How to Balance a Tonearm, set stylus tracking and adjust anti-skating on a turntable
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- čas přidán 27. 08. 2024
- We published a blog post about how to balance a tonearm on your turntable if you prefer written instructions with pictures: longplayvinyl....
In this video I explain how to balance a tonearm, set stylus tracking pressure and adjust the anti-skating on your turntable.
Getting a turntable might be very exciting but there are a few important things you need to set and adjust for optimal functioning and sound quality.
In this video we're working on a Technics SL1200 MK5 turntable however these instructions will apply to most (if not all turntables) that have a tonearm counterweight and adjustable anti skating.
Please do follow these instructions step by step. Setting your tonearm balance might have some issues and we're addressing those at around 5:30 mark in the video.
If you have any other questions about your tone arm balance, stylus tracking force or anti-skating, please do leave the comments below.
Thanks for watching
The amount of times I have to use this video as a reference is too many to count. Thanks so much!
Don't usually comment, but this was a lifesaver! Thank you
I have never understood what anti-skate was, nor knew how to change it. Likewise I never understood why the dial on my counterweight was free-spinning. Now my turntable is correctly set up! Thank you so much!
Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude, Thank you so much!!!! I had been walking like a cat in my living room because my tonearm was so sensitive and after a while I just stopped using my turntable. Those days are gone thanks to you! cheers!!
I can’t believe the noob mistake I was making on the counterweight adjustment. 🤦🏻♂️
Yet I watched about 10 other videos and you’re the only one that made me realize what I was doing wrong.
Thank you so much. Time to finally adjust my Technics SL-D202 and play all this vinyl that’s been collecting dust over the past few weeks.
Glad to hear!
Just bought my first player and the instructions were lacking in detail. Following your instructions made balancing the arm very easy and accurate.
Thank you for helping my listening enjoyment
great job, you showed us how to do it without missing any key details like the last video I saw did !
Nice to hear Nautilus-Pompilius at the beginning! Thanks for explaining all this 👍
Thank you so much! I have a 25-year-old Sony turntable, and a lot of records were skipping, especially toward the end. I knew it wasn’t the records because they play perfectly on my other two turntables. I reset the tonearm balance, and now they play perfectly!
this is the only video on this I've watched that made sense and showed me the right shots so I could see what you were saying. Thanks!!
Now that's explain crystal clearly :) great Video
Thank you very much for the very informative and hussle-free video. I recently restored a Toshiba SR-220 turntable, i am impressed with its build quality even though Toshiba isn't one of the highly sought after audio makers, this is a solid, well performing turntable. I adjusted the tone arm in just a few minutes thanks to your video.
Thank you! Other tutorials skip out on little details. This helped
Been having a couple issues lately, tonearm skating and when I tried to set, too heavy and just dropping into the record. Your video allowed me to reset the arm perfectly. Thank you!!
Thank you so much. Couldn't figure out the instructions until watching your video. Excellent instructions and now I'm enjoying my vinyl collection!
My Sharp Stereo with discrete selection of sound has a bit of a skating problem.The Video shown was very good and very instructive .
Love what you're doing here. Always wanted to make something similar because of my frustration with most vinyl how to videos.
Happy to hear you liked the video Matt ;)
Thank you! So simple to follow these instructions.
Thank you! Very clear and helped me with my first fully adjustable table!!
this video helped me a lot of times with my players. Thank you so very much. It is indeed a big help.
Thanks for Posting! Helps every time
Interesting! Well, I remember I had back in 1996 Soviet-Made Radiotehnika 101 turntable produced in 1983, which had original Soviet standard GZM-005 cattridge, which was pertty heavy (cartridge mass was 12 g). I found out that my stylus is worn out and was looking for some replacement, but by that time it appeared to be impossible to buy Soviet-made cartridges in Moscow, Russia anymore. I ended up in one of the Hi-End stores, which offered me exactly GRADO DJ 100 cartridge. Since the mount on Radiotennika's headshell was standard half-inch type, I could easily mount the cartridge, but then I found out that GRADO cartridge is as twice as lighter then the Soviet-made GZM-005. Since I didn't have weights that you have, I just had to use 10-ruble coin instead of it, and that way I could balance my tonearm. I had no idea that there are such kind of special weights to apply to the headshell! Also I cansay installing GRADO cartridge had improved my sound so significantly, that I started to relisten to all my vinyl collection!
