recording vinyl

pepezabala · Post by **pepezabala** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 10:43 am

crumhorn wrote:
Ken Ken wrote:what should it be set at...?
Setting up anti skate is a bit of a black art. It's just something I remember form when everyone was obsessed with Hi-Fi back in the '80s. It's related to the tracking weight and also to the length of the tone arm. You'd probably need to google for details. On posh turntables it's set by the little dangling weight that hangs over a little bar. I think it's often calibrated with a scale to match the tracking weight, but it's 20 odd (very odd!) years since the last time I set up a turntable.

But I notice that you said only some records have the problem, so logically it might be the records themselves that are recorded with unequal levels.

If you have a record that has a blank side you can check if your antiskating is set up correctly. Put the needle on the blank record, if it doesn't skate/slide towards or off the center then everything is right.

Khazul · Post by **Khazul** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 11:08 am

What deck are you using - some have quite complex controls for setting up anti-skating. On mine there are two contols for the job regulat ant-skating dial and a separate horizontal track force (Technics SL1200 M5G).

For the horizontal tracking force - normally you just stick that in its center position, however for scratching, then you need to adjust it - I think it acts as a bias to the antiskating, but mechaically it seems to actb on a different part of the tone arm pivot.

BTW - I have my decks setup to tolerate minimal scratching (for scratch cueing without skipping), however I still get perfectly balanced signals out of it them.

crumhorn · Post by **crumhorn** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 11:41 am

This won't fix your problem, but it's something I always recommend. When recording from vinyl keep the monitor volume low to eliminate feedback. It can really tighten up the bass.

chrysalis33rpm · Post by **chrysalis33rpm** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 1:53 pm

I have that mixer and have never noticed that it is louder on one channel than another-
I don't record a lot of vinyl though.

GUY SMILEY · Post by **GUY SMILEY** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 5:12 pm

Anti Skate is usually set up the same as the tracking weight.
You can tell if its wrong though cos the arm skips right across the record. Look at the needle, if its being pulled to one side or the other it's the wrong setting.
I doubt its the source of your problem though tbh

Khazul · Post by **Khazul** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 5:23 pm

GUY SMILEY wrote:I doubt its the source of your problem though tbh

Agree - when when I have my decks set up for full on scratch, I can barely notice the impact on the L/R levels.

Stylus issue? Dirty connection, faulty lead etc?

laird · Post by **laird** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 7:07 pm

you could get these same results by improper setup of the soundcard's default settings on your computer. Unlikely, but still... you have the turntable, the mixer, the cables, the soundcard, the software and the computer all to worry baout... start ruling them out before trying to fix everything possible, or you will just wind up making stuff worse.

Start swapping cables. Take the turntables left and right outputs and switch them going into the mixer. If the problem is reversed, you can now focus on your turntable and its cables (never underestimate the problems swapping out cables can fix!). If the problem persists, however, you can rule out the turntable and it's cabling.

If the latter is true, next go to the mixer and swap out it's left/right outputs into the soundcard. Does the problem reverse channels? etc... etcv...

laird · Post by **laird** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 7:10 pm

I still want to know if the audio level is "louder" versus "higher"... the latter sounds (possibly, not definitely) like DC offset. the Utility plugin could help rule out this possibility.