. If I set it to anything, the tonearm rolls away from the spindle. At .5, it stays put, but still wants to drift to the edge of the "record" slightly.
Interesting… These can be very finicky
Could you please explain, why tonearms (not this crap AT, but some Thorens or similar form the golden age of vinyl) have different antiskating scale for different stylus profile (spherical, elliptical, Shibata)? All of the stylus profiles have the same little point at the tip, right?
Assume your methode is correct (it's not, but assume).
If the arm is stationary, what moves it toward record center if you play a record? Yes, the outer record groove wall. In fact, in a groove, the stylus is balanced, if the skating force is the same as the drag force needed to move the mass of the tonearm. Then none of the groove walls are overloaded. This is why this methode doesn't work.
With this methode you will strongly overcompensate the skating force.
Interesting comment....lol. Ok, so AT definitely isn't crap. The LP5 and 7 are VERY nice. But that aside, all of those styli types have very different "points." The only one that is round is the spherical / conical. Therefore the resistance is different for each. And yes my method is correct.
do you still have the stylus cover on ? or did you take it off
Its off....
But on this one there is a built in flip down stylus guard.
About those little grooves? Does it damage or wear your records after some time or is it normal?
So I have an album of glen miller from my grandparents. The inner sleeves ask for 5 grams for stereo and 8 grams for mono, in 1950. Needless to say vinyl is simultaneously the most fragile and durable sound storage around. Any amount of playing is going to wear your records. Modern days with records tracking 2 or less grams means it will take a very long time to wear out the groove. If your needle is dragging dust through the groove or your needle is broken or worn it can ruin it in a couple plays.
You can tell this is happening if you notice black dust appearing on your stylus after you play a record.
What TT is that? can this be done with The 540ML?
This is the Audio Technica LP-7. What is the 540ml?
👍🏾
Good video! Just one question: the acrylic mat is not "scratched" with the needle?
Yes, it is
Thanks. Very useful video.
What model of Audio-Technica turntable is this?
Thank you - that is the LP7.
How about a round piece of glass?
Fine for me. I set my anti skate on my glass platter.
A cd will do also..
Not being neg,, but most know the table has to be level, But i would like to add that the tone arm lateral weight may come into play and if that is way off then this method may be ?? flawed ?
I have mine set to 0 and I put the stylus on the platter and it doesn’t move at all. I guess I should just leave it at 0 then? Lol.
Agreed! Whatever gets you to that stationary point
Your method is not going to give the best setting for playing normal records. The groove modulation will exert more force on the stylus than your flat disc and so your method will result in a lower setting than that which is correct. Proper test records provide the best solution.
So it's going to give the best setting for ABNORMAL records then? The fuck does that mean? There's way too many arm chair experts that don't know shit about tables on here.
that's right!!!! i want to explain this to some people :) blank record is NOT behave the same
But the players much be on a level surface.
I am sorry to be so negative but I was an expert on changers back in the 70 s and you millennial's are trying to find perfection in a technology that was never perfect to begin with.
Know one ever talks about the inter grove distortion on every dick. You can hear it on silent passages in the recording if you up the volume. Just enjoy the recordings and and stop wasting money on trying to perfect something that is what it is. You will never improve in the sound you can't hear.
First of all I am not a millennial, I was born in the 70s. Second of all you’re barking up the wrong tree if you were trying to tell me about chasing sound on expensive equipment. This channel is specifically about entry-level products and how people can enjoy vinyl records for cheap. This was just a simple instructional video about setting anti-skate. And finally yes I am aware of phantom sounds from the next groove coming.