Confused by "Stylus overhang".

Should one adhere to the manufacturers recommendations(given that the equipment is as "out of the box"),or do different makes of cartridge vary according to design?

 

Stylus overhang defines the arc that the tip of the stylus traverses as it plays across the record. Follow manufacturers recommendation or get yourself a protractor:

http://www.vinylengine.com/protractor-user-guide.shtml

Overhang is dependent on the distance from the center of the spindle to the tonearm pivot. The choice of cartridge should not matter so long as your headshell has mounting slots that allow sufficient lateral adjustment.

 

Thanks...according to that great site the "overhang" should be 15mm.....I have no gauge,what is the best way to get an accurate measurement for the optimum setting?

 

I'm wary of any process requiring dragging the tonearm over to the spindle with one hand, holding a metric ruler with another hand, and adjusting the cartridge position in the headshell with your third hand. Even if you got the stylus point in the right place you'd still need to deal with aligning the cartridge body. The best option is to use a protractor. There are several available at the site I linked or reply with your turntable/arm details and someone will have another suggestion.

 

The least expensive way would be to print out a protractor from Vinyl Engine that is appropriate for your table. Be sure to confirm that the ruler on the protractor matches with a real life ruler. Some printers will scale the output and that's not what you want.

Also, you'll need to use a record underneath the paper protractor.

 

Some cartridge overhang specs are based on the assumption of a particular arm/headshell. x2 on gloomrider’s advice. The ideal overhang for any alignment is based on the pivot to spindle distance of the arm mounting. Arc protractors are great because the tip should sit on the arc at any point on the arc.

 

Pivot to spindle is 214...all I have to do now is source a protractor! Can find loads of 222's

 

Print a custom protractor using a program from here:

http://conradhoffman.com/chsw.htm

Third option on the list.

 

Mine is 219.5 so I make my own. If you are on a PC, link above should work.

 

Got one...now to find out how to use it

 

I printed one out, laminated it, (carefully) cut the spindle hole out and glued it to a 10p charity shop record (flattest but still rubbish one I could find). I made 2 pinholes on the arc and 1 in the cross on alignment grid. When the stylus tracks the arc and drops ino all 3 pinholes, overhang is set. Then I align it using the grid, checking using the arc that I'm still good on overhang. Job's a good 'un.

 

Um, why put a record under the protractor to align the cartridge? I never did this, just put it straight on the platter....

 

Initially, purely for ease of manipulation, crease resistance, ease of locking once you get the overhang set (tape the record to the locked platter) etc. I suppose that technically, you'd want to be aligning it on the same plane as you'd be playing, because the stylus tip traces an arc through the vertical plane, but that might be too nit-picky, even for vinyl heads.

A bonus is that once you affix it to an old record you can use it to set VTA as well, by rotating the protractor part out of the way and dropping the stylus on the exposed record grooves, so you aren't doing that on a playable record - it's a multitool.

 

I have a 45 adapter that has overhang measurements on it.

My questions is do I simply set the tonearm with cartridge and stylus on top of the spindle and check the stylus tip against the 15mm mark? There is no way to set the stylus on the 15mm line due to the spindle being in the way so I am guessing one just eyeballs it.

 

I don't understand overhang fully. I think I'm a but daft. I understand what it is but not what I need to do with it. I align the cartridge on a protractor and that's it. What am I missing? RP6/2M bronze here.

 

There is a hypothetical arc where you will have less distortion. Overhang describes the distance beyond the center of the spindle hole where that arc exists, so, you can create a protractor that shows this arc, and with the protractor in the exact same position, the stylus tip should rest exactly on the line of this arc at all points, as it is alway the same distance from the arm pivot.

Check the diagram at the end of this page.

http://www.vinylengine.com/tonearm_alignment_calculator_pro.php

 

Thanks Jupiter boy. So its an adjustment of the cartridge foward or back in the headshell for correct overhang? If so, then adjusting the cartridge for correct alignment on the grid would then nullify any adjustment you made for correct overhang wouldnt it? I think Im still missing something.

 

When any arc protractor is used correctly and with the correct spindle-pivot dimension, overhang is set automatically

Here's how (firstly use a couple of wedge shaped cut corks or erasers underneath to hold the platter still once the protractor is on an old LP or something the same thickness):

Always move the stylus in the headshell to line up to the arc near the outer edge (any point near the edge will do)
Always move the platter slightly to then line up the stylus with the arc near the spindle (anywhere near the spindle)

Keep doing this over with finer & finer adjustments until the stylus follows the line at all points. Then overhang is set correctly

Finally, twist the cart slightly in the headshell to check alignment of the cantilever with the 'grid' lines and then after that make sure you still hit the arc at all points (in case the twisting caused the stylus tip to drift slightly)

A strong magnifying lens will assist accuracy

 

No, you're not missing anything. Keep using your protractor, it's setting the overhang.

 

Drewan gives a good synopsis. I always do inner (spindle) arc point first, then swing out to the arc at the rim of the record. If the stylus at the rim arc is closert to the pivot, move the whole cart back toward the pivot a little more. If the stylus at the rim arc is beyond the arc, move it a bit farther away from the pivot. This can seem a little counter intuitive. When you are dead on the arc at all points, then drop the stylus down on the grid at a null and look at the cantilever.

You are absolutely right that twisting the cart can throw the whole alignment out. I am careful to loosen the screws just so, so there is equal, light tension—so the final twist can be done skillfully. You have to retest, even after tightening the cartridge screws down, the cart body will shift.

It can seem like a never ending project. Sometimes I nail it quickly. Last night, it took me a while.

Sometimes, if I'm tired, I'll accidently move the cart forward when I should move it back. Just check and re-check until it is right.

You'll get good at lookng at the arc point close to the spindle to see if the stylus is in the middle of the line, front of the line, etc. This, to me, is the hardest one. I make my protractors with a .25 pt line and try to get the tip right in the center of the line. Any misalignment on the inside is amplified as you swing the arm to the outside of the record.

Wish it was easier, but the payoff is nice clean sound, for an LP. Hope that helps.

 

I've been using the MoFi Geodisc which I purchased from another forum member who sold it because it's not for curved tonearms. For my purposes its been great to have, though I don't know if I'd have ever really paid full price for one.

 

After buying a modern SME tonearm, I haven't needed to use a traditional protractor . It's made my life much easier, and sounds great!

 

How is that?

 

I just posted this on another forum, but how well do these work?

 

You adjust the tonearm via a key and sliding mechanism , not the cartridge. I can change a cartridge with proper setup in less than ten minutes.