what's involved in changing a cartridge

leftwinger57

I never changed out a cartridge before only a stylus in a Shure mk 5 back in late '70s. Right now I have a Grado FT+1 cart and bought the JVC-QL A-200 tt used. I have no idea how many miles are on the thing and I have a Grado black brand new in my console. I did hear that you need some kind of alignment tool I think called a protractor but I'm not sure of that. If so what's the tool look like and how does one mount or position it. Also is it possible to do this by eye or will it destroy either the needle or the lp itself ?

honestaquarian

MoFi is making them again and this tool makes it VERY simple to align your cartridge!

Easy Runnin

http://www.vinylengine.com/tools.shtml

gce

This is the best advice I could give you.

You can get this DVD at Amazon. Have fun!

lightman1

Patience.

leftwinger57

Easy Running, I d/l the tool from Vinyl Engine and got a PDF copy of the alignment tool. It looks pretty easy to do. Center the hole they provide as a dot on the platter then center line the graph. I did it loose by eye just to see how far off I was and to my amazement I was 1 bar off. How many degrees that is I don't know but I then used the tool and lined the stylus up perfectly using the tool. This was the same device I saw used on You-Tube on multiple videos.

tonyb

Take your time and do it right LW. If you don't, and try playing AC/DC, you might create a black hole and Jersey would be gone in a heartbeat.

voltz

gce wrote: »

This is the best advice I could give you.

You can get this DVD at Amazon. Have fun!

^^^^
This, he gives lots of good advise and show how to use the GEo-Disc and other ways... good stuff on this video.

SCompRacer

The only thing to worry about with downloaded scales is that they print the proper size. Some have ruler scales on them to measure to insure they are the correct size.

Just worth mention, there are different alignment methods, Baerwald, Stevenson, or Löfgren B for example. Best to use the one the manufacturer recommends. Baerwald is said to be most common. You can experiment with others but it may lead to groove distortion, or IGD.

I like to keep a neutral balance on the arm and then apply some VTF or vertical tracking force well below the suggested VTF just to keep the stylus on the protractor. If you keep sliding the cartridge out, you increase the force. You don't want to gravely overdo VTF, possibly damaging the cantilever suspension. Just something to watch for.

Some manufacturers supplied headshell gauges or put a mark on the headshell where the stylus should be. This results in proper overhang, or the tip of stylus in relation to center of spindle. Not all arms will swing over center of spindle or setting overhang would be super easy.

If cantilever is tweaked, or not parallel to sides of cartridge body, you always align to cantilever, not sides of cartridge body.


Have fun!

gce

lightman1 wrote: »

Patience.

^^^This is key when setting up a cartridge. If you're not patient you'll end up with a look on your face like lightman.

lightman1

gce wrote: »

lightman1 wrote: »

Patience.

^^^This is key when setting up a cartridge. If you're not patient you'll end up with a look on your face like lightman.

How do think I got that look?

ken brydson

nbrowser wrote: »

lightman1 wrote: »

gce wrote: »

lightman1 wrote: »

Patience.

^^^This is key when setting up a cartridge. If you're not patient you'll end up with a look on your face like lightman.

How do think I got that look?

Finger in a

leftwinger57

Latest update. I took the tt for a long test ride and the cartridge alignment worked great. The stylus lands as it should,doesn't slide to the grooves to fast and there is no chattering or jumping of the stylus. The anti skate stays the same at 1.5 and the neutral balance needed just a turn or 2 and leveled out. Much clearer than the FT+1 that was in there and seeing I didn't know exactly the mileage it had so I gave the Grado Black a turn. I had no cantilever adjusting, it only has a thumb screw holding the head shell to the arm and was not touched as all the adjusting is done w/ sliding the cart itself left or right. I called Needle Doctor just to get a feeling of where the Grado Black stands in the pecking order and they gave it a thumbs up and way better than entry level and a bargain at the price I got for it.

msg

The stylus lands as it should,doesn't slide to the grooves to fast and there is no chattering or jumping of the stylus

I'm new to this too.
What does this mean?
I notice that on some records, mine pulls through the lead-in smoothly and gently, while on others it sucks in too fast and starts messily and abruptly, like it's getting jammed in.

gce

Some records have a steep lead in so if you drop the needle hard it will skip right down to the recording. If you let the cue down very slow on records like that it will be much better.

leftwinger57

That would work in a perfect world. Of course my tt has no cue control so it's imperative that I got the alignment right. My old Dual 1225 did have a cue lever were you could control the hang time and fall of the arm, but my JVC has only a slide switch which just raises and lowers the arm. How hard and fast it drops is not under my control. Most tt will have an adjustable lever to do this,hopefully it's better than mine. Yes I know some very high end tt have no switch at all and must be brought to the platter manually but I'm to shaky for that, so maybe I shouldn't be to hard on my tt after all.

msg

Lew - I'm not too shakey in general, but seem to become so when I'm trying to do stuff like this. If there were to be a unexpected loud noise while I'm trying to place the stylus on a record, I'd probably spaz and end up snapping off the tonearm at its base.

gce wrote: »

Some records have a steep lead in so if you drop the needle hard it will skip right down to the recording. If you let the cue down very slow on records like that it will be much better.

ah, I see. funny enough I found myself experimenting a little with this just recently. the other thing I do is turn the volume down on the pre each time I start or stop a record.

leftwinger57

Scott, I do have a moderate very little shake not from age nor disease but from being very heavy handed and known to plow instead of placing so lucky for me mine does cue even if I have to position the arm over either the start of the lp or specific song. unlike you I do not turn down the volume and while at first it was not aligned quite right but after using the tool it lands as it should. It's a real matter of patience with changing an entire cartridge. This was my 1st cart change over, like I have said I did change out a stylus or 2 back in the day when all I had was a record player. The venerable Dual 1225 w/ the high stacking spindle, the single play and the beveled United Audio walnut plinth, I loved that machine and it's German over engineering.

jdjohn

SCompRacer wrote: »

The only thing to worry about with downloaded scales is that they print the proper size. Some have ruler scales on them to measure to insure they are the correct size.