You saved me!!!! MY SAVIOR!!!!
phenomal explanation dood 🙌 thank you!
Loved the video, super clear explanations with even clearer demonstrations. Definitely subscribing for more !
Thank you for watching ;)
Thank you! You are the GOAT, this helped ALOT
Thanks man! You made it all so easy peasy! 🙏
Excellent video. Clear, concise presentation.
Very helpful video. The instructions for my Sony TT were not clear but you helped me to figure out what I was doing wrong. Thanks!
I very much appreciate your video. Very detailed and appreciated your personal comments on stuff like physics too.
Excellent clear explanation! Thank you so much
Hi! Thanks for your clear instructions - so far the best I've seen. I have an old Marantz 6300 that is very different from the turntable you have, yet I was able to follow your steps and balance the torn arm. Gracias de nuevo!
Beautifully explained. Thank you so much.
Thank you for adding a little bit of science into your into video. It was a nice touch dude! Thanks 😊
Clear, concise. Excellent. Thanks
Thanks for the Tutorial 🎶
Awesome video. Used it on a Realistic LAB-390. Thought I was going to have to ditch a vintage Led Zeppelin album. Its perfect now. TY!!!!
Excellent explanation. Worked a treat. Many thanks.
thanks man, super clear
Thanks, bud. Great instructions!
Thank you for the video. Very clear instructions. Similar to my Pioneer PL-5.
I have several different zeros and scales marked on my AS dial, so that got me off to a good start.
Cheers!! Thanks so much 👍
great video
Thank you so much. It was easy once I figured out what the hell to do lol.
thank you so much very nice explanation
Amazing, thank you for posting this, worked a treat! :D
Great
..
thank you so very very much
You say 'the stylus tracking force has now been correctly set', yet the headshell is hovering in mid-air? What's going on?
It's a terribly edited video, is what I was on about.
Also towards the end the extra counterweight is added to the back of the tonearm with a misleading statement about increasing tracking force. Doing that would be for a heavier cartridge not a light one. No?
thanks this was very useful
thanks i learned some good stuff
Thanks for the information and awesome Casey Neistat skateboard in the background 😁
Haha, good catch ;)
Thanks!
Very helpful. Thanks.
Thanks 🙏
great tuition I have to say, however ... been using a 1pence piece stuck to the headshell for 20 years works well lol
Very good .My new Neotech digital stylus pres
sure. meter reads ok .How can I adjust skating , my Sharp stereo has been in my home for many years.
completely lost me when you were turning the front/black part of the counterweight AFTER you seemed to already balanced the arm?? so first is the balancing, and then it's the tracking force? my PROJECT T1 doesn't even come with the anti skating knob...
thank you thank you thank you
It is Great that you have described the technical details of such a process. Thank you . Would you however, have knowledge of where I could obtain a cartridge for a Sharp Stereo,5730 s ? It is a very old Stereo system .But it works well.! This is Australia .
Good to know....Thanks.
I have a Thorens, when it gets to the last track it skips at the end of the song? How do you adjust it to finish twords the end of the center, twords the label?
Hi, I have a JCV JL-A1 my tone arm doesn't return once the record is finish, it is supposed to do that on this model. however it continues spinning. what can be the problem? calibration?
Thank you so much!!!!!!
I'm still a little confused what the difference is between the balancing and stylus tracking. Aren't you moving the same thing for both? Will adjusting the tracking pressure mess with the balance? Sorry I'm super new to manual turntables
Very good, thank you.
