Basis and table mats?


I have been considering trying a turntable mat on my Basis 1400. Have you other Basis owners tried this? Is it worth the effort or do I go "comando"?
Thanks
banksfriend
Dan_ed,
Our normal source for mylar ribbon only sells it in 1/2" and wider. You might try 1/4" recording tape, the thicker the substrate the better. Use it emulsion side out so it doesn't deposit particles on your platter or pulley.

I imagine the reason dental floss works well for Dopogue is that it isn't stretchy. A non-stretchy belt provides tighter coupling of motor to platter. This helps resist stylus drag. Of course a tighter motor/platter coupling provides a path for motor vibration and cogging. Whether that's an issue depends on the motor.

The mylar tape favored by Teres/Redpoint/Galibier owners is also non-stretchy. The wider contact area compared to dental floss results in less belt slip. I've tried both and the tape is definitely better. I also recently tried the slightly stretchy belt from a friend's Amazon. Definitely a step backwards, we lost some leading edge transients.
Doug, You may want to try some silk ribbon as an alternate drive belt. I have been experimenting with several samples of silk ribbon on my Galibier for the past few weeks, and I generally prefer it to the 1/2" mylar tape that you mention. Walker supplies 4mm silk ribbon with his Proscenium Gold table, which is where I got the idea. It's available at craft and embroidery stores. Of course, the ribbon needs to be cut and the ends joined with contact cement.

It's amazing how much the sound changes with different belt materials. The width of the silk ribbon has a major impact also, my favorite so far being the 4mm that I started out with.

Dave
Dave,
Thanks for the tip. Is it like gift wrapping silk ribbon? Or is it different?

Doug
Doug, It's not a wrapping ribbon, it's used for embroidery. I bought mine at Michael's, an arts and crafts store which I think is a chain. It comes in little packages of about ten feet or so. But you may have to look closely (or ask for help) since the silk ribbons were in a different part of the store from all of the regular ribbons.

Dave