This is very important and probably not emphasized enough. The smallest difference can make a noticeable impact. For the actual alignment process, I usually set VTF to 1.25g and set anti-skate to zero. Once aligned, then set VTF and anti-skate per the cartridge or stylus instructions.

I got tired of using the paper protractors printed from PDF, and bought one of these instead. http://www.ebay.com/itm/400674103563?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

msg

woh, that disc is neat.
I like that bit about how the speed calibration works based on the 50/60Hz of regular household lighting?

jdjohn

Honestly, I only use it for alignment. I briefly tried the strobe bit, but I was using a flashlight which obviously does NOT work. But yeah, I got tired of pulling out an old record, placing the paper protractor on it, etc. The acrylic disk is very smooth and slippery, so definitely best to set VTF and anti-skate low as I described. Otherwise, the needle just slowly slides towards the edge. Of course the tt has to be turned off/unplugged so it doesn't spin when you lift the tonearm, and you have use blue painters tape or a small wedge under the platter to keep it all still. You can slide/rotate the alignment disk as needed on the mat.

honestaquarian

Not sure if it would be possible to make an alignment tool any simpler

msg

How do you work this with your 1200's? Specifically, how do you site the exact center of the lateral pivot using the Geodisc?

honestaquarian

@msg
It is best to place the turntable on a level table high enough for you to be able to get down face level with the platter. Then you can aim the raised center ridge on the Geodisc directly at the pivot point of the tonearm. Once you have done that,then tape the Geodisc down to the platter in a couple of spots to hold it in place long enough to align your cartridge.
WARNING: IT IS BEST TO HAVE STEADY HANDS AND CLEAR EYES IN ORDER TO PROPERLY DO THIS.
Some might need a magnifying glass.
You also need to remove the mat from the platter.

msg

yeah, on one Technics I was able to do this, but on the 1200 series, if I remember correctly, there's a gap in the tonearm connections/linkages, and I couldn't see an obvious way to sight the Geodisc to the lateral pivot. Maybe I was missing something simple. seemed easier on a 1510.

honestaquarian

@msg
There's your pivot point on the 1200

msg

haha, really? is that what that is? lol
I know that, dude , I'm saying, when I'm sighting it up from the Geodisc, it's hard to line that up perfectly. you know what I mean?

honestaquarian

Again ya gotta get your eyes on the same vertical plane. Bring your head down to the level of the ridge on the Geodisc and aim it right to that pivot point.

honestaquarian

If you're looking along the ridge itself towards the pivot point you can see it.Kind of like looking through a gunsight to aim a gun.

leftwinger57

I have to admit that the disc ad from E-Bay looks way better than the paper strip protractor that I used. Now if all this info was given to me before I started I might have went for the $30 and change for that disc and of course still can do it. The alignment Geo-Disc is $50 + shipping, a little to much for me for more than likely one use. If I was an audio critic and had to test different carts on a regular basis then it's prudent to have the more stable platform. I'm happy w/ what I got out of the paper protractor and can't go crazy nuts over this. If I can't swing the cost and see no problems w/ the job I did then it's good for me. It looks like some at the very least did use the paper protractors w/ success until they got into very high end stuff. Seeing it is given out by Vinyl Engine, they're not out to ruin people's cartridges.

jdjohn

leftwinger57 wrote: »

I have to admit that the disc ad from E-Bay looks way better than the paper strip protractor that I used. Now if all this info was given to me before I started I might have went for the $30 and change for that disc and of course still can do it. The alignment Geo-Disc is $50 + shipping, a little to much for me for more than likely one use. If I was an audio critic and had to test different carts on a regular basis then it's prudent to have the more stable platform. I'm happy w/ what I got out of the paper protractor and can't go crazy nuts over this. If I can't swing the cost and see no problems w/ the job I did then it's good for me. It looks like some at the very least did use the paper protractors w/ success until they got into very high end stuff. Seeing it is given out by Vinyl Engine, they're not out to ruin people's cartridges.

Absolutely. I used those VE paper protractors many, many times before popping on the acrylic disk. I just got tired of the process with those paper strips as I mentioned since I was a cartridge-switching fool for awhile. My tonearm allows for switchable headshells, and I finally stopped at six (yikes!). So now I have six cartridges mounted and aligned in headshells that I can swap-out whenever I want a change. And I have several more that aren't mounted at all...had to choose a top six.

I will reiterate what SCompRacer said earlier about checking for proper printing size. Most printers will not default to the correct scaling, so make sure and check for 100% sizing and not print-to-fit. Printing PDFs can be tricky in this way with margins. You don't really notice when printing normal text documents, but trust me, it is there. There are mm scale measurements on the protractors, so double-check the length with a ruler after you print. Use a handheld hole punch if you can to punch out the spindle hole.