What’s a headshell and idk any of the things and I’m scared to use my record because idk how to use it and this is to deep of an explanation for me
how about the cue lever? will it matter? I see in your video that it was not mentioned, as it is located close to the adjustment knobs in balancing the tone arm. thanks man. hope to hear from you.
Still no anwser, i set it to 4, somebody told me once
If I take a reading closer to the center, should the number decrease. For example my Hana is reading 2.00gm tracking force towards the edge but towards the center it reads 1.90ishgm
Really good video, thanks. 1 question, how do you know if the tracking force is too high or too low? how can you tell from listening to the record?
If the tracking force is too low, the stylus will rattle around in the groove creating distortion. Distortion will get louder as you get closer to the end of the record.
I would assume that a tracking force too high will sound good.
In both cases you will be destroying the grooves of the record.
Very informative video. Can you please tell me, should I set the tracking force with a record on the Platter or without a vinyl record on it. Thanks..
Mohan from Sri Lanka 🇱🇰
Thank you!!!
I own The Oracle Delphi Mark V {Anniversary Edition} Turntable. It's all laid out in Gold Trim , with the Black African Granite Base. & on it, I have a Graham Engineering Uni-Pivot 1.5 Tone Arm. The Cartridge is a Benz ~Micro (Glider). I've never had my table / Tone Arm & Cart Tweaked ? Not sure ? I know how to do this ? Wished someone would run a video on You Tube to show this set up done properly ? Any Tech's out there, that do House Calls ? Mike L.
Thanks but after setting it how to test it by listening and how to know if its sounds too heavy or too light weight
To balance tone arm you leave the tone are lever up. Am I correct?
🤔My turntable is a kam ddx750 and my counter weight will doasant have a numberd dial on it I can't find any CZcams videos on here with any help
great video, just one question: why is it that when I set the tonearm to float and thew counterwight and anti skate are set up, the tonearm floats away from the platter and back to the resting position? the whole concept of having the tonearm float freely but also needing it to have enough downward force to actually track a record seems contradictory to me... Am i missing something here? Thanks again for your helpful video!
Branden Rodriguez the turntable itself is unbalanced. If it's floating toward where you would usually rest it then put some paper or coins or something under the legs on the bottom of the actual turntable to balance the actual turntable. Think of if you were to put a level on your turntable; you want to it be even.
The anti-skating mechanism pushes the tonearm away from the center of the platter to contrast the natural force which pushes the arm towards the center when the stylus is in the groove of a spinning record. Actually the stylus needs weight to track the groove, and the concept of "floating" is first used to find the point where the weight on the arm is close to zero, so then the suggested tracking force (for example 1.75g) can be set as accurately as possible without using a precision scale
How to balance a SAEC tonearm which is quite complicated for me
Why do you remove the cover? My cartridge has the kind if cover that just flips back to expose the stylus. I should take that off? Are we sure the tracking force/weight doesn't account for that?
I cant get to 2.5 on my weight. It stops at 1 :/ im tryin the same steps
Need some help, I have a used record player I picked up and fixed (needed new belt and needle and cover was damaged). Was working great but all the sudden my newer vinyl I picked up started skipping or repeating. I tried adjusting it just like everyone says to, but unless I have the weight cranked down a ways, it either skips or only plays out of the right speaker. Also noticed that the turntable has the slightest wobble, but then again, the spot where the vinyl goes and the needle are like on their own separate suspension system so if something shakes, moves, wobbles, they stay together. It’s a Philips 437, like from the early 80s I think. Is it safe to turn it down to where it doesn’t skip? It won’t wear my vinyls right? I mean how else could I fix it?
I have a turntable (Lenco L133) and i don't know how to fix the turntable arm...
Maybe there is something different about mine but I swear setting it like this is impossible. If I set it to balance horizontally, it doesn't have enough weight to keep the needle on the record. And even if I balance it to the platter, it just ends up being way too sensitive to any vibrations.
