2. analog
  3. 1232818798

VPI Speed Problem

I have a VPI Super Scoutmaster with SDS. Fabulous sound, had it for about a year. I moved to a new place about 5 months ago and have had it set up and working well for about 3 months in the new location.

Recently, I thought the first song on some album sides sounded slow, but as the album played a minute or two, all sounded right again. Now, everything sounds slow all the time, both 33's and 45's. I tried bypassing the SDS, though there is no speed setting on the motor assembly, so I don't know if that should sound right, but it sounds very slow and muddy as well.

Any thoughts on what might be wrong or how to troubleshoot? Any insight would be appreciated.
kthomas
kthomas OP
911 posts
 
Thanks very much for all the helpful responses. I'll have to get it working perfectly again before I could sell it to get a Lenco in any case, so thanks especially for the troubleshooting tips :-)

New belt didn't change anything. I'll have to get a strobe to check the speed - I have the speed disk, but not the strobe. And my motor is the dual wheel (600 rpm?), not the direct wheel.

I'll check into putting drops of oil in the right places. It really fell off from sounding great to sounding terrible pretty quickly. Bummer, too, as I just got the new Van Morrison remasters :-)
johnbrown
195 posts
 
Agree with you 'Tfkaudio', and I feel shame. Even though 'Oregon' initially jacked the thread, I should have taken the high road and let it slide.

Still, as I first posted, we have yet to know if the OP has checked the actual platter speed, which would be the first step in diagnosing the problem.
oregon
608 posts
 
Kthomas,
I recently purchased the remastered Moondance. Compared to the original, as in many pressings, I prefer the original. Many remasters sound overdone. In this case too bassy, vocalist in your face and music seems either bloated or in the background. With the original, the band and Van seem to be in the same room, playing with each other on the stage and not in separate rooms with their own volume controls (bass and vocal mic beefed up). That's how I hear the 2. (Could be the crappy Lenco.)
On another note:
I just saw a a film at the NW Film Festival called "Irish Rover" good footage of Van playing with Dylan and The Chieftians.
For his earlier stuff, which I like very much, get "Van Morrison In Review" on eBay for $18.00.
elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
Nice read. Lenco? Lenco fanboys having a ride on a VPI thread. It's ok. When you trash talk other products it just means you are jealous. Kind of like Ford Model A owners trash talking how poor handling those new Porsches are.
reb1208
518 posts
 
For general knowledge, the way I set speed is by ear, when the record is playing. I play the exact same title on cd, from that same master tape source. I do this with a few records/cd's and A/B back and forth during play. When the sound is perfectly in synch, I leave the SDS at that frequency. Do this after you set the VTF/VTA etc.
More to discover