Big Tabs
looking backwards, going forwards
There’s a nice DVD on set up by Michael Fremer, if it’s still available. It helped me enormously.
and I tried watching youtube videos on the subject, but struggled to get it.
There’s a nice DVD on set up by Michael Fremer, if it’s still available. It helped me enormously.
and I tried watching youtube videos on the subject, but struggled to get it.
They didn’t move/come off easily, had to twist them a bit to loosen them. When they started moving I was very cautious to not yank them as the wires look fragile.
If you get braver, repalce the tags with Cardas ones - shaped like a dolly peg (if that means anything to you) - simple but brilliant design, so easy to use.
The perfect headshell lead tool is a proper German Sklar stainless steel surgical scissor clamp (avoid the disposable plastic shite).
Lock these on to the solder/crimp tag end and then your hand is free to hold them any way that you like before pulling or pushing.
Ideal for installing new leads into headshells too.
You'll find these on ePay, often with burnt tips from using them as soldering heat sink and/or roach clip.
It amazes me that in the days when ignorance was bliss and you just bought a cart. and stuck it on, the resulting s.q. was accepted as fine. I wonder now if protractors and all the set-up procedures now accepted as de rigeur were used then, what resulting improvements could have been wrought.
Having a detachable head-shell simply makes affixing the cart. easier and less risky. Once replaced on the arm, set-up procedures are the same. To my mind, overhang (esp. on a 9" arm?) is crucial. Aligning the canti/cart. body to be at 90 degrees of the grooves is also important. For these two, a protractor is, i.m.o., essential. Bias is by ear and VTF by scales or built-in device. VTA needs only a ruler or somesuch. Most important is a steady hand, reasonable eyesight and a loupe/magnifier (the latter mainly for inspecting/cleaning).
It amazes me that in the days when ignorance was bliss and you just bought a cart. and stuck it on, the resulting s.q. was accepted as fine. I wonder now if protractors and all the set-up procedures now accepted as de rigeur were used then, what resulting improvements could have been wrought.
I went right down the rabbit hole in the ‘80s with one of those Townsend EEI gauges where you plot a distortion curve on special graph paper etc, but I was never convinced it got any better results than just using the protractor that came with the deck.
I see the difference between now and the old days the other way round: most of the time it’s basically fine now just as it was basically fine then without a lot of fuss.
and just use the simple card one that came with my vintage SME arm! It gets the cart in exactly the right place for that arm geometry so why go further?!
I raw power is not enough, then use more raw power
Having worked in the middle ground between Japanese, American, and UK/European decks, it used to be that complete turntable/tonearm packages came with a simple alignment gauge, whereas, separate component tonearms came with a full installation/cartridge alignment protractor (or protractors). The latter makes perfect sense when the deck to be employed is an unknown. On the other hand, the former, often a simple plastic device that fits over the end of the headshell (Europe mostly), or that a universal headshell plugs into (Japan mostly*), makes perfect sense when the deck is supplied with that makers own tonearm installed.Every turntable or arm I’ve ever owned has had an alignment protractor, often a very simple to use single-point one made out of card (Lenco, SME, Rega etc). I’m now convinced that is all you need. The important thing is to use the right one for the arm, e.g. don’t try to align a Stevenson arm with a Baerwald protractor.