Do you need to use on of the tracking force scales? I don’t have one
Thanks! What should I do if I can’t find the tracking force online? (ATX-1201E is my cartridge)
Great video and also what song is this??? I swear I know this song but can't figure it out.
I just got a turn table for christmas and i’m still confused about tracking force. I have the tone arm near perfectly balanced, and the tracking force gauge ring is set to 0. The manual says to rotate both the counter weight and the tracking force gauge ring together (as your video showed) to set it to my cartridge’s recommended tracking force of 2.0. But when i do this, when i rotate the counterweight and tracking gauge together and set it to 2.0, the balance goes away, and the tone arm is front heavy (towards the stylus) and falls back down into its holder. Is the balance supposed to be altered after setting the tracking force? Or is it still supposed to be balanced? I’m confused
Yes, it's supposed to go out of balance, otherwise there wouldn't be any tracking force.
the tonearm on my technics dc servo automatic turntable system sl-j110r is not like this at all.
Excellent video. I'm beginner, trying to help my even more beginner brother. We're not sure if stylus is completely damaged, if anti skate or tonearm adjustments are off, or if table turntable is placed on is not level. All I know at this point is when you put needle down at beginning of record, it skates toward center. Is this likely to be anti-skate adjustment problem? Also, we have no clue what recommended weight adjustment is, and can't even see if there's a cartridge number marked on the cartridge that might help us to determine what needle we have or need, if we need to buy a new needle, and what recommended weight might be. Is there any particular weight that seems fairly common for weight adjustment, or is that all over the place depending on cartridge? Any advice? Where do I start? Feeling overwhelmed. Thanks.
Ok what TT & Cartridge are you using?
Old dj trick blue tak a penny ontop of the stylis
If my turntable has no tracking force dial do the instructions relating to tone arm balancing and tracking force still apply just the same.?
I had my 1960's Garrard 2025tc repaired by a BBB accredited Audio video shop in 1980's sometime to find out shortly after he removed the spring from the rear of the tonearm and a silver thing it was attached to and told me it didn't need it. I haven't used it since then. I now need to get that spring and I don't know the manufacturer nor size nor specs of it nor the part number. Can you help with that info? I've reached a give up point.
I often use VinylEngine and Audiokarma to find such information.
The anti skate isn’t always the same as the tracking force , test it on a blank record to see
That’s what I’m learning as well. I followed these directions closely and every time I lifted the tone arm, it would quickly glide towards the clip. I had to bring down the amount of anti skate significantly so that now the stylus stays in place when I lift it.
ok and how its by you hight adj.mm ? Greetings
I NEEE HELP TO BALANCE A THORENS TD 125 MK11. ANYONE OUT THERE WITH EXPERIENCE
Still you missed two important things
this doesn’t work for those cheap suitcase record players, huh?
you can't balance the tonearms on those, they're just cheap plastic chinese turntable toys thrown into a fancy box
Precisely. They come with cheap components that potentially destroy your records.
@@LongPlayVinyl I've heard that too, overtime they'll definitely wear them out faster for sure, but something I've rarely seen people mention about these turntables is the actual mechanism. ALL of these suitcase/"crosley" types use are all the exact same and dirt cheap to buy, so even if the turntables they sell are way cheaper compared to proper turntables, they're still basically scamming the buyer into paying an insane amount for something that's just been rebranded and terrible quality.
There'll be practically no difference between a crosley/victrola the other hundreds of brands vs. something like a 30 dollar one off of aliexpress because they'll have the same mechanism that plays the records.
Sorry for the long rant haha, also your video helped me out a lot!
@@archkull That's a very good point! I just look at Alibaba. You can find a manufacturer, slap your own branding and have your own turntable that's the exact same quality as suitcase Crosley for 25$.
Yikes 3 grams. That is very heavy. Hope you have extra copies of your collection. Back in the 60's 1.5 was standard. I would suggest a better cartridge that will track no more than 1.5 unless your hate your records.
3 grams is what's recommended with my set up. I trust Technics and Grado ;)
倒数第二
Thanks!