Not every arm will arrive with a convenient dial.
Tighten the locking nut to stop the counter-weight sliding but not enough that you can’t move it with light pressure for fine adjustments.īecause the tracking weight, in this finely balanced position, is effectively 0g, you can now locate the arm tracking weight dial which normally sits at the rear of the arm, possibly on the moveable counter-weight itself. Your arm now has an effective tracking weight of 0g. Move the rear-mounted counterweight backwards and forwards along the length of the arm until the arm lifts off the arm rest and freely (without any support from yourself) hangs in a level position. Unhook this yoke, lift it off the rest, support the arm to prevent the stylus crashing into the platter for now and lower any supplied arm lift. This is the arm rest that you normally use as a sort of home base in between vinyl plays. Your arm may be secured to a supporting yoke, midway along its length, via a plastic hook or latch or similar. This can either be a rotating wheel featuring a numbered display or a piece of fishing-type wire with a weight hanging off the end that sits on a bar or some-such on or around the arm (your turntable’s instructions will guide you to what position corresponds to what setting). NB: We’ve roughly based our example on a Technics SL-1200, but most turntables will have a similar or equivalent set-up. If you get stuck, you can check the interactive image above for reference. for a recommended range of 1.6g-2.g, go for 1.8g). If you stick with somewhere in-between then you won’t go far wrong (i.e. If you read standard tracking weight instructions, you will find a recommend range of tracking weight figures from the manufacturer. If you set the tracking weight too high, the stylus will not track the grooves correctly, losing information while aural distortion will often be evident too and, again, there’s a possibility of record damage, over an extended period. If the tracking weight on your stylus is too low, it will cause the stylus to jump and damage your record (which is why too low a weight is more harmful that too high a weight). The tracking weight varies because arm and cartridge weights vary. Why do we set a tracking weight at all? To allow the stylus to faithfully track the grooves in the intended manner. The likes of Pro-Ject, Rega and others like to promote a ‘plug and play’ (well, almost) philosophy to make turntable set-up as easy and as painless as possible, so they will have completed both tasks for you. This is a beginner’s guide so I’m going to assume that both of these tasks have been done for you, as is frequently common nowadays, by the manufacturer.
#Garrard zero 100 cartridge setting gauge install
Some turntables require that you install the tonearm onto the turntable itself, others demand that you attach the cartridge to the arm. There may be a very good design reason why we differ. Secondly, if you read the following instructions and your turntable manufacturer recommends a method that contradicts my own then follow the manufacturer’s instructions instead. In fact, force yourself to slow down and concentrate to prevent accidents. This feature will guide you through the process of setting the tracking force of a cartridge on a turntable.īefore I begin I want to recommend two very important things. We take you through the deceptively simple process, step-by-step. Often overlooked, setting the tracking your cartridge weight and balancing your tonearm may sound dry, but it’s about the single most important adjustment you can make to the way your turntable sounds and will save both your needle and your records in the process.