If I remember my basic physics ('ats a real loooong shot) friction is a force applied in direct opposition to velocity. So, less velocity, less friction, less amplitude to the force vector in the inward direction. (see Larryi's post on headshell angle) And, it is somewhat intuitive that if the entire lp surface is moving at the same speed, some little guy (or one of those vw micro-bus players) has to run faster at the outer edge to keep up with his buddy who is running at the edge of the lp label. Crap, just stare at an LP spinning on your table and you'll soon see this.
I'm just surprised as Hell that Audiofeil remembered this fact! (jest kiddin' Bill!)
To take this a step farther, this is exactly why tonearms like the Basis Vector and TriPlanar and probably some others I'm not thinking of, use a fulcrum approach to AS. That is, both of these arms use a device that lifts a weight extended out an arm or lever. At the outer edge the lever is at or below horizontal which is where the opposing force of the weight on the lever is the greatest. As the arm tracks across the LP towards the inner groove the lever is pulled to a higher and higher angle and the force of opposition provided by the weight is diminished in relation to this angle (cos x) of the lever with respect to horizontal. As an angle approaches 90 degrees, or complete vertical, the opposing force of the weight approaches zero.
Anyway, my recommendation is to use little or no AS. Listen for mistracking in the right channel and then apply only enough AS to stop the mistracking. If you can't apply enough AS to counter the mistracking then the LP is possibly damaged. Now try adding a few tenths of a gram in VTF to see if that will stop the distortion. If it does, then go back and let up on AS. I think one can see the process developing here.
But all of this assumes that the stylus is aligned as close to perfect as possible. The larger the error, the more the amplitude of the inward vector. So the goal is to eliminate alignment error which should help eliminate the need for AS.
I'm just surprised as Hell that Audiofeil remembered this fact! (jest kiddin' Bill!)
To take this a step farther, this is exactly why tonearms like the Basis Vector and TriPlanar and probably some others I'm not thinking of, use a fulcrum approach to AS. That is, both of these arms use a device that lifts a weight extended out an arm or lever. At the outer edge the lever is at or below horizontal which is where the opposing force of the weight on the lever is the greatest. As the arm tracks across the LP towards the inner groove the lever is pulled to a higher and higher angle and the force of opposition provided by the weight is diminished in relation to this angle (cos x) of the lever with respect to horizontal. As an angle approaches 90 degrees, or complete vertical, the opposing force of the weight approaches zero.
Anyway, my recommendation is to use little or no AS. Listen for mistracking in the right channel and then apply only enough AS to stop the mistracking. If you can't apply enough AS to counter the mistracking then the LP is possibly damaged. Now try adding a few tenths of a gram in VTF to see if that will stop the distortion. If it does, then go back and let up on AS. I think one can see the process developing here.
But all of this assumes that the stylus is aligned as close to perfect as possible. The larger the error, the more the amplitude of the inward vector. So the goal is to eliminate alignment error which should help eliminate the need for AS.