Does Anyone Re-Align Their Cart for 7" 45 rpm Play?

I've been wondering about this since I came across an alignment protractor for 45s here:

Phono Cartridge Alignment Tool by Turntable Basics

I've never done it myself...interested in hearing experiences from people who have.

 

No!

 

Nope.

 

dear lord no, that's a bridge too far for me

 

That would be a "no" for me, even though I play lots of 45s. I do have cartridges that will often swap out for 45 playing, using conical styli to go easy on styrene singles. I stick with the same alignment, however.

 

Big hell no for me.

 

No freaking way

 

No. I guess you'd use Stevenson if you did though. Don't even own one of those protractors.

 

I bought a Best Tractor worth every penny.

Best Tractor / Arc Protractor / Mint Tractor / tonearm alignment / Yip Mint Protractor / Mintlp Protractor

 

Absolutely. My TT has detachable headshell, so I have one headshell/cartridge aligned for 33 1/3 rpm and one for 45 rpm. It is so simple!

Just kidding. I never gave it a thought until reading this thread. And, I’ll never give it another thought again.

 

It is actually challenging to set the alignment optimally for the program area of a 7" single. Setting Stevenson or Baerwald alignment so both nodes are within the start and end radius (the same as they would be for an LP) requires about 15mm more overhang -- a headshell with slots 3/4" longer, or a longer tonearm.

If operating a jukebox that only plays singles, or a small portable player that can't play 12" discs, I can see it being useful to align to minimize inner groove distortion.

 

That's exactly my intention and the reason why I purchased a Pioneer PLX 1000 (easily removable headshell, perfect speed, and good reviews). Will have this set up as a second turntable.

Here's a thread I started earlier this year in the search for an appropriate headshell:

Headshell for dedicated 7" cartridge alignment ??

and I raised this idea here as well:
One TT w/2 arms or dedicated TT for mono?

Having a dedicated 7" alignment means very low tracking distortion (much less than for a 12" record on any of the standard alignments).
Haven't done it yet, but it's on the list for 2019.

This is quite true - it's more challenging to align and requires longer slots (on a standard tonearm). Possibly it also needs to skewed in the headshell - my initial investigations suggest this is an option, though a smaller overhang and less offset than the headshell.

 

Nope. Too much work for not much gain.

 

What is "enough benefit" to make the work worthwhile will vary from person to person, but to be clear the reduction in tracking error is very large:

(from the quoted article)

"By customizing your setup for the narrow playing band of a 7-inch records, you can reduce the average angular error between the stylus tip and the record groove by a factor of more than 6 to 1, and the maximum error by a factor of almost 9 to 1.

Using a 7 inch alignment tool to set up your turntable for 7 inch records will bring a dramatic improvement in the tracking quality and accuracy of playback from your 45 RPM collection."

Six times less tracking error, with maximum error reduced to about 1/9th of what it is before a specialised alignment.


For a person with only a few 7" then probably not worth the trouble, for others with hundreds or thousands of 7" records, perhaps as important a record cleaning machine, especially if the track(s) are on a 7" only.

 

Well, that's exactly why I posted. I have several hundred singles and using regular Baerwald for LPs they sound purty good, but I always felt like maybe I could get some more and when I came across the protractor for 45 alignment it sure piqued my interest...

 

I sure hope not.

 

You've got to be kidding? Once I get that stuff straightened out, I'll forearm anyone who comes near my cartridge.

 

With an SME sliding base, I might actually be crazy enough to try it.

However, mostly use a linear tracker and that's the best I've ever heard my 7 inchers (45rpm or 33rpm).

 

What is your ratio of 45's to LP's?

 

It is loudness wars polystyrene we are talking about right? No.

 

Possibly you meant to ask,

"What is your ratio of 7" records to 10" and 12" records?" Many 45s are 12".

 

Maybe 1:6.

 

WHY?

 

Possibly not.
The Sound Doctor knew exactly what this old timer meant straight off the bat.
(Definitely not worried about 10" n.o's)

 

Simple solution is to just have 3 different turntables, each dedicated for 45rpm,
33 1/3rpm, and 78rpm.