Has anyoe had problems using the mint LP tractor

Wes4390, can you be specific about the problems you're encountering?

Hi, like you, I have had trouble due to the myth of the Golden Years, but I found if you get your table to the brightest possible source of light, might even try direct sunlight, and get a magnified lighted loupe (of which I got two, one of which was lighted, when I ordered my Mint from Yip.) Just practice looking at your stylus and the lines on the tractor before you even try to make adjustments, and after awhile, you should learn how to best see what you need to accomplish your goal. I use both loupes at different times, using a mini-maglite with the unlighted one. As Yip admonishes , just relax, don't stress, it's not brain surgery, and you can stop and rest at any time. The most important thing I have learned, other than ya gotta see what yer doin', is to get the best possible results, having the front of the cartridge body parallel to the front edge of the headshell is critical. Other than that, It's very easy to do, once you get used to it. If you have trouble, email me, I'll see if I can lend a hand.

Best of luck, regards,
Dan

Tvad.......the problem was with the second part of the process. I just could not seem to pick up the knack of holding the magnifying glass and determining whether or not the cantilever was straight or lying at an angle. When I give it a second go I will move the table to a brighter spot.Do you look at the cartridge 'head on' or from above?

A bright spot is very helpful. You look the cantilever from head on, so you can see the parallax effect in the MintLP mirror.

The instructions are pretty thorough, and the photos are excellent. Frankly, I think the step-by-step instructions and photos are as valuable as the tool itself. Follow them carefully, and IMO you really should not have a problem (although the process is still tedious).

I had to use additioanl magnifying glasses and a different loupe from the Peake loupe I got through Mint, in order to get the focusing distance right, and a stong light that can be precisely positioned is needed. I think Mint supplied a 3x glass, but I also needed a 5x to see things properly at one step; and the loupe from Yip was shaped in a way that it couldn't be positioned at the correct focusing distance with my Grado cartridge (the cartridge body got in the way, this wouldn't be an issue with something like a Lyra). The problem is my aging eyes, not the Mint, but one tends to accumulate magnifying lenes as the eyes lose the ability to focus, so I had what I needed at hand. In the end, the sonic improvement was striking.