Anti skate. I think something's wrong


I have an Acoustic Signiture TT with a Graham 2.2 tonearm and Ortofon Cadenza Bronze cartridge. My anti skate is set close to tracking weight and it would always dig to in inside when I would start a record. I read this is wrong so I got my Cardas test record out and placed it in smooth section and it imediately gravitated to inside. I adjusted anti skate to where cartridge slighty pulls to inside . Here is the problem. To get this I'm having to adjust anti skate to the max. I rechecked TT and it is right on level wise. I have less sibilence now and swear the two channels are more even. The right channel has always been just slightly lower than left in volume. The only qualm I have is the max antiskate I have to use. Is bearing bad? I have the blue fluid. Or I shouldn't worry and enjoy the music. Mike
128x128blueranger
There is no way to measure/adjust anti-skate properly...it is a constantly changing force, and is so small that it is unnecessary. It only distorts the tracking of the arm...provides unnecessary damping .....not for me.
Dear blueranger: Nice system you own.

You said that have an unbalnce in the volume/SPL, that the right channel sounds louder. This is not an AS problem but as other gentleman here suggested the Azymuth set up but if the cartridge/tonearm overall set up is " right " about VTA/SRA/AZ and tonearm damping fluid and the problem stay then problem could be in the electronics in one of the system components, it's not probable a speaker unbalance per se.

Forgeret about the AS and clean up any single male and female connector in the whole audio system looking too that no one connection/cable/wire is loose, including the ones in the cartridge/tonearm wires and speakers and the electrical cables too. If all these don't fix that problem then the unbalance is on the electronics.

Out of the subject of your thread but looking your system and only as an idea ( don't to fix your today problem. ) and do that your system seat is so close to the back " wall " a damping pannel here can improve your quality listen sound. 

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.
I have a Graham 2.2T. I agree with the posts by Almarg on how to adjust AS. It may help to first verify with no AS and no tracking force applied that the arm is not being forced to the outside by anything such as a twisted tone arm wire or connection.
It's been awhile since I did anti-skate, but I remember one thing.  Do not use anti-skate for any other reason(like channel balance) than what is the best setting for the just the anti-skate alone.  I think you get close to the correct anti-skate, and then, incrementally go forward and back(more and less anti-skate), until you hear what anti-skate does.  You can go slow, and even sleep on it.  If, the next day, you are less excited to want to listen to your records, put it back where you had it, etc.  I vaguely remember that it might be just less(a slightly smaller amount of anti-skate) than where the balance between channels(or something like that) is best.  There was a discussion on here, where I came to the same conclusion as a person who studied anti-skate a lot. Note:  all of my anti-skate experiments were done with gimbaled tonearms(but I would assume you could use the same experiments. I think uni-pivots[the Graham, I assume] use less anti-skate.).  To get a starting point, you might research your tonearm and cartridge(reviews, etc.).  In addition, your choice should be for the best sound(again don't listen for specific things) for the whole record, while you can keep in mind that anti-skate should be more needed towards the end of the record(I think there might be a few more compromises towards the end-even if you get the correct setting.).  
Are you absolutely 100% sure your platter is perfectly level? How about where you mount your tonearm - is that perfectly level, too?

Check it, and recheck it. My table is on a wooden cabinet and "level" changes day-to-day (I tweak with pieces of card stock under the footers). No need to mess with AS until you confirm.