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Mistracking

I am re starting this thread with new found additions.

Does anyone have this new music fidelity pressing? Awesome to say the least, however on Track 3 on side one, "the wind that shakes the barley" I notice only on certain dynamic volume increases the recording sounds as though it was a little "hot" in the vocals? In other words I hear a ever so slight distortion for a split second no matter what volume level I listen to this track at. Could I have a bad pressing or do you think it's simply so resolving, it's coming through via the remaster? Any help or input would be greatly appreciated.

I installed a new Rega Exact cart which has the 3 point allignment that locks you into a nearly perfect tracking angle and I still hear the same ever so slight distortion in the left channel only. Again, only on the parts of the song where Lisa really belts out a lyric. And I tried it with a Graham Slee Era Gold phono preamp, same situaion.

Could the vinyl be damaged due to mistracking with a shibata stylus on the 2M black??

I'm at a total loss.
jimbojrjb

Showing 5 responses by dougdeacon

dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Again, only on the parts of the song where Lisa really belts out a lyric.
If the distortion were happening during quiet passages then it would be random and I'd agree with Chayro. However, the coincidence with moments of big dynamics makes it far more likely that there's a system fault. The question is, which fault?

I still hear the same ever so slight distortion in the left channel only.
Eureka! This makes anti-skating (aka, anti-bias) the most probable culprit. Unbalanced lateral pressure can allow loss of stylus/groovewall contact during moments of great dynamics (big groove modulations). Excessive anti-skating pulls the stylus away from the inner groove wall, which is where the L channel information lives. Try decreasing the amount of A/S. Most inexperienced vinylphiles apply far too much and I'll wager you're one of them. :)
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
The steady-state conditions of a test record don't teach us how to fine tune for the varying conditions presented by real LPs. The OP's problem is with one particular passage on one particular LP. He may be able to play a test record perfectly yet still have a problem if his passage varies markedly from the test track.

A test record is not useful for adjusting antiskating (or most other parameters) for the dynamic conditions presented by real music. Better to train one's ears to describe a problem clearly (as the OP has done), then learn how each adjustment alters certain sonic effects. This develops our understanding of what we're actually doing when we fuss with our vinyl rigs.

A/S and VTF are adjustments where the optimal setting depends on what the groove is doing to the stylus at any given moment. Adjusting them based on a test track is valid for that test track only. The ideal settings actually vary constantly, as the OP has discovered.
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Mr. R, I concur that most tonearm manufacturer's calibrated A/S or VTF scales are of little use. I pay no more attention to those than I do to test records. The world's best tonearms don't even have such scales, for good reason.

The goal is simple: optimize the behavior of the stylus in the groove when playing music. This is all we care about (or at least all the OP cares about).

The solution is simple: adjust for the conditions we care about, ignore everything else (including blank, ungrooved surfaces, which - as Stringeen noted - do not resemble the conditions we care about).

everything needs to be verified aurally
Hear! Hear! This is the essential step. All else can be dispensed with, saving time, money and distraction.
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Appeals to authority are irrelevant unless the authority addressed the issue of concern, which is not the case here.

Jimbojrjb has a *specific* problem with a *specific* passage on a *specific* LP. None of the authorities cited ever played that LP. No test record has a groove matching that passage. These authorities, even if useful in theory, are irrelevant.

The OP can play other records (and 99% of this record) with no issues. Ergo, his A/S and VTF are already in the ballpark. That's all any test record could do and he's already done it.

To clean up this one offending passage he should reduce A/S, perhaps to zero (which on a Rega arm will leave some residual A/S force in effect). Just as with a test track, A/S will be correct (for this passage) when mistracking is either absent or balanced in both channels. If reducing A/S results in balanced mistracking, he'll then need to increase VTF just enough to make tracking clean. Voila!

Define the problem and the solution defines itself.

dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Jimborjrjb, thanks for coming back to the fray and sorry if I sullied your thread in any way.

Here's a simple test to detect damaged or flawed vinyl:

Power up your system and cue the stylus down just prior to the offending passage, but with the TT platter NOT spinning.

Now spin the platter by hand (always clockwise!) very slowly, say 3-5rpm. Play through the passage this way several times.

The music will sound like a LF moan or growl. The damage/pressing flaw, if there is one, will sound very different. Much sharper transients than any music. You'll hear the difference easily.

Then you'll know for sure whether to attempt any adjustments.
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